DJ Stewart ready to help Mets prove doubters wrong and make postseason in 2024
One of the pleasant surprises of the Mets 2023 season was the re-emergence of DJ Stewart.
The veteran outfielder languished in parts of five seasons with the Orioles before signing with New York last offseason. While not in the Mets’ plans, injuries and underperformance allowed Stewart to show what he could do midway through last season.
Stewart, a former first-round pick, seemed to unlock something in his swing when he was called up in July, and he owes that success to his time in Syracuse.
“I made some adjustments at Triple-A that really led to my success with Collin Hetzler, the hitting coach and that translated to the big league level,” Stewart told SNY at the Mets’ Swing into Spring 5K event on Sunday. “Going into this offseason, trying to dial that in even more. Having a full offseason of doing it and looking forward to what’s going to come this year.”
Since his July call-up from Syracuse, Stewart slashed .244/.333/.506 with a career-high OPS of .839 over 58 games. He mashed 11 homers -- one shy of his career-high 12 when he played 100 games in 2021 -- and drove in 26 runs.
Stewart says the success of his adjustments at the plate early on in Syracuse gave him the confidence that he can have similar results in the big leagues, and now he’s looking forward to bottling that feeling for 2024.
“We started doing [the adjustments] a couple of days in the cages,” Stewart explained. “I was feeling good with it and one of my first at-bats I had early success with it and I said, ‘let’s run with it.’ I feel that same way now and I’m more confident in what we’re doing.”
The Mets and Stewart hope that confidence can lead to bigger numbers and more wins. After a disappointing 2023, many pundits believe a rebound year isn’t in the cards for New York but Stewart is looking to prove them wrong.
“Win more games than we did last year, make the playoffs,” Stewart said of his personal and team goals in 2024. “A lot of people have doubts about the team but we know who’s in the clubhouse with us. We’re ready to compete and get to the postseason.”
Mets position players report Feb. 17 while the team’s first spring training game is set for Feb. 24 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
