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Report: Mets Have Discussed Promoting Tim Tebow Within Minors

By Ryan Mayer

There has been plenty of talk surrounding Tim Tebow since he joined the Mets organization just about a year ago.

Most of it has centered around the thought process that the former NFL quarterback was signed purely as an attraction to sell tickets, a notion that seemed to be reinforced when he looked over-matched against MLB pitching in spring training.

When Tebow was assigned to the Columbia Fireflies, the Mets' Class A affiliate, the assumption was that he wouldn't make it much further at the minor league level.

However, Tebow has performed fairly well in his 28 games with the Fireflies, posting a .250/.330/.370 slash line with two homers and 11 RBIs. As the New York Post's Mike Puma pointed out, Tebow has been even better in his last 16 games, hitting .327. According to Puma, this recent stretch has some within the Mets organization discussing a potential promotion for the 29-year-old outfielder.

That said, Puma reports that the move likely wouldn't come until after the All-Star break. That would give the organization about two months to continue to monitor Tebow's performance and decide whether they want to move him up a level or two. For Tebow's part, continuing to rake the way that he has recently would certainly help his cause.

In addition to his impact on the field, Tebow has made a big impact on the Fireflies ticket sales. The team leads the South Atlantic League in attendance and passed the 100,000 attendance mark earlier this week. It took only 19 games to do, eight fewer than last season.

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