Assuming Joe Panik clears waivers following his release by the Giants, the Mets would do well to sign him. He’s a perfect fit on this team…
Joe Panik‘s release by the San Francisco Giants is not a surprise. Caught in the middle at the trade deadline between sellers and buyers, the Giants elected not to trade Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith. Supposedly, this gave them a smidgeon of hope they can snare a Wild Card spot in the playoffs.
A move they did make, however, was to execute a trade with the Brewers for second baseman Mauricio Dubon, whom the Giants covet as their future in that position. Additionally, the Giants also traded for Scooter Gennett, the Reds second baseman. This pretty much sealed the fate of Joe Panik, who by his standards is having a down year.
Multiple sources are reporting the Mets, and Panik is in discussions that will bring the former All-Star to the Mets for the remainder of the 2019 season. Panik is expected to clear waivers sometime later today.
Update
Joe Panik is officially a New York Met. Perfect!
Signing Panik is a move that will not only solidify the Mets infield, but it will also allow Jeff McNeil to return to the outfield where he has thrived this season. Here’s what Joe Panik can bring to the Mets:
Joe Panik: A Proven Winner With Playoff Experience
Joe Panik has played in six playoff series with the Giants. In 95 plate appearances, he’s batted a respectable .267 with 10 RBI and six extra-base hits. Panik was also an integral contributor to the 2014 World Series won by the Giants. He’s a proficient fielder with one Gold Glove in 2016.
Look around at the 2019 Mets counting the number of players with Playoff experience. There aren’t many, are there? Among the players who make the Mets go, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Amed Rosario, and J.D. Davis all have no experience in the postseason.
At 28 with six years of big-league experience on a winning team, Joe Panik can show the way, leading by example how to master those playoff jitters when they come.
More significantly at the moment though, there are regular-season games to be played in a playoff atmosphere, against the like of Washington, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. Joe Panik is nice to have around. Get to know him a bit in this video:
Joe Panik: A Local Boy Coming Home
Joe Panik graduated from John Jay High School, located in Hopewell Junction, New York. I used to teach there. Located about sixty miles from New York City, the small town is now a bedroom community of NYC.
Married to the former Brittany Pinto, baseball has always been a family affair for the Panik’s. His Dad capsulized the ride to a World Championship to the San Francisco Chronicle in 2014.”
A reunion with family and friends is a bonus for Joe Panik, who is eager to begin the second phase of his playing career.
For The Mets, What’s To Lose?
Signing Joe Panik will cost the Mets one-sixth of his $3.85 million salaries this year. Or around $650,000, which is chump change even for the stingy Wilpons.
Given the likelihood that Robinson Cano is destined to play out his contract with spells on and off the Injured List, Panik may also weigh in as a free agent signee when this campaign is over.
Panik will be eligible for arbitration in 2020, and he cannot be a full-fledged free agent until 2021.
Rumor has it the Mets are also considering Luis Guillorme and Adeiny Hechavarria as fill-ins for Cano. Ruben Tejada is also wielding hot bat at Triple-A Syracuse.
None of these players, however, have the pedigree of the former first-round draft pick out of St. John’s University.
Joe Panik is not lighting it up this year. He’s only hitting .235 with just three homers. But it’s those intangibles, those precious intangibles, that make all the difference.
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
