An Under the Radar Signing

The Mets have had good luck turning prospects into major league regulars. Over the last few years, their oft-derided farm system has produced 2019 Rookie of the Year Pete Alonso, a solid everyday player in Jeff McNeil and an everyday shortstop in Amed Rosario.

There was one other product of the Mets system I expected to blossom into a regular. Infielder Philip Evans, whom I first saw while with Double-A Binghamton in 2016, first made the majors a year later, and hit over .300 during September. But he didn't produce in 2018 and eventually left the Mets organization. The Southern California native spent 2019 with the Cubs top farm club in Iowa, where he hit over .280 while smacking 17 homers.

Tuesday, in a rather minor move, Evans signed a minor league deal with Pirates that came with an invitation to big league camp.  Let's see if this turns into a path back to the show for a hitter I thought was destined for bigger and better things.

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