NY Mets: 3 players to consider promoting in September

It’s almost September when MLB rosters expand to 28 players and minor leaguers spend some time in the Major Leagues. This September, the New York Mets should be looking to call up guys who can gain some valuable, competitive MLB experience, as well as help the team compete for a division title.

In the next few weeks, the Mets may not need to compete for an NL East title, depending on how they fare against the Dodgers and Giants for thirteen straight games. They have the fifth-toughest schedule in the MLB remaining (in terms of opponents’ win-loss).

If the Mets are competing, or even if they’re not, they should think about bringing up some guys that have value.

Here are three players the Mets should consider calling in September.

The Mets have already seen Akeem Bostick and couldn’t be happier about a debut performance.

In his MLB debut against the Braves July 29, Bostick pitched one inning. After 14 Major League pitches, he allowed one walk, no hits, and no runs. Unfortunately, the Mets lost 6-3.

The only reason Bostick was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse is to make room after the trade for Javier Báez. Since being sent down, Bostick has made one relief appearance against Rochester, pitching 3.2 innings, getting two strikeouts, and allowing no runs.

Syracuse has used him as both a starter and a reliever. His ERA is 5.66 this year, but in his relief outings, he’s been wildly successful. In three relief outings for Syracuse, he’s pitched 8.2 innings and only allowed 2 earned runs. That would net him a 2.06 ERA in relief appearances, not to mention his 0.00 MLB ERA in his sole big-league inning against Atlanta.

Bostick was a second-round pick in the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He was originally selected by the Texas Rangers and was traded to division rival Houston in exchange for Carlos Corporán, who was DFA’d by the Astros to make room for a free agent signing.

After several years in the minors, Bostick was eligible for free agency after being released by Houston in 2019. He played independent ball in late 2019 and most of 2020 before signing a minor league contract with St. Louis last September. Due to Covid-19, he never played a game and was released in March 2021. The Mets signed him in May of this year to a minor league contract and he finally made his big-league debut in July.

The Mets would be wise to take a chance on Bostick in September. He’s 26, has shown he has grit and could be really useful in a bullpen role. They might really like what they see.