Tebow, who has not played baseball in 12 years, signed a minor-league deal with the New York Mets, which includes a $100,000 signing bonus.
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Tebow, 29, worked out in Los Angeles and 46 scouts attended.
The news came as a bit of a surprise, as Tebow wasn’t exactly heralded as a baseball prospect, and his scouting report – while not bad – certainly doesn’t make you think the 29-year-old will be fast-tracked to the bigs. “We have always been supportive of Tim’s athletic pursuits”.
But in an unprecedented perk, Tebow will be allowed to continue his broadcasting duties with the SEC Network, taking Saturdays off from baseball to analyze college football for ESPN.
“That’s something I’ve committed to do and for me when I committed to do something it’s my word, it’s more than a contract, it’s who I am”, Tebow said.
“I’ve told him, ‘No one’s going to want to see you slap the ball the other way and run; you’re going to be out there to knock walls down, ‘” Moeller said. Since then he has not made the full time roster of any National Football League team although he played during training camps with both New England in 2013 and Philadelphia in 2015. Why should a team one year removed from a feel-good World Series run, in the thick of a playoff race and stacked with young pitching need publicity for freaky off the field stunts? Scouts had said Tebow displayed enough raw talent to warrant an extended look, which is what the Mets have made a decision to do. I feel comfortable at first base. A lot of people will say, ‘But what if you fail? How long? I reached out to ESPN’s scouting expert Keith Law to ask where he’d place Tebow in the Mets’ prospect rankings. “I know that it’s not one that will be necessarily easy”. The Cuban star can opt out of his deal and become a free agent after the World Series.
Could Tebow possibly block a young outfielder in the Mets’ system?
“Part of it was because of this layoff”, Alderson said of the uneven performance. If Tebow thinks that he can be successful without matching his peers’ level of commitment, he’s going to get embarrassed.
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“I’d be shocked if he’s not rusty, but the Mets thought enough of him to sign him, so I’m curious”.
