Tim Tebow signed with the New York Mets back in 2016, leaving behind a short lived broadcasting career for baseball. Many people looked at the move as a joke and just laugh at it. To be fair, they did have a point. Tebow was no longer a kid with quick learning abilities. His body had gone through the wear and tear of playing football. Add to that the fact that it was an odd move altogether for the Mets. Not only was he not as young as the rest of the guys but had also proven to be not much of an impact as his NFL career was less than bright. Nonetheless, the former Broncos quarterback has made baseball work for him.
Putting Up Numbers
Tebow had to work hard. He started right from the bottom like any other baseball prospect in America. He played in the Arizona Fall League in 2016 and showed good fundamentals. The former football player moved to playing Class-A baseball a year later. Tebow played the outfield for the St. Lucie Mets and the Columbia Fireflies throughout 2017. He made quick progress in Class-A, as he batted for .226 playing for both teams. He also had batted in 52 runs and hit eight homers. The former New York Jet also had an on base percentage of .309. The Philippines native (for those who didn’t know) kept posting up solid numbers in Double-A last season. Playing for Binghamton, Tebow had 74 hits in 84 games, and added 36 RBI and six home runs. He eventually went on to make the Triple-A All Star team a season ago.
The future looks even brighter for the retired quarterback as he will start the 2019 season at Triple-A. Despite still playing in the Mets’ minor league system, the jump from AAA to the big leagues will not take long.
Now Hiring
It is no secret that the Mets got it all wrong this past trade deadline. They had The Golden Goose of trades in their roster. Almost the entire league wanted either Noah Syndergaard and/or Jacob deGrom, and the Mets did not even flinch at a trade possibility. Instead, they traded one of the few pillars in their organization by sending Jeurys Familia to the Oakland Athletics. Add to that the fact that New York does not really have any interesting prospects in the farm, except for one single player.
The Mets are in desperate need of a change as their apple is rotting from the inside out. A promising prospect such as Tim Tebow could start turning things around. Or at least he will give the Mets faithful something to cheer about for a while.
New York’s Metropolitan Hospital
The Metropolitans were once again plagued by injuries this past season. Names were scratched off the lineup cards constantly at Citi Field. Brandon Nimmo hurt his pinky back in June. Things got much worse for him as he was later done for the season with a hamstring injury in September. AJ Ramos had shoulder problems in September as well and was also out for the season. The same story goes for Travis d’Arnaud and Eric Hanhold, as they suffered from a UCL tear and an oblique strain. They are expected to return in the spring. Some, like Yoenis Cespedes, are not so sure if they will play next year. The outfielder went through two heel surgeries last season.
Due to injuries hitting the Mets like the plague, more players will be required to fill in the roster gaps at New York. Not only that, but this does not look like it will end anytime soon as Queens seems to be the unsafest work environment in the country for a ballplayer. Tim Tebow will come in sooner or later due to someone else getting hurt, by that point he will be more of a necessity than a commodity.
What Is There To Lose?
The Mets have gone from plain crazy to total insanity. Not only are they infested by injuries and are short on players in their roster, but they also hired Brodie Van Wagenen as General Manager. In a senseless decision, the Mets have decided to hire a former baseball agent as their GM. Managing an entire organization’s roster day in and day out will be a whole new different ballgame for him. He might get Tebow to the big leagues based in the simple fact that he has no clue of how to evaluate and manage his players.
Promoting a former NFL quarterback will be the least of their worries in the middle of Met chaos.
Put Him In, Coach
Tebow is no Ronald Acuna. He is not Cody Bellinger or the next Aaron Judge. The outfielder is not the brightest of prospects or an award candidate. Nonetheless, he will get called up this season, whether it is because of injury, lack of players, or just the plain ignorance of the new Mets GM. That will not matter. If Tebow is smart he will take his shot and run with it. Whether you like it or not, Tebow Time is coming.