NY Mets just reunited with a career .172 hitter for some reason

Amid a flurry of roster moves, the New York Mets transferred Jorge Polanco to the 60-day IL and put in a waiver claim on a name you might recognize. From the 2024 Mets Opening Day roster, a reunion has taken place with Zack Short.

Short hit .111 for the Mets in 2024 and was DFA’d with only 10 games logged. He has bounced around with multiple teams, now coming back to New York via the Detroit Tigers. While there, he hit .167, five points below his .172 career batting average.

David Stearns can’t seem to quit Zack Short

Out of options, Short will need to report to the major league team which will require the Mets to make a separate roster move. A quick guess is the Mets will DFA Vidal Brujan because with the Tigers this year, Short has played primarily shortstop. Brujan has had difficulty getting into action of any kind. 1 for 10 with the Mets this season, it’s kind of like choosing sprinkles for your ice cream cone instead of jimmies.

This choice, however, is far less tasty.

The Mets have had a shallow roster for some time. We saw on Saturday when Brujan did play how ineffective they are when they try to stack a lineup full of righties. Eric Wagaman got a start as well. The Mets could always eye him as the one to get sent down.

A versatile yet not excellent defender, it’s hard to imagine how Short could actually participate in all that many Mets games. They had little use for Brujan. Neither player has been particularly fast this year, but those chances are so incredibly limited that measuring their sprint speed almost isn’t fair.

There was a period when the Mets actually had some really good depth on the fringes of their roster. Jared Young has been elevated over Mark Vientos. MJ Melendez has sunk back down to earth yet remains in play whenever the team faces a right-handed pitcher.

Lately, it feels like they’re playing a little more shorthanded. The good news is there aren’t too many starters who actually need to exit games for defensive purposes. Several of their starters are the fastest players on the team. 

As unsatisfying of a move as this is, we all know it’s temporary. It doesn’t stop us to ask “why?” until we get an answer.

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