Towards the end of July, the Mets’ outfield was in a bit of disarray. With both Yoenis Cespedes and Jay Bruce on the shelf, the team was short an outfielder and didn’t have a true center fielder on the roster. Things were so bad that Matt den Dekker was getting significant playing time in center. It was obvious that the Mets needed to add a body just to get through the rest of the season.
Enter Austin Jackson, who had been released by the Texas Rangers earlier in the month, and was available for the league minimum.