It was only a matter of when the Mets would recall Eric Campbell.
He was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on April 4 as the odd man out when the Mets decided they would carry eight relievers in the bullpen and only four players on the bench.
With Anthony Recker as their backup catcher, the Mets were left with very little choice. They had just signed John Mayberry Jr. to be their primary right-handed bat off the bench, Kirk Nieuwenhuis is out of options and a left-handed hitter, and they needed a natural middle infield backup – that job went to Ruben Tejada, who is also out of options.
With Campbell having his three player options at the Mets disposal, he became the obvious roster casualty, undeservingly at that. Campbell hit only .246 in camp but did hit two home runs. But it was his versatility which the Mets sorely needed as evidenced by the events which transpired on Tuesday night at Citi Field when the Mets simply ran out of position players due to the short bench.
“He plays third. He gives us versatility as well, which [on Tuesday] night demonstrated we could use with a short bench,’’ Sandy Alderson before Wednesday’s game. “He got off to a really good start. Some of the other guys that were candidates were not off to the same start as Campbell. Campbell is sort of a plug-and-play. We’ll see how it goes.’’
When David Wright pulled his hamstring on Tuesday, the Mets immediately summoned for their versatile utility player, who was already 1-for-1 and hitting .550 for the Las Vegas 51s in the early part of the season. They were in Sacramento, California, and Campbell left the game and had to find his way to New York in time for Wednesday’s game against the Phillies.
“It’s a good feeling [being back]. The way I performed last year and this year in spring training helped,’’ Campbell told the New York Post.
Jet lagged and all, Campbell was immediately inserted into the Mets lineup, and he delivered immediately, going 1-for-5 with a run scored and plating a run on a fielders choice ground out.
“Once you get out there you don’t really realize that you haven’t slept. You’re on adrenaline. That’s usually how it is every game here,’’ Campbell said. “It felt good to get that first knock out of the way, that first RBI, go from there. I’m a lot more comfortable out there this year than at the beginning of last year.’’
“It felt good to get that first knock out of the way, that first RBI, go from there. I’m a lot more comfortable out there this year than at the beginning of last year.’’
As long as the Mets continue to play with a short bench, Campbell’s roster status is going to be shaky. But for now, Terry Collins said Campbell is going to be the third baseman while Wright is out. For good reasons, they will not move Wilmer Flores or Daniel Murphy from their respective positions, and they simple don’t view Tejada as an effective starting position player at this point in time.
That leaves Campbell as the everyday player at the hot corner, a position he played 19 times in 86 games in 2014, and 195 times in 655 career minor league games.
It’s difficult to envision the Mets going with the short bench for too much longer considering what happened on Tuesday. But as the starters continue to get stretched out and build up their pitch counts, the need for extended flexibility in the bullpen diminishes as well.
By the time Wright is ready to return, the starters could be at that point, and that could mean Campbell would be here to stay.
Just Mets 