It’s time for Mets to address the DJ Stewart situation

DJ Stewart was a late-season bright spot for the Mets in 2023, coming out of nowhere to slash .244/.333/.506 with 11 homers in 58 games.

And Stewart, who was in his age-29 season, had the pedigree of being a former first-round pick — meaning it wasn’t crazy for the Mets to think he had unlocked something and was prepared to be a productive player on a big league team.

Stewart played regularly at the start of this season, as the Mets waited for J.D. Martinez — who was signed late in the offseason — to get into game shape. And through the end of April, Stewart was performing well.

Following the conclusion of games on April 30, Stewart had an .849 OPS and four home runs.

Since then, Stewart has come crashing down, and the injury to Starling Marte — which has thrust Stewart back into regular action in right field — has further exposed him.

In 100 plate appearances over 43 games since May 1, Stewart is hitting .143/.280/.202 with just one home run.

If you look at his performance from May 25 on — a span of 24 games — the struggles are even more stark: a .091/.219/.146 triple slash.

In addition to offering very little offensively, Stewart has been a negative defensively, worth -2 Outs Above Average (OAA) in the outfield.

His advanced stats, including his hard hit percentage and average exit velocity, show that he has been a bit unlucky this season. But there are two reasons why it’s time for the Mets to replace Stewart on the 26-man roster.

The first is that he can be optioned to the minors without the risk of him being lost to another team.

The second reason is that his production has been a serious drag on the offense during a time when they’re trying to prove that David Stearns and the front office should add help at the trade deadline.

Yes, the Mets have other issues, including the bullpen and the struggles of Jeff McNeil.

But the bullpen situation is a different animal than the one with the offense, and the McNeil situation is in a different stratosphere than the Stewart one.

Specifically, McNeil is a former batting champion who is under contract for two more seasons at $15.75 million annually. He’s also a solid, versatile defender, capable of playing second base, third base, and both corner outfield spots.

Additionally, McNeil has started to show signs of life lately, with hits in four of his last five games and five of his last seven.

As far as what the Mets should do right now to replace Stewart…

I had suggested a few weeks ago that the Mets should consider calling up the then-red-hot Luisangel Acuña and sliding McNeil to the outfield. But Acuña has gone cold for Triple-A Syracuse.

So until Marte returns — which could seemingly happen at some point in August — the Mets should simply turn Stewart’s playing time over to Tyrone Taylor.

Like Stewart, Taylor has not had a good offensive season. He has a .270 OBP and .660 OPS (89 OPS+).

However, Taylor has fared pretty well against right-handers this season, with a .726 OPS. And he has picked things up a bit recently, with three homers, a .524 slugging percentage, and a .768 OPS in 45 plate appearances over his last 13 games dating back to June 22.

But even if Taylor doesn’t provide a jolt offensively, he will at the very least give the Mets an injection of plus outfield defense and elite speed — something Stewart can not provide.