The Mets will look to their young players as the 2014 season winds down.
The New York Mets will look to evaluate the young players on their roster for the rest of the year, according to the Star-Ledger's Mike Vorkunov. The Mets will playWilmer Flores more regularly and give Kirk Nieuwenhuis an extended look in the outfield. ESPN's Adam Rubin also suggested that Lucas Duda will begin to play regularly against left-handed pitching, as he looks to be the permanent solution at first base.
In regard to contention, the move comes as the Mets have slipped to seven games under .500, nine games back in the division, and eight back in the Wild Card. Even with significant input from the young players, the Mets likely still have too little time and too many teams in front of them to be able to make their way into playoff position.
With the focus now shifted to 2015, the Mets can still take considerable steps to potentially salvage this season. Our own Nicholas Iorio suggested that the Mets would benefit by designating Chris Young for assignment. One can also wonder if a call-up for either Cesar Puello or Matt den Dekker is on the horizon, as the Mets look to evaluate the young talent that could help them next season and beyond.