A majority of the Mets’ offseason signings haven’t come close to meeting expectations, especially with star shortstop Francisco Lindor suffering through the worst season of his career, but there’s at least one who stands out as a consistent contributor.
Jonathan Villar has been a bright spot since he signed a one-year, $3.55 million contract with the team in February. Not only has the 30-year-old journeyman been productive offensively, but his versatility on the field and ability to remain healthy has been beneficial for the Mets.
“He’s been one of our best offensive players, if not our best offensive player,” manager Luis Rojas said prior to the Mets’ matchup against the Marlins at Citi Field on Thursday. “He can be used in so many ways. But he’s swinging well from both sides of the plate. He can hit for power, he can get a single and steal a bag. It’s just pure pressure offensively for the opposing team.”
Heading into the finale of the Mets’ nine-game homestand, Villar had slashed .333/.386/.569 in the past 23 games. He’s also led the team, along with Lindor, with 10 stolen bases this season.
In an attempt to jump-start an underachieving lineup, Rojas has used Villar as the leadoff hitter in every game he has started since Saturday’s win over the Nationals.
Over that span, the utility player has strung together a three-game hitting streak in which he has gone 6-for-12, including two multi-hit games. Helping propel the Mets to a 9-4 victory over Washington on Sunday, Villar was a double shy of hitting for the cycle after recording a single, a two-run home run and a triple in the win.
Villar led off again and played third base Thursday night.
“Having him at the top, like we’ve been using him, I think has been a key for our offense to win some games,” Rojas said. “The last games that we won is because of that huge connection between him and [Brandon] Nimmo at the top of the lineup with hitting the ball hard, getting on base, speed, getting on base by Nimmo as well and connecting to [Pete] Alonso, Francisco [Lindor] or whoever follows them.
“Jonathan has been huge for us offensively lately.”
The Mets have relied on Villar, who is in his ninth MLB season after stints with the Astros, Brewers, Orioles, Marlins and Blue Jays, as injuries continued to pile up. Despite landing on the 10-day injured list in late June with a calf injury, Villar has been relatively healthy all season.
Villar filled in for Lindor when the latter suffered an oblique strain that sidelined him for over a month. Villar has also seen time at both second and third.
