Due to the team heading down the stretch – and eventually needing some speed during these tight pennant race games – Sandy Alderson has gone out and acquired speedster Eric Young Jr. from the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations.
Advertisement
Young played 35 games for the Braves this season, hitting.169. While in the minors, Young posted a slash line of. His arm is not the greatest, but Young Jr. picks up the ball well off the bat. He stole 68 bases in his last stint with the Mets, getting caught 13 times.
New York leads the Washington Nationals by five games in the NL East, and adding a depth player like Young to other recent acquisitions such as Kelly Johnson, Juan Uribe and Yoenis Cespedes should help the team in terms of preserving that advantage.
The Mets are pretty light on speed, so there’s a chance that Young could serve as a bench player and pinch-runner when rosters expand in September. Young has experience playing all three outfield positions and has spent some time at second base as well. In 2014, his plate production dropped as he hit just.
Advertisement
Luckily though, rosters are expanding to 40-men in a little over a week and Young will be heavily utilized on the base-paths as a pinch-runner.
