New York Mets’ Luisangel Acuña Get Going as They Head to Atlanta for Season-Closing Series

NEW YORK — The temperature was 6 degrees above freezing when Luisangel Acuña first stepped onto the grass at Citi Field. He wore a starter jacket, tight gray jeans and Air Jordans. Only a handful of people were there.

It was January 31, and the diminutive Mets prospect was in the Big Apple to accompany his older half-brother Ronald, the 2023 National League MVP, to the annual Baseball Writers Association of America Awards dinner, where Ronald would personally accept his gold trophy.

The younger Acuña, who had been traded from the Rangers to the Mets the previous summer for future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, had not yet been to Queens and wanted to visit his future home. So he contacted the Mets, who arranged a quick behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium.

Eight months later, the pocket-sized shortstop was back in Flushing for his first home game in blue and orange. The weather was warmer, the stakes immeasurably higher. With just four series remaining in the season, New York clung to a two-game lead over the Atlanta Braves for the final NL wild-card spot. The club’s best and most important player, MVP candidate Francisco Lindor, was sidelined with a back injury.

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In Lindor’s place, Acuña has shined, helping the Mets post a 6-1 record in recent home games. The 22-year-old rookie has provided mature defense at shortstop well beyond his years and has shown surprising power at the plate. Acuña has carried three yards in the seven-game series. His play has stunned the Mets and stabilized them at a crucial juncture.

“What an unbelievable production from Acuña,” another vocal New York leader, Brandon Nimmo, said after Saturday’s 6-3 win over Philadelphia. “To ask a young guy like him to come in and step in and do what he’s done, you don’t get that every day.”

In his first at-bat that night, Acuña hit a first-pitch curveball from Ranger Suarez over the wall in left. After the game, he admitted he was not impressed with the moment or the opponent.

“My dad always says it doesn’t matter who’s pitching,” Acuña told the media through Mets interpreter Alan Suriel. “At the end of the day, you have a bat. I just had my plan and I executed it.”

One particular defensive play Acuña made at shortstop left a lasting impression on his manager. In the ninth inning of Saturday’s win, the diminutive shortstop knocked a slow dribbler off the bat of speedster Trea Turner and shot to first for the out in one swift motion. That’s the kind of internal clock you see in a 10-year veteran.

“One of the coaches said to me, ‘It shouldn’t be this easy,'” Mets captain Carlos Mendoza told the media afterward. “Lindor makes that game easy, but Acuña? We know he has talent, but that was pretty impressive, having a plus, plus runner. So that’s unbelievable.”

When the Mets called up Acuña on Sept. 14, they were hoping for competence and perhaps a jolt on the basepaths. Few in the organization expected to see a player who looked so comfortable at that moment.

And from here on that moment only gets bigger.

On Tuesday, the Mets begin a decisive three-game series in Atlanta, at the stadium where Luisangel’s last name was made famous. Ronald, who hasn’t played since late May after tearing his ACL, will be there to see his little brother play in person. Luisangel posted a photo of the two of them in Atlanta on Monday night.

If the Mets win two of the three, they will clinch an unlikely playoff spot. If Atlanta wins the series, they will be one game behind with three to play and the tiebreaker in hand. A sweep of the Braves would put them in pole position and the Mets would be grieving a huge missed opportunity.

That’s almost exactly what happened two years ago. New York needed one win to all but secure the NL East. Instead, the Braves swept the Mets back to Queens. New York, which won 101 games that year, settled for a wild card and were subsequently defeated in the best-of-three round by the San Diego Padres. Those three nights in Georgia proved crucial.

This time around, the Mets are bringing more Cinderella energy to the huge showdown, despite a two-game lead and the sport’s biggest paychecks. On June 2, eight teams stood between New York and a playoff spot. Their postseason odds were down to 13.1 percent on Aug. 28. Those odds have since skyrocketed to 78 percent, despite Lindor being sidelined for the past week.

His absence will certainly continue, at least for now. Lindor admitted that if he returns to action this regular season, he will likely have to play through the pain. He participated in baseball activities Sunday but looked stiff. A return to Atlanta still seems a long way off.

That means Acuña, who is 11-for-29 with three homers in his first nine games, will remain a key player. The Mets don’t need or expect him to continue hitting .379/.400/.828. His chase rate, which is nine points better than his mark in the minors, will likely deteriorate. Teams will find his weaknesses and adjust their game plan. Acuña, like any young player, will have to adapt and respond.

But for now, the Mets must be relieved knowing that the brother of one of the game’s biggest stars won’t be overwhelmed by the intensity of the playoff race.