If the MLB season was an NFL game, we’d only be a little past half-time. There is so much road ahead for the New York Mets to completely collapse or soar into a playoff spot where their odds of making the postseason become undeniable.
When it comes to the roster, a Hail Mary cannot wait until the final seconds. To be playoff eligible and maybe even more importantly win enough games to get into the playoffs, those deep and long passes need to take place in July or August.
The year began with a lot of people expecting the farm system to be the major story. Thanks to an impressive June, the big league club has gained most of the attention. The ball is in the Mets’ hands. These two roster Hail Mary’s should be on the table before fourth down while this third idea needs to get spiked into the ground.
Hail Mary 1: Immediately replace Ben Gamel or DJ Stewart with Luisangel Acuna
There isn’t much of a reason to carry Ben Gamel and DJ Stewart on the roster together. Neither has played a whole lot since Gamel was called up to replace Starling Marte on the roster. It was a move that made sense if Stewart wasn’t already riding the bench as often as he was. Gamel hit well in Triple-A and was a natural fit to play a bunch of right field for the Mets.
Instead, Tyrone Taylor has gotten the majority of innings at the position. That’s all fine and dandy. But what use is having two left-handed hitting corner outfielders on the bench?
The more impactful move would be to call up Luisangel Acuna. It’s understandable why the Mets didn’t. The arguments against it are plentiful. They don’t want to ruin the kid’s confidence. Calling him up and sitting him wouldn’t make much sense either. He has hit well, but is he MLB-ready?
That’s why we call it a Hail Mary. Calling up Acuna might work. It might not.