The New York Mets have announced that utilityman Eric Campbell has been optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas to make room on the roster for Michael Cuddyer who has been activated from the disabled list.
The news means that rookie Michael Conforto will remain with the big league team and most likely platoon with Cuddyer in left field.
“I’m glad I’m going to stay. I don’t really know what my role is going to be, but I’m all in,” Conforto told reporters.
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I wanted to update this post with something Sandy Alderson said after the game on Sunday. The Mets GM was asked if he knew yet which player would be optioned to Las Vegas once Michael Cuddyer is activated from the DL on Monday.
Alderson smiled and responded by saying he does know, but that he won’t make an official announcement until tomorrow morning because he has yet to advise the affected player.
But he also said something very interesting in the same breath. Alderson said that “player development is secondary” at this point in the Mets season as they play for the postseason. He also emphasized that the goal is the “best 25 players.”
To me that suggests that rookie Michael Conforto will remain with the team and that Eric Campbell will be demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas before tomorrow’s game against the Colorado Rockies.
I could be wrong, but that’s what it sounded like to me. Let’s hope I’m right.
August 8
I know of no other sport in which fans can form bonds with players on the same scale as we do in baseball. I’m not just talking about any old bonds, I’m talking about the emotional kind of bonds one forms with close friends and family.
I’ve formed just such a bond with 22-year old outfielder Michael Conforto, and after much consideration I’ve concluded that he should be allowed to remain with the team after Michael Cuddyer is activated on Monday.
A few days ago, I was against keeping Conforto on the team because I thought the limited playing time would stunt his development. However, my feelings on the matter have done a complete 180 after watching his performance over his last three games.
This young man has shown a maturity that belies his years and has the inherent qualities of mind and character that elucidate his belonging on a major league team.
In just nine games played, Conforto was a key factor in three of them, producing significantly in high-leverage situations. In doing so, he has woven himself into the very fabric of whatever magic the Mets are spinning these days.
There will still be growing pains , I know. But it feels like Conforto belongs here now. Everything changed when the Mets made the decision to promote him from Double-A Binghamton to the majors.
Call it karma, coincidence or fate, but there is no denying that his youthful energy added some much needed enthusiasm and life to the clubhouse, and that the team’s fortunes were transformed for the better ever since.
How can we send him back to the minors now? After all we’ve seen, and after all he’s done?
Whatever the 2015 Mets end up being and however far they end up going, Michael Conforto is already an integral part of the story, and writing him off now doesn’t sit well with me.
We don’t owe anything to Eric Campbell, but we do have a lot invested in our top pick of the 2014 draft. And as one of my readers convinced me of a few days ago, the experience he is gaining during the team’s pennant chase is incredibly invaluable.
That said, reporters seem to think Terry Collins is leaning toward demoting Conforto and keeping Campbell once Cuddyer is activated. I hope not.
After last night’s thrilling 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, Conforto, whose RBI double in the ninth tied the game up, showed his cerebral side.
“I really wanted to come up there and make an influence on the game,” the Mets rookie said. “I ended up expanding the zone a little bit there to get that base hit. With two strikes, I really wanted to give us a chance. I didn’t want to let a ball get past me and strike out looking.”
“It’s a great feeling,” he concluded wearing a big smile from ear to ear.
There’s so much to like about this kid besides such a sweet swing and a very good approach. I want to see more of him, not less .
