Nick Morabito is back with the Mets, and this time the assignment is bigger than just surviving the moment.
When he got his first big-league look earlier this season, it went sideways fast. Morabito went 0-for-11 across five games, and within a week he was back at Triple-A Syracuse.
That stint could have easily turned into a disappointment he carried around. Instead, he turned it into a reset.
Now the outfield prospect is back in New York as one of the club’s September call-ups, and he says the first taste helped him understand exactly what he needs to do at this level.
“I think it’s just a learning point, being able to come here and experience this, know what it’s like and then go back down and grind and work, figure out what else to do to get back up,” Morabito said before a 6-2 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field.
The message from Mets interim manager Andy Green was simple: don’t try to be somebody else. Green pointed to Morabito’s speed, defense and ability to get on base, and said the outfielder should just keep playing the game the way he always has.
“I think he understands who he is pretty well right now,” Green said. “It’s speed, it’s defense, it’s getting on base, it’s play the outfield as aggressively as those other two young guys we got out there. ...
I just want him to play baseball like he has his whole life. I don’t want him to make anything more of it.”
That comment was aimed at Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, and Tuesday’s lineup gave the Mets a rare look at all three together. With Morabito in left, Ewing in center and Benge in right, it marked the second time this season the three young outfielders started together.
Morabito said it has been encouraging to watch Benge and Ewing thrive, especially because his own game fits in the same lane. He’s built around getting on base, running and defending, with a little more power starting to show up too.
“I feel like throughout my pro career, I’ve been able to get on base, steal bases, play good defense, and the power’s been coming a little bit,” he said. “Ultimately, I just want to cross the plate and put runs on the board. That’s what my goal is.”
The 23-year-old has put together a solid year at Triple-A Syracuse, where he’s hitting .254/.355/.388 with 13 home runs and 42 stolen bases in 114 games. In Tuesday night’s loss, he went 0-for-1 with a hit by pitch before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning.
Baseball America ranks Morabito as the No. 11 prospect in the Mets system, and this return gives him a real chance to make a case for next year. He won’t be an everyday player over the final month, but the opportunities are there to show New York he belongs in the mix.
Luis Robert Jr.’s departure - the oft-injured outfielder was scooped up off waivers by the Orioles - created an opening. Even so, a starting job won’t be sitting there waiting unless there’s an injury or Juan Soto moves fully to designated hitter.
Still, Morabito has a path to value. The Mets already moved Tyrone Taylor to the Cubs in the Clay Holmes deal before the trade deadline last month, and Morabito has the kind of speed-and-defense package that can play up in a fourth outfielder role. When he’s right, he can help in a bunch of different ways.
For Morabito, this month is about proving he can stick and continuing to sharpen his game at the same time.
“It was great to be up here back in May,” Morabito said, “and it’s good to be back up here again.”
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