The New York Mets are planning to promote Luisangel Acuña, one of their top prospects and the younger brother of Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña, to the major-league roster, league sources confirmed.
Acuña, a right-handed batter who can play shortstop, second base and center field, is expected to report to the Mets in Philadelphia on Saturday, a league source said. Acuña is already on the 40-man roster, but the Mets would have to make a corresponding move to allow for space on the active roster.
El Extrabase first reported the move.
The Mets acquired Acuña in July 2023 when they offloaded Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers as part of a major trade-deadline selloff. Entering the season, The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked him as the No. 2 prospect in the Mets’ farm system. But while Acuña, 22, played this at Triple-A Syracuse in his first taste of that level, he struggled to find much offensive consistency.
In 587 plate appearances with Syracuse, Acuña owned an unremarkable .258/.299/.355 slash line with seven home runs. However, he used his great speed to swipe 40 bases (caught 14 times). Earlier in the season, Mets coaches worked with him on tightening his swing and lowering a leg kick. He showed some good signs during some stretches (.298 batting average, .762 OPS in June, for example), but consistency eluded him and when he’s not hitting, he’s not getting on base because he hardly walks. Over his last 28 days, Acuña had a .537 OPS.
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The timing of Acuña’s recall coincides with the Mets’ infield depth looking thin. After losing Jeff McNeil for the season because of a fractured wrist, the Mets have relied on Jose Iglesias at second base with newcomer Eddy Alvarez lingering on the bench as the only backup infielder. Alvarez joined the Mets organization after Sept. 1, which means he won’t be eligible for the postseason roster. Acuña is postseason-eligible.
Also, star shortstop Francisco Lindor exited the Mets’ 11-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night with what the team described as “lower back soreness.” He is day to day.
Lindor, who has played in all 147 of the Mets’ games, said he would have tried to push things if the game was closer and added, “I’m going to do whatever it takes to be available.”
Acuña’s call up is not a direct response to Lindor’s issue; he would have apparently been on the way regardless. Whenever Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was asked about Acuña as a potential callup, he consistently left the door open, alluding to the idea that New York could use him off the bench for speed once Syracuse’s season ended. Two weeks ago, when rosters expanded, the Mets preferred to get Acuña consistent at-bats in Triple A, but Syracuse’s season is now nearly over (one week left). At a minimum, the Mets could make use of Acuña’s speed and versatility off the bench.
(Photo: Nick Cammett / Diamond Images via Getty Images)
