Meet the Mets — since nobody knows who they are
The Mets' Danny Mendick is greeted by Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor after his three-run home run against the Cubs during the seventh inning of an MLB game at Citi Field on Monday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Meet the Mets!
We don’t mean Pete Alonso or Francisco Lindor or the team’s remaining stars. You already know them.
And we don’t mean the prospects the Mets acquired in their trade deadline teardown. You’ve probably consumed so much of the available intel that you are an expert on Luisangel Acuna and Drew Gilbert and the other youngsters the Mets got in their “repurposing” trades.
We mean the players who are on the roster who you can’t tell without a scorecard. We mean (just from Tuesday’s starting lineup) Abraham Almonte and Rafael Ortega. We mean Jonathan Arauz, D.J. Stewart and Danny Mendick. We mean relievers Phil Bickford, Josh Walker, Grant Hartwig and Jimmy Yacabonis.
Yes, all of those players are Mets big leaguers. At the same time. It’s not what you would have expected when the Mets had World Series dreams with a galaxy of stars and the heftiest payroll in big-league history.
These fringe major leaguers make up 35% of the Mets’ 26-man roster and will be getting at-bats and pitching key innings over the season’s final 50 games, which included Tuesday’s contest with the Chicago Cubs.
As either a blessing or a curse, 31 of those 50 games will be in Flushing. Having most of your games at home in August and September would seem to be a competitive advantage. Now, it’s kind of a cruel joke, as Citi Field will likely be mostly empty for the next two months. Good seats should be available on the secondary market for about $5 (plus fees).
What will fans who come out see? Guys who are trying to make the most of this opportunity. Guys who are trying to plant a seed in the minds of Mets management (and that of other teams) that they are deserving of a spot on a big-league roster.
So say hello to Rafael Ortega, a 32-year-old outfielder who on Tuesday made his seventh start in eight games since Aug. 1, when he was called up as part of the Mets’ needed additions after their deadline-day deals.
“It has been a crazy year for me,” said Ortega, who was in spring training with the Yankees, spent some time in Triple-A with Texas, and signed a minor-league deal with the Mets on June 18. The Mets are his sixth big-league team.
“I just want to take this opportunity like it’s my last one, you know?” Ortega said. “Try to do my best to stay here in the big leagues.”
And give a big Citi Field welcome to Abraham Almonte, a 34-year-old outfielder who made his Mets debut on Tuesday.
When Buck Showalter was asked why the well-traveled Almonte was the pick from Triple-A to replace the injured Starling Marte on Monday, the manager said: “Of our options down there, he was the best option.”
Showalter didn’t add that the Triple-A Syracuse cupboard was pretty empty after all of the recent call-ups to replace the six players the Mets traded away from July 28-Aug. 1.
Almonte got the start on Tuesday after DJ Stewart was scratched with a sore wrist. Who is DJ Stewart? He’s been with the Mets since July 4. The 29-year-old even hit cleanup in one game during the Mets’ post-deadline-day six-game losing streak, which they snapped on Monday with an 11-2 pasting of the Cubs.
Alonso hit two home runs and drove in six and Kodai Senga won his eighth game. So the Mets still have some stars.
They also got a late three-run home run from Mendick, the infielder who of all the position players might end up being the one to stick in 2024 because of his versatility.
Mendick, 29, suffered a torn ACL in 2022 when he was with the White Sox. He’s healthy and is looking forward to showing the Mets what he can do down the stretch.
And he has some pretty big dreams about those final 50 games.
“We have a very good clubhouse, good people,” Mendick said. “At no point has anybody said, ‘You know, the season's over.’ There’s always an opportunity. You go out there and win 50 games, all of a sudden something happens. We always come in and show up ready to play. Everyone's ready to play.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
