Eduardo Escobar's bat could have deep impact in postseason for Mets
Mets third baseman Eduardo Escobar returns to the dugout after he flied out against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of an MLB baseball game at Citi Field on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Coming up with the Mets’ current home run leader is a no-brainer. It’s Pete Alonso with 33.
The next name on the list probably requires a little more thought, but not much. Francisco Lindor is second with 23.
But third? By that point, the Mets are out of obvious thumpers, at least from what we’ve witnessed this season.
And that’s precisely why Eduardo Escobar — whose 17 homers put him at No. 3 on the list — could be critical down the stretch, and perhaps a determining factor as to how far the Mets are able to advance in October.
Maybe that feels like a bold statement to make. But Escobar entered Monday on a dinger binge, smashing five homers in a nine-game hitting streak that he extended to 10 with his 2-for-4 performance in the Mets’ 5-2 loss to the Cubs at Citi Field.
Only Bo Bichette (seven), Mike Trout (seven) and Daulton Varsho (six) have more homers than Escobar in September, and he came within a few feet of another in the sixth inning when he belted a long fly ball that caromed off the centerfield wall. The 411-foot triple was the second-longest drive of the night by either team (Zack McKinstry’s 423-foot homer beat it).
The Mets are going to need to flex whatever muscle they can find on their roster. In the big picture, scoring hasn’t been an issue. The Mets entered Monday ranked fifth in MLB in runs (666), thanks to a balanced, resourceful lineup that grinds down pitching staffs.
But once you get to the playoffs, manufacturing runs becomes more difficult, as does stringing hits together against elite pitching staffs. That one big swing can be the deciding blow in a short series, and the Mets haven’t been as prolific in that one prominent area as most of the other clubs penciled in for the October tournament.
Before Monday’s game, the Mets were squarely in the middle of the MLB pack in home runs, as their 145 placed them 16th — only five more than the 58-win Cubs.
How does that stack up against the Mets’ projected playoff brethren? The Yankees were tops in the majors with 221, followed by Atlanta (214), and eight of the top nine teams in this category were in possession of a postseason berth, at least for now.
Only three projected playoff teams had fewer homers than the Mets: the Padres ranked 20th with 133, the Rays were 25th with 122 and the No. 29 Guardians had 108.
This is where Escobar comes in. He’s got serious pop, having crushed a career-high 35 homers for the Brewers in 2019 and 28 last season. If he truly has regained his power stroke after searching to make that kind of impact during his first year in Flushing, that’s a nice upgrade for the Mets, and just in time.
“Sooner or later, guys seek their level,” manager Buck Showalter said. “Unfortunately, sometimes it comes in spurts. It’s a hard game to be really consistent in. And at the end of this thing, we might be surprised where he ends up compared to what you projected coming in. But he’s making up some ground. He’s trying to make people feel some of the pain he felt during the first half of the season.”
While Escobar produced in a handful of memorable moments early on, and became the first Met in a decade to hit for the cycle on June 6, he repeatedly seemed to be on the brink of losing playing time — and maybe even his third-base job — as his struggles deepened.
On Aug. 17, when a strained oblique put Escobar on the IL, he was batting .216 with 12 homers and a .653 OPS in 375 at-bats. In his previous 16 games, he had a total of four extra-base hits, with one homer and four RBIs.
Whether it was having some time to heal up, getting a mental breather or maybe a combination of both, Escobar returned from the IL as a far more dangerous weapon at the plate, flashing much-needed power for the Mets. Heading into Monday’s game, he was batting .413 (19-for-46) with five homers and a 1.234 OPS in his first 14 games back from the IL.
“I think the thing that did benefit me was going on the IL and recovering properly,” Escobar said Monday through an interpreter. “And watching video from years past, I realized that I was more crouched earlier in the year, and now I’m more upright. I’m also swinging at better pitches.”
If this resurgence continues, Escobar will make people forget about the version they booed before. And when asked about that, he brought up former MVP Dustin Pedroia, whom he credited with the message of how finishing strong trumps everything else.
“Fans were attacking him, everyone was getting on him,” Escobar recalled. “He said it doesn’t matter how I’m doing right now. In September, the numbers are going to be there.”
And if Escobar’s numbers are all coming in bunches now, in the heat of a division race, with the playoffs looming, all the better.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
