The Mets acquired Jesse Winker for moments like this.
Trading for Winker, the Mets’ biggest addition before the late-July deadline, reaffirmed their status as measured buyers after a summer surge put them back in the mix for a National League Wild Card spot.
And now, with the Mets in the middle of a playoff run, Winker is coming up big.
Winker clubbed a second-deck solo home run against the Phillies’ Aaron Nola in Game 3 of the NLDS on Tuesday night, giving the Mets their second run in an eventual 7-2 win.
“It’s what you dream about as a player,” Winker, 31, said afterward. “Any time you get dealt at the deadline, you just want to come in and find your way, but these guys have been so welcoming [that] it was a really easy transition.”
The fourth-inning blast was the first postseason home run for Winker, an eight-year MLB veteran whom the Mets acquired from the Nationals to add lefty power and outfield depth to their roster.
Winker paused at home plate to admire the 399-foot moonshot before flipping his bat and rounding the bases.
JESSE WINKER TO THE SECOND DECK! #NLDS pic.twitter.com/6oNliKvR7L
— MLB (@MLB) October 8, 2024
“He plays the game with a full head of steam,” said Pete Alonso, who also punctuated a Game 3 home run against Nola with a bat flip. “He honestly plays the game of baseball like a middle linebacker. He’s just full intensity, full-bore all the time, and he’s always super high energy. You love that, the passion that he brings to the table.”
The Buffalo-born Winker was hitting .256 with 11 home runs, 45 RBI, 14 stolen bases and a .793 OPS when the Mets acquired him, while his .373 on-base percentage ranked seventh in the National League.
His numbers dipped after the trade — he slashed .243/.318/.365 with three home runs in 129 plate appearances — but Winker provided a veteran presence in the middle of the Mets’ order, primarily against right-handed pitchers.
Winker’s walk-off home run against the Orioles on Aug. 21 quickly ingratiated him to Mets fans, and Tuesday’s postseason blast built that bond even further.
“It’s been a dream come true,” Winker said. “It really has. I always wondered what it would be like to be a New York Met, and it’s been a dream come true.”
Winker’s curiosity about playing for the Mets, he said, stemmed in part from his colorful history with their fans as an opponent.
He waved to the Citi Field faithful after making a game-ending catch in 2019 as a member of the Reds, and then again after he hit a game-tying three-run home run in 2022 with the Mariners.
Now, those fans are celebrating with him.
Winker was an All-Star in 2021 with the Reds, but he batted just .219 with Seattle in 2022 and .199 with the Brewers last year.
“I wouldn’t be here without the Washington Nationals giving me a chance [this] past offseason,” Winker said Tuesday. “They believed in me, and coming off two downs years, they said, ‘Hey, you’re gonna be our everyday left fielder,’ and I’m thankful for that.”
The Mets fell a season-worst 11 games below .500 in late May, but they went 67-40 during the rest of the regular season, with unlikely heroes repeatedly stepping up.
Those included Winker, whose contributions Tuesday helped the Mets take a 2-1 lead over the Phillies in the best-of-five series.
“He’s a good hitter,” Francisco Lindor said. “That’s the reason why [president of baseball operations David] Stearns and them brought him here, because they believed he could help us. He’s been fantastic in big moments.”
