Fiery Veteran Outfielder Re-Signs with Mets
Winker will receive a one million dollar signing bonus as part of the contract .
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The New York Mets are expected to re-sign outfielder Jesse Winker. Per Major League Baseball insider Jim Bowden, Winker's deal will be an extension and pay the player target salary of around $20 million per year.
After dealing with injuries in the 2023 season with the Milwaukee Brewers, Winker invested time in improving his conditioning before the start of the 2024 season. His renewed efforts paid off, as he played in 145 games and hit .253/.360/.405, achieving 14 home runs and 14 stolen bases.
Winker's batting style excels because of his mature approach. Compared to other qualified MLB players with experience, he was in the top 96th percentile in taking walks (12.4% of the time) and in swinging at balls outside the strike zone (19% of the time), and also had a very good swing-and-miss rate of 19.6% (in the 78th percentile).
When done correctly, this approach causes a pitcher to exert greater effort, raises their pitch count, and results in more errors. This means the pitcher is more likely to have the batter walk (such as Winker, who usually batters before run producers) or make mistakes in the strike zone, allowing Winker to capitalize.
The New York team will mostly bring back Winker for his approach at the plate and his benefit from being platooned against right-handed pitching. For his career, Winker has shown a .276/.379/.462 record against right-handers in 2,212 plate appearances, compared to a .210/.324/.338 record in 563 plate appearances against left-handers.
Winker's primary contribution comes from his offense. He had a mediocre defensive performance, logging 3 Defensive Runs Saved, but a -11 Outs Above Average in 566 2/3 innings in left field. Additionally, in a smaller sample size in right field, his defense struggled with -2 Defensive Runs Saved and -2 Outs Above Average in 104 innings.
Winker has been hindered by a multitude of injuries, especially to his back and knee. However, he demonstrated last year that he's still capable of providing a spark with the bat and within the team setting.
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