JUPITER, Fla. -- Mets officials have seriously weighed carrying Kirk Nieuwenhuis as an extra bench player while Jonathon Niese is on the disabled list, although it looks like Andrew Brown will win out for that bench spot, a source told ESPNNewYork.com.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis
#9 CF
New York Mets
2013 STATS
- GM47
HR3
RBI14
R10
OBP.278
- AVG.189
Nieuwenhuis entered Saturday's game hitting .294 with one homer and nine RBIs in 34 Grapefruit League at-bats. He also had seven walks and a .415 on-base percentage.
The bench is expected to include Anthony Recker, Josh Satin, Omar Quintanilla, Lucas Duda and Juan Lagares (provided Eric Young Jr. is considered the starter).
With Duda a lefty power bat for the bench, the righty-hitting Brown seems to make more sense than the lefty-hitting Nieuwenhuis for an extra spot until Niese returns for the sixth game.
Of course, this all depends on Daniel Murphy (calf) being ready for the season. Otherwise, that also opens the door for Nieuwenhuis or potentially Wilmer Flores.
Brown entered Saturday hitting .263 with two homers and nine RBIs in 38 at-bats.