MJ

Melendez

Vientos and MJ Melendez have been alternating starts of late. Vientos played over Melendez in four straight games from May 27-31, but since then, Melendez has gotten the nod in three out of five games. Vientos can reemerge as a regular if he gets hot, but he’s batting just .218/.253/.378 right now.

After the Marlins went down scoreless in the top half of the 10th inning, all the Mets needed to do was push a run across to put the game in the win column. After Juan Soto flew out to open the inning, Melendez unloaded on an 0-2 fastball from Pete Fairbanks, crushing a 373-foot (105.0 mph EV) two-run blast to end it. He also hit a sacrifice fly as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning, finishing the night 1-for-1 with three RBI. On the season, he’s slashing .213/.326/.400 with three homers and nine RBI in his first 90 plate appearances with the Mets.

It certainly doesn’t sound good. Taylor was replaced by MJ Melendez in left field after grounding out in the sixth inning of Monday’s contest at Citi Field. The 32-year-old outfielder will undergo a battery of tests to determine the severity of the issue and his next steps. There should be some clarity on his status at some point later this week.

The homer came off Miles Mikolas and tied the game at 3 in the third inning. It was part of a two-hit day for Melendez before manager Carlos Mendoza pinch-hit Austin Slater for him against a lefty. Melendez has barreled the ball well in his brief time with the Mets, but he entered Thursday with a 40% strikeout rate that needs to improve in a hurry for him to make a lasting impact.

Robert, 28, has not had much success at the plate as of late, and his OPS has dropped to .656 with a .224 average. He’ll get a day off with Carson Benge moving to center field and MJ Melendez getting the start in left.

Up from Triple-A, Melendez wasted no time making his presence known with his new club. He doubled in each of his first two at-bats accounting for the only two hits and only run Shohei Ohtani would allow in this game. The Mets offense has been a catastrophe so far this season and Juan Soto is still on the injured list, so any level of production could keep Melendez in the lineup for the near future.

Polanco will get a breather as he continues to play through a lingering Achilles issue. The 32-year-old veteran infielder has gotten off to a frosty start at the dish, hitting .179 (10-for-56) with one homer and two RBI through 14 games in his Mets debut. MJ Melendez gets a turn at DH in his first game of the season as New York attempts to snap a seven-game losing streak.

Melendez gets the call to join New York’s outfield mix prior to Wednesday’s game against the Dodgers with Jacob Young hitting the injured list with a meniscus tear in his left knee. The 27-year-old has posted a pedestrian .685 OPS with 52 homers in 435 games at the highest level with the Royals since 2022.

Melendez actually made things interesting this spring, going 4-for-11 with two home runs and five RBI, but the sample size was simply too small. The 27-year-old will get a chance to build on that in the minors and push for playing time at some point later this season.

Power isn’t the issue for Melendez, who was let go by the Royals after hitting .215/.297/.388 in parts of four seasons. He has a chance of making the Mets if Carson Benge opens up in Triple-A, but most likely, Melendez himself is going to have to go succeed in Triple-A for a spell before getting an opportunity.