You can like a roster addition and also understand there is a limit to what every player can accomplish. This is the case with New York Mets and fringe major leaguer Jared Young. Recalled from the minors after 22 games in Triple-A where he was hitting .259/.371/.506 with 5 home runs, the need for Young arose due to a lack of offense from the big leaguers.
The absence of Jesse Winker further helped push Young onto the MLB roster. Starling Marte, who has hit better lately, just isn’t stable enough to be the everyday DH. Young, as the left-handed platoon partner at the DH spot for Marte, was given his chance to shine. So far, it hasn’t gone as hoped.
The Mets are coming to the Jared Young realization his former teams already knew: there’s a clear limit
Young only had limited action in the majors before this season. The Chicago Cubs gave him a handful of at-bats in 2022 and 2023. He started 2024 in Triple-A for the St. Louis Cardinals batting .285/.411/.506 with 11 dingers and 35 RBI. The production came in only 286 plate appearances, suggesting Young could have been a reasonable candidate to see the big leagues again. Nope.
His 2024 season finished over in Korea where he hit a robust .326/.420/.660 in 169 plate appearances. Those stats haven’t translated into much major league success. He’s batting .200/.273/.550 with a pair of home runs through 22 plate appearances. Profiling thus far as a slightly capable power bat but not someone you can trust to get a hit, his ceiling is plain to see.
It appears Young is one of those Four-A players who’ll rip apart Triple-A pitching but do very little in the majors. He’s a lifetime .267/.367/.486 hitter in the highest minor league level. It’s a place where he has already played 333 games, more than half of his 654 as a minor league player.
There is still a very minor role for Young, but those days of him hitting in the middle of the lineup against a righty seem inappropriate. Never meant to be much more than a flier who might help the Mets win a few games with some hits, the team lacks interest putting him in as a defensive player despite versatility at the corner spots. Using Ronny Mauricio at the DH spot on Sunday instead of Young worked out well for the Mets. It’s a sensible usage of a player with a much greater ability to stick around with the Mets beyond this season and one most fans would welcome more regularly.
Signing Young to a major league contract can never be looked at as a bad thing. His performance in Korea was too good to pass up on. And with minor league options at their disposal, the Mets could pass him back and forth with Syracuse.
