It was never a question of “if” but “when” New York Mets' outfielder Chris Young was going to be released from the team. A season that started off with injuries for Young only cultivated in the veteran corner outfielder struggling mightily at the plate.
Young was only signed to a one-year contract by the Mets but the organization had hoped that he would be the everyday left fielder for the team. Slumping early on and never finding his stroke, Young, forced the Mets and Manager Terry Collins into having to platoon four different players each night in that left field position (Eric Young Jr, Eric Campbell, and Bobby Abreu along with Young).
With Abreu being DFA to this past week, it was only a matter of time before Young, only batting .205 with over 250 plate appearances, was going to be as well.
In order to retain a 25-man roster the New York Mets recalled one of their top prospects, 26 year-old OF Matt den Dekker. den Dekker had a short stint back in early June with the Mets, only hitting .156 in that time but his promotion shows that New York has its eyes set on 2015.
At the same time, though, the New York Mets still have a season to finish and are not giving up yet. The Mets' assistant GM, John Ricco, told the fans that “we're still trying to win games and we're not just going to run somebody out there to evaluate at this level. It's not what he's here for.”
den Dekker has shown not only his talent in the field, but recently in Triple-A Las Vegas he has been outstanding at the plate. He is hitting .334 with eight home runs and 46 RBIs in Las Vegas and has cut down his strikeout rate significantly, which is an excellent sign of improvement.
Ricco promises fans that this isn't a sign the Mets have thrown in the towel on the 2014 season. This move is to gain information on if den Dekker can be the Mets' LF for the future. Ricco is “constantly balancing that (getting information/trying to win), especially at this time of year.”