Paul Articulates – Who is Joey Wendle?

Mets fans had little reaction to the signing of Joey Wendle a few weeks ago, presumably because he is not a marquee name  or because he was added on a fairly low value contract - $2M for one year.   But in the light of Ronny Mauricio’s tragic ACL injury in winter ball, Wendle suddenly becomes more of a factor.  He will be in direct competition with Brett Baty for the starting third base job during spring training.

So who is Joey Wendle and what does he bring to the Mets?  Wendle is an eight year veteran of the major leagues who has seen time with three teams since his call-up in 2016.  He has a lifetime .263 batting average over 2106 at-bats and has compiled 9.2 WAR.  While that doesn’t get him into Cooperstown, it is much better than the Mets’ team batting average over that same period.

Wendle spent his first two MLB seasons with the Oakland A’s where he saw limited action as a call-up.  He was traded after the 2017 season to the Tampa Bay Rays, where he really came into his own.  In his first season in Tampa, he hit .300 over 487 at-bats as their primary second baseman.  Over four years with the Rays, Joey hit .274 with a .743 OPS while playing five different positions well (2B, 3B, SS, LF, and RF).  He made the Baseball America All-Rookie team in 2018 and was assigned to the 2021 AL all-star team as a replacement.  This is a guy that has played a lot of baseball (649 games) and knows how to play a lot of positions at a MLB level.

Before the 2022 season, Miami traded for Joey Wendle and brought him in as a utility player as the team aggressively moved to bolster their roster.  Wendle played 218 games over two seasons with the Marlins before signing a one-year contract with the Mets this year.  In Miami, Wendle’s stats dipped somewhat as he struggled with some injuries to a hamstring, wrist, and ribs.  

Now 33 years old and healthy again, Wendle can compete as the starting third baseman and has McNeil-like versatility to spell others during the long season.   I will be keeping an eye on him during spring training to see if he can return to his demonstrated ability on the field.