Mets Start Spending, Sort Of Ezra Shaw/Getty Images Chris Young was a potential star with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but hit just .200 last season with the Oakland Athletics. The Mets have signed a free-agent outfielder, but it is not Jacoby Ellsbury or Nelson Cruz or Curtis Granderson or Shin-Soo Choo, or even Carlos Beltran. Instead, they have agreed to a one-year, $7.25 million deal with 30-year-old Chris Young, who was once considered a potential star with the Arizona Diamondbacks but hit just .200 last season with the Oakland Athletics. The deal, confirmed by a person in baseball with knowledge of the transaction, is modest by baseball standards but is just large enough to suggest that this is the Mets" major expenditure in the outfield this off-season and they will not be pursuing any of the bigger-name candidates like Choo or Granderson. The Mets could, of course, still acquire another veteran outfielder through a trade. They are apparently willing to deal either of their two left-handed-hitting first basemen, Ike Davis and Lucas Duda, although it is unclear how much either would bring in return based on their struggles at the plate. For now, the starting Mets outfield for next season is Juan Lagares in center field - he had an impressive rookie season, holding his own as a hitter (.242 average) while playing outstanding defense - flanked by two Youngs, switch-hitting Eric in left, and Chris in right. Eric Young, whom the Mets acquired last June, hit .251 in 374 at-bats as the leadoff man in Manager Terry Collins's lineup and stole 39 bases. He also hit exactly one home run, meaning he has none of the power usually expected from a corner outfielder. Chris Young does have that power. A 16th-round draft pick by the Chicago White Sox in 2001, he got everyone's attention in 2007 when he hit 32 home runs and stole 27 bases for the Diamondbacks. He also hit just .237. He had his best season in 2010 for the Diamondbacks, when he hit 27 home runs, drove in 91 runs, stole 28 bases and hit a more solid .257. But his numbers dropped off the next two years in Arizona and plunged further in his one season in Oakland, where he hit 12 home runs in 335 at-bats while striking out 93 times. Chris Young bats right-handed, which means the Mets" need for a reliable, power-hitting left-handed bat to team with David Wright in the middle of the order remains unaddressed. General Manager Sandy Alderson has insisted the Mets intend to be more aggressive spenders this winter after several seasons in which he was hemmed in by the team's shaky finances and shopped for little but bargain-basement deals. So, having spent $7.25 million to acquire Chris Young, the question is whether Alderson might now be willing to spend several times that amount to fill other needs, such as the one at shortstop.