I had to chance to exchange e-mails with Seth Stohs of the great site: www.sethspeaks.net in regards to the Mets most recent waiver claim Jason Pridie. Seth is releasing a Twins Prospect Handbook very shortly, he puts a lot of effort into his coverage of the Twins minor leagues and does a fantastic job. Here is the writeup he planned to have on Pridie in the handbook for this year:

Jason Pridie – OF – (10/9/83)

Acquired: Trade in Nov. 2007 from Tampa Bay

2009 Team(s): Rochester Red Wings

2009 Stats: .265/.295/.382, 23-2B, 5-3B, 9 HR, 53 RBI

The Twins originally grabbed Pridie from the Rays in the 2005 Rule 5 draft after he was coming off an injury plagued season. Minnesota returned him to Tampa and he spent two seasons at Double-A before getting bumped up to Triple-A Durham in 2007, when he hit .318/.375/.539 with ten homers in 63 games. He was added to the Rays 40-man roster, but soon after, the Twins acquired him again, this time in the Jason Bartlett/Brendan Harris trade. He went to Rochester and hit .270/.305/.435 with 21 doubles, 16 triples and 13 home runs with 25 steals. Pridie also got a cup of coffee with the Twins and went 0-4 in 10 games. He returned to Rochester in 2009 and fell back significantly in nearly every offensive category. He remains an excellent defensive outfielder with good range and a strong arm. He also is a very good base runner and cut down his strikeout frequency. But Pridie is such a free swinger that his drop in strikeouts may have been created simply because he swung at everything. Pridie’s defense and base running make him a very solid fourth-outfielder option.

And after that he threw in his thoughts:

“I think Pridie can be a solid 4th or 5th OF option because of his speed and defense. I am confused somewhat that the Twins let him go as they really don’t have anyone right now that could fill that role. Check out those 2007 numbers. he has ability, just swings at everything and strikes out a ton. At the same time, he is no longer that young, so he may be what he is. He does have another option year remaining, so they could send him to AAA for the year too.”

Looks like the Mets got themselves some solid OF depth. Somebody with great range and speed could definitely fit in well with Citi Field. You may very well see Pridie up with the Mets at some point this year. A thanks to Seth Stohs of sethspeaks.net for the great info!

Tags: Jason Pridie, New York Mets