Mets sign former first-round pick Deven Marrero to minor-league deal

The New York Mets signed Deven Marrero to a minor-league contract last week (h/t to Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America). The infielder was assigned to Triple-A Syracuse, where he’s made four appearances thus far.

Marrero, 31, is a former first-round pick of the Boston Red Sox. He debuted in Boston in 2015 and spent parts of three seasons there, tallying a career-high 188 plate appearances in 2017. The right-handed hitter appeared in 49 games for the 2018 Arizona Diamondbacks and saw sporadic action in parts of two seasons with the Miami Marlins. That included 10 games with Miami last season; Marrero made appearances on whenever the need for a depth infielder arose but found himself quickly outrighted off the roster each time.

At the end of last season, Marrero qualified for minor league free agency. He spent the first couple months of the 2022 campaign with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League, hitting .238/.330/.300 through 194 trips to the plate. That’s obviously not an overwhelming showing, but Marrero has continued to get opportunities at the upper levels on the strength of his defensive versatility. He’s played more than 4,500 minor league innings at shortstop and also has a fair bit of experience at each of third and second base.

Marrero will add some experienced non-roster infield insurance to the upper minors for the Mets. He owns a .194/.250/.284 line through parts of six MLB seasons and is a career .230/.291/.334 hitter in Triple-A.