The Mets are about to have an intriguing center field option a phone call away from the majors, and got off to a good start on Thursday night.
Drew Gilbert, who recently played in six games for Single-A St. Lucie while ramping up following a 2024 season that was severely impacted by a hamstring injury, was activated by Triple-A Syracuse ahead of Thursday’s game after he slashed .375/.444/.708 with two home runs and two doubles over 27 plate appearances for St. Lucie.
And in his first game back, he went 1-for-4 with a run scored in Syracuse’s 2-0 win over Buffalo. The lone hit came in the first inning when the left-hander hit a line drive to right field off a 93 mph fastball from Lazaro Estrada on a 2-1 count. Gilbert would later come around to score thanks to a Billy McKinney single.
Drew Gilbert gets his first Triple-A hit of the year!
He later came home to score on a hit by Billy McKinney pic.twitter.com/wxE185cxip
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 17, 2025
Last season for Syracuse, during what was his first taste of Triple-A, Gilbert had just a .706 OPS while missing a large chunk of the season due to the aforementioned hamstring injury.
He was solid while playing in the Arizona Fall League after the season, posting a .783 OPS and smacking four home runs in 21 games.
With the Mets set to be without center fielder Jose Siri for an extended period due to a broken tibia, their center field situation is in flux.
Tyrone Taylor is in line to get the bulk of the starts there in Siri’s absence, and can provide immense value defensively. But New York is also exploring other options.
Jeff McNeil, who is in the midst of a rehab assignment, is expected to get the start in center field on Thursday for St. Lucie. McNeil has gotten two games of center field experience during his big league career, and manager Carlos Mendoza said on Wednesday that the Mets are comfortable using him there.
The same goes for Luisangel Acuña, who played 35 games over 289.0 innings in center field in the minors in 2024. However, Mendoza suggested that Acuña getting time in center in the majors might not be in the team’s immediate plans.
Then there’s Gilbert.
The 24-year-old is a sparkplug type of player who has gotten the bulk of his professional innings in center. SNY contributor Joe DeMayo wrote in his recent Mets Top 30 list that Gilbert’s long-term future might be in one of the corner outfield spots, but it’s fair to believe his name will be in the mix for a call up if he excels in Triple-A and the Mets have a need in center over the coming weeks and months.
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