Mets to promote OF A.J. Ewing, will it matter?

The New York Mets, fresh off of a road trip on which the team went 5-4, are promoting outfielder and No. 2 prospect A.J. Ewing to the MLB roster. Ewing is expected to make his debut when the Mets host the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.

Will Sammon of The Athletic, who broke the story, called it “an aggressive promotion,” noting Ewing was only recently promoted to Triple-A Syracuse. However, he has hit .326, is batting .339 across two levels this season, and has a good glove in center field. The Mets’ lineup has more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese wrapped inside a tattered bedsheet, so why not give the 21-year-old a chance?

That’s all valid, except for one problem: Looking at his minor league numbers, Ewing isn’t exactly an elite hitter despite his .819 career OPS in the minors. He has 267 career hits in the minors, 188 of which are singles. His hit and power grades are 55 and 40, respectively. Gap power is fine and dandy, not for a lineup that needs to score some runs.

Meanwhile, Juan Soto is 0 for his last 10. Francisco Lindor is still hurt. Pete Alonso is in an Orioles uniform, Bo Bichette looks like a bust, and Marcus Semien is a shell of himself.

How far the Mets have fallen this season that Carson Benge batting .269 this month and reserve MJ Melendez are somehow highlights? And Soto isn’t even hurt anymore!

Anyway, none of this is meant to imply that A.J. Ewing is going to show up in Queens and flame out. Neither David Stearns nor Steve Cohen need more egg on their faces. Ewing will debut, probably get a few hits, and might even flash the glove in center field. Nothing more, nothing less. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Except the Mets are promoting him after scoring five runs in three games in Arizona over the weekend. A speedster, glove-first outfielder with limited gap power. Talk about strapping a jet-pack to a stack of bricks.

And even then, some scouts are already anticipating some growing pains.

“He’s got leadoff skills,” one scout told John Harper at SNY. “He gets into deep counts because he fouls off tough pitches and doesn’t chase a lot, but he’ll see a different caliber of pitching now, and that’s always the X-factor, especially for someone making the jump so quickly.

“He could use more at-bats in Triple-A, where you usually see more spin, better command than you do in Double-A. So it’s not ideal, rushing him to the big leagues, but I understand why they’re doing it.”

Meanwhile, the Mets are about to face the following Tigers pitchers: Jack Flaherty, Framber Valdez, and Keider Montero. A righty with a tired arm whose stuff still plays. One big lefty with a power sinker and nasty stuff. Rounded out by a youngster with real potential if he can ever master his sinker.

A.J. Ewing will flash some potential in his call to the Show. He has too many natural baseball tools to not make an impact in some way. Be it on the basepaths or with the glove, he’ll turn a few heads.

But the optics of it all are wonky and it’s obvious. Ewing’s promotion is being sold like Barry Bonds, and he’s really more the Mets’ version of Brett Gardner. There’s nothing wrong with that. Gardner parlayed speed, scrappiness, and defense into a 14-year career. The former All-Star is a fan favorite in the Bronx to this day.

Everyone should hope A.J. Ewing makes a positive impact on the Mets. But to think he’ll be the team’s full-blown savior is just plain unrealistic.