At the end of the month, 29 year old Tim Tebow is going to hold a showcase for all interested major league teams in an attempt to get a professional contract.  The Mets should attend the showcase, and regardless of the outcome, the Mets should sign him.

There are those that will tell you he can play baseball.  Former Met and current player agent Gary Sheffield called Tebow “a natural” at the plate.  Mets hitting coach Kevin Long looked at tape of Tebow’s swing, and he said, “His swing is very simple. Not a whole lot of head or body movement. Chad and Tim did a nice job of simplifying and putting his swing together. It’s short and explosive.”  (New York Daily News).  Couple that with Tebow’s belief in his own abilities and his raw athletic talent, and Tebow may just very well prove all the doubters wrong and become a major league player.

These are all very well and good reasons why you would take a flyer on Tebow.  There’s a bigger reason why you would take a flyer on him – money.

Everywhere Tebow goes, fans follow.  When he became a New York Jet, fans went out and purchased his jersey.  When he got one last chance with the Philadelphia Eagles, Tebow’s jersey was the 15th best selling jersey in the NFL ahead of players like Tony Romo.  Whatever team winds up with him is going to get a major boost in attendance.  That matters for teams that own their low level minor league affiliates.

Considering the Mets own the St. Lucie Mets and the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets organization should get a jolt of revenue if Tebow were to play in either location.  That holds true for St. Lucie, which is in his native Florida, where he has a huge following.  That also holds true for Brooklyn where Tebow has a following among Jets fans.  That doesn’t even account for the people who will want to come just to see the spectacle.

Keep in mind, Tebow is not necessarily taking the spot of another prospect.  Teams routinely fill out their minor league rosters with depth players who they know will never make it to the majors.  However, those players don’t typically draw in revenue the way Tebow most likely will.  For that reason alone, Tebow is worth a flyer.

Who knows?  He may actually have enough talent to make his way to the majors in the process.