Mets select utility player Travis Blankenhorn

The Mets selected Travis Blankenhorn onto the major league roster. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com first reported Thursday night that Blankenhorn was set to meet the major league team before Friday's game against the Padres. New York didn’t need to make any corresponding moves. Dominic Smith was placed on the 10-day injured list to open an active roster spot Thursday, while Ender Inciarte’s designation for assignment last week created a vacancy on the 40-man roster.

Blankenhorn is up for the first time this season. New York designated him for assignment on the eve of Opening Day, and he’s spent the year with Triple-A Syracuse after passing through outright waivers unclaimed. The 25-year-old has had a nice showing in the upper minors, hitting .276/.340/.479 across 289 plate appearances. Blankenhorn is only walking at a 6.9% clip, but he’s connected on 12 home runs and 17 doubles to make a strong impact from a power perspective.

That has more or less been the book on the left-handed hitter, who began his professional career as a third-round pick of the Twins in 2015. Blankenhorn consistently rated among the back half of Minnesota’s top 30 prospects for the next few seasons, flashing a promising hit/power combination but with a generally aggressive approach. He’s capable of covering both second base and the corner outfield, but he’s not a great runner and isn’t an option at shortstop or in center field.

Blankenhorn has only 28 MLB plate appearances under his belt, split between the Twins and Mets over the 2020-21 seasons. He’s a .263/.346/.469 career hitter in Triple-A, adding a bat-first utility option to the bench for manager Buck Showalter.