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Mets depth chart: 2 players moving up, 2 moving down before the playoffs
An updated look at which Mets are moving up the depth chart and who is moving down.
One week to go in the regular season and we’re seeing the New York Mets make some changes to their lineup, rotation, and bullpen usage. Despite all of the winning, this is a fractured roster with some holes in it. They’ve relied on top-tier starting pitching and clutch hitting this month. A few literal lucky bounces haven’t hurt them either.
Omg this could have been brutal for the Mets pic.twitter.com/lAn8AwhVZR
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 23, 2024
Anyone who believes in destiny, fate, or any other kind of wizardry has to have some belief the Mets did a favor for the baseball gods at some point to get what the 2024 season has become.
For one last time in the regular season, let’s look at how the Mets depth chart is doing and view two players who are moving up and two who seemed to have dropped down.
Tyrone Taylor is moving up the depth chart
The game-tying hit on Sunday helped put an exclamation point on Tyrone Taylor’s month. Taylor has been an important part of the Mets all season. Although there have been some lengthy offensive slumps and he never came close to fitting the reputation as a righty who can hammer lefties (he has done quite the opposite), Taylor has been one of the most reliable hitters all month.
Flashing a .353/.450/.559 slash line, he has added 4 doubles and a home run to go along with his usually steady defense. Brought over this offseason in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers to be a fourth outfielder, lately he has played much more like a starter.
Taylor has passed Harrison Bader in terms of importance. Few games don’t involve Taylor in at least some capacity. Either as a defensive replacement, pinch runner, or someone to come off the bench for a big swing, he is there.
A lot of what the Mets planned to build their roster around this year didn’t quite work out to perfection. A focus on defense had to be tossed aside when many of those players underperformed at the plate. Well, Taylor is one of the few who’ve done well in both aspects. Lately, he has worked his way into more regular appearances in the starting lineup, too.
J.D. Martinez is moving down the depth chart
Just 3 for 44 in September, Mets DH J.D. Martinez is not playing nearly as much anymore. He didn’t start on Saturday or Sunday for the Mets. A pinch hit strikeout was all he came away with.
The “dad power” we had hoped he’d return to the lineup with after the birth of his daughter has been missing. His September slump and the birth of his daughter are likely unrelated. This is a 37-year-old who has dealt with injuries in past seasons and may indeed be headed into retirement after this year.
Martinez has struggled for quite some time. He batted .235/.326/.358 in July. The numbers trickled down to .217/.294/.435 in August. This month, he’s at .068/.180/.091.
Because they now have Jesse Winker on the roster to be the DH against right-handed pitchers, Martinez appears to have become a platoon DH from the right side. The rise of players like Taylor and healthiness of Starling Marte give the Mets more reason to sit Martinez on a more regular basis.
Martinez was a big reason why the team was able to pull themselves out of the early muck they created. Unfortunately, he has been completely lost at the plate throughout the second half. He has struck out in just under 30% of his plate appearances. Only a couple of clutch hits in August have helped his numbers from looking more disastrous.
Luisangel Acuna is moving up the depth chart
The Mets have no choice but to move Luisangel Acuna up the depth chart. In the absence of Francisco Lindor, someone has to take on the job.
Acuna is proving he should have been in the big leagues long before Lindor’s back started to act up. His big league career has started off with a bang, going 11 for 29 with 3 home runs. To do this in any situation is superb. Accomplishing it while filling in for the team’s franchise star in a playoff chase adds to it.
Acuna’s strong showing has helped the Mets win and given Lindor a chance to hopefully recover in time for a playoff run. If not, we should feel like we’re in good hands. There are far worse replacements.
It’s amazing to think the Mets actually called up Pablo Reyes instead of Acuna and then traded for Eddy Alvarez for their extra roster spot added on in September. All the while, Acuna was in Triple-A ready to burst. Fortunately, they didn’t wait any longer to make the move. Acuna was able to get his swings in early enough in September to grow his confidence. He does not look like a kid out of his element. Acuna looks more like someone who has been here pre-Grimace.
Danny Young is moving down the depth chart
It was looking like David Stearns found another offseason steal on a minor league deal. No one will compare to what Jose Iglesias has given the Mets. However, Danny Young was making a strong showing as the relief pitcher version.
The 30-year-old lefty signed with the Mets after a limited time with the Atlanta Braves last season. Often flipped between the majors and minors throughout the year, the team eventually settled on DFA’ing Jake Diekman and putting more trust in Young.
He rewarded them. No earned runs in July plus an incredible strikeout rate of 14.9 per 9 helped lead into an impressive August where he pitched to a 2.45 ERA. Things haven’t gone smoothly at all in September. Young is 2-1 but with a terrifying 14.29 ERA in 5.2 innings of work. Of the 19 earned runs he has allowed this year, 9 have come in this month.
A glaring hole on the Mets roster is the lefty reliever spot out of the bullpen. Young has still held lefties to a .207/.281/.224 slash line but recent blowups have him trending in the wrong direction. At most, he might only be a guy to help get an out or two against a lefty in the postseason. At worst, he fails and the game gets out of hand.
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