The New York Mets have reached an agreement with catcher Bruce Maxwell. The former big leaguer is most remembered for being the first player to take a knee during the national anthem.
Mets To Sign Bruce Maxwell https://t.co/zivqKGMlcK pic.twitter.com/byByohJlgu
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) July 28, 2020
Off the Field Issues
This is the first contract that Maxwell has had since the 2018 season. Maxwell believes that kneeling is what caused him to be out of baseball for two seasons, telling ESPN: “I got pushed out of the game because I took a knee during the national anthem. It eats at me.”
However, Maxwell is a lifetime .240 hitter and has never hit more than three home runs in a season. Off the field, he was also arrested in 2018 for aggravated assault in Arizona. He allegedly pointed a gun at a delivery guy, but he reached a plea agreement after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct. He was sentenced to two years of probation.
Role With Mets
Maxwell is a solid defender on the field and came up the major leagues because of his bat. He has yet to really put that on display in MLB and has mainly been a backup.
The Mets also have Wilson Ramos, who is in the final year of his contract as the starter. Both Tomas Nido and Rene Rivera appear to be higher on the depth chart.
Nido made his first start of the season Sunday night hitting a double, and Rivera had a pinch-hit single later in the game against the Atlanta Braves Sunday night.
The Mets also have their second-best prospect Francisco Alvarez, who isn’t on the 60-man player pool, still waiting for his chance to make his big league debut in the future.
Maxwell arrived to New York on Monday as the deal is pending a physical and testing negative for the coronavirus. If the deal goes through, he will likely report to Brooklyn and work with the Mets taxi squad.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
