USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale recaps baseball's winter now that the top names on the market are off the shelf. USA TODAY Sports
The Tim Tebow show will roll into upstate New York this spring, as the New York Mets plan to have the 29-year-old quarterback-turned-outfielder start the season with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, the organization's Class AA affiliate, according to the New York Post.
Tebow hit .226 with a .656 OPS across two Class A levels, finishing 2017 with high-A St. Lucie. He was a regular for the Mets early in spring training this year, but went just 1-for-18 in seven games.
Class AA is a make-or-break level for prospects and will be an enormous test for Tebow, who will face polished pitchers every single game.
In February, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said he thinks that Tebow will play in the majors at some point. “I think he will play in the major leagues. That’s my guess. That’s my hope and to some extent now after a year and a half, a modest expectation," Alderson said.
The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner signed with the Mets organization in September 2016.