There was a period of time when we asked ourselves why it was DJ Stewart that the organization had turned to in a point of desperation. Yes, the Mets’ season wasn’t officially in the toilet just yet, as New York was amidst its largest winning streak of the season, but calling up a 29-year-old Quad-A player to take away potential at-bats from the likes of Mark Vientos was a stretch too far.

Of course, Stewart spent the previous five seasons with the Orioles and played under Buck Showalter in Baltimore. But this was the same player that had all of three at-bats at the Major League level in 2022 and struck out twice in those plate appearances. So even with him having familiarity with the manager, his presence on the roster was a curious one.

Not so much anymore, though.

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During Monday’s 10-4 win over the Atlanta Braves, it was Stewart who went yard again. Stewart, who now has five home runs in his last 18 at-bats, went 2-for-3 with two RBIs (a solo shot and perfectly excused safety squeeze). 

This sudden power surge from Stewart has suddenly turned him from an afterthought to a player who can potentially play a role for the Mets in 2024 and beyond, as a part-time player, of course. 

It took Stewart some time to get settled in, though. In his first 24 games (12 starts) since being promoted, Stewart hit .209/.327/.395 with just two home runs, five RBIs and an OPS of .722. But something clicked in a 7-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 15, in which he hit his second home run as a Met. Stewart followed that up with a multi-home run performance. Over the past week, he’s 6-of-14 with four home runs and seven RBIs. That’s not even mentioning the home run that he was robbed of over the weekend in St. Louis.

During his time with the Orioles, he hit 26 home runs and walked in 13.2% of his plate appearances, while also striking out at 26.8% rate. With the Mets, he’s walked in 11.6% of his plate appearances, though he is striking out at a 24.6% clip. It’s a small sample size, but it’d indicative of his time with the Orioles, where he slashed .213/.327/.400 and was a part-time player, in part because of his poor defense in the corners.

It’s likely that he’ll continue to play a pivotal role for a Mets team that will almost certainly be without Starling Marte for most, if not the rest, of the season. The only question that’s been raised is his defense in the corners, which can be described as below-average, at best. His defense in New York has been about what you’d expect. At 29 years old, Stewart wasn’t all of a sudden going to become a Gold Glover, but he’s here for his bat after slashing a .229/.326/.516 line in Triple-A Syracuse, to go along with 16 home runs.

It’s never too early to start talking about next season, especially when the Mets already have their eye on 2024 as is. How Stewart fits into the equation that is next season’s team is anyone’s guess, but if he continues to be this player or shows glimpses of the DJ Stewart that we’ve seen over his last week, the Mets are going to have a hard time keeping him off next season’s 26-man roster. That’s not to say that you can rely on him to be a fourth outfielder at this level. But his bat can play at this level, and it has before. He’s at least earned a tendered contract and invite to spring training.

Maybe this is a career renaissance at the plate for Stewart. Time will certainly tell. But, if anything, he’s given the Mets a much-needed spark and given an offense that’s playing three career journeymen on a consistent basis, some juice.