Could Eduardo Escobar's offensive eruption, Luis Guillorme's return change calculus for Mets at DH?

A month ago, the Mets appeared set at DH after going through the first half of the season searching for answers.

Lefty Daniel Vogelbach would get most DH at-bats against right-handed starting pitchers, while righty Darin Ruf would get most DH at-bats against left-handed pitchers.

Vogelbach started his Mets tenure on fire but has cooled off recently, with just five hits in his last 37 at-bats.

As far as Ruf, he has never gotten going since being acquired from the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline for J.D. Davis, Thomas Szapucki, and two pitching prospects in what at the time seemed like a massive overpay and looks even worse now. 

Ruf has one hit in his last 32 at-bats, is hitting .140/.182/.200 in 55 plate appearances over 21 games as a Met, and has not homered since July 24, when he was still a member of the Giants. And many of Ruf's at-bats as a Met have been non-competitive.

The Mets called prospect Mark Vientos up before Sunday's game, and he could possibly take playing time away from Ruf down the stretch. 

But with Eduardo Escobar in the midst of an offensive eruption and Luis Guillorme expected to return from the IL for Monday's series opener against the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field, is the Mets' calculus at DH about to change?

Look at it this way...

Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Mark Canha, and Escobar are going to be in the lineup nearly every day. Then there's the catcher's spot.

Tyler Naquin could play right field most games until Starling Marte returns, though -- as SNY contributor John Harper noted -- the Mets could also shift McNeil to right field, use Guillorme at second, and Escobar at third for now.

They won't have that option once Marte is back, though, and he could be back as early as Saturday.

That would leave one lineup spot for either Guillorme, Vogelbach, Vientos, or Ruf.

When you consider how valuable Guillorme was to the Mets before he landed on the IL and that the types of at-bats he takes are emblematic of how the Mets' offense operates when at its best, it seems apparent that Guillorme will become a lineup mainstay again.

And when you consider how valuable Guillorme is defensively, it makes lots of sense for him to be at third base or second base each game.

The above would mean using Escobar as the DH most games in order to also get Guillorme's glove in the field, and would result in Vogelbach and Ruf becoming pinch-hitting options for the most part.

There is no scenario where the Mets can justify sitting Escobar right now in favor of anyone, and that's because he has been crushing it not only from the right side of the plate but from the left.

Using Escobar as the DH would also help unclog the bases a bit, since Vogelbach and Ruf are usually station-to-station guys.

Having Vogelbach, Ruf, and Vientos on the bench most nights would mean the Mets are pretty one-dimensional there. But with the DH in the NL now and not nearly as much in-game maneuvering needed, it really isn't that bad to have three power bats who don't provide much else as late-inning options.

There's also a chance Vientos gets sent down when Guillorme is activated if the Mets are prepared to use Escobar as their primary DH. That would allow them to keep Terrance Gore (whose main asset is speed) as a pinch-running option.

Either way, the Mets' best lineup right now is one with Escobar in it. And their best defensive alignment is one where Guillorme is on the infield. We'll see how that impacts the DH plan down the stretch.