The Mets announced that they've inked 30-year-old backstop Taylor Teagarden to a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp.
The Metsannounced this afternoon that they've agreed to a minor league contract with veteran catcher Taylor Teagarden. The deal also includes an invitation to major league spring training. The 30-year-old Teagarden was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2005 draft by the Texas Rangers and eventually made it up to the big leagues with Texas for a cup of tea in 2008. Twice ranked within the top 100 prospects in baseball by Baseball America, Teagarden had issues making contact and hasn't hit much in the majors to this point, as his .206/.266/.390 big league line shows. He does have some power, however, as he's put up a strong .184 isolated slugging in his limited big league exposure. He spent the last two seasons in the Orioles organization and logged 62 big league plate appearances in 2013, hitting just .167/.180/.300 in that time.
Teagarden will likely compete this spring with incumbent backup Anthony Recker and 24-year old Juan Centeno for the right to back up Travis d'Arnaud with the big league team.