The Mets plan to call up outfield prospect A.J. Ewing ahead of Tuesday’s game, giving the 21-year-old a shot in the majors just as the club searches for a way out of its season-long slide.
Ewing, the Mets’ best position-player prospect in the minors, has hit.326 in 12 games at Triple A after starting the season at Double A, where he posted a 1.052 OPS and drew praise for strong defense in center field. He is the No. 4-ranked prospect in the system, a fourth-round pick by New York and No. 98 on Keith Law’s Top 100 list.
The promotion comes at a time when the Mets need more than a warm body. New York owns MLB’s worst record at 15-25, and its offense sits last in several categories, including OPS and wRC+. The team is also dealing with injuries to Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr., leaving the lineup thinner and the margin for error smaller.
Ewing’s appeal is clear. He is known for speed and contact ability, and evaluators say he has offered elite defense in center field this year while beginning to tap into more power. That mix gives the Mets a young option who can help in more than one way, even if the bat is still developing.
There is also a roster wrinkle. Ewing is not on the 40-man roster, so the move requires the club to make room. And while his arrival is the headline, the bigger test is how the Mets use him once he gets there. The club could start Ewing and Carson Benge in center field and right field, with Juan Soto in left or at designated hitter, a setup that would change the look of the outfield immediately.
For a team buried in the standings and searching for offense, the timing is telling. The Mets are not calling up Ewing because they have patience to spare. They are doing it because they need impact now, and the best position-player prospect in the system has earned the chance to see whether his speed, defense and growing power can carry over before Tuesday’s game.
