In the midst of a chaotic Friday morning, the New York Mets made several more roster moves ahead of their series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Mets activated outfielder Tyrone Taylor from the 10-day injured list and optioned MJ Melendez to Triple-A Syracuse. They also officially announced the recall of pitching prospect Zach Thornton and optioned reliever Daniel Duarte to the minors. Thornton will make his second career major league start tonight against Philadelphia.
Before suffering a right hip flexor strain, Taylor was having a down year by his standards in his third season in Queens. He hit just .186/.210/.320 with a .530 OPS, three home runs, and 14 RBI.
However, he provided arguably the lone bright moment of the Mets' season when he hit a pinch-hit game-tying three-run homer against the New York Yankees on May 17. Taylor will return to his role as the club's fourth outfielder, drawing starts against left-handers and serving as a late-game defensive replacement.
As for Melendez, the 27-year-old provided a spark after the Mets called him up on April 15. Through his first 40 at-bats, he hit .325 and became New York's most consistent hitter during a prolonged offensive slump.
But as he received more regular playing time, Melendez cooled off. His batting average dropped to .192 with four home runs and a .665 OPS. Like Taylor, Melendez also delivered a memorable moment, hitting a walk-off home run against the Miami Marlins on May 29.
Of course, all of these moves pale in comparison to the biggest news of the day. The Mets fired their manager, Carlos Mendoza, earlier this morning.
Former San Diego Padres manager Andy Green will serve as the club's interim manager for the rest of the season. Green spent the past two and a half seasons as the Mets' vice president of player development. The team also announced he will wear No. 70.
This marks the second major move the Mets have made this week. On Wednesday night, they traded their longest-tenured player, starter David Peterson, to the Chicago Cubs.
After Thursday night's loss, the Mets have dropped six straight games and sit a season-worst 13 games under .500 at the halfway point of the season. Mendoza certainly did not deserve all the blame. Still, a team with championship expectations needed to make a significant change after such a dreadful first half.
That does not mean the Mets will suddenly turn things around and make the postseason. More than likely, they won't. But the organization needed to send a message. This season has been a failure, and the Mets owed their fans some acknowledgment that the status quo was no longer acceptable.
