Latest NY Mets roster addition hits like Zack Short but has an appealing trait

If I had a nickel for every time the New York Mets claimed a 30-something-year-old player who has a career MLB batting average below .180 off waivers this month, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it has happened twice, right?

Yes indeed, a mere week after reuniting with Zack Short, David Stearns has claimed another player off waivers. It's a questionable decision seeing as the Mets rank 25th in the league in batting average (.232) and 28th in wRC+ (89), but this is the reality of being a team buried 14 games back in the divisional standings during the last week of June.

Alas, Jared Oliva is going to make the cross-country trip from San Francisco to Queens, hoping to provide manager Carlos Mendoza with some solid defense and speed off the bench.

The Mets had a 40-man roster spot open since they designated Vidal Bruján for assignment, which seemed like an inevitable move since the moment the team signed him. As such, Oliva can head straight to New York to join the big-league club, or the organization can use one of his remaining minor-league options to stash him in Syracuse.

Jared Oliva can make a long-term case to stick with Mets if he gets a chance to show off his speed

Short hasn't been a terribly inspiring example since coming back to the fold, managing just one hit in nine at-bats while striking out five times in his three games in the lineup. With a .171 career batting average, 58 career wRC+, and 29.1% career strikeout rate, perhaps it would have been unfair to expect anything more from a shortstop who earns his keep by playing passable middle-infield defense.

Unfortunately, Oliva is staring at startlingly similar career stats, owning a .175 average, 8 wRC+, and 25.8% strikeout rate in his limited time in the majors. That he made the Giants' Opening Day roster at all was an incredible story -- he hadn't played in the big leagues since 2021 prior to this year -- and he earned his spot with a .994 OPS and 14 steals in 20 spring training contests.

Although his offensive numbers slipped back to reality once the regular season got going, one part of his game his for real: his speed. He stole a whopping 57 bases in just 95 Triple-A games last year and has four minor-league campaigns to his name with at least 30 swiped bags. In conjunction with solid defense at all three outfield spots, that kind of speed can hold a lot of value in a bench role.

Of course, in order to show it off, he'll have to get on base more frequently than his current 21.2% career clip, lest he become a pure late-game substitution eating up a roster spot. For a team in playoff position, that role can be worthwhile to fill, but the Mets are pretty far from that point.

If Oliva does get a chance to show what he can do in New York, he'll need to work a few additional walks (and maybe even slap a few additional hits) if he hopes to stick around.

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