Mets add Dozier at 2B, put Núñez on IL, confirm Maxwell deal
NEW YORK (AP) » Not long ago, Brian Dozier wasn’t even sure he wanted to play this season.
Once he made up his mind and joined the New York Mets, it didn’t take long to crack the starting lineup.
The veteran second baseman was summoned to Citi Field from the team’s alternate training site in Brooklyn as the Mets made a flurry of roster moves before Thursday night’s series finale against Boston. New York placed reserve infielder Eduardo Núñez on the injured list with a bruised left knee and selected Dozier, who was signed to a minor league contract last week.
“I think it’s a good spot,” Dozier said.
The Mets recalled lefthanded reliever Daniel Zamora from their alternate site, while right-hander Hunter Strickland was designated for assignment. The team also confirmed it signed catcher Bruce Maxwell to a
minor league deal the sides agreed to Tuesday, pending a physical and intake screening for the coronavirus.
Before this season, Maxwell was the only major league player to kneel during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. The 29-year-old Maxwell, who is Black and was born in Germany, will report to the alternate site in Brooklyn.
The right-handed-hitting Dozier batted seventh Thursday night as regular second baseman Robinson Canó was rested against Red Sox lefty Martín Pérez. Dozier was called out on strikes in his first plate appearance with the Mets.
Dozier’s wife is around 18 weeks pregnant with their second child, and he said he was “kind of backand-forth” and leaning toward not playing this season until his wife helped convince him otherwise during a month of quarantine together. She and their 11-month-old daughter plan to join him in New York in about two weeks.
“She kicked me out of the house and said you need to start playing,” Dozier said, calling it a good decision. “So we’re here.”