For one night, nine years after they were drafted two rounds apart, Eric Wagaman and Jared Young made for a dynamic duo at designated hitter.
Wagaman went 1-for-2 with a 415-foot solo home run in the second inning off Reds lefty starter Andrew Abbott. Young, pinch-hitting when the Reds brought in righty Zach Maxwell, delivered a single in the seventh and scored on Carson Benge‘s two-out hit. The Mets (23-33) broke a five-game losing streak with a 4-2 win in front of 33,453 at Citi Field.
If and when he returns from the injured list, the switch-hitting Jorge Polanco will likely take over much of the DH duties. Polanco (Achilles) started a rehab assignment at Double-A Binghamton Wednesday and went 1-for-2 with a single and a run scored. He could return in June. In a worst-case scenario, he could be shut down and need surgery.
But while the Mets wait and see on Polanco, this pair could platoon and provide a lift.
Eric Wagaman by Berto Carlo
Wagaman, 28, slashed .283/.321/.462 and hit five homers in 173 at-bats vs. lefties for the Marlins last season. (One of the homers was off of David Peterson.) Young is 8-for-22 with two doubles vs. righties this year.
Wagaman, you may recall, burned the Mets last year on the season’s final day. He doubled off of Ryne Stanek in the fourth inning to break a scoreless tie and the Marlins went on to a 4-0 victory that cost the Mets a playoff spot.
The pair were both drafted in 2017. Wagaman went in the 13th round to the Yankees out of Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, Calif. Young was selected in the 15th round by the Cubs out of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.
The Angels took Wagaman from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft in 2023 and he debuted with Los Angeles in 2024 before going to Miami in free agency. The Marlins traded him to the Twins for a minor-league pitcher last offseason and the Mets picked him up off of waivers from Minnesota last month.
Young, 30, debuted for Chicago in 2022, playing in six games. The Cardinals took him off of waivers in 2023, but he never played for St. Louis. He rejuvenated his career with a quick stop in Korea before the Mets signed him as a free agent in December 2024.
