PORT ST. LUCIE — In the wake of the hamate injury that has sidelined Francisco Lindor for the spring, there have been more opportunities at shortstop.
While the 29-year-old career minor leaguer Jackson Cluff is expected to be minor league depth, he made perhaps the best play of the spring Friday in Jupiter, Fla., when he went deep into the hole on a grounder and fired a strong throw to first to get the out.
It’s unclear how Cluff could find a path to Queens this season, but he isn’t ruling it out after an unusual professional journey that’s so far taken him to Triple-A, but not the majors.
Cluff, a practicing Mormon, played at BYU and following his freshman year, he took two years off from school — and baseball — to go on a mission for the church.
So while players his age were continuing their baseball careers, Cluff was instead taking part in the voluntary mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“You don’t have to do it, but for people who grow up and are active in the faith, it’s an expectation if you’re asked,’’ Cluff said. “My dad did it and my little brother is on a mission right now. Most people do it.”
After being unsure prior to BYU, Cluff said he became confident in his choice.
“I decided it was something I wanted to do and put my career on pause for two years,’’ Cluff said. “Everyone was very supportive, saying, ‘You need to do what you want to do.’ ”
Cluff ended up spending his two years in Atlanta, not exactly the far-flung places others have gone.
“You should have seen the look on my face when I found out where I was going,’’ Cluff said. “My dad went to Norway and learned Norwegian. My father-in-law went to Japan. I had teammates go to Mexico and Brazil. But I went to Atlanta and it was awesome.’’
As part of his work, Cluff focused on proselytizing and community service.
“We knock on doors and walk around town,’’ Cluff said. “You get on a bus in Atlanta and talk to people.”
When the two years were up, Cluff returned to BYU, this time as a 22-year-old sophomore.
“I wanted to play one more year and it was really important to have a good season because I wanted to play professionally,’’ Cluff said. “Most college players are getting drafted as a 21-year-old junior.”
Cluff responded with a solid season and called it a “no-brainer” to sign with the Nationals when they took him in the sixth round of the 2019 amateur draft.
“I told every team, ‘If you pick me, I’ll go,’ ” Cluff said.
Then, Cluff’s first full professional season was wiped out by COVID-19, before working his way up to Triple-A in 2024, where he spent all of last season.
His goal this year is to “help this team win games at the big league level at some point this season.”
Cluff said he knows the infield depth with the Mets will make that difficult, and despite his slow road through the minors, he’s only appreciative of his experiences.
“The only time my religion comes up in the clubhouse is when people ask if I really took two years off,’’ Cluff said. “I don’t have any regrets. How the mission impacted me personally and helped my faith and perspective on life is much more important than baseball. It’s given me so much direction.”
And as for his pursuit of his major league dream, Cluff said, “As long as I have a jersey on my back, anything is possible.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
