Mets' Zack Short makes Opening Day roster hours after grandmother's death
Zack Short #74 of the Mets celebrates scoring against the Miami Marlins during the third inning of a spring training game at Roger Dean Stadium on March 20, 2024 in Jupiter, Florida. Credit: Getty Images/Rich Storry
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Zack Short, lifelong Mets fan, officially is a member of the Mets.
Team decision-makers told him that he made the Opening Day roster Sunday morning, just hours after he learned that his grandmother died “peacefully” while surrounded by family, Short said.
“A crazy morning,” he shared, pausing to gather himself as his eyes welled up. “[The family is] good. They’re a lot better now. It happened within two hours or so, when they told me at least. But again, it’s all good. They were all there.”
The sentiment early in the day was “let’s obviously be sad but also celebrate everything,” Short said. As he lamented in the family group text that he couldn’t attend his brother’s college baseball game in Connecticut with the rest of the clan, he sent a follow-up: “I won’t be there, but I know where I’ll be on Opening Day.” Accompanying that message was a GIF of Citi Field.
“Something bigger than me, that’s for sure,” said the 28-year-old utility infielder.
Short inherited his Mets fandom from his father’s side. Growing up in Kingston, New York, about two hours north of Queens, Short would wake up to handwritten notes at the foot of his bed, a dispatch from his dad, Wayne, about the game the night before. They went to Shea Stadium during the 2000 World Series. Among his childhood favorites: David Wright and Jose Reyes, of course, but also Edgardo Alfonzo and Benny Agbayani.
“It still hasn’t hit me, per se, but I think that drive to Citi Field on Thursday, and putting the real jersey on for the first time, is going to hit pretty special,” he said.
With the Mets, Short figures to be a backup at third base, shortstop and second base. He is defensively inclined, much like fellow utility infielder Joey Wendle, but Carlos Mendoza said his hitting during camp was “very encouraging.” He’s batting .300 with a .908 OPS.
The Mets claimed Short off waivers from the Tigers in early November. A few weeks later, when they added Wendle, Short thought he was out of luck. At least for now, the Mets are keeping both.
“When he signed, I thought it was almost the writing on the wall,” Short said. “Like, OK, I am expecting a call here in a few days and we will see what happens. It’s funny. Joey and I have joked about it pretty recently. We drove together down to Jupiter last time we were there. He’s great. He was like, ‘Hey, listen, I get it. I am sure it was tough to see that.’
“After that, the calls never came, so it was like, all right, day by day, as cliché as that sounds, let’s get to spring training, get on the field and see what we have to do.”
Happy Luis
Luis Severino’s preseason finale was normal enough: five innings, four hits, one run in the Mets’ 10-1 exhibition win over the Nationals. Most important, in his eyes, he finished spring training healthy for the first time since 2018.
“Really happy,” Severino said. “I was talking to Mendy after and we talked about that a little bit. It feels really good to finally find a routine that gets me on the field.”
Mendoza said: “This is a guy who is a lot more mature . . . He’s having a consistent routine right now. For me, that is the biggest difference. If he continues to do that, he’s going to be in a good spot.”
Extra bases
Veteran infielder Jose Iglesias said there is a “pretty good chance” he’ll decide to stay with the Mets and report to Triple-A Syracuse . . . A squad of Mets backups and minor-leaguers lost to the Marlins, 5-1. Tylor Megill allowed three runs in five innings. Sean Reid-Foley (biceps fatigue) retired none of the three batters he faced in his first appearance in two weeks . . . The Mets traded reliever Austin Adams, who was in camp but not in their big-league bullpen picture, to the A’s for cash.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
