Mets acquire Eric Young, Jr., assign him to Triple-A

By Danny Abriano
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The Mets have acquired Eric Young, Jr. from the Braves, the team announced.

Young, Jr., who was acquired in exchange for cash considerations, will be assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas.

In 35 games this season for the Braves, Young hit .169/.229/.273 with no home runs and three stolen bases.

Young has also appeared in 67 games for Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate, stealing 23 bases while hitting .248/.349/.312.

Young played for the Mets in both 2013 and 2014, hitting .229/.299/.311 in 100 games for New York last season while stealing 30 bases.

Thoughts:

The Mets know what the rest of the league knows. Eric Young, Jr. has one plus tool: speed.

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With Young being assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas, he’ll almost certainly be added to the roster on September 1 when rosters expand to 40, though the Mets will have to make room for him on the 40-man roster.

If Young is indeed called up September, he can be an asset if used properly. That means pinch-running, pinch-hitting if the Mets run out of bench players or want someone to drop down a bunt, or playing defense if someone comes out due to injury.

Young should not be starting any games, and he should not be coming in for defense. If Terry Collins understands this, everything should work it properly.

When it comes to the potential postseason roster, Young should absolutely not take the spot of a bench player such as Juan Lagares, who can come in and play plus-defense in the late innings. There’s an argument to be made that his speed is more valuable than Michael Cuddyer‘s bat, but it’s hard to see the Mets leaving Cuddyer off the roster in the event they reach the postseason.

If the Mets value Young’s speed and want to have him on a potential postseason roster in place of a pitcher such as Bartolo Colon or Sean Gillmartin, I can see it. But again, the regular season rules should apply. Pinch-runner, pinch-hitter if the team needs someone to bunt, and/or injury replacement.

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