New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza shared with reporters how the team views their backup shortstop vacancy.
Barring anything unforeseen, the New York Mets don’t have many roster question marks remaining with 16 days to go until Opening Day kicks off on March 27. However, the Mets did not bring back Jose Iglesias and utility man Nick Madrigal is done for the season due to shoulder surgery. As a result, the team doesn’t have a clear-cut backup shortstop.
Now, the Mets’ starting shortstop is an iron man in Francisco Lindor, who plays everyday with the exception of a September back issue that caused him to miss 10 games down the stretch of last season’s playoff race. That said, Lindor returned before the regular season concluded and hit the biggest home run of the season to lift the Mets past the Atlanta Braves thus clinching an NL Wild Card spot.
Fast forward to present day, where second-year manager Carlos Mendoza was asked on Tuesday if his roster needs to carry a backup shortstop given how available Lindor is day in and out. Mendoza’s reply was very telling in terms of how the Mets view their backup infielder vacancy.
“Someone that can finish a game for us, in a blowout game,” Mendoza said of how the club is looking at their utility man role. “Maybe play two or three innings. If Francisco needs a day, (it would be) somebody that would feel comfortable for a day.
“But if it’s something that is an extended absence from Lindor, which we don’t want to see that, then we would have to obviously have a (backup) shortstop. I mean Jeff (McNeil) can go and finish a game (at shortstop) too, so that’s the way we’re looking at it.”
McNeil of course is projected to be the Mets’ starting second baseman again and he can also play left field as well. McNeil has logged just one big-league inning at shortstop, which came in 2023, but he did play the position sparingly in the Mets’ minor league system.
What are the Mets’ other options?
If the Mets don’t feel comfortable with McNeil as the primary backup shortstop, they could opt to keep Luisangel Acuña on the Opening Day roster. Acuña filled in nicely when Lindor was out with a back injury last season, portraying poise on both sides of the diamond and showcasing his blistering speed on the base paths. Acuña, younger brother of Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr., posted a .966 OPS and three homers in what was his first 14 big-league games.
But Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns recently told reporters that they’re only going to carry their top prospects/young talent on the big-league roster if they’re going to play regularly. The only way Acuña would play regularly early on in the regular season is at second base which would see McNeil play left field while Brandon Nimmo eases his way back from knee soreness while also nursing plantar fasciitis.
“We’re not going to put prospects on the team just to sit on the bench,” Stearns told reporters last week, via MLB.com. “I’m also pretty confident that over the course of the year, through injuries, through performance fluctuations, through matchups, we’re going to be able to get our young players sufficient playing time at the Major League level.”
Both Acuña and Ronny Mauricio, who is coming off ACL surgery, could begin the year with Triple-A Syracuse. Natural third baseman Brett Baty started getting reps at second base in the minors last season following his demotion and had been learning first base since the offseason began. Baty has struggled offensively in the majors, but has torn it up at the plate in Triple-A.
It makes sense for Baty to serve as the utility man/backup infielder. The 25-year-old is no longer considered a prospect and is having a good Grapefruit League performance at the plate, hitting .375 with a 1.152 OPS in 24 at-bats.
As long as the Mets feel Baty can hold his own as the main backup at first base, second and third, he could be the player that New York chooses to break camp with.
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