With their final bench spot still in a bit of flux, the Mets made another addition to their very large group of players in camp, signing veteran Mike Tauchman to a minor league deal, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic. Tauchman, despite being on a minor league contract, will have a very open opportunity to make the team with a strong camp.
Tauchman, now 35 years old, has been around, as one could easily surmise. Originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in tenth round way back in 2013, Tauchman worked his way up with a very strong minor league career until making his Major League debut with the Rockies in 2017. He spent the 2018 season shuttled between the Rockies and Triple-A Albuquerque, never finding his footing as a regular major league player.
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That changed for him prior to the 2019 season, when he was traded to the Yankees and immediately became a strong contributor for them, hitting .277/.361/.504 (128 wRC+), earning 3.0 fWAR in just 89 games.
2020 and 2021 were not as kind to Tauchman, as a shoulder injury hampered him in 2020. He hit just .242/.342/.305 (79 wRC+) in the COVID-shortened campaign. 2021 was even tougher on him, hitting .181/.284/.283 (63 wRC+) between the Yankees and Giants.
In 2022, he took his talents to South Korea, playing for the Hanwha Eagles. He was excellent in Korea, hitting .289/.366/.430, earning himself a shot in MLB again, this time with his home state Chicago Cubs. He’s spent the last three years in Chicago, two with the Cubs (2023 and 2024), and one with the White Sox (2025), before hitting free agency this winter. He was remarkably consistent in those three seasons, earning a 108, 110 and 115 wRC+ in 108, 109, and 93 games respectively. He also grades out as bang average defensively per Outs Above Average, though he is more of a corner outfielder than center fielder nowadays.
Tauchman, being a solid-but-unspectacular Major League contributor will do wonders for the Mets bench, should he make the team. Recent signing MJ Melendez still has a minor league option, so they can afford to keep both in the organization if Tauchman hits the ground running. His ability to help in right field should Carson Benge struggle, and give Carlos Mendoza another option at DH should Brett Baty be in the field, makes his roster fit easy to envision. On top of that, Luis Robert Jr. has had his fair share of injury struggles in his career, and while Tauchman is not much of a center fielder anymore, he can provide cover in right should Benge have to shift over in case of an injury.
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