Adam Rubin, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Alderson explains welcome to Mayberry

NEW YORK -- The Mets had a .633 OPS against left-handed pitching in 2014. That ranked second-worst in the majors, better than only the Seattle Mariners. And Sandy Alderson cited that statistic Tuesday as a reason for signing John Mayberry Jr. to a one-year, $1.45 million contract.

That deal became official Monday.

Alderson suggested that Mayberry "checked all the boxes" because he was willing to accept primarily a bench role in addition to being capable against left-handed pitching.

Mayberry, who turns 31 on Sunday, has a .269 average with 30 homers in 490 career at-bats against southpaws, albeit while spending the bulk of his career in Philly's hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park.

"We weren't very good against left-handed pitching last year," Alderson said. "I think we had one of the lowest OPS numbers in the National League, if not the entire game. Signing Michael Cuddyer was part of addressing that problem. Mayberry? Similar motivation. We need somebody potentially to play against left-handed pitching, to come off the bench against left-handed [relief] pitching, and just help us be a little more balanced in that way. And he was prepared to accept the role, which is a big part of it. So we're happy to have him. He has an excellent record against lefties over his career."

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