Mets to promote top prospect who was part of Max Scherzer trade

The Mets are planning to promote star prospect Luis Angel Acuña, according to a report Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase (first reported by X user Jorge L. Seoud H.). Acuña is already on the 40-man roster, but the Mets will need to make a corresponding move to open a spot for him on the active roster.

Acuña, 22, signed with the Rangers as an international free agent in 2018. He joined the Mets at last year’s trade deadline in the deal that sent Max Scherzer Back in Texas. As the season begins, The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked him as the No. 2 prospect in the Mets’ system. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel had him at No. 3, as did MLB Pipeline, while Baseball America ranked him No. 4. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen didn’t have as high an opinion of Acuña, but still ranked him as the No. 6 prospect in the system.

Unfortunately, Acuña has struggled in Triple-A in 2024, posting a .654 OPS and 69 wRC+ in 131 games. The silver lining is that he has 40 stolen bases and the skills to play good defense at second base and center field. Still, there’s no denying he’s been called up due to the team’s desperation, not his own merit, given the lack of infield options on the Mets’ major league roster. Jeff McNeil out for The rest of the regular season – and possibly the playoffs too – José Iglesias has moved to the regular line-up and Eddy Alvarez is the only infielder left on the bench. However, Alvarez joined the Mets organization after Sept. 1, meaning he won’t be eligible for the postseason roster. New York will need a new infielder for the bench once October rolls around.

In addition to that, Francisco Lindor left today’s game against the Phillies with back discomfort. He is being monitored day-to-day and is not particularly concerned about the injury (according to Anthony DiComo (MLB.com), but it’s unclear when he’ll be back in the lineup. He told reporters after the game (including DiComo) that all he can do is wake up on Saturday, see how he feels and go from there. Even if Lindor is only out for a game or two, it makes sense that the Mets would want to have another infielder on the active roster.