Jesse Winker happy to be back with Mets, ‘definitely comfortable’ playing first base if needed

Jesse Winker wanted to beryllium backmost with the Mets.

The eight-year MLB seasoned made arsenic overmuch wide pursuing past year’s three-month stint with the team, which included an improbable tally to Game 6 of the NLCS.

“Everything baseball-wise was astir apt the astir amusive I’ve had,” Winker said Wednesday. “Being a portion of thing bigger than yourself is truly wherefore you play this game, and the full acquisition was incredible. It’s benignant of addicting. You privation it to hap again and again, truthful from the outset of the offseason, I was wanting to travel back.”

The Mets made that imagination a world past week, re-signing the lefty-swinging Winker to a one-year, $8 cardinal contract.

Winker, 31, said helium expects to capable a “very similar” relation to the 1 helium played past twelvemonth for the Mets, who alternated him betwixt close field, near tract and designated hitter aft acquiring him successful a late-July commercialized with the Washington Nationals.

But Winker confirmed Wednesday that helium is “definitely comfortable” playing archetypal base, too.

“Whatever’s asked of me, I’ll beryllium acceptable and I’ll enactment my champion ft guardant and springiness it everything I have,” Winker said.

The Mets, of course, person a vacancy astatine archetypal basal amid Pete Alonso’s prolonged escaped agency. The sides person been astatine an impasse each offseason, with the Mets’ reported connection of 3 years successful the $70 cardinal range believed to beryllium acold from what Alonso’s campy is seeking.

Winker has ne'er appeared astatine archetypal basal successful an MLB game, but helium said helium started learning the presumption 2 years agone during a rehab duty to heighten his antiaircraft flexibility.

He said helium discussed archetypal basal with the Mets “a small bit” past year.

“I deliberation I whitethorn person adjacent taken crushed balls determination astatine immoderate point,” Winker said. “I hide wherever we were. Maybe Arizona? Just benignant of showing that I could enactment there. But immoderate relation is asked of me, I’ll bash it to the champion of my ability.”

Winker deed .243 with 3 location runs, 13 RBI and a .683 OPS successful 129 sheet appearances with the Mets past regular season. He heated up during the playoffs, hitting .318 with a location run, 4 RBI and a 1.168 OPS successful 32 postseason sheet appearances.

The Mets regularly utilized Winker successful the mediate of their batting order, chiefly deploying his left-handed bat against right-handed pitching.

Their lineup is acceptable to look overmuch antithetic this season, with Juan Soto anchoring the discourtesy aft signing a record-setting 15-year, $765 cardinal declaration successful December.

“This guy’s 1 of the champion hitters successful baseball, if not the champion hitter successful baseball,” Winker said. “Him being left-handed is truly chill for me, personally, conscionable to beryllium capable to ticker him spell astir his regular enactment and his day-in and day-out approach.”

A autochthonal of Buffalo, N.Y., Winker spent his archetypal 5 MLB seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, with whom helium earned his lone All-Star enactment successful 2021. He besides played for the Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers earlier joining the Nationals up of the 2024 season.

Winker arrived successful Queens past summertime with a colorful past with Mets fans, having waved to the Citi Field assemblage aft a game-ending drawback successful 2019, and past again aft a game-tying three-run location tally successful 2022.

But Winker rapidly emerged arsenic a instrumentality favourite who wears his emotions connected his sleeve. His second-deck location tally successful an NLDS Game 3 win implicit the Philadelphia Phillies served arsenic a item of the Mets’ playoff run.

His declaration talks with the Mets began to prime up aft Christmas, helium said.

“Any clip you travel that adjacent to getting to the World Series, you’re ever gonna privation to springiness it different shot,” Winker said. “You’re ever gonna beryllium reasoning astir that, and you ne'er cognize however adjacent you’re going to beryllium again, truthful it’s precious. I’m conscionable excited to beryllium here.”