Cyclones return from the IL to contribute

During a player’s tenure with a team, there’s a good chance that sometime in their playing career they will end up on the IL (injured list). Whether it occurs during practice or during a game, the main concern for players is how bad the injury is and the amount of playing time that it will cost them.

In the case of 20-year-old Jacob Reimer, the Mets’ fourth round 2022 high school draft pick from California has just made his return to Brooklyn. After being on the IL for a hamstring pull since the beginning of spring training in March, Reimer finally returned to the Cyclones on July 29.

After helping the team make a playoff run last season, Reimer made this season’s Maimonides Park debut with a bang, driving in the winning runs in walk-off fashion to start last week’s series with an extra inning 3-2 win over Hudson Valley. Last season, the corner infielder quickly made a name for himself with the same Hudson Valley team when he went 4-for-4 after his call-up to Brooklyn in early August 2023.

Similarly, D’Andre Smith, a fifth round 2022 draft pick out of USC, came up to the Cyclones in 2023 and fought off a nagging back condition during his first season with Brooklyn.

After going to the Arizona Fall League for rehab and skills improvement, Smith had a good spring training and made this season’s opening day roster.  Unfortunately, he also pulled his hamstring in just the second week of the season and found himself joining Reimer for the “Hammy Brothers Club” at the Port St. Lucie rehab center. After his rehabilitation, Smith rejoined the Cyclones on July 22 and he’s helped the team with timely hitting and by stealing bases.

In a recent game in Aberdeen, the rehabbed duo combined to break up a potential shutout in the seventh inning when Reimer scalded an RBI single to right and Smith hit his first home run of the season in the Iron Birds’ 5-2 win. This season Smith is using lessons learned in the offseason to be more effective, like controlling his breathing to slow the game down.  Smith’s everyday watchwords for playing are simply “have fun and just compete.”

As for Reimer, the slugging third baseman is picking up right where he left off last August by hitting the ball with authority. With better posture at the plate and quicker bat speed, Reimer is making some long connections.

Defensively, he appears to be once again solid at third base as he demonstrated with a leaping dive for an out in last Sunday’s doubleheader against the Renegades. Instruction time spent with roving Met infield coaches Miguel Cairo and Luis Rivera appears to have paid off.

Completing the dugout trio is Nick Morabito, who has luckily escaped the IL this season. The 21-year-old was the Mets’ second round draft pick out of a Virginia high school in 2022. Since his call-up from St. Lucie in early May, the steady centerfielder has anchored the outfield on defense.

Hitting in the leadoff spot, Morabito leads the team with a .283 average and 49 runs scored and is now the team’s new single season stolen base leader with 38. In addition to those stats, Morabito also leads the South Atlantic League with 84 hits. Stepping up to the plate, his teammates customarily cheer for him with a rhythmic chant of “Bito, Bito!”