Mets Select Zack Short

The Mets announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Zack Short and recalled right-hander Tobias Myers. In corresponding moves, right-hander Dan Hammer has been designated for assignment and infielder Mark Vientos has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hand fracture. MLBTR previously covered the Hammer DFA and Vientos IL placement.

Short, 31, is a light-hitting infielder. He is in his sixth big league season and has 649 plate appearances under his belt, but he has produced a dreary .171/.271/.289 line in those. Publicly available defensive metrics don’t much like his glovework either. For instance, in almost 1,000 innings at shortstop, he has been credited with minus-three Defensive Runs Saved and -11 Outs Above Average. DRS and OAA frown on his third base work as well. DRS likes him at second base but OAA has him a hair below par.

Presumably, teams have internal metrics that rank him higher, as he has continually gotten opportunities as a glove-first infielder. The Mets are seemingly one of those clubs. They claimed him off waivers from the Tigers in June. He was designated for assignment later that month but then cleared waivers and went to Triple-A Syracuse, which allowed him to get added back to the roster today.

Vientos is slated to miss a notable amount of time. He tells Tim Britton of The Athletic that he won’t require surgery but will probably miss six to eight weeks. That timeline will eat up most of the remainder of the season.

With Vientos and Marcus Semien on the shelf, the Mets are left with an infield group consisting of Bo Bichette, Francisco Lindor, Brett Baty and Jared Young from left to right. Jorge Polanco came off the IL this week but has only been serving as the designated hitter so far. Short gives them some cover around the dirt for injuries or potential late-game switches. If they want to bump him off the roster at any point in the future, he is out of options.