The man called Sarge Jr.—that is, of course, Gary Matthews Jr.—is now a Met.
Long considered one of the worst contracts in baseball, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim flipped Matthews to the Mets in exchange for right-handed pitcher Brian Stokes. The Angels will eat $21 million of the $23 million owed to Matthews.
Matthews will vie with fan favorite Angel Pagan for playing time as Carlos Beltran recovers from surgery.
Some experts speculate that this is the first of a series of moves that will eventually result in Orlando Hudson coming back to the Mets. Hudson has long been an object of desire by the Mets front office. Of course, to bring in Hudson, current 2B Luis Castillo would likely have to be moved.
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Gary Matthews Jr.’s stats have been on the decline since his 2006 All-Star contract season, in which hit .313 with 19 homers and 79 RBIs for Texas. He hit .252 with 18 homers and 72 RBIs during his first season in Anaheim, then lost his starting job when the Halos signed Torii Hunter. He had 46 RBIs in 2008 and 50 last year, when he started 80 games.
SI.com reported in February 2007 that Matthews was sent human growth hormone by Applied Pharmacy in August 2004, an accusation Matthews denied. Major League Baseball concluded there was insufficient evidence to discipline him.
The player moved by the Mets, Stokes, was 2-4 with a 3.97 ERA last season, 70.1 innings.