To address a slumping offense and the absence of Brandon Nimmo due to a stiff neck, the Mets called up Jared Young from Triple-A Syracuse and immediately included him in the lineup against the Dodgers.
The move made sense considering the lefty-swinging Young started against Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin.
“Getting the call and making the drive in is always a special feeling,” said Young, reflecting on his 22-game stint in the majors with the Cubs in 2022 and 2023. “It’s encouraging. It means they have faith in the player I am, and it reassures you that everything you’ve been working towards has a purpose.”
That includes splitting last year between Triple-A in the Cardinals system and Doosan of the KBO in South Korea.
Young mentioned on Saturday that following a .917 OPS over 75 games with Triple-A Memphis last season, he approached the Cardinals to inquire about a potential major league promotion.
When they said no, Young took an offer to play in Korea.
“It was another place to play ball and a chance to play really well and show I can play at any level that I’ve been thrown at for any extended amount of time,’’ Young said of the decision to go to Korea. “It was great. I enjoyed it.”
He had other minor league offers this past offseason and chose the Mets because of the “fit” and “allure” of playing with a winning organization.
Young has continued to hit right-handed pitching well with Syracuse and the Dodgers are throwing another righty, Landon Knack on Sunday.
They used Brett Baty at third base on Saturday and Mark Vientos (abdomen) was out, as well as Nimmo.
The move to recall the 29-year-old Young after designating outfielder José Azocar for assignment came at the expense of Ronny Mauricio, who started at third base for Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday, as the Mets build him back up from the torn ACL he suffered two offseasons ago.
Saturday was Mauricio’s 14th game of the season and just his fourth with Syracuse, but the 23-year-old could be an option at some point in the near future.
Mauricio played 26 games in the majors in 2023, when he was a September call-up with the Mets and showed plenty of athleticism before suffering the costly knee injury while playing winter ball in his native Dominican Republic that offseason.
He’s been brought back slowly since then, but has the ability to play several positions.
Mauricio has seen his potential role taken by Luisangel Acuña, who has played well since he made his MLB debut last year.
