Shocker: The Mets sign Michael Cuddyer to a two-year deal - MLB

We weren’t expecting this:

Welcome to New York @mcuddy3! We've signed outfielder Michael Cuddyer to a two-year contract. #Mets pic.twitter.com/1pwpJzESmB

— New York Mets (@Mets) November 10, 2014

Jon Heyman reports that the deal is for $21 million.

The general consensus heading into the offseason was that the Mets were interested in Michael Cuddyer up until the point that the Rockies unexpectedly gave him a qualifying offer, which tied first-round pick compensation to him. That seemed like quite a price to pay for a guy who, while good when healthy, has not been healthy. And a guy whose recent offensive value has been pretty closely tied to Coors Field. With the Mets, publicly anyway, backing off of him, it was suspected by many that Cuddyer would be the first player to ever accept a qualifying offer.

Nope. Now the Mets have the corner outfielder they’ve been looking for. One who hit .307 with an .886 OPS in three seasons for the Rockies, but who also missed 206 of a possible 486 games, including playing just 49 games in 2014.

Our D.J. Short — a Mets fan — made a good point on Twitter just now:

I really hope this means the Mets will sign another qualifying offer free agent. Go all out at this point.

— D.J. Short (@djshort) November 10, 2014

Yep. You’ve already lost your draft pick, so don’t bother with half-measures. Go out and get yourself more talent. If you’re singing 36-year-olds, you expect to win now. So go try to win now.

SAN DIEGO — The scuffling San Diego Padres claimed catcher Gary Sánchez off waivers from the New York Mets.

The two-time All-Star was designated for assignment after playing in three games for the Mets. He went 1 for 6 with three strikeouts and an RBI, looking shaky at times behind the plate.

With the disappointing Padres (24-29) getting meager offensive production at catcher, they hope Sánchez can provide a boost. Austin Nola is batting .131 with three extra-base hits and a paltry .434 OPS in 39 games. His part-time platoon partner, second-stringer Brett Sullivan, is hitting .170 with four extra-base hits and a .482 OPS in 21 games since getting called up from the minors April 16.

Luis Campusano has been on the injured list since April 17 and is expected to be sidelined until around the All-Star break following left thumb surgery.

San Diego is responsible for just over $1 million in salary for Sánchez after assuming his $1.5 million, one-year contract.

The star-studded Padres have lost seven of 11 and are 3-3 on a nine-game East Coast trip. They open a three-game series at Miami.

San Diego becomes the third National League team to take a close look at the 30-year-old Sánchez this season. He spent time in the minors with San Francisco before getting released May 2 and signing a minor league contract a week later with the Mets, who were minus a couple of injured catchers at the time.

After hitting well in a short stint at Triple-A Syracuse, he was promoted to the big leagues May 19. When the Mets reinstated catcher Tomás Nido from the injured list last week, Sánchez was cut.

Sánchez’s best seasons came early in his career with the New York Yankees, where he was runner-up in 2016 AL Rookie of the Year voting and made the AL All-Star team in 2017 and 2019.

He was traded to Minnesota before the 2022 season and batted .205 with 16 homers and 61 RBIs in 128 games last year.

With the Padres, Sánchez could also be a candidate for at-bats at designated hitter, where 42-year-old Nelson Cruz is batting .245 with three homers, 16 RBIs and a .670 OPS, and 37-year-old Matt Carpenter is hitting .174 with four homers, 21 RBIs and a .652 OPS.