Reese Kaplan -- Unexpected Offense From the Forgotten Three

Did you ever have one of those days when your old car that normally refuses to start when you're on a deadline to be somewhere not only turns right over but purrs like a kitten, escorting you to where you want to be ahead of schedule?

Lately the Mets have been something like that but the old cars in question were named The Escobar and The Nido and The McCann when you were clearly ready to ship them all off to the great scrap heap.  

While everyone has been counting on Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Jeff McNeil and others to propel the offense forward to victory, no one gave much thought (other than negative) to these three models, yet it is very much the efforts of the never-count-on-'em trio that has helped the team move forward in this ever tightening race for the NL East

Taking a look at the numbers, first let's consider Eduardo Escobar.  In his best ever season as a pro, he once gave the Arizona Diamondbacks a .269 average accompanied by 35 HRs and 118 RBIs.  That 2019 season when Escobar turned 30 was one for the ages.  While his 2020 was understandably cut short by the onset of the COVID epidemic, his 2021 split between Arizona and Milwaukee was pretty good.  

The numbers were all down a little, but he hit .253 with 28 HRs and 90 RBIs earning him his first All Star berth.  It was this kind of performance that made the Mets sign him to a two year deal with an option for a third at a rate of about $10 million per season which seemed like a bargain rate given his over 2.0 WAR rating.  The standard math is that each WAR whole number is worth about $8 million, so $10 million to get $16 million of value seemed like a savvy investment.

We all know, unfortunately, how the 2022 season turned out.  Between slumps and injuries, Escobar was at solid risk of losing at least half of his job to the light hitting Luis Guillorme whose own health problems have kept him out of the lineup.  Even when Escobar returned, people were more anxious to see what Brett Baty could do rather than what Escobar had been doing.  

All of the sudden the streaky Esobar's switch flipped and he started performing like an All Star.  Since the Washington Series started on September 2nd, Escobar has been hitting a cool .500.  He's added 5 HRs and 9 RBIs over that 9-day period and actually started to reignite some of the positivity fans had when he was signed. 

Then there is the two-headed catcher known as McCanNido.  Up until recently the Mets were looking for the awesome bats of Charlie O'Brien or Josh Thole to help propel them forward as both of the shared starting catchers were struggling to hit the Mendoza line.  

Then all of the sudden the McCann half caught fire.  Starting with the Yankees series McCann has hit .360 since August 22nd.  The run production is not really all there, but a .360 hitter is certainly worthy of being in the lineup.

Now Tomas Nido has earned fans' respect for his defensive skills and his ability to bunt successfully, but his hitting has been pretty much non-existent ll year long. However, starting with the Padres series a month earlier than McCann's reawakening, Nido has been offensively on fire (by Nido standards).  Including Sunday's stellar game, Nido is hitting .285 with his season's first home run in that game.  

No matter how you slice it, it's time to sound the trumpets not just for Edwin Diaz but also in salute to three of the seeming offensive lightweights when the team needs the effort the most.  There are still DH villains to persecute for their lack of effort, but it's time to salute Escobar, McCann and Nido for all that they've done lately.  The pennant chasing Mets sure needed it.