Jared Young has turned himself into one of the quieter success stories of the Mets’ 2026 season. He crushed Triple-A pitching last year, then flashed enough power in the majors to make it obvious he’s earned some kind of major league role in 2027, even if that means the playing time doesn’t come neatly or generously.
The trick with Young is figuring out where he fits best on a roster that already has some crowded spots and a few obvious limitations. He’s the longer half of a platoon at first base, which matters because left-handed hitters usually get the edge in those matchups simply because right-handed pitching is everywhere.
That leaves the Mets needing a plan for the times they face a southpaw. Do they keep Mark Vientos around for those at-bats, or do they bring in a veteran like Paul Goldschmidt for a year?
However that gets handled, Young is worth viewing in more than one lane.
The Mets have essentially settled him at first base and haven’t shown much interest in testing him in the corner outfield at the major league level. That makes sense on one level.
With Juan Soto and Mark Vientos on the IL at the same time, the Mets didn’t exactly have a surplus of first base options, and the job became available. In Triple-A last season, though, Young split his time more evenly, playing 26 games at first base and 31 in left field.
There’s also something to be said for keeping him in one place. First base is the obvious fit right now, and with the corners occupied, it’s the spot that has opened up for him.
After the trade deadline, the Mets went into audition mode, and Young’s audition kept rolling. At this point, it feels more settled than ever.
Still, the Mets may be shortchanging themselves if they stop thinking of him as only a first baseman. Young has spent plenty of time in left field over the course of his professional career, and that matters on a roster that could use a little more flexibility. If the rest of the group stays clunky in spots, Young’s value could come from being usable in more than one corner.
That gets even more important if Jorge Polanco is back, because the Mets can’t really expect much defense from him. Francisco Alvarez also tends to be used as a DH, which makes Polanco’s role even trickier if his only real contribution is hitting. That’s how a roster starts to fill up with limited pieces fast.
Most clubs carry two backup outfielders, and it’s easy to forget that when the Mets opened 2026, Young was one of them alongside Tyrone Taylor. Since then, he has shifted more firmly toward first base. Meanwhile, Brett Baty was the one listed there by MLB.com, even though he remains a utility player the Mets keep sending out to the outfield.
The bottom line is simple: if the Mets need a right-handed hitting first base option next year that isn’t Jorge Polanco, Young’s ability to handle the corner outfield becomes more valuable, not less. A roster with two first basemen who can’t do anything else gets tight in a hurry.
Even if Young barely sees left field except in a spot where Soto is the DH, that flexibility still matters. And based on the limited looks he’s gotten, he’s a better defender than Dominic Smith.
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Jonah Tong has pushed his way into the conversation on a different track, turning in a one-hit shutout in a minor league double-header game and building on a better August overall. Even so, some of the underlying numbers suggest the improvement may not be as clean as the surface results, which makes his next step especially interesting. The Mets still appear likely to bring him back to the majors because of their roster needs, and that leaves one of the more watchable September decisions hanging over the club. [Read more 🡒]
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Protecting prospects from the draft is never simple, and this year figures to give the Mets a crowded 40-man roster conversation. Gill Hills progress has put him in line for consideration, but with a large pool of eligible players and the risk of losing talent if the wrong calls are made, the club will have to decide which young arms are worth shielding and which ones are left exposed. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Still Have To Decide How Patient To Be With A.J. Ewing
A.J. Ewing has settled in as the Mets primary center fielder since the Luis Robert Jr. trade, and even as his bat has cooled, the team has kept finding ways to keep him in the lineup. The offensive dip has shown up since July, when the contact quality slipped and the strikeouts climbed, but New York has also seen why it was willing to keep investing in him: the defense in center remains steady enough to give him real value even on quieter nights at the plate.
The Mets have already tweaked where Ewing hits in the order, a sign they are trying to protect him while waiting for the offense to rebound. For now, management still views him as part of the clubs future, which leaves the bigger question hanging over the rest of the season: how long can they stay patient if the bat does not start to follow the glove? [Read more 🡒]