On the day that the Nationals traded away a generational talent in outfielder Juan Soto, Washington fans probably could use an emotional boost.
Although it won’t offset the sting of losing Soto, longtime minor leaguer Joey Meneses did his best to improve the mood at Nationals Park on Tuesday night.
Meneses made his MLB debut at first base for Washington after toiling for more than a decade in the minor leagues for the Braves, Phillies, Red Sox and Nationals organizations. A 30-year-old native of Culiacan, Mexico, he had appeared in 894 minor league games (not including 482 games in foreign and winter leagues).
After all that, Meneses made his MLB debut a memorable one. Batting in the seventh inning against Mets reliever Yoan López, Meneses hit a 405-foot home run to right-center field.
Even if Meneses doesn’t make Nats fans forget about Soto, at least he turned a few frowns upside down in his first major league game. The fans also saw a rare win at Nationals Park, as Washington defeated the Mets in Jacob deGrom’s season debut, 5–1.
