The Detroit Tigers have signed John Mayberry Jr., an outfielder, to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
Mayberry was taken 19th overall in the 2005 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers and made his debut against the New York Yankees on May 23, 2009. In the first game of his career, the outfielder went 2-for-3 with one homer and 3 RBI.
Over his career, Mayberry has played for the Philadelphia Phillies (2009-2014), Toronto Blue Jays (2014) and the New York Mets (2015). He will continue his career in the Detroit organization unless he is traded before the start of the season.
Across 59 games and 110 at-bats in 2015, Mayberry slashed .164/.227/.318 with three home runs and nine RBI. The best season for Mayberry came in 2011 with the Phillies, which he hit .273 with 15 home runs, 49 RBI and eight stolen bases. Mayberry has slashed a career .235/.299/.421 with 56 homers and 180 RBI. The 32-year-old has taken 1,386 at-bats and has collected 326 hits across his seven-year major league career.
In the mix for the big league outfield spots are Mayberry, J.D. Martinez, Cameron Maybin, Anthony Gose, Tyler Collins and Steven Moya. Meanwhile, Mike Aviles can play the infield and outfield and Wynton Bernard could get tossed in the mix if he performs well in spring training. It will be interesting to see if Detroit makes a move in the near future.
The outfielder should not have a problem getting a few looks at the major league level for the Tigers. If not, he will be a stud on the field and at the plate with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens. Since the deal is a non-roster invite, Mayberry can elect for free agency if he is not on the 40-man roster early in the season.
Mayberry played for the Mets last season. Could Detroit will go for another played from the Mets, Yoenis Cespedes, sooner than later?
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Earlier in the day, Detroit announced that they agreed to a one-year contract with Justin Wilson to avoid arbitration.