Tim Tebow receives New York Mets spring training invite
The New York Mets announced their non-roster invitations to spring training, and one popular name is among them.
After a tough year in 2018 for the New York Mets, it has been a very busy offseason, which will make things very interesting when the team shows up in St. Lucie, Florida for spring training. There will be new players to the organization, new coaches, and even a new general manager.
One holdover from spring training 2018 will still likely be the story of the 2019 New York Mets spring training. The New York Mets announced their non-roster invitees on Thursday, and outfielder and media personality Tim Tebow was on the list.
Tebow very feasibly would have made the major leagues down the stretch in 2018, but he was injured. Tebow played the 2018 season with AA Binghamton, hitting .273/.336/.399 with 6 home runs. He was an All-Star with the Eastern League in 2018, even.
Then Tebow broke a bone in his hand in July, ending his season before he could possibly break onto the roster for a September call-up.
The former NFL quarterback has received plenty of criticism for his change in career, with many feeling that he’s taking the spot of a player who otherwise would have the opportunity purely because of his celebrity. Instead, Tebow has shown fairly well over his minor league career, hitting .244/.319/.367 in spite of being pushed aggressively due to his advanced age. He’s hit 14 home runs over 210 games.
The New York Mets also invited top prospect Andres Gimenez, top power prospect and potential first baseman Peter Alonso, as well as top pitching prospects David Peterson and Anthony Kay. Minor league contracts with non-roster invites to spring training went to Rajai Davis, Gregor Blanco, Luis Avilan, and Hector Santiago.
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Davis and Blanco will compete for a backup outfielder role with the Mets, while Avilan and Santiago both could make the New York Mets as the only lefty reliever currently on the 40-man roster is Daniel Zamora, who pitched just 9 major league innings in 2018, constituting the total of his major league innings.