With rosters expanding to 28 players today now that it’s September, the Mets have added Luisangel Acuña and Justin Hagenman to their active roster. Teams are permitted to carry one additional pitcher and position player through the end of the regular season.
Acuña has struggled mightily at the plate in his time with the Mets this year, hitting just .239/.295/.283 with a 67 wRC+ in 175 plate appearances. He’s managed to steal 12 bases in that time despite the bad on-base percentage. In 122 plate appearances with the Triple-A
Syracuse Mets, he’s hit .303/.347/.385 with a 91 wRC+ at that level. The Mets will presumably use him mostly as a defensive replacement and pinch runner, as defense and speed are his biggest strengths.
Hagenman has made several appearances for the Mets at the major league level, having thrown 19.1 innings in total with a 3.26 ERA and a 3.54 FIP. His arrival gives the Mets an eight-man bullpen again, as the team briefly had just a seven-man group after adding Jonah Tong to its now-six-man rotation.
We’ll see whether or not one or both of these players remain on the major league roster through the end of the month. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Hagenman—or Brandon Waddell—optioned to the minors again, especially if the Mets deem Brandon Sproat ready to contribute at the major league level. And while Acuña’s spot seems somewhat safer, if Jesse Winker, Jose Siri, and Francisco Alvarez were to all make it back from their stints on the injured list, Acuña could be among the players optioned back to Syracuse to make way for that trio.
