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.

This one might come as a surprise to many, but when you break it down, this would make the most sense for the Mets.

If the Mets are still competitive in September, calling up a relief pitcher makes so much sense. If they’re not, front office could make the argument for another prospect like third baseman Brett Baty.

The problem with Baty in a competitive atmosphere is that he’s not ready yet. In Double-A Binghamton, he’s performing well, but his stats prove that he’s still developing. His promotion to Double-A came after a great performance at High-A Brooklyn, batting .309 with 7 HRs. However, at Binghamton, he’s still developing, with a line of .239/.330/.386.

Other prospects who are performing include Francisco Alvarez, the Mets’ top prospect (and 32nd overall) on MLB.com. He’s 19, at High-A Brooklyn, and has plenty of time to develop. Calling him up would be more detrimental than helpful. There’s Travis Blankenhorn, but he seems like he’ll be an if-injury call-up, much like options such as Patrick Mazeika would be.

The Mets would be helped by pitching depth of Thomas Szapucki, but he underwent season-ending surgery in July.

Finally, there’s Jake Reed.

Reed was a fifth-round selection by the Minnesota Twins in the 2014 MLB Draft. Since arriving in Minnesota out of college from Oregon, he never made an MLB appearance until this year.

He opted for free agency entering the year and signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels in November. He opted out and signed another minor league contract, this time with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Before being designated for assignment, Reed made 6 appearances for 5.1 innings, allowing two earned runs and a home run. The Mets signed him last month.

Reed was likely DFA’d due to an influx of pitching depth in Los Angeles, but he’s not a bad addition.

Since the All-Star Break, Aaron Loup’s ERA is 0.00; Miguel Castro’s ERA is 1.46; Drew Smith’s is 1.72; Jeurys Familia has been magnificent lately; Edwin Díaz seems to teeter from really good or really bad, regardless of whether it’s a save opportunity or not. Reed could be a very nice addition in a bullpen who has shown signs of weakness lately.

Noah Syndergaard will likely be used out of the bullpen when he returns, but the Mets could really use another solid arm.

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Pending no other players go out with injury, the Mets could really use two of these three players. Khalil Lee is the one who sounds like a no-brainer, but Jake Reed or Akeem Bostick could be useful out of the bullpen. If any MLB relievers have a dip in performance or are out with injury, we could see both names in September.