Mendick debuts for Mets a year after tearing ACL

PHILADELPHIA -- A year and two days after fracturing his right fibula and tearing his right ACL, veteran infielder Danny Mendick made his long-awaited return to the Majors, batting ninth on Saturday afternoon and playing third base for the Mets.

The timing, Mendick noted, felt poetic.

“The day after surgery, you’re sitting there like, ‘When is this ever going to happen?’” he said. “Then to finally get the call … all the work that you put in and the times that it was tough makes it worth it, for sure.”

Mendick, whom the Mets recalled from Triple-A Syracuse after trading infielder Eduardo Escobar to the Angels on Friday, had not appeared in a big league game since colliding with White Sox teammate Adam Haseley in pursuit of a foul popup last June 22. At the time, Mendick believed he had hyperextended his right knee and would maybe miss a week. He learned over the ensuing days that he had fractured a bone and torn a ligament, ending his season.

“I learned a lot about myself,” Mendick said. “I got to go through some character building. You get to find out what it’s like. That’s the first time, for me, I had ever been hurt. So I got a lot more mentally tough. It makes it more exciting when you get back into it -- to get back here, to try to contribute to this team and get everything going back on track, it’s exciting.”

During the slog of rehab, Mendick was non-tendered by the White Sox and signed a Major League deal with the Mets for $1 million, but he did not make the club out of Spring Training. The Mets passed him over for callups early this year, but when they traded Escobar, their choice of a replacement was obvious. Rather than call up prospect Mark Vientos, whom they want to play every day in the Minors, the Mets selected Mendick.

The news came hours after Mendick hit his eighth homer for Syracuse, running his hitting streak to six games and improving his overall slash line to .264/.356/.401. For the first time in his career, the upstate New York native was able to play regularly in front of friends and family.

“He’s a baseball player,” manager Buck Showalter said. “That’s a big compliment. I think everybody knew I was going to say that. He gives us some versatility, much like Eduardo.”

That’s the type of player Mendick was with the White Sox from 2019-22, offering bursts of power in addition to defensive versatility. Over the coming weeks, the Mets will determine whether Mendick profiles as a long-term solution for their bench.

In the interim, he is relishing his chance to return to the Majors.

“I’m just going to go out there and play baseball,” Mendick said. “That’s kind of been my M.O. my whole life. Wherever they put me, go catch it, field it and throw it. I’m here to help. I’m here to try to help win baseball games. Wherever they put me, I’m happy to do it.”