The New York Mets announced that Tim Tebow will be sent to Double-A Binghamton, a significant step in his attempt to become a ballplayer for the Metropolitans.
New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson has promised to be aggressive with Tim Tebow’s growth and he’s since kept his word. The former Heisman Trophy recipient will be assigned to Double-A Binghamton next week.
He has hurt this spring training with a sprained ankle, only batting .056 in his first big league camp. The 30-year-old spoke about this year’s training camp, via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
Tim Tebow is coming to New York*.
*Upstate New York.https://t.co/1JzX290amH
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 26, 2018
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t do as much as I wanted to with my ankle, which is kind of disappointing,” Tebow said after the Mets demoted him to Minor League camp earlier this month. “But I got to put in a lot of good work, and feel like I’m improving. So that’s good.”
Last year, Tim Tebow’s first professional baseball season, he split time between Class A Columbia and Class A Advanced St. Lucie. Tebow batted .226 with eight home runs in 126 games split between Class A Columbia and Class A Advanced St. Lucie.
The Mets could have reassigned Tebow to St. Lucie to begin the year but decided instead to send him to Binghamton, where he will face stiffer competition from more refined prospects. The Mets are determined to find out if Tebow can advance to the big ballclub, maybe as soon as this September.
Tebow has been working hard since he signed his contract in 2016 with the Mets. He worked with hitting coach Pat Roessler and others to refine his swing. He arrived in camp this year in better athletic shape with more of a compact swing.
Alderson was happy with what he saw out of Tebow so far,
“We’ve been pushing him,” the GM said. “There is a finite period of time for this to work. His commitment to the game has been exceptional, so we’re pushing him a little bit.”
The Mets and Alderson are confident that Tim Tebow will eventually play in the Major Leagues.