PHOENIX — MJ Melendez was in tears following a visit to the manager’s office near the end of spring training.
The outfielder had just learned he wouldn’t be breaking camp with the Mets, and his season would begin at Triple-A Syracuse, bringing no guarantee his major league career would continue.
“I cried a lot that day, just because I know the work that I put in,” Melendez said before going 0-for-4 in the Mets’ 3-1, 10-inning win over the Diamondbacks on Friday night. “I know the spring was going well, and I had a chance to go to the WBC and thought I was going to play there and didn’t really play as much as I thought. I was just pretty sad in that moment.”
It didn’t take long for Melendez to receive his opportunity. When Jared Young was placed on the injured list April 15 with a meniscus tear in his left knee, the Mets recalled Melendez, giving him an opportunity to play against right-handed pitching.
The results have been positive: Melendez took a .325/.400/.600 slash line with two homers and six RBIs over 46 plate appearances into Friday’s action as one of the few Mets to have produced consistently over the last three weeks.
Melendez, 27, spent much of last season at Triple-A with the Royals. In his 65 major league plate appearances, he produced a paltry .083/.154/.167 slash line.
He credits the Mets’ hitting department for helping him get on track this season.
“The belief and self-confidence in myself, I have always had it,” Melendez said. “But I think putting that together with some coaches that really believe in me, the hitting staff has been great, and I have been able to work with them a lot and when I get the opportunity, just to try to be the best version of myself.”
Melendez displayed pop with the Royals in 2024, when he hit 17 homers in 412 at-bats.
“I think he is controlling the strike zone a lot better [than last season],” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “The last couple of years, he chased a lot. But he’s not missing pitches in the strike zone, and he’s using the whole field.”
Mendoza has often used Melendez to start in the outfield, giving him two or three plate appearances before Tyrone Taylor is subbed into the game for defense. Taylor plays against most left-handed starters.
Melendez said there is a sense of comfort coming to the ballpark knowing he will be in the lineup against a right-handed starter, but he would also embrace the opportunity to increase his role.
“I believe in myself no matter who is on that mound,” Melendez said. “Righty, lefty, ambidextrous. At the end of the day, the ball has to come over the plate, no matter what, for it to be a strike. Just staying with that kind of mindset I feel like has definitely helped me and just going and trying to get better each and every day before the game.”
On the day he was optioned to Syracuse near the end of spring training, Melendez said he was thankful for family support to get him through a difficult time.
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“I was on the phone with my family a lot that day,” Melendez said. “It was both my parents, my brother. It was definitely tough. I feel like I have gone through a lot of adversity the last year and a half. It’s nothing new. The moments are pretty tough, but I just use them to try to build my character and perseverance so that when things don’t go right in the season, I can push through it.”
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