Kuzul

PHOENIX—It wasn’t clear what the future of Josh Thole was for this season. The Mets have been carrying three catchers, and many people were wondering how long the Mets can afford to do that.

When the season began, Josh Thole didn’t make the team. It was the two veterans who got signed to catch.

Thole got called up earlier in the season when Henry Blanco couldn’t be with the team. He never got a single at-bat. Since Thole was called up, he’s batting over .500.

Before the loss to the Diamondbacks tonight, the Mets announced they were going to reactivate Oliver Perez to rejoin the team after the game. Someone obviously had to go. There were strong indications it was going to be Thole.

He went hitless in his first two at-bats, but left his final impression in his final at-bat.

He hit his first career home run, showing the Mets what someone young and talented could bring to a team.

The Mets have brought back some veterans to the fold over the past week: Carlos Beltran and Luis Castillo have both returned. Jeff Francoeur, rightly so, has be relegated to the bench. The Mets need some fresh young blood right now.

They haven’t scored more than four runs in any of their last 11 games.

The Mets are not by any means out of this race, but a couple things point to why Thole deserves the bulk of the playing time from now on.

Rod Barajas has a total of two runs batted in since May 31. He has hit the skids in a major way and the Mets need some punch. Thole has been working well with the pitching staff, and has handled the knuckleballer Dickey well.

It’s time for the Mets to allow the young catcher to play, since they allowed him to stay.