Mets Set To Promote Outfielder A.J. Ewing To Make MLB Debut

[Steve Drumwright]

 

The desperation is real, which is why the New York Mets are turning to a player with a grand total of 12 games above the Double-A level.

Outfielder A.J. Ewing, Grand Central Mets' No. 3 prospect, will be promoted by the Mets to make his MLB debut, according to a report Monday by Will Sammon of The Athletic. The 21-year-old Ewing has played 12 games at Triple-A Syracuse this year after starting the season at Double-A Binghamton. Even at Binghamton, Ewing had played just 48 games—28 last year and 18 this year.

The Mets entered play Monday with the worst record in MLB at 15-25, already 12½ games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East.

 

At least one move will need to be made to get Ewing on the 40-man and 26-man rosters before Tuesday's series opener vs. the Detroit Tigers at Citi Field. One possibility is outfielder Austin Slater being designated for assignment.

Still, Ewing, a fourth-round draft choice in 2023 out of Springboro (Ohio) High School, has been tearing the cover off the ball the last two years regardless of the level. In his dozen games at Syracuse, the left-handed-hitting Ewing had a slash line of .326/.392/.435 with no homers, four RBIs and five stolen bases. That came after posting a .339/.447/.514 slash line at Binghamton with two homers, 11 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. He also has shown patience at the plate, drawing 17 walks in those 18 games at Binghamton.

In 2025, between the rookie-level Florida Complex League, High-A St. Lucie and Double-A, Ewing had a combined slash line of .315/.401/.429 with three homers, 55 RBIs and 70 stolen bases in 124 games.

Ewing is a contact-minded hitter with superb defense in center field. He has also played left field and a little second base. 

 

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[Frayed Knot]

KUWL!!

Ideally it would have happened after a little more seasoning but these aren't ideal times.

[metirish]

Aggressive move , looking forward to seeing him

[seawolf17]

Yeah, let's go. Time for the youth movement. It'll be ugly at times, but give us something to look forward to!

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

I like this. We're giving too many at-bats to guys from the scrap heap. Even if he heads back down when Robert is back, this will be good for the team.

[The Hot Corner]

This team desperately needs a spark.  The current offense is abysmal.   I would much rather give at bats to him, than to Ibanez, Brujan or even Semien for that matter.

Welcome A.J. and best of luck to you. 

[Centerfield]

Feels desperate but it beats the alternative. 
 

this suggests Luis Robert Jr is not close to returning. 

[ashie62]

I believe we will see very little of Robert Polanco or Lindor

Welcome AJ!!

[Edgy MD]

It'll be curious if he bats leadoff right out of the box, like Reyes, or will they force him to hit his way up the lineup.

[MFS62]

11 hours ago, The Hot Corner said:

This team desperately needs a spark.  

This 

later

[Edgy MD]

Any word on a corresponding transaction?

MJ Melendez would be the most obvious guy to displace, as the lefthanded hitter closest to the bottom of the outfield depth chart, but he's been the most consistent batsman on the team this side of Juan Soto.

Vidal Bruján — last guy on the roster — would then seemingly be behind the eight ball, but that would make Semien the backup shortstop, and he hasn't played there since 2022.

That's still the way I'd go.  Defensive depth is a luxury for teams that hit.

[The Hot Corner]

14 hours ago, Edgy MD said:

It'll be curious if he bats leadoff right out of the box, like Reyes, or will they force him to hit his way up the lineup.

I would like to see them plant him at leadoff.  It's not like we have a lot of guys hitting (or getting on base) with regularity.  

Put him in CF (or second base, but I don't see that happening) and let him learn on the job as they have done with Benge.  At this point, I don't view this team as a playoff worthy team, so I am all for playing the top prospects to see if they can be counted on in the future. 

[seawolf17]

Andy Ibanez and his .000 / .000 / .000 stat line are DFAed to make room.

[seawolf17]

And Ewing will wear 9, sez SNY.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Oooh! Just like... Gregg Jefferies.

[Edgy MD]

8 minutes ago, seawolf17 said:

Andy Ibanez and his .000 / .000 / .000 stat line are DFAed to make room.

And see, I didn't even think of that guy.

 

1 minute ago, seawolf17 said:

And Ewing will wear 9, sez SNY.

Someday, maybe not for a while, we are going to read some serious shit about what went down between Brandon Nimmo and the organization.

[seawolf17]

Does Ewing look like Al Leiter here? A little bit? I can't unsee it.

[Edgy MD]

It's the anniversary of Leiter's no-hitter.

[Benjamin Grimm]

So each player will try to look as much like Al Leiter as possible? That's a nice idea!

[seawolf17]

This is a cool but random stat that Gelbs just posted:

What a nugget from the great Sarah Langs:

Last night, A.J. Ewing became the 19th player with multiple walks and a stolen base in his MLB debut (since the modern SB rule was adopted in 1898).

The last player to do that? Carson Benge on Opening Day.

It’s the first season that has happened multiple times in the majors since 1904, when Sam Woodruff and Miller Huggins both did it for Cincinnati.

[smg58]

On 5/11/2026 at 10:47 PM, Edgy MD said:

It'll be curious if he bats leadoff right out of the box, like Reyes, or will they force him to hit his way up the lineup.

I'd like to think that three walks in his first game qualifies as forcing his way up.  

 

[Edgy MD]

It just seems like, in the post-Moneyball era, across several management administrations, the Mets (and, in fairness, many other organizations) pay lip service to the importance of OBP, but players who actually perform well by that metric get marginalize — traded off before reaching the majors, outright released in the minors, or forced to change their approach to give up OBP for power (often ending up with not enough of either).

Hopefully this guy gets to be on-base machine he was born to be.

[Edgy MD]

On 5/12/2026 at 1:45 PM, seawolf17 said:

And Ewing will wear 9, sez SNY.

It would have been fun — though probably a bad idea long-term for several reasons — to have given him 33.

[MFS62]

Baseball writer Ken Rosenthal called it a "desperation move".

I'd like to see him eat those words.

Later

 

[seawolf17]

I tell you, I'm excited by Ewing. He looks a little old for a rookie, but he's fun to watch.