Before a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Citi Field that begins Monday night, the Mets designated hitter placed JD Martinez on the paternity list.
Instead, New York remembered DJ Stewart from Triple-A Syracuse.
The Mets will be without Martinez for three games at most as he attends the birth of his child. That means the veteran will likely miss the entire series against his former team and return for a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds.
Martinez has been warming up at the plate recently after struggling a bit over the past two months. Over the past seven games, the 37-year-old has a .308/.379/.577 batting average with two home runs.
Even during his struggles that saw him fall down the batting order, Martinez remained productive, driving in 31 runs on just 39 hits in July and August.
After signing with the team late in the offseason and missing the first month, the right-handed hitter has 16 homers and 65 RBIs while batting .252 with a .777 OPS in 381 at-bats.
Stewart began the season with the Mets after a hot finish to the 2023 season, but the outfielder struggled early this year and hit just .172 with five homers and 19 RBIs in 71 games.
Optioned to Triple-A in late July (after New York traded for Jesse Winker), Stewart has played well for Syracuse and has an .879 OPS in 22 games.