Mets add another ex-Yankee in Luke Voit to minor league deal

With Pete Alonso on the mend, the Mets are taking a chance on another ex-Yankees slugger.

The team from Queens signed first baseman Luke Voit to a minor league deal on Monday. The Mets announced that Voit will report to Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday, so he won’t be at Citi Field for the start of the Subway Series.

Still, the signing is sure to interest fans in Flushing and the Bronx, as Voit enjoyed some of his best big league seasons with the Yankees. The Bombers acquired him in a July 2018 trade that sent Giovanny Gallegos and Chasen Shreve — who’s pitched for both New York teams — to the Cardinals. Voit went on to hit .333 with 14 home runs and 33 RBI in just 39 games for the Yankees that season.

Voit then hit 43 dingers over the next two years, including a major league leading 22 homers during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Voit finished ninth in MVP voting that year, but injuries derailed his 2021 season.

The Yankees ultimately traded for Anthony Rizzo, whose left-handed bat and superior defense provided an upgrade at first.

With Rizzo on board, the Yankees dealt Voit to the Padres in March 2022. San Diego then included Voit in the package that netted Juan Soto from Washington. Voit totaled 22 homers, 69 RBI and an above-average OPS+ for the Padres and Nationals, but he slashed .226/.308/.402 — all career-worsts over full seasons.

The Brewers gave Voit a look this season, but he battled a neck strain and played in just 22 unimpressive games for Milwaukee. The one-time bopper has hit just one home run this year, and that came at Triple-A.

Voit joins the Mets organization with a .221/.284/.265 MLB slash line this season.

Still, they’re hoping that the 32-year-old can find the stroke that made Voit a fan favorite with the Yankees. With Alonso out three to four weeks with a bone bruise and sprained left wrist, Voit gives the Mets some experienced depth in the minors, if nothing else.

This isn’t the first time the Mets have picked up a discarded former Yankee this season, as the team briefly employed Gary Sanchez.

The catcher spent eight minor league games and three major league games with the Mets organization before they designated him for assignment on May 25. Sanchez has since hit five homers in 12 games for the Padres.

While neither Sanchez nor Voit will experience the Subway Series as Mets for the first time this week, the Amazins do have a few former Yankees on their roster, including Adam Ottavino and David Robertson, who won the 2009 World Series in pinstripes.

Then there’s former Yankees and current Mets manager Buck Showalter. His staff includes ex-Yanks Erik Hinske — another ‘09 champ — and Eric Chavez.

Billy McKinney is the only ex-Met on the Yankees’ roster, but Luis Rojas is the team’s third base coach. Rojas managed the Mets from 2020-2021 before Showalter succeeded him.

Former Mets general manager Omar Minaya is now an advisor in the Yankees’ front office as well. Current Mets general manager Billy Eppler previously served the Yankees as an assistant general manager.