The New York Mets are adding former Yankees OF Tim Locastro to the Opening Day roster. The move is not official yet as a corresponding roster move has not been announced. The team is also selecting the contract of RHP Tommy Hunter and designating Darin Ruf for assignment.
The 30-year-old Locastro spent parts of 2021 and 2022 with the Yankees after also getting big-league experience with the Diamondbacks and Dodgers.
The New York native isn't going to factor into the Mets offensive output much, as he's just a lifetime .227 hitter, but he is regarded as an excellent defender and has elite speed on the bases. With the new rules theoretically making it easier to steal bases, Locastro could be a late-game weapon for Mets manager Buck Showalter.
He has 39 career steals and has only been caught five times.
As for Hunter, he's spent part of 15 years in the big leagues with the Rangers, Orioles, Cubs, Guardians, Rays, Phillies and Mets. He made 18 appearances for New York a season ago, going 0-1 with a 2.42 ERA in 22.1 innings.
Ruf spent the latter portion of 2022 with the Mets after being acquired from the Giants. He played 28 games for the Mets, hitting just .152 with no home runs.
The Mets figure to be one of the top teams in the National League again this season. They won 101 games but finished behind the Braves in the National Least East standings and were beaten by the Padres in the NL Wild Card Round.
The Mets continued to go all-in on bettering themselves this offseason, signing ace pitcher Justin Verlander and Japanese hurler Kodai Senga to multi-year deals. But the team will be without star reliever Edwin Diaz for the season, as he was injured in the World Baseball Classic, where he played for Puerto Rico.
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