Gavin Cecchini played his first game of the 2019 season on Sunday night for the Brooklyn Cyclones after tearing his quad in Spring Training.
Cecchini, 25, started the game at shortstop, which is a position he has not played since the 2016 season.
On the offensive side of things, the Mets’ former first-round pick started his day with a line drive double to left-center field that hit of the middle of the wall. He was very happy to get that first hit out of the way.
“I squared that one up pretty good. It was good to get the first one out of the way so now it’s time to move on and keep going.”
In his next two at-bats, however, he struck out in each of his next two plate appearances and popped out to first base in his last at-bat, finishing his day with a 1-for-4 line.
After the game, Cecchini said that he feels like he’s in good health now and that he is just looking to get back into the swing of things in the organization.
“I feel great, my body feels great. Just getting my timing back and today was a good first step. It was my first game I’ve played nine innings in almost seven months since you don’t really play nine innings in Spring Training. Obviously, I was hurt at the beginning of the year until now so it felt good to get out there and play nine innings, get some good swings, and make some plays.”
Going forward, Cyclones’ manager, Edgardo Alfonzo, said that the team plans to “move [Cecchini] around a bit because that’s what his role is going to be.”
Cecchini has no problem with that as he intimated a desire to do whatever the team needs from him now or in the future.
“I’m here to do whatever the team needs me to do. I’m more than happy to play anywhere and help the team win. I feel comfortable at third, second, short. So, wherever they need me, I’m here.”
Another topic Cecchini discussed was his tough luck so far in his career. The infielder only played in his first game of the 2019 season on Sunday and appeared in a mere 31 minor league games during the 2018 season.
That, at least in part, led to the Mets designating him for assignment and removing him from the 40-man roster before the start of the 2019 season. He was outrighted to the minors after nobody claimed him off waivers.
While he’s had a rough time establishing himself so far, he still has confidence in himself and believes that good health is all he needs to take off and perform in the organization.
“I wouldn’t really call it adversity. If you look at my numbers, they’ve been really good, it’s just that I’ve been injured. That’s something that you sometimes can control, but in my instance, you can’t. Last year, I was hit with a 96 MPH fastball, I can’t really control that and this year I tore my quad. I’m doing everything I can to stay healthy. When I am, the numbers are there so it’s just a matter of staying healthy and going out there and doing my thing.”
In seven minor league seasons entering today, Cecchini had a .284/.348/.399 slash line with 32 home runs and 246 RBI.
Cecchini has also appeared in the majors in parts of two seasons, albeit in a very limited sample size, in which he has hit .217/.270/.301 with one homer and nine RBI.
As for what comes next for the infielder, he says that he will remain with the Cyclones on Tuesday and Wednesday, but is not sure what will come after that.
The Mets will be hoping that the 12th overall pick from the 2012 MLB Draft can stay healthy going forward and, hopefully, perform well enough to find his niche on the major league team at some point.
