From the moment a rookie steps onto a big league field for the first time, a clock starts ticking. That clock will eventually stop. Whether the time allotted is a slow burn or a flash fire is due to a variety of factors—skill, injury, timing, the whims of fate. Regardless, every player’s career ends at some point.
There are moments in time where the ticking clock feels more present than others, and I think that it should be obvious for MJ Melendez that the clock this season is louder than it’s ever been. Melendez is a Gen Z-er; he’s technologically savvy to navigate to his page on Fangraphs or Baseball-Reference and see his Wins Above Replacement at -0.