Eric Wagaman made the kind of first impression that can change a manager’s afternoon. In his first start in Queens for the Mets on Wednesday against the Reds, the designated hitter launched a 415-foot homer to left field in his first at-bat, giving New York a 2-0 lead and immediately strengthening his case for more time.
The blast came at a moment when the Mets needed it. With injuries thinning the lineup, they have been leaning on depth pieces to keep the offense moving, and Wagaman was in that group after joining the organization as a fill-in option. The 110 mph drive was his first hit as a Met, and it arrived with the kind of authority that gets noticed right away, especially on a day when the club was searching for answers rather than style points.
Wagaman’s arrival in the lineup also intersected with Jared Young’s return from injury, which is where the decision becomes less straightforward. Young had just come back, but Wagaman’s immediate production gave the Mets a live alternative at designated hitter, and it put the team in the familiar spot of deciding whether to keep riding the hot hand or stay with the player who had only recently been cleared to return. Wagaman’s next trip ended with a line drive tracked down in left field, a reminder that one swing can tilt the conversation even when the rest of the night does not.
There is little mystery about why Wagaman is being watched so closely. Last season in Miami, he played 140 games in his rookie campaign and hit.250 with a.296 on-base percentage, nine homers and 53 RBIs, numbers that suggest a useful major league bat rather than a finished product. The Mets have been trying to patch together offense while injuries stack up, and that makes every sharp at-bat matter more than it would in a healthier lineup.
His evening ended early when Young entered because of pitching matchups, which leaves the Mets with a practical choice rather than a rhetorical one. If Wagaman keeps producing like this, the club will have to find room for him even as Young works back into rhythm. For now, the louder swing belongs to Wagaman, and Queens may have given the Mets a new lineup question they did not have when the day began.
