The Mets had to do a lot of shuffling in their outfield on Tuesday night against the Padres, and Luisangel Acuña was actually a part of the mix.
After Juan Sotoleft the game with a foot contusion, Tyrone Taylor came in to play center with Jeff McNeil sliding to right field. But when the Mets had the bases loaded in the fifth, manager Carlos Mendoza pinch-hit for Taylor, calling on Starling Marte.
Marte got the team's only run in their 7-1 loss with a sac fly, but stayed on to play right field.
In the eighth inning, Acuña came in as a defensive replacement for Marte. It's only the second time he's played the outfield in a major league game in his career, both coming this season, but he showed he's pretty capable out there when Xander Bogaerts hit a liner to center field.
Acuña got a good jump and trekked all the way from right center to make a face-first dive to catch the ball.
Luisangel Acuña makes the diving catch in center field.
It's just his second time playing center field this season pic.twitter.com/LHfm5GTJVz
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 30, 2025
"Good to see," Mendoza said of the sliding play. "Got tested right away, gets a really good jump and made a diving play. Good to see."
The Mets skipper was asked if he just wanted to give Acuña a rep in the outfield or whether Marte needed a blow, and Mendoza said it was a combination of both.
"Marte is fine, but coming off — after three innings of defense and where we were at in the game, maybe give Acuña an inning and see what it looks like," he said. "And at the same time trying to protect Marte a little bit."
Marte (knee bruise) just returned from the IL last week, so it makes sense Mendoza would make sure his veteran slugger didn't overdo it, especially with the score out of hand in the later innings. But allowing Acuña to show what he could do in the outfield may also have another effect.
Acuña has been named in potential trade talks with the Chicago White Sox for Luis Robert Jr. — with some reports calling the Mets the frontrunner to acquire the outfielder. Perhaps the rep was to show the White Sox that Acuña can play the outfield in a big league game to increase his value.
Aside from the, now, two appearances in the outfield in MLB, Acuña has plenty of reps in the minors. The Mets began letting him play in the outfield 31 times in 2024 and four times this year — not to mention four games when he was in the Texas Rangers system. Although Acuña is an infielder by trade, the logjam of Mark Vientos, Brett Baty and Jeff McNeil forced the Mets to try to get Acuña another position under his belt.
In limited playing time, Acuña is slashing .239/.295/.283 with a .578 OPS but has speed — 12 steals — and defensive versatility, playing second, third and shortstop along with the outfield this year.
With the 2025 MLB trade deadline set for Thursday at 6 p.m., we'll see if the added versatility is to the White Sox — or another team's — liking.
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