Nick Lorusso, Photo by Ed Delany of Mets Minors

I first reported the Mets were promoting infielder Nick Lorusso earlier today. The 23-year-old will get his first taste of Double-A with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. With Lorusso’s 1B/3B capabilities joining Binghamton, 1B/3B JT Schwartz is getting promoted to Triple-A Syracuse. The Syracuse Mets roster has been limited in flexibility since losing Ben Gamel and Jose Iglesias to the big league squad and Trayce Thompson getting released. Then, on Tuesday night, they had both Rylan Bannon and Hayden Senger leave the game early after getting hit by a pitch.

Lorusso, the Mets ninth-round pick last season, was hitting .265/.367/.470 with 14 doubles, 11 home runs, 42 RBIs, and eight stolen bases for the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones before the promotion. Lorusso was tied with Termarr Johnson for 10th in the South Atlantic League with a 130 wRC+, and he was striking out only 19.7% of the time.

Schwartz, 24, hit .295/.408/.424 with 11 doubles, five home runs, 27 RBIs and seven stolen bases this season in his second stint with the Rumble Ponies. Only Carlos Mendoza (.417 OBP) produced a higher on-base percentage this season than Schwartz’s .408. The left-handed hitter was tied for fourth in the league with his 140 wRC+, and his 0.95 BB-K ratio was the best in the Eastern League.

The 2021 fourth-round pick has played mostly first base this year, though he has also played seven games at third base—his first pro experience at the position. He also played 14 games in left field during the 2023 season.