On Thursday night, the Mets decided to not only revert to a more traditional bullpen with seven relievers, but also revert Rafael Montero back to a starting pitcher by demoting him and inserting him into the Las Vegas rotation.
In doing so, the Mets augmented their bench by calling up 26-year-old utility player Daniel Muno.
“Definitely a surprise,” Muno said, according to Maria Guardado of the Star Ledger.
Upon being called up, Muno was pulled from his game in Sacramento and was replaced by Wilfredo Tovar at third base after lining out in his second at-bat. 51s manager Wally Backman decided to mess with Muno before telling him the news.
“He actually joked around a little bit at first, said ‘I’m taking you out, you didn’t run hard to first base on that line out,’” Muno said. “And I was like, ‘What? No way.’ And he was like, ‘Nah, you’re going to the big leagues.’”
Muno exited the game in Sacramento on Thursday, but didn’t arrive in New York until just before game time on Friday. He had to stop in Las Vegas on his day-long cross country trip.
He is the first draftee from the Sandy Alderson era to reach the big leagues as a Met, and on his first day in the big leagues, Muno recorded his first big league hit with a pinch hit single in the eighth inning.
He is a switch hitter with speed and has a propensity to get on-base. He can play second, shortstop and third base. For now, he will serve as an addition to the bench, but Terry Collins said he will get some starts at some point soon.
Muno actually made a run to make the club out of Spring Training. In fact, if Daniel Murphy had started the season on the disabled list, Muno would’ve likely made the team for Opening Day. He hit .327 with a .426 on-base percentage in 27 games in camp.
But, he made it anyway, albeit a little late.
“To be told I’m going to the big leagues was a dream come true,” Muno said.
To read more about Muno’s journey to the big leagues, including an inspiring journey by his mother to see his son make his debut on Friday, read the Star Ledger.
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