Young’s stubborn streak steadies Mets amid early pain

Jared Young’s path to the Mets roster wasn’t supposed to happen. After a meniscus tear hit him at the worst time, the club’s struggles made his absence feel like another blow. Now, with fastballs finally clicking and a steady plan at the plate, Young is showin

SAN DIEGO — Friday started with injury timing that felt almost cruel. Jared Young went into the lineup against the Padres after his own meniscus tear landed on April 12, right when the Mets were sliding into what would become a 12-game losing streak.

Before Mike Tauchman suffered a meniscus tear in the final week of spring training, the Opening Day roster picture for Young looked shaky. Tauchman had outperformed Young, who was hitting .150 in eight games.

Then the Mets lost Young to a meniscus tear of his own. In the stretch before it. he had a .295/.373/.500 slash line with two homers and five RBIs in his first 19 games—numbers that made the team’s next problem feel immediate: not just losing a player. but trying to survive without someone who was already producing while the rest of the club struggled.

Young said it plainly when describing how the injury timing felt. “It sucked. ” he told Newsday about the ill-timed injury Friday before the game in which he hit cleanup and played first base. “There’s not really [anything you can do keep your timing]. You can’t really replicate at-bats and I can’t take any when I was able to move my legs. so there wasn’t a whole bunch I could do.”.

But there was a beat after the frustration—one that sounded like resolve replacing the calendar. “Being stubborn in baseball’s not always a bad thing.”

Young fits a profile that can be misleading in a sport that rewards volatility. Outwardly, he’s a mild-mannered Canadian. The way his career and recovery have played out is different: he’s stubborn, and it’s kept showing up when it mattered.

He was stubborn when he was placed on outright waivers by the Cubs in 2023 after playing 22 games with them over the course of two years. He was stubborn when he resuscitated his career by playing in Korea for a season. He was stubborn during his 43-day injury recovery. when there was plenty of room for doubt about whether he could sustain the early returns.

Now, that stubbornness is showing up in his at-bats again.

Going into Friday’s game, Young was hitting .250 with five runs, one double, two homers, three RBIs and four walks in eight games since returning from the injured list. He has become a real weapon against right-handed pitchers—batting .333 against them with five extra-base hits.

The contrast with last season’s Mets tenure is sharp. Though he hit .300 in 75 games with Triple-A Syracuse last year, his 22 games with the Mets were uninspiring. Against the fastball, he was hitting .190.

This year, the fastball is where things have turned. He’s hitting fastballs at a .467 clip. He doesn’t miss pitches in the strike zone. swinging on more than 70% of pitches in the zone and hitting more than 77% of them. Even if he’s elevating the ball less, contact is finding holes. The numbers suggest the same idea from different angles: better timing, tighter execution, fewer wasted swings.

Manager Carlos Mendoza pointed to the mechanical and mental shift. “He’s shorter to the ball, on time,” Mendoza said. “There was some swing and miss from him [last year]. especially against that pitch at the top of the zone. but we’ve seen him make some adjustments and that’s what good hitters do. and I think the more that he continues to get opportunities. the more he continues to play. [it] allows him to make those adjustments.”.

Those opportunities are now part of the Mets’ day-to-day planning. Mark Vientos. the Mets’ primary option at first base. has scuffled on defense and hasn’t hit righties well. batting .190 against them. Jorge Polanco. who was in play to be activated Friday. will remain in Triple-A Syracuse for the time being as the Mets want him to “continue to build volume there. ” Mendoza said. Even when he returns, Polanco will primarily serve as a designated hitter.

So Young is here—hitting, playing, and building.

“It’s staying in the zone, being ready to hit and being ready to hit early — those are a couple things that will breed success,” Young said.

It’s also a strategy that matches what Mendoza has already seen from the team. Mendoza has noted that his team has a tendency to miss hittable pitches early in counts. That’s where Young’s approach matters: it’s not just what he does. but what he refuses to do when the first swing doesn’t go his way.

Young talked about it like something he’s learned to repeat, not something he waits to feel. “They weren’t always happy [at-bats],” he said. “You’d have at-bats where things aren’t going your way, but it’s about not getting discouraged and knowing that the plan you brought in is going to work.”

Mendoza framed it as both control and impact. “[He has] an ability to control the strike zone . . . He’s got pop, but he’s got a pretty good understanding of what pitchers are trying to do to him. It’s just good to see it and he’s been an impactful bat.”

Young said part of the shift came from the time that forced him out of familiar routines: his stint in the KBO. “I think anywhere you go. you can learn from different people and the game is played a little bit different. ” he said. “I think anywhere you go. you can learn from different people and the game is played a little bit different. ” he added. saying he saw a lot of off-speed pitches and that the smaller. stickier ball led to more spin. “You don’t see a whole lot of sinkers over there. so if you’re not getting fastballs. you’re going to have a tough time. I think it can help your approach . . . It led me to being a more well-rounded player.”.

When rehab came, that broadening showed up as something he could lean on. “There were times where I was like. this [rehab] is getting to be a little long or it doesn’t feel the same when you come back — your body’s doing different things and not as strong — definitely. my leg [in the beginning] wasn’t as strong as it was before. but you just find the new normal.”.

So what did he lean on during that long stretch? “Hope,” he said. “And knowing that, when it is executed, his approach plays well.”

He returned to the simplest version of his plan: trust it, even when the results lag. “You get in the box and trust [the plan],” he said. “You don’t need to change the plan just because one at-bat didn’t go your way. That’s just how baseball is.”

The message that keeps landing with Young isn’t flashy. It’s stubborn—inside the batter’s box and out. “The key, he said, is ‘believing in it a little more . . . It’s about being stubborn in the batter’s box.’ And out of it, too.”

Back in the Mets’ orbit, there are other roster updates that shape what’s next. Francisco Alvarez (meniscus) will catch in back-to-back games with Triple-A Syracuse and is in play to rejoin the Mets on the upcoming homestand. Mendoza said. After his recent success, Sean Manaea is in play to pitch Sunday, either as a starter or with an opener.

For Young, though, the immediate work is straightforward: keep hitting, keep showing up, keep the plan intact. The Mets are still searching for consistency. And on this trip to San Diego. Young’s recovery story—and his refusal to let one rough moment decide the rest—has become something more useful than motivation.

It’s production.

Jared Young Mets Padres Carlos Mendoza meniscus tear KBO Opening Day roster Sean Manaea Francisco Alvarez Mark Vientos Jorge Polanco