Just Mets

Darrell Ceciliani seemed destined to play a full season with Triple-A Las Vegas at the beginning of the year.

But when Kirk Nieuwenhuis helped defined the club’s inept bench with his 3-for-38 start, the Mets called upon Ceciliani to replace Nieuwenhuis as the primary bat off the bench from the left side.

Things weren’t rosy for Ceciliani upon being called up. He started 2-for-16 with eight strikeouts over his first ten games. It looked like more of the same.

But things began to turn around for Ceciliani when the calendar changed to June, and he has helped to solidify a Mets bench which had been downright awful for the first two months of the season.

He’s gone 10-for-25 with two doubles and a home run in 13 games this month, posting a 1.044 OPS during that span.

“I’m just trying to stay relaxed, go out and do my thing and compete and battle,” Ceciliani explained, according to Ari Kramer of Newsday. “The best advice a lot of guys have given me is do what got you here. Don’t change. You got here for a reason so stay with what you do and relax.”

He was a tremendous part of the Mets 3-2 win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday. His second inning single contributed to one of the two runs the club scored in the frame.

“If you go back and look at his minor-league resume, he’s always hit,” Terry Collins explained on Sunday. “He’s just had a tough time staying on the field and staying healthy. Now he has, and he’s got to the big leagues. We like a lot of the things he brings to the party.”

His health problems have unquestionably been prohibitive over recent years. But as Collins said, Ceciliani has hit at every stop in the minors as he has a short, compact swing with an ability to hit to all fields. He also stays in well against left-handed pitching – he went 10-for-27 with a home run against southpaws at Triple-A before being promoted.

His defense has never really been a question, either. He’s an above average outfielder with a good arm, and he’s capable of playing all three outfield positions.

For now, he seems to be the guy to spell Michael Cuddyer against right-handed pitchers or Juan Lagares, but he’s certainly emerging into a quality big league depth piece, perhaps eventually becoming a super-utility outfielder and a late inning defensive replacement.

And who knows beyond that, especially if he continues to produce in the manner he has.