What Jared Young’s Return Means for the Mets’ Lineup

What could this mean for the rest of the Mets' outfield?

A breakdown of what Jared Young's return means to the Mets. | Frank Bowen IV-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

The Mets have been decimated by injuries to start the year, but are starting to receive good news on the injury front as the calendar prepares to flip to June. Outfielder Jared Young has been on the sidelines for a month with a torn meniscus in his left knee. Young began to see more time when slugger Juan Soto went down early on in April, but saw his run as a starter cut incredibly short with his own injury.

In Young's absence, the Mets have turned to a few different outfielders in an effort to find more offensive production. Soto has been primarily a designated hitter for the Mets in recent weeks as he continues to work his way back to 100% from a right calf strain, allowing for more playing time in left field for the duo of MJ Melendez and Nick Morabito, both of whom started the year in Triple-A Syracuse. Neither has taken the job and run with it, which strongly suggests that Young will become the Mets' primary left fielder upon his return to the lineup.

In 20 at-bats to start the season, Young had posted a .841 OPS with a pair of doubles, a pair of walks, and two RBI. His at-bats were primarily given to Melendez, who has gone just 4-of-36 in the month of May with 15 strikeouts as of Saturday afternoon.

Young's bat will be a welcome sight in the Mets' lineup, but raises one immediate question: who is moved off the active roster to make room for his return?

Jared Young's Mets return could mean the end of a regular's time with the team

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said on Saturday that there is a "good chance" that Young returns during the Mets' next home stand, which begins on Monday against the Reds, per the New York Post's Mike Puma.

There is a “good chance” Jared Young will rejoin the Mets on the next homestand, according to Carlos Mendoza.

— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) May 23, 2026

Young would likely assume the starting role in left field and would require a corresponding move from the active roster to make room for him. The corresponding move the Mets should make with Young's activation is fairly obvious by this point, and should not come as a surprise to anyone.

Melendez still holds one more minor league option, making a demotion back to Syracuse the obvious move for when Young returns. After starting his Mets tenure with a 1.061 OPS and a pair of homers in his first 11 games, Melendez's production has plummeted, and he has begun losing playing time to the rookie Morabito, who, even though he has struggled at the plate to begin his major league career, brings incredible speed and a strong defensive profile that Melendez does not.

In all likelihood, Young's return will create a strict lefty-righty platoon with him and Morabtio, with Young mostly playing against the righties and Morabtio against the lefties. The Mets appear to be doing this to an extent with Melendez and Morabito right now, but Melendez's struggles of late have made it harder to continue to run him out every day.

With Young's return, the Mets' offense is going to get a much-needed boost at just the right time. The Mets are playing considerably better baseball in May, but have still struggled to get their offense rolling, as evidenced by the worst team OPS mark in baseball. Young could be a big part of fixing that problem.