Fan Reactions and Future Outlook

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The Mets are getting set to open up a six-game homestand against American League opponents, the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees. They complete a West Coast trip that I think we all agree was disappointing as they go five and four and they lose the final two games of this trip with an LD offense to the extreme. They had to do something. And when you're sitting in the middle of May, your options are limited. We've gone over firing the manager. They have opted not to do that, not to try to spark the team by firing a manager the way the Philadelphia Phillies have. Option two is to fantasize about making some kind of trade, but very rarely are you gonna see trades made in the middle of May. It just doesn't happen often. So we could fantasize about bats or bats that make sense, but was any deal really gonna happen in the middle of May. And then the third option, besides doing nothing, was to call up one of your prospects. And so AJ Ewing got the call on Monday night. And I think that two things can be true at the same time. In one bre ath, I want AJ Ewing to be called up. I think I have said that numerous times on the Rico . I wanted him here. He went up to AAA , only played 12 games. He played incredibly well after tearing up double A, tearing up AAA , it's a very small sample size, but sometimes there are kids who just can get here quicker. So the emotional side of me, the one who still wants this season to somehow turn magically , the person that also wants to be entertained and not have to sit there and watch Austin Slater every other day wanted this call to be made. And I think that's the majority of Med fans. I can't imagine there were many Met fans who got the news on Monday night or Tuesday morning. Maybe you're getting the news courtesy of the Rico that they're calling up AJ Ewing. I can't imagine many Met fans were mad about the news or even disappointed about the news. So yeah, he could potentially be the spark this team is looking for. And from an entertainment standpoint, like I mentioned, this is now becoming a dull, boring season. And so instead of watching veteran players who stink, it is certainly more exciting to watch a kid who's 21 years old and is a top 100 prospect. So that part is true. Let's put that to the side. The other part that's also true is that the Mets are desperate. And this is a desperate move. If you go back to last year, when the Met pitching was really, really struggling, Jonathan in an odd way was similar because Jonathan probably wasn't ready. But he performed. He performed well. So it's not as if Jonathan was pitching to a six ERA in the minor leagues, but he had very briefly gotten his promotion and the Mets on a combination of yes, the kid is doing well, and yes, the kid is earning it, but the combination of also having a desperate need called up Jonathan and he was overwhelmed. He was not ready . It is similar in that the Mets are desperate. This lineup stinks. We all know that. And as you're trying to save the season, because time is a ticking when you're 10 games under 500 in the middle of May and you've created such a deep hole, one of the miraculous Hail Marys that could occur is calling up a young player, especially someone like this. He isn't some kind of big slugger. He's a guy who can impact the game in a lot of different ways, whether it's his glove, or it's his speed , or it's his ability to put bat on ball. Like he's a fiery kind of figure that can spark this team in different aspects. You're desperate. The Mets are desperate. Two things can be true at the same time. The Mets could be desperate for making this call to AJ Ewing after only 12 games in AAA , while simultaneously it being a move that we all welcome. Those things are tru both e . Desperation from the New York Mets and this front office to try to save the season. And excitement from us that they're calling up a kid who maybe can spark this team a little bit. So that was my reaction when I got the news on Monday night. Like, I'm excited, but I also understand that David Stearns and this front office is operating from a place of desperation. Because, like I mentioned here at the top of the Rico, when you are sitting at a crisis point in a baseball season, and they are clearly at a crisis point at 10 games under 500 in the middle of May, your options are limited. We've gone over the firing the manager option. They are deciding not to do that. And while it's worked in Philadelphia, it's worked incredibly well in Philadelphia since firing Rob Thompson for Don Mattingley. There's certainly no guarantee that would have worked here. The difference, I think, between the Phillies and the Mets is that the Phillies are actually really talented. The Phillies are actually really good. You watch this Met team every single day. They need an infusion of talent. It doesn't feel like it's just changing the voice. Now, I would have changed the voice. I've made that point clear for a few weeks now. I would have tried changing the manager, but I also see the difference between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets , one team is a lot better than the other team . So if you're needing an infusion of talent, where do you go? And the Mets are going to the minor league levels with A.J. Ewing. And I admit I'm very excited about it because we are talking about a legitimate top 100 prospect. We are talking about a guy who over the last few years has just shot up the Met Farm system. Remember, last year in 2025, he played in Brooklyn, he played in St. Lucie. He played in Binghamton. The year before that, in 2024, he was down in the Florida Gulf Coast League. I mean, he has really shot up the binary league system. And what you notice by A.J. Ewing's numbers is that he said everywhere he's gone. Everywhere this kid is gone, he's performed. So far this season in Binghamton, before he got the call, he had played eighteen games. He hit three forty nine with a 1,053 OPS. He stole 12 bases, was caught once, walked 17 times, struck out 15 times. And that's important . Because when I say that he can impact the game in a lot of different ways, even if he doesn't come up here and hit three fifty. That's one of the things he can do. He can draw walks and not strike out a lot . Like the odds are limited that he's gonna come up here and just be completely overwhelmed and strike out every other at bat. When he got the call to Syracuse, and again a very small sample size, twelve games, three twenty-six average, five stolen bases, five walks, five strikeouts, and eight twenty-seven OPS. Very limited sample size, which is why you look at this and say, boy, they are rushing him to a degree. And they are. They are rushing him. But you know, you go through the annals of baseball history, and it would be a laborious thing to go through like every prospect and see how much time they had a triple A, how much time they had a double A, and and you'll study it and you'll come up with no clear result because there are so many different examples in terms of how much time you need in the minor leagues. I remember all the way back to John Ol rood not needing any time in the minor leagues. Or you jump to Michael Harris, who helped spark the Braves a few years ago when he got the call from double A . There are certainly a lot of examples that go both ways, and then there are others who come up here and they're slightly overwhelmed. One guy that jumps out at me, and I would almost use it as a sort of comparison, is Michael Conforto. Go back to 2015. And I wouldn't say the Mets were in the same level of desperation back in 2015. When they called up Michael Conforto, they were 49 and 47, and they were three games out of first place . So they certainly needed the bat. There's no doubt about that. But they weren't like fully desperate, save the season kind of mode, like they are right now with AJ Ewing, but when they made that call for Conforto, and it was right around the time I think that Clayton Kershaw almost pitched a perfect game, I'll never forget that game at City Field. Clayton Kershaw was on the mound for the Dodgers and it was the only time I ever went to a baseball g ame where everyone sat down in my section and talked before the first pitch about Clayton Kershaw throwing a perfect game. And the reason we did that was the combination of yes, Clayton Kershaw was at the height of his powers, but also the the fact that lineup that was being put on the field was so bad, was so pathetic that we actually thought, wow, he could throw a perfect game today. But in terms of the minor leagues, Michael Conforto played college in twenty fourteen. Now, his age upon drafting, kind of similar to AJ Ewing, he was twenty-two years old when he got the call to the major leagues. But in twenty fifteen, the year that he got the call, he started the year at single A, played forty-six games down at single A, hit two eighty-three with seven home runs at eight hundred eleven OPS, got the call to double A, played forty-five games, hit three twelve with five home runs and an 899 OPS, and then he made the jump over AAA to come to the major leagues . So Conforto is an example of somebody that needed less time in the minor leagues. I mean, it wasn't even a full season when you think about that. And he made the jump. And if I told you his numbers upon the call, forget about what he did after. I guess you want to think about what he does after because calling up AJ Ewing is not just about twenty twenty-six. You are thinking about the impact he's going to have on the future. But for the sake of this discussion, if you just think about what he did in the short term, Michael Conforto played fifty-six games for the Mets after he got that call with very limited time in the minor leagues and he had two seventy with an eight forty OPS. I think all of us would sign for that right now . Hotels.com is the place you go to book hundreds of thousands of hotels. It's exactly what it sounds like. Just like Save Your Way from Hotels.com is exactly what it sounds like. Choose to save now with an instant discount or bank that discount as rewards for later. Your trip, your call. Save your way exclusively at hotels.com. It's all in the name. When the stakes rise and the lights get bright, that's when you find out who can really swim. Deep waters is a new UFC podcast from CBS Sports. Every Monday, myself, Dean Thomas, alongside with Legends of the sport, Chris Wideman, Jorge Masredal, and Dustin Poirier, bring you inside the octagon like no one else can. Deep waters, new episodes every Monday, watch on YouTube or listen on Apple, Spotify, and everywhere else you get podcasts . The negative to Conforto is that he ended up in triple A because the following season he got off to a bad start and got resent down . And Conforto is an odd one because when we talk about Met prospects and we've seen so many prospects over the years, there's different levels to this. There are the guys who just don't pan out and become b usts, and when I mention their name decades later, you almost chuckle and say, Oh my God. And remember when we were in love with Fernando Martinez? Ay, ay, ay. Remember when we were in love with Alexachoa? That was a trade, but nevertheless a prospect after the Bobby Ben illa trade . So you've got the levels of guys that just don't pan out whatsoever. And then you've got the guys that like had careers, Michael Conforto had a career. I think as we sit here today, and by the way, he's done a pretty good job in Chicago, but as we sit here today, no, you have a grander view for AJ Ewing than Michael Conforto. I totally get it. You want this gotta be a superstar. You want this gotta be a five-time All-Star, part of the core, the new core of the future New York Mets . So if I say Michael Conforto, I think the re response is disappointment , but in terms of what he did upon being called up in 2015, that wouldn't be a disappointment. And what I'm looking for, and I think what we're all looking for, is just a little bit of a spark . Because for this M offense to get going, it's gonna take more than just the calling up of A.J. Ewing. Juan Soto can't have an O four. Bo Bachet can't have an O four in a series, which is a big reason why they lost two out of three to Arizona. You can't have Soto and Bachette go over 20. The volatile nature of Mark Vientos his season, he's gotta find some consistency. I'm not confident in that. I'm just describing what would need to happen. Same thing with Francisco Alvarez. Same thing with Brett Beatty. Those are three young players, all of which came up at different levels of prospectness . And I think we'd admit all these years later, all three of them are disappointments. They may not be Fernando Martinez's disappointments, but they're disappointments . But if this lineup is gonna turn. And when I say turn, I don't even mean becoming a top five offense because that's delusional. I mean not being a bottom five offense. Like what's crazy about the Mets right now is that if they had an average offense, just an average offensive team, they were fifteenth in the league in runs scored, we're probably tacking on five or six wins. And if we're tacking on five or six wins, all of a sudden, where are they? They're 500 team . Like their pitching hasn't been awful. And certainly you look at the Arizona series, that's a great example of it. If you have a functioning offense, maybe you sweep that series or at least win two out of three. If you have a functioning offense, this nine-game road trip goes a lot differently than five and four. If you have a functioning offense, you don't get swept by the Colorado Rockies a few weeks ago. So I'm not asking for anything crazy, like all of a sudden they're going to become murderous row . But with simply a functioning offense, they'd win more games. The hope with a call-up of A.J. Ewing , a spark plug, a guy who puts bat on ball, a guy who steals bases, a guy who can force the action, a guy who dare I say can get on base, because God knows they don't do that enough. If that means scoring a few extra runs and the Mets can continue to pitch at a pretty decent level, well, that's more wins . And I'm still at the point in this season in which I'm hoping for wins. I haven't re ached the tank world that I got to with my basketball team or my football team. And had that work out. I mean seriously. It doesn't work. So I want wins. And when you look at this Met roster as flawed as it is, and you look at this lineup as flawed as it is, yeah, a 20 to one-year-old kid from AAA who's been producing at every level feels like it gives you a better chance, a better ch ance to compete. I'm very excited about his defense. I think A.J. Ewing's high level defense of quality in center field probably means that Carson Bench can now be the everyday right fielder. We have seen Carson Bench move all over the outfield. Juan Soto had his injuries and his DH'd a lot. Obviously, Luis Robert Jr. being knocked out has forced some Carson Bench in center field. Now Carson Bench can become the right fielder. And this is a met outfi eld that I think every single day, Soto is a little different because I know he'll still have DH days. But this is an outfield that should be, for the most part, Juan Soto, A.J. Ewing, and Carson Bench. I know one of the questions will be what about second base ? What about second base? I think we have seen very clearly then never sitting Marcus Simeon. And at the bare minimum, even if Marcus Simeon continues to produce at a two twenty-five level with a pace of hitting about eight home runs , I think they view his defense as a plus. And it has been a plus. I admit that. As we're going to throw him out there every single day at second base. I think A.J. Ewing comes up here and he plays center field every single day. And he should. I also think, and this is very important, he should play center field every day, even against left handers. I don't want to see this sitting against le fties . As I look ahead to this six-game homestand, schedule-wise, in the six games, they will face two left-handed starting pitchers: From Barvaldez off of his suspension and Ryan Weathers off of his near no hit bid for the Yankees on Monday night in Baltimore . I'd start him in both games . I think you throw him right in the mix and you see what he can do, and you see if he can spark this team. But is it a desperate move? Of course it is. It's it's a desperate move that I agree with, right? That's how I view this. I am in favor of this. I wanted this. I think I was tweeting out about two weeks ago. As soon as he got to AAA , it was like, screw it. Just have him skip AAA . Come right up . The only thing I'm confused about is why Nick Moribito is not joining him. Nick is already on the 40-man roster. He's a right-hand hitter, so that would certainly help balance out the lineup. He's another guy that could spark this team. He's produced at triple-A. And if you want a right-handed bat up here, God knows we don't have to look at Austin Slater and Andy Abanez anymore. So what about Nick Morabito doesn't make him ready? Would be my question for this Met front office. Obviously, they feel A.J. Ewing is ready. He already jumped him, and he's coming up here, and I'm glad. But there's more youth on the way, and I think Nick Morabito should be the next guy. Ryan Clifford is going to be another guy talked about a lot. I think he's just got to hit more consistent ly. He got off to a bad start. He's hit a little bit more. There's your first baseman potentially to replace Mark Vientos. What I am intrigued about with Ryan Clifford, because I honestly don't know the answer, and I wouldn't know the answer until watch I him every day. What kind of defender at first base is he? Because and I'm going to try not get try to not get too upset when I say this. I was lectured by a lot of people in this Rico audience about how by accident, by accident, the Mets would be better defensively at first base, because Pete Alonso was such an abomination. Obviously, you're all wrong. You've turned out to be wrong. Not only has Pete had a decent defensive year, actually a really good defensive year, based on some metrics at first base, but forget that. Even if we hold him to the same standard of the last few years, look who's played first base. It's been Mark Vientos most of the time, and while I disagree with Keith Hernandez's assessment that he's not a first baseman, he is a first baseman. He's a crappy first baseman. I can't even kick pick on Jorge Polanco because the guy played two games at first base. We haven't seen him since. And now he's dealing with an old new injury. I mean, Jorge Polanco's Jed Lowry. We'll never see him again. And he's got another year left on his contract. We saw a little bit of Brett Beatty at first base . I didn't think he looked horrible over there . But the defense at first base has been atrocious . I wonder what kind of defender Ryan Clifford would be at first base . So the AJ Ewing spark begins with a series against the Detroit Tigers. Couple of other things I want to touch on because I mentioned at the top of the RICO that as the Mets are facing this crisis point in the season. One of the options, fire the manager. We've talked about that at nauseum. Another option would be to make a big trade. And obviously, there are not a lot of trades available when you're sitting in the middle of May. There was a report the other day of the San Francisco Giants intrigue and possibly blowing it up. They've obviously had a disastrous season as well, and they may be open to trying to shed some of their big contracts, specifically Rafael De vers and Matt Chapman. So let's put it under the microscope and see if that's worth it. We have a billionaire owner. He is certainly willing to spend. Does it make sense to trade for Raphael Devers or Matt Chapman? Let's start with Devers. Let's explore him . He is 29 years old. He'll be 30 in October. He has had a dreadful season for San Francisco. When he came over to the Giants last year, he was relatively productive. He put up some solid power numbers, even at a ball park, that you figure would be tough to hit home runs in . But this season, he's been god-aw ful . He makes $28.5 million doll.ars He is signed at twenty eight and a half million dollars every single year until twenty thirty three when he is thirty six years old . Would I be intrigued by bringing in the bat of Rafael Devers, banking on the fact that let me get him to a new ballpark, let me get him out of San Francisco, let me put him in a lineup with Juan Soto and hypothetically Francisco Lindore and let him cook . Could I see Rafael Devers being more of Boston Devers than San Francisco Devers? I could. I don't think Raphael Devers has cooked. I don't have enough evidence to believe that. So from a bat standpoint, from a power bat standpoint, I think he absolutely supplies that. So that's number one. Number two, defense. Where do you play him? Do you move him back to third base? Do you play him at first base? Or do you tell Raphael Devers, don't worry, you're the designated hitter ? That is a huge question because with this roster and the way it's constituted, and certainly looking ahead at the next decade, because you'd be bringing him in basically for the next decade. What is your position idea with Rafael Devers ? The other thing you have to keep in mind is if you absorb a contract like that into his age 34, 35, and 36 season. And even if you decide to give him a position today or tomorrow, he is eventually a designated hitter. Does that fit well when you have Juan Soto signed long term, who right now may be a designated hitter, or Francisco Lindor, who's only getting older ? 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And is this Met team who decided that Brandon Nimmo's contract was such a negative for one fewer year in Marcus Simeon, are they really willing to bring in a guy who would legitimately be signed for three more years than Brandon Nimmo was , or acquire a guy who's a worse defender and is declining offensively even more so than Pete Alonzo, who they didn't want to offer a five-year deal too. Rafael Devers has seven years left on his contract after this one . So it it's just a bad contract. So is he a big bat? Absolutely. Would he excite me in the moment? Sure. But I think when you factor in the de fense, when you factor in the DH question, and when you factor in that point blank, it's a bad contract, I would say no gracias on Rafael Devers. No, I'm I'm desperate for professional ball players, but being desperate, I can't be stupid. And Rafael Devers is not a player that's you just said it. They got rid of all this talent because of the money, because of the years. Rafael Devers is clearly an issue with every team he goes to. He's not a great ball player. He's he's falling off the face of the earth. And we're gonna invest in him. That's the no chance. I don't want any part of it. I'm sorry. I'm surprised. I thought you would be uh desperate enough to say, screw it, we need talent, bring him in. We we do need talent at this point in time. Call up the young kids. I don't need to see Austin Slater. I we already went through this, but there's talent in the miners. Let's give that a shot. I don't need to see Rafael Devers. I don't. So I agree with you. And I think that most of us would agree that even though it would give them kind of a short burst, maybe even for a couple of years, I think long term that's just a bad contract. Again, it's seven years, $199 million after this season. So that that's after this season. So even if you cut this year in half and say, all right, we're paying them eighteen million dollars this year, and dare I say the Giants pick it up, you're still looking at a seven-year, one hundred ninety-nine million dollar deal. How much of it would the Giants be willing to pick up? I guess that's the other thing you have to factor in. I don't think enough of it. So unfortunately, I don't think this fits. But the other guy, and hear me out on this. This one's a little bit more intriguing, is Matt Chapman. Now, let's get the facts on Matt Chap man. He is old. He is 34 years old. He is also a declining offensive player. Right now this season, Matt Chapman is hitting two twenty-nine with one home run, fourteen RBIs, and a six twenty-four OPS. The year before that, he had two thirty with twenty one home runs, a seven seventy OPS. Year before that, twenty seven home runs, a seven hundred ninety OPS. So he is on basically a three year decline. But until this season, he was still hitting 20 home runs with a 750 OPS and still playing a very high-level defense at third base. Now, you may say, all right, you just gave me those numbers, Evan. How the hell could you possibly be intrigued by him ? Hear me out. Okay . So Matt Chapman, after this season, has four years a hundred million dollars left on his contract. So it's $25 million a year , and you would have him for his age 34, 35, 36, and 37 season . The way you would think about it, and I say intriguing, doesn't mean I'm definitely gonna do it. I just want to throw out how I would think about it is Marcus Simeon going back to San Francisco. So if you think about why they acquired Simeon to begin with, it was they deemed Nimo as a worse contract. That's how they deemed it. They said, all right, we're cutting a year off the Nemo deal and we're getting a guy who's a plus defender at second base. Hey, this is a positive for us, even if Simeon's declining offensively. So Matt Chapman would have two extra years on his deal. Okay. So that's the the positive and negative to this. He's making a million dollars less per year. So over the next two and a half years, it is a freaking even deal in terms of finances. You're taking on two extra years of Chapman. I think the Giants would have to pay for half of that. So I don't even think you're paying the fifty million dollars over the last two years. I think you're paying maybe twenty eight million dollars over the last two years, and what you're getting is a plus level defender at third base. So you're basically saying I'll take more of a gamble on Chapman than Simeon. Now push comes to shove, the two extra years would scare me off, and the decline would scare me off because it is a steep decline over the last three years. But I'm at least giving a Simeon Chapman Giants pay for part of its swap. I'm giving it a little bit of thought. I'm giving it more thought than Raphael Devers. What say you? I say no thank you. Like we're just now we're just changing things up just to see w if if we can get something to stick to the wall. I mean, uh honestly , that to me is too much moving parts for not enough payoff. What's Matt Chapman really gonna do? Even if he secures a good defensive role at third base, that's not helping the offense. That's not helping everything else. So we need to do better than that. But again, like you said, we're at the expert point . So we gotta do what we gotta do, but I still can't go that route. I yeah ul ultimately I would not do it. I would not do either. I think Chapman you could at least think about a little bit more because you could probably sell off the Simeon deal. So it's a net it's kind of a net even deal for the next two and a half years, but the two extra years of Matt Chapman at age thirty six and thirty seven would be the problem. And you would need San Francisco to basically pay for it. Or at least pay a significant portion of it. And then you wonder defensively, same with Simeon, at what point do you decline? I mean, both of those guys are still playing defense at a pretty high level, but is that gonna last throughout the rest of their contract? Listen, I don't want to get into the semantics of the Giants, but let me ask you a question. Didn't they want to spend all this money? They were throwing money to everybody, trying to get somebody to finally bite. They got people to bite and now they're trying to sell them off. That's a problem. I don't want anything to do with this. Look at the players that they're selling off. I mean, the Devers thing just has not worked out. The Matt Chapman thing after a really good 2024, he was a seven-war player that year. He played a high-level defensese at twenty-ven home runs, stole fifteen bases, had an eight hundred OPS. Like that's tremendous. But the last two years has been a decline. This is the risk of bringing in, you know, the aging player that you just don't know when they're gonna hit a wall. You have no idea. So yeah, I I think that what we always do, I do this on the fan as well is you examine it. You examine the guys that are available, you go through the pluses and the negatives, and ultimately you make a decision. I agree with you. My decision on both guys would be to pass. Let's hear from the people. The Rico B at Gmail.com. A lot of opinions on the Mets call-up of AJ Ewing, who is set to make his major league debut. Kendrick writes, Evan, the phenomenal one has finally arrived as David Stearns, the face that runs the place, looks to make a splash. After our Nets future hopes and dreams took a brutal hit on Sunday, the Mets calling up A.J. Ewing gave this fan base the jolt it needed. An AED saves life. Lives. And his AED, AJ Ewing's debut, might just save our season. Almost twelve years to the day after Jacob DeGrom gets his call, Ewing gets his. With McLean Benjamin now Ewing on this roster, the new world order is formed. The National League don't want none. Very well done there, sir. It is kind of crazy to think that it is right around the anniversary of Jacob deGrom. And of course, and this may live in Met history, hopefully it does, they got AJ Ewing as the comp pick for losing Jacob deGrom . And the question was asked of me the other day because I brought up de Grom after going to Yankees Stadium to watch him face the Yankees and briefly had a five-minute discussion about where the de Grom decision lies in Met history. Was it a bad one to not be more aggressive in free agency? Was it a good one? Examining what he's done in Texas, examining what they've done with the money. And the question was quickly brought to me, which is, hey, Evan, how do you factor AJ Ewing into this ? And I I go back and forth on it because if they love the player in the draft, they still could have drafted him. Maybe not in that slot, maybe earlier. Maybe he falls later. So it's it's tough. Do I fully attach it to letting DeGrom go? I've never fully attached David Wright to letting Hampton go. You know, and I still think back to that decision to not outbid the Rockies and allow the school system to get Mike Campton to go to Denver, Colorado. I've had thoughts that the Met should have been more aggressive, that the Met should have gone after him, and if not him, Mike Messina . Because ultimately, if they liked David Wright, the prospect, isn't it possible or even likely that they would have drafted him somewhere else? So I am conflicted. But yes, as A.J. Ewing makes his debut, keep that in mind. He is here because they let Jacob DeGrom go. Jose writes, kids got to play every day. Stoto Soto stays in left field. Taylor is the fourth guy off the bench. That's his role. The Mets are horrible in development. Just give the guys positions and let them play every day. Examples. Dom, Dom Smith, was a gold glove first baseman and they threw him in left field and they did the same with Duda. Murphy was all over the place in the field early on in the same with Wilmer. At this point, we want to see all the kids play every day. I don't care if they go 0 for 30. That's part of everyone's baseball growth. The sending up and down or starting the bench is what killed Beatty, Vientos, and Alvarez. This team is unwatchable, but if you play the kids, it gives us more reason to tune in. I do agree that from here on forward, you gotta play these guys every day. TJ writes, Evan, I know you probably can do with a lot of relievers, they are fickle, but But my God, how about Rico Garcia? David Stearns DFA'd this guy two times. He's absolutely filthy. He's allowed one hit in sixty-four batters this season, and I get to watch Craig Kimbrell. Yes , Rico Garcia, who was good when he was a part of the Syracuse Shuttle last year. Let's not forget that. It's not like Rico Garcia sucked as a Met. Like he was mostly good when he was on that Syracuse shuttle. He looks unhidable. I watched him on Monday night shutting down the New York Yankees with a one-two-three inning. I'd love to kill David Stearns for that one, and ultimately it's on his resume, so we should crush him for that one. But relievers are incredibly fickle. Uh, Cleon writes the leather industry has a restraining order against Mark Vientos . Any manager at any level should be let go immediately by letting Vientos play the field. I think unfortunately right now they don't have a lot of wonderful options. Ideally, he would just DH , but right now he's the first baseman. Who else you playing at first base? Brett Beatty's now the everyday third baseman. So who you playing? Unless you make that call to Ryan Clifford, which may be the next call they make . Also, looking at my budget, I realized the high price of gas was creating a significant budget deficit. Thank you, David, for doing a great job destroying this team so b adly that eliminated the Mets playoff chances early enough in the season so I can allocate Mets playoff tickets to gas . That made me laugh. Pete New Jersey writes, I wish you guys a very good evening. He wrote this on Monday night. But I feel like there can't be a good evening. I'm not claiming to know anything about A.J. Ewing. I only know he's rocking through the leagues. But seriously, this is like a move the Jets would make that ends up crushing a player's potential. How long ago did Ewing get promoted to triple A? It feels too early for him to see major league pitching, and this offense is a damn archipelago. Each batter and island not connected to the next batter and gives him no protection. He might back clean up his first game to really make it perfect. Sorry I'm mad, I don't like this call up at all, and we'll hopefully wear a huge L. Where do you guys stand on this ? Every player is different in terms of how much time they need in the minor leagues. There is no exact science to this. I think the Mets clearly are desperate, but that doesn't mean that it's going to fail. It doesn't mean that A.J. Ewing is going to come up here and just be completely overwhelmed. Jim from Jersey writes, Is it me or is Mendy stopped saying, quote, we have the talent? I have noticed that. He's kind of eliminated saying that. Maybe because he realizes they don't. Joe writes . AJ Ewing, how do you see him fitting into this lineup? Who will be taking time away from? What does this runway look like? I think it takes time away from Tyrone Taylor. I think Tyrone Taylor probably goes back to his role as a fourth outfielder. Where would I bat him? I kind of like the idea of taking the pressure off of him, so I'd bat him ninth to begin. And then if he produces, you can quickly elevate them, but I don't know if it's a great idea to just throw them right in there. I don't know if that's the best idea. Nick from Charlotte writes, Evan, I am here to make a prediction. And this, by the way, this email was sent on Sunday. I want to give you context on this, all right? This is Sunday after the Mets lost the three game series to the Diamondbacks . I am here to make a prediction. We're going to go on a run fueled by AJ Ewing starting with our next homestead. I think today, Sunday, was the wake-up call that Stearns needed. I believe he will move Brett Beatty full time back to third base while Mauricio Inland or out and call up AJ Ewing while DFA and Iban z. I read this email on the Sunday Rico Broña. I'm reading it again because it hits. When Ewing comes up, he'll give us the offensive spark we need, and he and Benji will become a solid two-three in our lineup, moving Bich ette to the four spot. You heard it first here. And Nick follows up. Step one, Ewing being called up. Here it comes. Now let's hope that you're right. Now let's hope that he's here and he produces. I again I'd hit him ninth to start. I would try to take the pressure off of him a little bit. And if he produces, he can very quickly elevate up this batting order. I am curious because a lot of Met fans have sent me emails and calls over the last few days and weeks saying that they won't go to City Field until Carlos Mendoza is fired. And I've called BS on that saying, come on, you're gonna go to the ballpark because Kai Correa is managing or Andy Green is managing. So I do wonder to the Met fans out there, are you more likely now to go to City Field because they called up A.J. Ewing? I unfortunately will not be there for this three game series against Detroit. It has nothing to do with weather. It has nothing to do with the way they've played. It has to do with Little League. So I'll be missing the Tiger Series. I'll be watching every game. Maybe there'll be a live Rico right after. That's why you should subscribe to the Rico Bronial wherever you download your podcast or the WFN YouTube page and then the subway series, yes, I'll be there for that. I look forward to that. For all you Met fans who happen to be Nick fans, and I know that's a lot of you and you took great joy in the Knic fksan invading Philadelphia and laughing at the Sixer fan, boy, you're getting your comeuppance within a week. Because I fully expect that City Field will be littered with Yankee fans. The good news, though, is that it won't be as embarrassing as what happened to Philadelphia. So that's the positive. But either way, make sure you're subscribed to the Rico Brownia. I was notified that there's some issues with the Odyssey app. It hasn't updated. So here's what I tell you. We're always doing Rico's. Like we never go more than two days without a Rico Brunia. So if you don't see it updated, try somewhere else where you download your podcast, whether it's the Apple Podcast Store, or it's Spotify, or it's just going to the YouTube page where there's a video of each Rico we do, and you'll never miss an episode. Thank you very much for checking out the AJ Ewing is here edition of Rico Brunia . We hope you enjoyed this episode.