SAN FRANCISCO — DJ Stewart was left in limbo as the Mets broke camp last month, unsure if he had a roster spot.
The lefty slugger played impressively for the club over the final two months of last season, but team brass still wasn’t sold, especially after Stewart struggled in the Grapefruit League.
Stewart, 30, traveled north with the club, but wasn’t told he was on the roster until the day before the Mets were scheduled to open the season.
“It was definitely weird,” said Stewart, who went 0-for-4 in the Mets’ 5-2 loss to the Giants at Oracle Park. “I understand the business of the game, but having a wife and little girl wanting to know the logistics of where I’m going to be, where the family is going to be, that was tough.
“But I am happy where I am and looking forward to helping this team the rest of the year.”
Over the last 2 ½ weeks, Stewart’s surge after a slow start has been emblematic of a lineup that had helped the Mets win 12 of 16 games before Monday night’s loss.
Stewart, how homered Friday as part of a Mets victory over the Dodgers, has a .211/.392/.500 slash line with three homers and 10 RBIs, a big improvement after his sluggish start.
“Any time you get off to a slow start you are thinking about it even more,” Stewart said. “I am glad where I am, and putting in good at bats every day and showing that I can help this team win.”
Stewart has emerged as the regular DH against right-handed pitching. But even with his impressive play, he could be headed for a reduced role as the team prepares for J.D. Martinez’s arrival.
Martinez is set to begin playing for Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday, his final stop before the Mets activate him, as soon as Friday.
Martinez, signed to a one-year contract worth $12 million near the end of spring training, has spent almost a month building up at-bats to prepare for the season. His workouts were interrupted by lower-back tightness that shut him down for about a week.
Conversations between Stewart and manager Carlos Mendoza already have occurred. Stewart understands the situation.
“Obviously [Martinez] will be handling the majority of the DH role,” Stewart said. “But if I am in there, starting or backing up, giving one of the outfielders a day off, I just need to be ready. And then the same in even games I don’t start, just being able to help the team.”
Stewart’s chances of staying may have only improved with Francisco Alvarez sidelined into at least June after tearing a ligament in his left thumb. Alvarez is scheduled for surgery Tuesday.
With the Mets carrying two catchers lacking offensive pop, Stewart could be viewed as a late-inning pinch hitting threat. Stewart last season hit 11 homers in only 160 at-bats with the club, prompting the Mets to give him a one-year contract worth $1.38 million.
“He’s been a huge part of this team and I could see a spot for him, even when J.D. comes back,” Mendoza said.
As much as the Mets value Stewart’s power, his walk-rate of 21.3 percent entering play was first in the major leagues.
“Any time I am taking my walks I am swinging at the right pitches,” Stewart said. “I have always been known to walk a lot and I have power, but sometimes the strikeout numbers are too much and that is something I am trying to concentrate on. Something we talked about at the end of last year: when I put the ball in play there is usually damage.”
