New York Mets designate struggling Chris Young for assignment

By Dan Zinski | Aug 9, 2014

Jul 13, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets left fielder Chris Young (1) reaches on an infield single allowing first baseman Eric Campbell (29) (not pictured) to score during the eighth inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field. New York Mets won 9-1. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

Chris Young hasn’t just been struggling in 2014, he has fallen completely off the face of the earth. As of Friday, Young was hitting just .205 on the season with 8 HR and 28 RBI, with just a .148 average in his last nine games and no homers since July 12.

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Mets fans have been thinking for a long time that Young might not be long for the team, and Friday the axe finally fell on him. The Mets announced that they have designated Young for assignment and called up Matt Den Dekker from triple-A.

When the Mets inevitably cut Young, they will have to eat the remainder of his $7.25 million contract for 2014. At this point they probably don’t care that much about the money, they just wanted to free up a roster spot that they could use on a player who actually has a chance to contribute either now or in the future.

With Young gone, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and the newly-recalled Den Dekker are expected to battle for time in left field.

The Mets likely weren’t expecting a ton of production out of Young this season, but they certainly wanted better than a batting average hovering around .200 and fewer than 10 home runs by early August. An ugly tenure in a Mets uniform comes to an unceremonious end for Young.

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