BALTIMORE — After getting some plate appearances in Triple-A, infielder Luisangel Acuña is back with the big league Mets. The speedy brother of Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. had some good results in his 12-game minor league stint, leading the Mets to feel more comfortable utilizing him as a utility man during an important stretch of the season.
“He was a big part of this team the first couple of months, we got to a point where we felt like, ‘Hey, let’s get him some everyday playing time,’” manager Carlos Mendoza said Thursday ahead of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday morning. “Now it’s time for him to be back out here and continue to help us win baseball games. So we got him exposure in center field as well, and that’ll be kind of like his role here too — playing everywhere.”
With Jose Siri still injured, Jeff McNeil will continue to get games in center field when Tyrone Taylor needs a day off, but with Acuña’s speed and experience playing center field in the minor leagues, the Mets think they can use him in the outfield if needed.
Acuña went 13-for-45 at the plate (.289) with a double, a triple, four RBI and five walks over 53 plate appearances with Triple-A Syracuse since being demoted June 23.
“We wanted him to not only get the everyday at-bats, but just kind of stay behind the ball a little bit better so he can make hard contact,” Mendoza said. “You’ve got to give credit to player development and the hitting coordinators, they were there pretty much the whole time. He made some adjustments. Like I said, 50-something plate appearances, he’s up to like 200 plate appearances on the year, you know. So look, he’s got a lot of tools and we feel like he’s going to continue to help us here.”
The 23-year-old was a spark plug for the Mets during a stretch in April, but struggled at the plate in May and June. There weren’t enough at-bats to go around for Acuña, Brett Baty and Mark Vientos, and it became even more difficult to find them after the club called up Ronny Mauricio to replace Vientos on the roster during his injured list stint in June. The Mets tried to shoehorn him into games to give him playing times, creating strange defensive alignments late in games.
The challenge of how to find regular playing time for the four of them remains, especially since Vientos hasn’t been working through issues with timing at the plate.
Thursday, in the first game of a doubleheader, Vientos and Acuña were on the bench, but expected to play in the afternoon contest.
ROSTER MOVES
Outfielder Travis Jankowski was designated for assignment to make room for Acuña. Right-hander Austin Warren is the designated 27th player for both games.
Left-hander Sean Manaea joined the Mets on Thursday ahead of the trip to Kansas City. He’s on track to make his first start of the season Sunday against the Royals.
Right-hander Paul Blackburn (shoulder impingement) is throwing a bullpen Thursday at Camden Yards. Should he continue to progress over the All-Star break, the Mets will send him to Port St. Lucie to face hitters before sending him on a minor league rehab assignment.
