When Luis Robert Jr. returns, the NY Mets should have a new double play combo

Luis Robert Jr.’s rehab is underway with the obvious goal to get him back into New York Mets games before the August 3rd trade deadline. A large part of last year’s Mets trade deadline was focused around rumors about acquiring him. Instead, the Chicago White Sox held on and Cedric Mullins came to Flushing.

One aspect of his return everyone has noticed is how well A.J. Ewing has done in his place as the Mets center fielder. Stealing any time at all from Ewing would be unwise on the Mets’ behalf. As important as it would be to show other teams Robert has trade value, they need to continue to give Ewing excessive playing time.

What do the Mets do? It’s pretty simple. Ewing takes a break for a few weeks from being a regular in center field and we get a new temporary double play duo with Ewing paired beside Francisco Lindor.

Francisco Lindor, meet your new double play partner for a few games

Ewing played 53 games at second base in the minor leagues with 26 of them coming in 2024. The Mets steadily moved him off of that position and into center field, taking advantage of his speed. It has turned out to be a smart decision as Ewing is already profiling as a plus defender and on his way to bigger and better things with his glove.

At second base, it’s almost wasteful to have him. Sure, he can probably track down a few more balls some others at the position couldn’t. It’s just better to have one of your fastest players covering the ground required by a center fielder rather than placing him at second base where poor-fielding shortstops tend to fit in best.

The Marcus Semien injury helps to make this defensive alignment more possible. If Semien was around, the Mets would be in a tougher spot. They showed no signs of benching Semien when he was healthy and unproductive. For a couple of days in July, were they going to sit him then turn on the switch again?

We haven’t had a chance to experience the versatility Ewing can provide the Mets because Semien has logged almost all of the second base innings. In his absence, we’ve seen Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio get their chances. There’s not much more to learn about Baty as a second baseman or hope of an offensive turn around. Mauricio remains a name we should be less and less enamored with each passing day. He just doesn’t seem to have major league pitching figured out.

July will be a funky month for the Mets. Their biggest goal should be to win the trade deadline. There will be time to test out Baty and Mauricio further after Robert is gone. In the meantime, plan for some Ewing next to Lindor.

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