St. Lucie Mets eager to feature spoils from David Robertson trade in 2024

PORT ST. LUCIE – An old baseball adage says a club has to be strong up the middle in order to achieve great success.

If that’s true, the St. Lucie Mets should be much better off this Florida State League season than in 2023.

In what unfolded as a one-sided trade, the New York Mets sent reliever David Robertson – a stopgap closer for injured stopper Edwin Diaz – to Miami as the Marlins made a push in the summer for the National League postseason.

The two players the Mets received in return – catcher Ronald Hernandez and middle infielder Marco Vargas – will likely play large parts in St. Lucie’s 2024 success.

On Friday, St. Lucie will open a three-game home series with a 6:10 matchup at Clover Park. Saturday’s contest will have the same first-pitch time and a postgame fireworks show, while Sunday’s matchup is at 12:10.

Robertson was disastrous down the stretch in South Florida, going 2-4 with a 5.06 ERA and 4-for-7 in saves for the Marlins, who still managed to make the playoffs but were swept by the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card Series.

The expectations for Hernandez and Vargas far exceed that.

Batter up! Mets' spring training continues in Port St. Lucie; 1st game Feb. 24

Both played for the Marlins in Jupiter in the Florida Complex League before changing sides, getting accustomed to new teammates they had currently been competing against, and playing a few games with St. Lucie as the season wound down.

The organization’s No. 20 prospect, the 20-year-old Hernandez was stunned – and asleep – when he got news of the July 28 trade.

Miami’s minor-league coordinator called him at 1 AM and closed the conversation by telling him matter-of-factly that he had been dealt. He immediately called Vargas, and the two talked for hours before shipping up to PSL that day.

Hernandez said the brief FSL experience was enjoyable because he played in front of crowds and in a stadium at night – something that doesn’t happen in the FCL with noon games on back fields.

“It was my first time with fans,” said Hernandez, who hit .172 with two doubles, seven RBIs and six walks in eight FSL games. “It was such a great feeling to talk with the fans and sign balls. And talk with the kids.

“I always wore black (in Jupiter). It’s nice to wear this (Mets) blue.”

With a laugh, Hernandez added that some of the pitchers he and Vargas had faced and hit hard said they were glad to see the newly acquired duo in their clubhouse instead of facing them.

A native of Chihauhua, Mexico, Vargas is the organization’s No. 8 prospect and hit .308 (8-for-26) with five runs, four RBIs and three stolen bases in his six games with St. Lucie.

“I said, ‘Alright, thank you,’” said Vargas, who was fast asleep when the call came in about the trade. “My roommate heard it and said, ‘Man, you got traded. You’re going to the Mets.’ I said, ‘Yeah … I think so.’”

Just 18 – he won’t turn 19 until May’s second week -- Vargas is the youngest player on the roster but said that was how he played growing up over four hours south of El Paso, Tex.

“I always played against older guys in Mexico. It’s nothing different,” Vargas said. “I’m excited about this team. I think we can do a great job this season with so much talent.”

Also part of that talent is No. 7 prospect Colin Houck, the Mets’ first-round draft pick (29th overall) in 2023, who also plays third base and shortstop.

In nine FCL games last year, the 19-year-old Stockbridge, Ga., product hit .241 with a triple, four RBIs and seven walks in nine games.

Nineteen-year-old Jesus Baez, the No. 21 farmhand, also factors into the mix, playing second, short and third. He was the Mets’ Dominican Summer League Player of the Year in 2022 before joining the FCL last season.

First-year manager Yucary De La Cruz said the 132-game schedule is a huge challenge for the promising players.

“We have a lot of talented, younger guys,” said De La Cruz, 33, “but they’re still learning. We have to be patient with those kids because sometimes they show all the tools but are inconsistent. That’s part of the process.”

Flashy 20-year-old Diego Mosquera, who played 28 games last season at either shortstop or second base, will get a chance to show his athletic ability while roaming the outfield.

“He’s amazing and a really good defender, but we’re giving him the opportunity to play outfield because we have so many middle infielders,” De La Cruz said.

Of the staff’s 17 pitchers, 10 toed the rubber with St. Lucie in a 2023 campaign that finished 44-84 in the four-team East Division.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: St. Lucie Mets led by spoils from David Robertson trade in 2024