Dilson Herrera was standing off to the side in the Mets clubhouse on Sunday watching shortstop Wilmer Flores conduct a postgame interview. Herrera was unsure whether he should push past the crowd of reporters, who had spilled into his neighboring locker.
“Go ahead and get in your locker, man,” veteran outfielder Eric Young Jr. urged Herrera from a few feet away. “There ya go. Get in there!”
Herrera almost apologetically nudged his way in and began packing his bag for a week-long road trip with stops in Miami and Cincinnati. The teaching point was clear: Don’t move out of the way for the media. Make them move out of the way for you.
The youngest player in the major leagues has learned a lot about being in the big leagues since arriving from Double-A Binghamton on Friday night to take over at second base while Daniel Murphy is on the disabled list with a strained calf. The 20-year-old from Colombia has proven a few things, too.
For one, he can hit in the clutch. His single up the middle past a drawn-in infield in the bottom of the eighth inning Sunday afternoon drove in Kirk Nieuwenhuis with the winning run in the Mets 6-5 victory over the Phillies at Citi Field. Herrera, who got his first major-league hit on Saturday night, made his first RBI special.
“That was the toughest at-bat since I’ve been here,” he said through an interpreter. “It was an RBI situation, so I was concentrating so I could take advantage.”
Secondly, he can play a little defense. He made a tough pivot to turn a double play in the fourth inning when the Phillies had bases loaded with one out. And he made another quick scoop and throw to start a double play that wrecked the Phillies comeback hopes in the ninth.
“That’s a part of my game that I’ve been working on really hard in the minor leagues,” Herrera said. “It helped me be ready.”
Perhaps most importantly, Herrera doesn’t seem overwhelmed at his chance to play baseball at its highest level.
“I’m sure that’s a big thrill for him,” manager Terry Collins said of Herrera’s game-winning hit. “The more he does things like that, [the more] he’s going to realize he belongs here. He’s going to be fun to watch.”
Yes, there is still plenty to learn, like calling off third baseman David Wright on a pop fly in the first inning that floated from the left side of the infield to the right side where Herrera should have made the catch.
“Nobody wants to call off David Wright on a pop-up,” Collins said. “I think Dilson heard David call for it and didn’t realize the wind was blowing towards him. He’ll learn from it. You’ve got to call David off that ball.”
That will come in time. But the Mets have to like the small sample they’ve seen from Herrera. There’s no need to put any kind of high expectations on the kid or even brand him as the successor to Murphy should the Mets need a second baseman anytime soon. This is simply a dress rehearsal to see if Herrera can handle the heat.
“I’m happy to be here,” he said. “It’s something I’ve dreamed about. I’m just going to continue to work hard and learn from all these guys.”
Herrera is here because he hit .323 in a 128 games split between Single A-St Lucie and Binghamton. He also impressed with 13 homers, 71 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. It was enough to become the first Mets player to be called up after beginning the season in Single-A since Mike Pelfrey and Alay Soler in 2006.
Proper long-term thinking has the Mets preparing for Murphy’s replacement should the All-Star become useful in a trade or becomes too expensive following his final year of arbitration next season. Herrera, obtained from the Pirates last season in the trade for Marlon Byrd, may or may not be that guy. Time will tell. But the Mets should like what they’ve seen thus far.