Reinforcements are on the way, leaving Mets brass to face a key roster decision likely by Friday.
Jeff McNeil and Francisco Alvarez are both scheduled to receive at-bats for Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday and Wednesday and barring a setback would be in position to join the Mets for their four-game series that begins Friday in Washington.
Those potentially in limbo include Luisangel Acuña and Brett Baty — either of whom could return to Syracuse to create roster space for McNeil, who is expected to regain his role as the starting second baseman.
“I think difficult decisions are a good thing when we have players that we want to keep here,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said Monday before the Mets faced the Phillies at Citi Field. “As we get healthier, these decisions are going to become more and more a part of our thought process.”
McNeil began the season on the injured list with an oblique strain.
Alvarez is returning from surgery during spring training for a broken hamate bone in his left hand.
Luis Torrens has handled the starting catching duties, with Hayden Senger as the backup.
Acuña has emerged as a dependable piece in the lineup, starting the majority of games lately at second base in McNeil’s absence.
He entered Monday with a .289/.360/.400 slash line with six stolen bases, bringing energy to the bottom of the lineup.
After a slow start, Baty has surged over the past week — he entered Monday 7-for-22 (.318) over his previous six starts.
He has moved between second base and third base.
“Especially over the last week, 10 days, both these guys have played well,” Stearns said. “Brett, bouncing between second and third isn’t the easiest thing in the world, and he’s handled that well and made some really nice defensive plays. And [Acuña] has done really exactly what we expect. He’s played really solid defense at second base. He’s running the bases very well. He’s been making contact and getting on base.”
The Mets could opt to keep both when McNeil returns — outfielder José Azócar isn’t assured a roster spot — but there might not be enough at-bats for both to justify such a decision.
If Acuña has an additional selling point, it’s the possibility he could become part of the center field mix while Jose Siri is on the injured list with a fractured left tibia.
“I think we’re going to have to have to work through what exactly that mix looks like over the next couple of days, but [Acuña] is working really hard … right now, and we’re making some progress, so we’ll get to the point where I think we have confidence in putting him out there.”
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The Mets will have to decide if the 23-year-old Acuña would be better served playing everyday for Syracuse.
“It’s such a great debate, right?” Stearns said. “Is playing every day at a slightly lower level of competition or getting less regular playing time at the ultimate level of competition better? I think it’s very individualistic. I don’t think we always get that right. We make the best judgements we can and see how it goes. But he has proven against some good pitching at the major league level that he’s able to stay in at-bats and compete.”
Stearns said he would expect Tyrone Taylor to receive most of the action in center with Siri sidelined for six to eight weeks, but noted the Mets have various other options — including McNeil, Acuña and Brandon Nimmo.
“We feel we have enough people to play there to cover that position and cover it well,” Stearns said.