Mets Monday Morning GM: Good times with Jesse Winker put on hold

Jesse Winker brought the vibes, the energy, and a couple of clutch hits with him to the New York Mets. Unbelievably, we’re nearing a full month since he hit his walk-off home run for the Mets against the Baltimore Orioles on August 21st.

His huge August included a pair of long balls, 9 RBI, and a boisterous .343/.357/.508 slash line. Winker was everything the Mets seemed to need on the roster. A rental whose early success suggested the team find a way to re-sign him in the offseason, his recent struggles and even lack of appearances in the starting lineup have put those good times on hold.

Jesse Winker is one of the Mets hitters slumping the hardest

Winker’s big night against the Boston Red Sox on September 4 accounted for most of his offense this month. The first inning grand slam accounted for all of his runs batted in this month. He’d score once more in the game for his only other run of September.

The Mets have approached Winker’s playing time the same way they have tried with other members of the roster. He sits when they face a lefty, but is quick to grab a bat and come off the bench when the situation calls for it. Unfortunately, the platoon role has yielded a .103/.257/.207 slash line this month with 9 strikeouts. Just 3 for 29 with a calm ejection added to the stat log on Sunday, his personal frustration seemed to boil over. Despite having half as many plate appearances as he had in August, he has already struck out 9 times versus the 10 he had in all of August.

Winker is just 1 for 10 in pinch hitting appearances. His victorious home run against the Orioles is that special “one.” Despite being with the team for such a short period of time, he is already tied for third in pinch-hit at-bats with Harrison Bader who, for the record, is 0 for 10.

This week isn’t set up for Winker to break out of the cold, damp hole called September baseball. They are scheduled to face the one righty in the Washington Nationals rotation on Monday but then they deal with two southpaws before facing the Philadelphia Phillies again who’ll start with a pair as well. For Winker, this probably means sitting on the bench waiting for his opportunity to strike. Does he have one more big pinch hit in him? It’ll be a good way to brush aside the struggles, create a moment, and help the Mets secure a playoff spot.