NEW YORK (AP) The Mets have signed right-hander Jerad Eickhoff, left-handers Jerry Blevins and Tom Windle, and infielder Wilfredo Tovar to minor league contracts.
All four were invited to major league spring training. New York also gave minor league deals to lefty Cam Opp and catcher Jose Colina that did not include invitations to big league spring training.
The team announced the moves Monday. The Mets told Blevins earlier this month they intended to bring him back to New York on a minor league deal.
The 30-year-old Eickhoff spent time last season at the alternate training sites for San Diego and Texas but did not pitch in the majors. He was 3-4 with a 5.71 ERA in 12 games (10 starts) for Philadelphia in 2019 and is 21-30 with a 4.15 ERA in 76 big league starts and four relief appearances.
Windle, 28, is 41-24 with a 4.13 ERA over 246 games (51 starts) in the minor leagues. He spent this year in the Boston Red Sox organization but did not pitch in the majors.
Tovar, 29, has played in 40 big league games with the Mets (2013-2014) and Los Angeles Angels (2019). He spent last season in Minnesota’s system but did not appear in the majors.
Tovar is a .268 career hitter with 30 home runs and 179 stolen bases in 12 minor league seasons.
Blevins pitched for the Mets from 2015-18, going 14-4 with a 3.38 ERA and four saves in 218 relief appearances and one start. He spent 2019 with Atlanta, finishing 1-0 with one save and a 3.90 ERA in 45 games during his 13th big league season, then agreed to a minor league contract with the Giants in January. He did not get put on the big league roster during the pandemic-shortened season.
If added to the 40-man roster with the Mets, the 37-year-old reliever would get a $1.25 million, one-year contract, the same potential deal he had in 2020 with San Francisco.
Blevins is 30-13 with seven saves and a 3.54 ERA in 609 career games.
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