Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Making rare start at second base
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Escobar is starting at second base and batting second Wednesday versus the Rays.
Escobar is making just his second start of the season at the keystone after he didn't make any starts at the position all of last season. He's also batting higher than seventh for the first time this season.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Goes deep as pinch hitter
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Escobar went 1-for-1 with a two-run homer in Tuesday's loss to the Rays.
Escobar entered as a pinch hitter for the DH spot in the ninth and sent a sinker over the left field wall to make it a three-run deficit for the Mets. He now has a hit in four straight games and is slashing .429/.455/.952 over his last 22 plate appearances but continues to lose work to Brett Baty at third base. An injury in the Mets infield would likely be required for Escobar to see consistent playing time again. For the year, he's slashing just .211/.250/.437 with four homers, 11 RBI, nine runs and a 4:16 BB:K over 77 plate appearances.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Handling hot corner
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Escobar is starting at third base and batting eighth for the Mets on Friday against the Nationals, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.
Brett Baty has started three of the last four against lefties, but Escobar is subbing in for him versus MacKenzie Gore. Escobar has a .646 OPS against southpaws this season, which is actually much better than his .459 OPS against righties.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Pops second homer
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Escobar went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in Thursday's win over the Giants.
He took southpaw Sean Manaea deep for his second long ball of the year as part of a five-run fourth inning for the Mets that put the game out of reach. Escobar is stuck on the short side of a platoon right now while New York gives prospect Brett Baty a long look at the hot corner, but the veteran could yet win back the starting job at third base if he gets going at the plate and the rookie struggles. Over his last four games, Escobar's gone 4-for-16 with a double and a homer, and Thursday's multi-hit performance was his first of the season.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Losing work to Baty
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Escobar is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.
He'll sit against Dodgers right-hander Noah Syndergaard, marking the second time in three days that Escobar has exited the lineup when a righty has taken the hill for the opposition. Escobar's recent usage confirms that he's faded into a short-side platoon role at third base following the recent promotion of the lefty-hitting Brett Baty to the majors.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Not in lineup Saturday
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Escobar is not in the starting lineup Saturday at Oakland.
Luis Guillorme will cover third base and bat eighth against the Athletics and hard-throwing right-hander Shintaro Fujinami. Escobar and Guillorme could soon be unseated by top prospect Brett Baty, who's been on a tear at Triple-A Syracuse.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Clock could be ticking
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Escobar could be running out of time to solidify his hold on the starting third base job for the Mets, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.
The veteran is batting just .103 (4-for-39) with one homer in 12 games to begin the season, and more discouragingly, that lack of base hits comes with a 2:11 BB:K and an average exit velocity in the bottom five percent of the league as well as a 12th percentile hard-hit rate. The Mets also have an alternative ready at hand in top prospect Brett Baty, who is off to a scorching start at Triple-A. Escobar still has time to shake off his early season slump, but with the team off to a 7-6 start that's fallen a bit short of expectations, meaning a switch at the hot corner could be on the table.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Homers for first time in victory
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Escobar went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's win over the Marlins.
Escobar extended the lead for the Mets with a two-run shot off Huascar Brazoban in the sixth inning. The veteran third baseman has gotten off to a terrible start even with the homer as seen in a slash of .107/.138/.214. Escobar will have to start hitting if he's going to hold off Brett Baty -- assuming Baty is healthy after dealing with a thumb injury this spring -- from taking over at the hot corner.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Sitting Wednesday
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Escobar will take a seat Wednesday versus the Brewers.
Escobar will be on the bench for the second time in three games Wednesday after he went 1-for-4 in Tuesday's loss. Luis Guillorme will replace him at third base and bat ninth in the series finale with Milwaukee.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Taking a seat Monday
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Escobar is absent from the Mets' lineup for Monday's game in Milwaukee, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.
Luis Guillorme will get the start at third base. Escobar is 1-for-16 with seven strikeouts and no walks to start the season. He probably doesn't need to look over his shoulder quite yet, but with Brett Baty off to a nice start with Triple-A Buffalo, Escobar would be wise to pick it up.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Could be on short leash
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Escobar's poor spring, as well as a big performance from Brett Baty, have given the Mets a tough decision to make at third base, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.
Escobar's 4-for-30 (.133) spring comes with just one extra-base hit, a double, while Baty has raked to the tune of a .325 batting average (13-for-40) with a home run and two stolen bases, although the 23-year-old has struck out 14 times in 50 plate appearances. Escobar remains the favorite to start at the hot corner Opening Day while Baty heads back to Triple-A for more seasoning, but a slow start from the veteran could prompt the Mets to make a quick switch, as there's little margin for error in what should be an ultra-competitive NL East.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Little impact at plate
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Escobar has gone just 2-for-20 at the plate this spring with zero extra-base hits.
The veteran is still penciled in as the Mets' starting third baseman to begin the season, but Escobar hasn't done much in camp to suggest he's going to rebound significantly from the tepid .240/.295/.430 slash line he posted in 2022. If he has another sluggish start at the plate, the door could open for Brett Baty to take the job at the hot corner early in the season.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Looking to rebound from tough year
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Escobar was dealing with an off-field family issue last season that impacted his performance, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.
"It was really hard," Escobar said this week. "I love baseball and respect my teammates. My problems are my problems. And I try to separate my problems from the job. But it was really hard throughout the season, especially when you're coming to a big team as a new player. It led to trying too much." The 34-year-old still slugged 20 home runs in 2022 for the fifth time in his career, but his .725 OPS was his lowest over a full season since 2016. The issue got dealt with in August, and Escobar's .321/.385/.596 slash line in September and October suggests he regained his focus in spades. He has extra incentive to rebound in 2023 as well -- prospect Brett Baty will be pushing for the starting job at third base this summer, and Mets owner Steve Cohen could potentially pursue free-agent-to-be Manny Machado next winter.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Heads to bench Wednesday
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Escobar isn't starting Wednesday against the Nationals.
Escobar is getting a rare chance to rest during Wednesday's regular-season finale after he went 2-for-12 with a run, an RBI, three walks and five strikeouts over the last four games. Mark Vientos will start at the hot corner and bat seventh.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Carries offense with five RBI
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Escobar went 3-for-5 with a home run and five RBI in Wednesday's 5-4 victory over the Marlins.
Escobar put the team on his back Wednesday with a two-run homer off lefty starter Jesus Luzardo in the seventh inning, a two-run single to tie the game in the eighth and a walk-off RBI single in the 10th. The third baseman has accumulated nine multi-hit games in his last 20, including two three-hit games in his last three contests. In addition, the 33-year-old has tallied 11 RBI over his last five games.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Mashes grand slam
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Escobar went 1-for-5 with a grand slam and an additional run in a 9-2 win against the Athletics on Friday.
Escobar connected on a two-out grand slam in the fifth inning off Oakland starter Cole Irvin and later tacked on New York's final run in the seventh. The long ball is the seventh of September for the 33-year-old who continues to rake with a .329/.388/.671 slash line, 15 runs and 17 RBI in 21 games this month.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Sleeper hitters for Week 25 (Sept. 19-25)
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With another big performance against the Pirates over the weekend, Escobar is proving to be a key contributor at a weak position down the stretch. He faces another slate of questionable pitchers this week, including Adrian Houser, Cole Irvin, Ken Waldichuk and JP Sears.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Powers offense in win
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Escobar went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Saturday's 5-1 win over the Pirates.
Escobar's blast in the second inning was all the offense the Mets needed. He's hit safely in 13 of 16 games in September, going 22-for-56 (.393) with nine extra-base hits, including six homers. The 33-year-old's strong month has restored him to a starting role at third base, and it's lifted his season slash line to .240/.292/.434 through 122 contests. He's added 18 homers, 56 RBI, 54 runs scored and 24 doubles.
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Possible waiver wire pickups
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Maybe a little rest is all Escobar needed. After a minimum IL stint for a strained oblique, he has come back to do all the things that he wasn't for the first 4 1/2 months. To be more specific, he's batting .413 (19 for 46) with five home runs in just 14 games, reclaiming the everyday third base job from the kids who threatened to take it away from him. Of course, he's bound to slow down sooner or later, but he was expected to be a solid contributor at a weak position coming into the year. Why shouldn't those expectations apply again now that he's hot, especially with a favorable slate against the Cubs and Pirates this week and the Brewers and Athletics next week?
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Mets' Eduardo Escobar: Stays hot with homer
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Escobar went 3-for-5 with one double, one homer, two RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's 11-3 win over the Marlins.
Escobar gave the Mets the lead with an RBI double in the fourth inning and led off the seventh with a home run off righty reliever Jeff Brigham. The third baseman has been on a great run in his last eight games with a .500 average and 1.496 OPS in 32 plate appearances. After going 18 games without a home run, the 33-year-old has hit four in his last eight games.
