The Mets coaching staff was huddled in the manager’s office at Citi Field before Friday’s scheduled opener of a three-game weekend series against the Diamondbacks when Chris Young’s name came up.
One of the coaches, with an echo from manager Terry Collins, wondered if playing against his former team, the Diamondbacks, would propel Young out of his slump the way playing against the Yankees had jump-started Curtis Granderson.
Sure, it might be wishful thinking, but at this point the Mets are desperate to get Young going.
“Grandy got hot against the Yankees and [Young] is facing his old team,” Collins said relaying the conversion with his coaches. “Maybe it can do the same thing for him.”
After sitting out Thursday’s series finale against the Dodgers, Young was penciled into the starting lineup for Friday’s game against Arizona that was postponed after 3 ½ innings and rescheduled as part of a single-admission doubleheader on Sunday. Young, who entered with a .206 batting average, walked in his only plate appearance.
“It’s disappointing to get a game started and not being able to finish it,” Young said afterward. “It’s like a wasted day.”
The Mets are still hoping what worked for Granderson might work for Young. Since that first game against the Yankees on May 12, Granderson is hitting .305 with eight runs, three home runs and seven RBIs. He was at his best during the recently completed three-game series with the Dodgers, when he batted .428 on six hits in 14 at-bats.
Collins is thrilled Granderson seems to have broken out of his slump. Now the Mets need more of a return on the one-year deal worth $7.25 million they gave to Young. A career .234 hitter over nine seasons, Young has only two hits in his last 24 at-bats. The walk Friday night was viewed as progress.
“I felt good. I felt quiet,” he said. “Every day is separate. I’m ready to show up and have a big day every day.”
If anything, the arrival of the Diamondbacks allowed Collins to check in with Arizona manager Kirk Gibson to get some background on Young’s days with the team.
“Kirk said if [Young] gets hot, he has the ability to hit 25 to 30 homers,” Collins said. “We need that. The only way to get that done is keep him in the lineup and give him a chance.”
With Granderson entrenching himself in right field and Juan Lagares looking like a fit in center field, the job in left field appears open to anyone who can show a consistent bat.
Young has the edge because of his experience and contract, but Eric Young Jr. could get another try and Collins might find a place in the outfield for Eric Campbell, who became the second player in team history to have either a hit or an RBI or both in each of his first eight games in the major leagues. Campbell started in left Thursday and was 0-for-3 with an RBI, lowering his batting average to .368.
For now, Chris Young doesn’t sound like a man mired in a frustrating slump.
“Lately I feel like I’ve been swinging at good pitches,” he said. “It’s just a matter of staying inside the ball a little better and putting the ball in play and getting more luck every now and then.”
In one breath, Young says he knows “there’s still a lot of time to do a lot of damage.” But in the next breath he says he knows his opportunities could be limited if he doesn’t start to show something soon.
“When I look at the video, I see good swings,” he said. “But when somebody gives you a good pitch to hit, you can’t foul it back. I need to do a better job of squaring it up. When a good hitter gets a pitch to hit, they get to it. When I’m swinging, I need to put the ball in play with more authority.”
Maybe seeing the Diamondbacks will do for him what seeing the Yankees did for Granderson.