ST. PETERSBURG -- Luis Robert Jr.'s regular-season tenure with the Mets lasted all of five months.
One of New York’s top offseason acquisitions, Robert was claimed off waivers by the Orioles on Monday. The Mets, who placed Robert on waivers on Saturday, will save the little more than $5 million of guaranteed money left on Robert’s contract.
In 58 games with the Mets, the 29-year-old Robert hit 10 homers -- six of which came in August -- and recorded a .702 OPS. As has often been the case since his 2023 American League All-Star season with the White Sox, Robert’s season was heavily affected by injuries. Chiefly, he missed nearly three months due to a lumbar spine herniation. However, he looked like his old self in recent weeks, slashing .288/.347/.576 in his final 21 games with the Mets.
"I think he closed out the chapter really well," manager Andy Green said of Robert. "Certainly, the chapters that preceded this last one were frustrated from an availability perspective, just keeping him on the field, and he was clearly playing through a lot earlier on. But it was fun to watch him play well."
With Robert gone, the Mets are adding youth to go along with rookies Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing in the outfield. Outfielder Nick Morabito -- their No. 13 prospect -- will be activated once rosters expand on Tuesday. Morabito is to be joined by Justin Hagenman, who will pitch the final game of the Rays series Wednesday at Tropicana Field.
Morabito, the No. 75 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, made his MLB debut in May and went 0-for-11 in five games.
"It won't be an everyday thing for Nick up here, but he'll get ample opportunity to show what he has," Green said. "I know the first callup, he would have loved to have gotten that first hit out of the way, so would love to see that happen pretty quickly for him."
Robert’s spot on the roster was taken by infielder Mark Vientos, who was activated from the injured list on Monday after missing about seven weeks with a fractured right hand. Vientos slugged three homers at Triple-A on Sunday and was batting cleanup for the Mets in their series opener against the AL East-leading Rays. He has 11 homers and a .644 OPS in 73 games with New York this year.
Green said he expects Vientos to get starts at first base in place of Jared Young against some left-handed pitchers. He could also fill in often at DH against southpaws, especially once Juan Soto gets back to playing in the outfield regularly.
Beyond those specific scenarios, Vientos' performance will dictate how often he is in the lineup, per Green.
"What I said before still rings true, and I reinforced it with him as well: 'I don't know how your opportunity is going to unfold this month. I do know if you play really well, you'll play more.' That was the encouragement and the clarity I tried to give him," Green said.