With the way players move from team to team in today’s MLB, there’s a high probability of someone facing one of their former teams on any given night. The Mets will get a really good taste of that over the next week and a half.
New York is beginning a nine-game homestand at Citi Field on Friday against various AL West opponents. The Angels are up first, followed by the Rangers and then the Mariners. When taking a glance at each team’s big-league roster, several former Mets are expected to show up. Without digging too deep, I counted eight players who have either recently suited up for the Mets and/or were drafted by New York.
Two of them (Jacob deGrom and Jarred Kelenic) are on the injured list, so we won’t be seeing them. But the other six will certainly be in attendance, and many will be taking the field with their current squad.
Below is a quick rundown. Once again, I didn’t look deeply into each player’s Baseball-Reference page (although I should for Immaculate Grid purposes). If I’m missing a former Met who now plays for Los Angeles, Texas, or Seattle, let me know and I’ll add them to this list.
Eduardo Escobar
Since the Mets traded away a bunch of players prior to the deadline, some are bound to get a tribute video. Eduardo Escobar is definitely one of those dudes.
His overall on-field performance probably wasn’t what he was hoping for, but he seemed to have such a positive impact on the clubhouse. Plus, let’s not forget about the “Month of Escobar”. The Mets didn’t play well enough to win the NL East last September, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as close as it was if Escobar’s bat didn’t come alive.
When I think of Gare's best calls from this past season, his "Month of Escobar" call has constantly been the first one that comes to mind. #Mets #LGM pic.twitter.com/aNJFAinnBT
— Matt Musico (@mmusico8) November 25, 2022
Escobar is hitting .224/.270/.308 in 115 plate appearances since joining the Angels.
Dominic Leone
Dominic Leone was one of general manager Billy Eppler’s last-minute deals prior to the deadline passing on August 1st. He didn’t necessarily wow anyone out of the bullpen while in New York, producing a 4.40 ERA through 30.2 innings. However, New York received Jeremiah Jackson in exchange for the reliever, who was Los Angeles’ ninth-best prospect at the time of the trade.
Mets prospect Jeremiah Jackson (Dominic Leone trade) has homered in three straight games for Double-A Binghamton. He has 20 home runs on the season.
The 23-year-old has played 2B, 3B, SS, RF, & LF since joining Mets organization.
pic.twitter.com/fvSknqJjh0— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) August 25, 2023
Brandon Drury
Appearing in just 51 games (88 plate appearances) for the Mets in 2021, Brandon Drury made the most of his opportunity. He slashed .274/.307/.476 with four home runs and 14 RBI. A lot of that work happened in July. Drury hit .733/.733/1.400 with four doubles, two homers, and five RBI in just 15 plate appearances.
He then slugged 28 homers between the Reds and Padres in 2022. With 18 thus far in 2023, there’s a good shot he reaches the 20-homer plateau for the second straight year.
Aaron Loup
Another member of the 2021 Mets, Aaron Loup was about as automatic as they come out of the bullpen. Through 65 appearances (56.2 innings), the left-handed hurler posted a 6-0 record with a 0.95 ERA and 0.94 WHIP for New York.
In his two years since signing with the Angels, he’s posted a 4.64 ERA in 97 innings.
Max Scherzer
Whether people want to see it or not, Max Scherzer is definitely getting a tribute video when the Rangers come to town next week. His Mets tenure is soured with a rough end to 2022 and a mostly up-and-down 2023 before getting traded to Texas for Luisangel Acuña.
In 42 starts for the Mets, Scherzer posted a 20-9 record with a 3.02 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 294 strikeouts in 253 innings.
Since the trade, he’s produced a 2.66 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 30 strikeouts in four starts (23.2 innings) for the Rangers. It doesn’t look like he’ll be taking the field in Queens, though.
Travis Jankowski
While his numbers with the Mets don’t jump off the page, Travis Jankowski has a couple of very specific legacies with the organization. He slashed .167/.286/.167 in 63 plate appearances. However, the Mets elected to keep him (and others on the bubble) on the roster instead of cutting him to justify paying Robinson Cano his $20-plus million salary.
There’s also this picture of him meeting Shakira, which will never not be funny.
I hope we, as a society, never forget that Shakira once posted about Travis Jankowski on her Instagram story pic.twitter.com/jTCJ4LuTZ9
— Elizabeth Muratore (@nymfan97) June 2, 2022
I feel like there’s no way he won’t get a nice ovation from the Citi Field crowd next week.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
