The New York Mets signed veteran outfielder Melky Cabrera, right-hander Hunter Strickland and infielder Gordon Beckham to minor league contracts on Monday.
The Mets said the three players will be part of the team’s 60-player pool with preparations for the season due to start on Friday.
The 35-year-old Cabrera is 38 hits away from 2,000 for his career. He has a .285 career average with 144 homers and 854 RBIs in 1,887 games.
Cabrera has played with eight major league teams since 2005, including five-plus seasons with the New York Yankees to begin his career. He was a National League All-Star with the San Francisco Giants in 2012 before his season ended prematurely due to a 50-game suspension for testing positive for testosterone.
Strickland, 31, split the 2019 season between the Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals and went 2-1 with a 5.55 ERA in 28 relief appearances. He spent his first five seasons with the Giants and stands 16-15 with a 3.16 ERA and 21 saves in 281 career relief appearances.
Strickland was released in mid-March by the Nationals after struggling during spring training.
Beckham, 33, batted .215 with six homers and 15 RBIs in 83 games for the Detroit Tigers last season. He has a .237 career average with 80 homers and 351 RBIs in 1,069 games.
Beckham first reached the majors with the White Sox in 2009 and spent close to seven full seasons (of his 11 campaigns) with that organization. He has played for five other major league clubs and also was released by the San Diego Padres’ organization in March.
