Tim Healey of Newsday reports that Mets’ outfielder Tim Tebow has been shut down for the rest of the 2019 season due to injury. The former NFL quarterback-turned storied professional baseball player sustained what team officials describe as a “deep cut” on his left pinky last month, and it is not expected to heal in time for the season’s conclusion.
Tebow, 31 going on 32, is still expected to remain with the organization for the 2020 season as he continues to scrap his way through the Mets’ minor league system, though he will almost certainly need to improve on his 2019 numbers in order to be considered for any form of a big-league promotion.
In 77 games with Syracuse, Tebow batted just .163/.240/.255 with 98 strikeouts in just 264 plate appearances. His .495 OPS ranked at the very bottom of the International League (minimum 250 PAs), with the second-worst, Orioles’ outfielder Cedric Mullins, pulling in over 80 points ahead at .578. His struggles come off the heels of what was arguably his most successful year with Double-A Binghamton in 2018, when he slashed .273/.336/.399 in 84 games as a left fielder.
Signed at the end of 2016 following a tryout in front of several big-league scouts, much of Tebow’s appeal to this point is owed to his marketability as a once-nationally renowned quarterback with both the Denver Broncos and New York Jets. However, his steadfast charitable efforts and continued praise as a clubhouse leader with experience on a big stage have certainly benefited him on an evaluative level.
Though nothing is confirmed, it seems all but certain Tebow will receive at-bats for a fourth-consecutive spring training should the team retain him for the 2020 season. He is just 9-for-60 in Grapefruit League action with no extra-base hits.
