Dilson Herrera never saw it coming.
After finishing his game for the Double-A Binghamton Mets on Thursday, the 20-year-old second baseman had his bag on the bus, ready for the team’s trip to Richmond, when manager Pedro Lopez informed him he was headed to the major leagues.
“I was in complete shock,” Herrera said before the Mets beat the Phillies 4-1 on Friday. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Herrera went 0-for-3 with a fielding error in his major league debut, but will receive plenty more chances with Daniel Murphy sidelined.
Murphy was placed on the disabled list after an MRI exam showed a “significant issue” with his right calf, according to general manager Sandy Alderson.
Murphy could be sidelined for most of the final month of the season. But the Mets would have needed to place Herrera on the 40-man roster this offseason, anyway, to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Herrera is the youngest player in the major leagues. He also became the first Mets player to reach the big leagues after beginning a season at Single-A since Mike Pelfrey and Alay Soler in 2006.
In 128 games split between Single-A St. Lucie and Binghamton, Herrera batted .323 with 13 homers, 71 RBIs and 23 stolen bases.
“We’ll see how he looks and he’s going to get some extended playing time,” Alderson said. “He’s come sort of out of nowhere, but he’s done everything we could have asked for. He’s never played with anybody here with the Mets. I told David [Wright] we’ve got to take good care of him.”
With the Mets still deciding what direction they will go with Murphy, who can become a free agent after the 2015 season, they will take a long look at Herrera. If he shows he is ready, it could push the Mets hard to trade Murphy this offseason.
Murphy, batting .301 with nine homers and 53 RBIs this season, will likely receive upwards of $8 million for 2015, his final arbitration-eligible year. Murphy is making $5.7 million this year.
The Mets landed Herrera last August, along with reliever Vic Black, in the deal that sent Marlon Byrd and John Buck to the Pirates.
“Any time you get a player who is in low-A at the time, it’s hard to predict exactly what will happen,” Alderson said. “Everybody foresees potential, often it is not realized. Certainly it is not realized in a short period of time, but I think you have to give a lot of credit to what [Herrera] has done, just over the five months of this season, so he deserves this opportunity.”
Any concerns about Herrera’s game relate to his defense. And although Herrera has played shortstop, the organization is committed to keeping him at second base for now.
“You want to see his approach to ground balls, you want to see his angles, what kind of angles he takes,” manager Terry Collins said. “The only way to see that is have some patience and make sure he’s out there and he learns as he goes.”
Herrera became the 14th Colombian-born player to appear in the major leagues and first with the Mets.
“It’s a real sense of pride to be here representing my country and my family is very proud as well,” Herrera said. “There’s not very many of us, but I’m proud to come here and represent.”