Mets sign Curtis Granderson

The Mets have signed outfielder Curtis Granderson to a four year, $60 million deal. The move will force the Mets to forfeit their 2014 second-round pick to the Yankees, since he was tied to draft pick compensation. 

Granderson, 32, played just 61 games for the Yankees in 2013 after breaking his hand twice on two hit-by-pitches. During that stint, he hit .229 with 7 homers, and a .317 OBP. 

One of Granderson's best seasons came in 2012, when he hit .232 with 43 homers and 106 RBI in 160 games played. The three time All-Star, and one time Silver Slugger has 217 homers in 10 career seasons with the Tigers and Yankees. Along with that, he also owns a career .261 batting average with a .340 OBP.

Granderson came over to the Yankees in 2009 as part of a three-way deal involving Max Scherzer, Austin Jackson, and others. During his four years in New York, he hit .245 with 115 homers, but struck out 549 times in 2148 plate appearances.

He has been thought of as a player that benefited from the short right field porch at Yankee stadium, but advanced stats show otherwise. 

As seen in the graph, the majority of Granderson's home runs (from 2012) would have gone past the Citi Field fences.

This is a move that many believe had to be made from the Mets standpoint. Granderson alone won't change the entire team around, but bringing him in is definitely a step in the right direction, and makes the Mets a whole lot better looking than yesterday. 

I'm very concerned about Granderson's strikeouts, but from what I've heard his solid clubhouse presence and other intangibles could make him very valuable. In an ideal situation, giving him $15 million, especially when he's coming off of a down year, would seem idiotic. However, given the market and the Mets' need for a power bat, they needed to do this.

I'm hearing a lot of people saying that Granderson could be the next Jason Bay, and I completely disagree. Granderson has handled New York before in his four seasons with the Yankees, and can take the huge spotlight. Bay's big issue was handling the media while trying to fight his declining skills, and I don't think Granderson will come face to face with that problem. 

Overall, it's nice to finally see some real action by the Mets. With Chris Young, Juan Lagares, and now Curtis Granderson likely being the three starting outfielders next season, the team is beginning to take shape. Now, next week at the winter meetings let's just hope that Sandy and Co. go out and acquire a shortstop, maybe a few bullpen arms, and dangle Davis and Duda and see what he can get.