The New York Mets have signed 2020 MLB home run king Luke Voit to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Triple-A, the team announced Monday. Voit was released by the Milwaukee Brewers on June 2 after hitting .221/.284/.265 in 74 plate appearances and spending two weeks on the injured list with a neck strain. The Brewers replaced Voit with Darin Ruf, whom the Mets released on April 2.
Last week the Mets lost first baseman Pete Alonso, the MLB leader with 22 home runs, to a bone bruise and wrist sprain after he was hit by a pitch. Mark Canha and Mark Vientos have handled first base duty since, though the Mets are now without their best power hitter, and are a little thin at first base. Voit brings power, and while not a good defender, he can man first base.
Also, the Mets have received a .219/.333/.353 batting line and only eight home runs from their DH spot this season. The MLB average DH is hitting .242/.323/.418 this year. Daniel Vogelbach has started 34 of New York's 66 games at DH and he is hitting .203/.343/.297 with only two home runs. You don't have to try too hard to see a path for Voit to get DH at-bats with the Mets.
Voit, 32, is joining his fourth team in the last two years. After breaking into the big leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017, Voit had a productive run with the New York Yankees from 2018-21, hitting .271/.363/.520 with 68 home runs in 281 games, including an MLB-best 22 home runs in the 60-game 2020 season. Adjusted for ballpark, Voit was 37% better than the average hitter in pinstripes.
The Yankees traded Voit to the San Diego Padres in March 2022 to clear room for Anthony Rizzo at first base, then the Padres traded him to the Washington Nationals as part of the Juan Soto deal at last summer's deadline. Washington non-tendered Voit over the winter and he eventually hooked on with the Brewers. Voit has hit .225/.305/.386 with 22 homers in 157 games the last two years.
The Mets enter play Monday with a 31-35 record that is supremely disappointing for the team with the highest payroll in baseball history. New York is 9.5 games out in the NL East and three games behind the third and final National League wild-card spot. The Mets open a two-game Subway Series with the Yankees on Tuesday.