Weeks after being non-tendered by the Mets, Jordany Valdespin is rumored to be headed to Miami on a minor league deal.
Jordany Valdespin's two seasons with the Mets weren't without their share of fireworks on and off the field, and now it looks like the ex-Mets utility man will take those fireworks down to South Beach. According to a tweet by J.J. Cooper of Baseball America, Valdespin is set to sign a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins sometime today. The soon to be 26-year old was originally signed and developed by the Mets organization but was non-tendered a few weeks ago following a short, yet tumultuous tenure with the big club.
Valdespin quickly got into the good graces of Mets fans after he hit a go-ahead three run home run off of Phillies' closer Jonathan Papelbon for his first big league hit in May of 2012. Valdespin's greatest hits would include a walk-off grand slam against the Dodgers and another memorable home run off of Papelbon, this one to tie a game, in 2013. However, there was plenty of turmoil along the way. After violating the team's dress code, Valdespin became enraged when teammates shredded a t-shirt of his in August of 2012. He created another stir in May of 2013 when he was hit by a pitch a day after staring at a home run for too long. One of Valdespin's last moments with the team resulted in him calling manager Terry Collins a "cocksucker" and demanding to be placed on the disabled list rather than take a demotion to the minor leagues. Finally, while playing at AAA Las Vegas this past August, Valdespin was suspended 50 games for his involvement with the Biogenesis clinic.
All in all, the utility man's subpar production on the field ended up not being worth the off-field headaches and the Mets non-tendered him on December 2nd, making him a free agent. Through 350 major league plate appearances with the Mets, Valdespin put up a .219/.271/.380 line, good for a .286 wOBA and 81 wRC+, to go along with 12 home runs. His signing with the Marlins is also quite ironic, considering he tweeted a picture of himself wearing a Marlins hat last offseason.
