Photo by Jennifer Nieves/MMN

As per a team announcement, the New York Mets have retained infielder Gavin Cecchini after designating him for assignment earlier this week to make room for left-handed reliever Justin Wilson on the 40-man roster.

Cecchini, 25, was drafted by the Mets in the first round (12th overall) of the 2012 MLB amateur draft. After seven seasons spent in the minor leagues, Cecchini carries with him a .284/.348/.399 slash line, including a .296/.358/.420 line through 257 games with Triple-A Las Vegas (2016 through 2018).

A foot injury limited Cecchini to just 31 games during the 2018 season.

Over 89 plate major-league plate appearances, the Lake Charles, Louisiana native owns a .217/.270/.301 slash line with four doubles, one home run (off of the Dodgers’ all-world lefty, Clayton Kershaw) and nine runs batted in.

With the current infield depth on the Mets 40-man roster in Amed Rosario, Jed Lowrie, Jeff McNeil, and others, Cecchini, a middle infielder, may find himself scrapping away in Syracuse unless his number is called in the event of an injury.

Now Cecchini will likely have to battle some combination of T.J. Rivera, Luis Guillorme, and Dilson Herrera for playing time at Triple-A.

In any case, it’s certainly nice to still have Cheech in the Mets’ organization.