Kirk Nieuwenhuis was demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas after tonight’s 2-1 loss to make room for Jenrry Mejia on the 25-man roster.
Terry Collins said Mejia would not be returning to the minors with the Mets needing to take the roster back to 25 players, and suggested the Mets were preparing to use a six-man rotation that includes Mejia for the foreseeable future.
This will leave the Mets with only four bench players.
Nieuwenhuis was hitless in his final 15 at-bats before the demotion and was hitting only .189 with the Mets this season.
Terry Collins also said what I’ve been dying to hear for months now… He said that Juan Lagares was ready to become the full-time center fielder. No need to tell you all, how overjoyed I am the news.
Thoughts from Matt M.
Mejia was just dominant yesterday against the Braves in New York’s 11-0 thumping in Game 1 of the doubleheader. His seven shutout innings were impressive, but the fact that he didn’t walk anyone while striking out seven hitters was even more impressive. With all the talk of Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard, and many others, Mejia has been completely forgotten by many as a pitching prospect. This was his way of saying, “Hey, remember me?” Plus, he’s only 23 years old…holy smokes.
A six-man rotation? I don’t know how I feel about that. Mejia’s performance has certainly earned him a spot on the 25-man roster, but I hope this strategy works for the rotation. They’re pitching so well as a unit that I’m wary of changing their routine. However, since it preserves both Harvey and Wheeler a little longer, I’m all for giving it a shot.
As for Kirk, it’s sad to see him get sent back down; he’s starting to wear out the trail between Las Vegas and Flushing. To be honest, though, he wasn’t doing much, and with Lagares being crowned as the everyday center fielder for the immediate future, he’d just be sitting on the bench. I’d rather him head back down to Triple-A to get out of his recent 0-for-13 funk and continue working on his swing.
Like Joe D. said above, I can’t tell you how happy I am about Lagares finally getting to play every day. I’ve been waiting for him to get this opportunity since he was promoted in April. It’s about time! I’m looking forward to seeing how he continues to perform given the playing time.
As far as Nieuwenhuis is concerned, good riddance. I know he has his supporters, but don’t count me amongst them (despite his fantastic first name). There’s far too much swing and miss in his bat– especially for a guy who doesn’t have above-average power. He doesn’t have above average anything in my opinion. He’s a fourth outfielder/ org player in my eyes. I’d rather see other guys get a chance because I’m pretty sure we know what he is.
I followed Captain Kirk in the minors and thought he had a chance but I have to agree
Is anybody watching what JV1 is doing in Vegas? I hope we can get something for him at the deadline.
We did well trading the Colin boys (McHugh and Cowgill). Maybe we can get something for JV1.Most contenders can use a utility player with power off the bench.
I’m wondering when anyone will notice this simple stat, team w-l w/Nieuwenhuis and without.
Even better, compare that to Ike’s over the last 3 years. What did all those second half homeruns do for the team?
I’m amazed at how poorly the teams hierarchy seems to understand the construction of a lineup, instead of individual bats. The only exception to that was EY, although I consider that a bit of a lucky strike. Let’s see where his OBP is at the end of the season.
Back to Kirk, every other guy has been given constant chances (Duda, Ike, now Lagares). None of them combine Nieuwenhuis’ combination of skills. And from a pure scouting standpoint, while his eye is bad, it’s hard to judge that b/c of the dearth of minor league AB’s he has due to injuries, but he continued to maintain a decent, fairly compact swing and the ball, as is often remarked “jumps” off his bat.
The Mets will dump him and if anyone gives him a chance to get 600 ab’s in a season, they will be rewarded.