QUEENS, NY — The Mets will continue to give Jared Young at-bats, for the time being, as manager Carlos Mendoza looks to get the veteran lefty bat “into a rhythm” at the major-league level.
Young, 29, was called up over the weekend after posting a .926 OPS with six home runs and 23 RBI in 26 minor-league games — his first time back in the big leagues since the 2023 season with the Chicago Cubs. He spent last season in Korea with the Doosan Bears.
Starting his return to the majors by going 0-for-5, Young got a look in the No. 6 spot of the Mets’ lineup for Tuesday’s middle matchup of their three-game set against the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field.
“I feel like his ability to control the strike zone [gives us confidence in him],” Mendoza said of Young. “We’ve seen it in this past couple of days. He’s got the ability to put himself in a good hitter’s count, and that’s his calling card.”
Mendoza is not wrong. Of Young’s six plate appearances, he has been ahead in the count 2-0 or 3-1 in four of them.
It was a 2-0 count in the second inning of Sunday night’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in which he scorched a 107.1 mph fly ball to dead center field, which traveled 401 feet and was tracked down by Andy Pages with a leaping grab.
“He hit a ball 107 [mph] to dead center the other day, but I feel like [the count] is usually 2-0, 3-1,” Mendoza continued. “Now it’s about getting him into a rhythm and doing damage.”
The Mets are in the process of searching for a legitimate left-handed designated-hitting option after Jesse Winker went down with an oblique injury earlier this month. Brett Baty’s boon had initially made him an option to fill that role, but his defense at third base has made him a more viable option over the struggling Mark Vientos.
Young is also capable of filling in as a first baseman and corner outfielder.
