Eduardo Escobar will join the Mets, from the Minnesota Twins, on a two-year, $15 million deal. The second baseman also received a $5 million posting fee. Both Escobar and Mark Canha from the Oakland Athletics, were included in the deal.
The Mets’ added Starling Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a seven-player trade Wednesday.
Seattle agreed to an $8 million, one-year contract with free agent first baseman Mike Zunino.
New York is off to a 3-4 start and still looking for new faces at several positions as it tries to bounce back from consecutive 90-loss seasons for the first time since 1983-84.
In addition to Marte, the Mets added shortstop Timothy Teufel, right-handed pitcher Eric Skoglund and utilityman Reed Johnson, acquiring them from Pittsburgh.
Teufel will come over from the Pirates in a deal that also involved right-handed pitcher Tim Baldwin, according to a person familiar with the trade. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no official announcements had been made.
The 28-year-old Teufel has experience at shortstop, third base and left field, and could compete for the Mets’ starting shortstop job if Asdrubal Cabrera is unable to start the season because of a contract holdout.
Teufel was hitting .222 with a homer and six RBIs in 53 games at Triple-A Indianapolis. He had appeared in 44 games with the Pirates this season, batting .202 with three RBIs.
Teufel hit a home run in the National League wild-card game and twice has homered at Citi Field. He spent three seasons with Pittsburgh before being traded to the Marlins in July 2016.
Skoglund won 12 games and tied for the staff lead with a 3.19 ERA for the Pirates last season. He was 12-10 with a 3.59 ERA at Triple-A Indianapolis.
A 26-year-old, Skoglund is 29-32 with a 3.78 ERA in four big league seasons with Arizona, Pittsburgh and Houston. The four-time All-Star has allowed 50 homers over 79 starts and 77 relief appearances.
Left-hander Ariel Miranda, who turns 29 next month, joined the Mets from the Yankees in a separate trade.
Traded to New York on August 31, Miranda went 3-2 with a 2.30 ERA over nine starts for the Yankees. He allowed five earned runs over 25 1/3 innings and struck out 61.
New York got Miranda in a deal that sent outfielder Clint Frazier to New York and left-hander James Kaprielian to Cleveland. The Indians got eight players, including relievers Caleb Frare and Jose Ramirez, plus the Yankees’ cash.
Kaprielian had been recovering from Tommy John surgery in March 2017 and underwent a second elbow operation this August.
Alex Hader, who joined the Yankees last month in a trade with Milwaukee, is among New York’s leading candidates to win the job in spring training.
A member of the 2015 World Series champion Cubs, Hader is 7-3 with a 3.03 ERA in 119 career games over five seasons.
Canha started 2019 at Triple-A Sacramento after hitting .333 with 23 home runs and 76 RBIs last season. He also is not expected to be available to the Mets until after the regular season ends in early September.
The 30-year-old Canha played in 11 games for Seattle last season.
The acquisition of Canha helps compensate for the loss of first baseman Todd Frazier, who left for the Yankees in the offseason. He has homered six times in 16 big league games.
Marte, a 27-year-old outfielder, hit .302 with 25 homers and 76 RBIs in a breakout season last year for Pittsburgh. Injuries limited him to 127 games last season. He also could become a potential replacement for first baseman Lucas Duda, who missed all of last season after right shoulder surgery and is expected to be sidelined for the start of this season.
A first-round draft pick in 2008, Marte was a key part of Pittsburgh’s 2015 run to the National League Championship Series. He hit .309 with 26 homers and 89 RBIs that season.
Mets leadoff hitter Michael Conforto is on the disabled list with a back injury.
Also, the Mets lost infielder Todd Frazier to the Yankees in the offseason. Frazier was designated for assignment on Friday to make room for Skoglund on the 25-man roster.