The Mets are getting the other half of their original center field platoon back.
Jose Siri was activated from the 60-day injured list on Tuesday before New York’s middle game against the Philadelphia Phillies, just short of five months after breaking his leg.
Siri had appeared in 10 games with the Mets before suffering the injury in mid-April, quickly disbanding the platoon that David Stearns had built, which also included Tyrone Taylor.
The Mets have never truly recovered from his departure. Taylor, Jeff McNeil, and Cedric Mullins have combined to post a .601 OPS while playing center field — the fourth-worst mark in all of baseball.
Mullins was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles at the trade deadline to ease the burden on Taylor, who excels best as a fourth outfielder, and McNeil, who got reps at the position despite being a natural second baseman. The deal has yet to work out, as Mullins is batting .174 with a .556 OPS in 30 games with his new club.
Siri’s bat has been of the feast-or-famine variety since his debut, and it showed in his first games with the club. He batted .050 with one RBI in 20 at-bats. Yet, the 30-year-old is a high-energy player who can inject some new life into a team that is fighting to hold on to the third and final National League Wild Card spot with 18 games to go entering Tuesday night’s action.
Should he find his power swing, though, it could do wonders for a lineup that has scored two combined runs over its last two games. Over his previous two seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, Siri posted a 162-game average of 30 home runs.
In corresponding moves, the Mets optioned Jared Young and outrighted reliever Justin Garza to Triple-A. Wander Suero, another reliever, was designated for assignment.
