Mets officially promote A.J. Ewing, DFA Andy Ibáñez
· Yahoo Sports
The Mets made the promotion of prospect A.J. Ewing official on Tuesday afternoon. In a corresponding move, Andy Ibáñez was designated for assignment.
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Ewing, who was ranked No. 6 on Amazin’ Avenue’s preseason prospect list and is currently ranked No. 2 on MLB Pipeline’s list of top Mets prospects, put up an .827 OPS in 12 games after being promoted to Triple-A Syracuse on April 27. The 21-year-old was selected by the Mets in the fourth round of the 2023 Draft (with a pick received as compensation for Jacob deGrom’s departure in free agency) and has thrived at every stage of the Minor Leagues.
In his MLB debut against Jack Flaherty and the Tigers on Tuesday night, Ewing will play center field and bat eighth. He will also wear jersey No. 9, making him the first Met not named Brandon Nimmo to sport that number since Kirk Nieuwenhuis in 2015. Ewing’s presence isn’t the only shakeup in the lineup, as Carson Benge will bat leadoff for the first time since April 19 while Juan Soto bats third for the first time this season.
After being claimed off waivers on April 30, Ibáñez went 0-for-6 with a pair of sacrifice flies in just three games with the Mets. Starting at third base in Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Diamondbacks, he made a pair of costly throwing errors which Carlos Mendoza didn’t mince words about after the game.