FLASH: Mets sign OF Desmond Jennings to Minor League Contract

     The Mets have announced that they have signed former Tampa Bay Rays OF Desmond Jennings to a minor league contract. Jennings will be assigned to AAA Las Vegas. With injuries to both Juan Lagares and Brandon Nimmo, the club was left with no backup CF on the Major League roster causing them to bring Michael Conforto up to Queens with the club. With Conforto in Queens this left Las Vegas with no starting OR backup CF on the roster.

     Desmond Jennings was a solid starting outfielder for the Rays from 2012 - 2014 posting WARs of +3.3, +2.9, and +3.2 in those respective seasons. During those season Jennings posted an average stat line of .248 AVG, .716 OPS with 12 HR, 46 RBI, and 22 SB per season. Unfortunately, Jennings career was derailed after only 28 games in 2015 due to multiple knee injuries that required surgery. He returned to the field in 2016 but was limited to only 65 games due to a bone bruise on his surgically repaired knee and a hamstring strain.

     The Rays reluctantly released Jennings this off-season citing his frustrating inability to stay on the field. According to Rays baseball operations president Matt Silverman, "When healthy, he can impact the game in so many ways. But going back a couple of years, he just hasn't been able to stay on the field for long stretches of time. There was never any question if (he) has the talent and athleticism to play. His dynamic combination of speed and power is one of the game's rarest commodities. When he's on the field, he's got the chance to be the best player on the field."