Mets Hope Former Yankees' Outfielder Can Surprise After Call-Up

The Mets called up this outfielder from Triple-A, who was drafted by the Yankees last decade.

Feb 25, 2024; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; New York Mets outfielder Ben Gamel (21) steals second base in the second inning as Houston Astros shortstop Dixon Machado (26) looks on at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets called up a former New York Yankees' outfielder on Tuesday ahead of this week's Subway Series.

Ex-Yankees 2010 draft pick Ben Gamel was brought up from Triple-A Syracuse to replace right fielder Starling Marte, who was placed on the 10-day IL retroactive to June 23 with a deep bone bruise in his right knee.

Gamel was having a more than solid season in Syracuse with seven home runs, 24 RBIs, a .314 batting average and a .961 OPS in 156 at-bats.

Gamel spent seven seasons in the Yankees' minor league system and made his debut in 2016. However, the now 32-year-old only played in eight games with the Bronx Bombers before getting traded to the Seattle Mariners.

Gamel has since played for four other teams and one of these stops was with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019-2020 when Mets current president of baseball operations David Stearns was the team's GM. Stearns traded Domingo Santana to the Seattle Mariners to acquire Gamel before the 2019 season. This past offseason Stearns struck again and signed him to a minor league deal.

Stearns must believe that there is still something to unlock in Gamel. His best MLB season came with the Seattle Mariners in 2017 when he had career highs in average (.275), home runs (11), RBI (59), doubles (27), and at-bats (509). Gamel's last MLB opportunity was with the Padres in 2023. He also played with the Cleveland Guardians and Pittsburgh Pirates in 2021. His career major league numbers are 40 home runs, 200 RBI, 21 stolen bases, a .252 average and an OPS of .716 in 1,965 at-bats.

Gamel will serve as a backup outfielder behind Harrison Bader, Tyrone Taylor, DJ Stewart and Brandon Nimmo while with the Mets. He was not in the lineup for Game 1 against his former team, the New York Yankees on Tuesday at Citi Field.