Zack Short's 2026 has basically been a shuttle service between Queens and Syracuse. The Mets picked him off waivers, DFA'd him in late June when Francisco Lindor came back healthy, outrighted him to Triple-A, then turned around on July 10 and selected his contract again once Mark Vientos and Marcus Semien both went down banged up. Now, less than a week into the trade-deadline stretch, he's been designated for assignment once more.
MLB Trade Rumors confirmed the fresh 40-man move Wednesday afternoon.
For context on who Short even is: he's a 31-year-old journeyman infielder who broke into the majors with Detroit back in 2021 and has bounced through Boston, Atlanta, Houston and Washington's spring camp since. This year alone he was dealt from the Nationals to the Tigers for cash before ever suiting up, hit just .167 in 23 games with Detroit, and landed in New York as a waiver claim. He's the definition of an org filling a roster hole, not a building block.
The moves make sense on paper. Short only got into a handful of games in his latest Mets stint and went 1-for-8 the first time around, so he was never entrenched. But the DFA-then-recall-then-DFA cycle in the span of about 3 weeks says a lot about how thin the Mets infield depth has been with Vientos and Semien both banged up and Lindor's health status a running storyline all season.
Now the Mets have to figure out whether Short clears waivers again, gets outrighted, or simply walks. He's already been outrighted once this year, which under MLB rules gives him the option to reject a return assignment to Triple-A and elect free agency instead. Given how often he's already been jerked around the roster in 2026, don't be shocked if he takes the exit ramp this time.
None of this moves the needle for a Mets team trying to make real moves before the deadline, but it's a reminder of how much roster churn happens under the radar every summer. Short is the guy who answers the phone when a team needs a warm body for a week, and right now the Mets don't need him for that anymore.