Reese Kaplan -- Who is Still a NY Met on August 1st?

Sometimes it becomes more difficult to find an untraveled road over which there have not been countless explorations already made.  Have we talked about the Mets and the starting pitching issues?  Yup.  Have we talked about the third base platoon and/or Battle Royale?  Done that, too.  Have we explored trading away some of the core assets?  Indeed. 

So today let us look into the crystal ball and project who will and who will not be on the roster on August 1st.  Bear in mind that the club even with its recent spate of haplessness (or hopelessness) is still within traveling distance to the Wildcard entry to the playoffs.  Still, even if everything breaks completely right for the club, the likelihood of overcoming that current gap of under 3 games looks less and less likely.

So as the calendar flips from July into August, who will be here?

The Dueling Franciscos

Despite his again horrific start in the batting average department, there is no denying the enthusiasm, speed, defense and hard-to-move contract obligation that is Mr. Lindor.  He is clearly one of the top 5 shortstops in all of baseball even when he starts off the 2024 season in sub-Mendoza batting.

While everyone was pleasantly surprised at what Mr. Alvarez brought to the team out of injury necessity last year, no one really expected the position of catcher to morph into a proverbial black hole.  Yes, we have seen some offense from Tomas Nido and his usual stellar defense, but Omar Narvaez has been way less than what Billy Eppler thought he had snared going into the 2023 season.  Expect to see Alvarez and Nido as the August catching duo.  Don´t expect to see an allegedly hot hitting catcher with commendable defensive skills on the roster anymore.

Outfielders Who Will Be Here Include...

Brandon Nimmo is a starter and although his batting average isn´t where they would like it to be, he has shown good at-bats, solid defense, increased power and better use of his baserunning speed.  His salary is probably a touch higher than it should be but there is a need for some continuity even when the roster is overhauled and Nimmo earned his right to remain a Met.

The only other outfielder likely to survive the July trade deadline is 4th outfielder Tyrone Taylor. He is rock solid defensively, has shown the ability to hit the long ball and actually has decent baserunning speed.  He is the kind of player who won´t embarrass the club if he winds up starting due to rest or injury to others.

I Don´t Know — Third Base!

Let´s not split hairs here.  As a hot corner defender, Mark Vientos reminds many of J.D. Davis and other failed third base experiments.  He should not be there but hopefully will remain in the lineup almost daily regardless of whether a lefty or righty is starting in order to ascertain if his bat is as good as it sometimes has seemed.  Come August 1st, he might have to shift across the diamond to play first base if they indeed move Pete Alonso for a passel of prospects.  The other option would be having him take over at DH if it is J.D. Martinez leaving on a jet plane. 

That brings me to a very odd conclusion here.  Third base on August 1st and for the next 60 days should totally belong to Brett Baty.  Make him understand that it is essentially his last Mets gasp of hope for a career at Citifield because Ronny Mauricio, Jett Williams and others are hot on his heels for 2025. 

In the Starting Rotation...

Figure that unless Christian Scott totally does himself in by emulating his last start several times, he is here for the future rotation.  He makes no money and was cruising on his way to the majors, so they need to ascertain if he is on the road to the top half of the rotation.

Kodai Senga is a mystery as far as his recovery goes, but I´m foolishly optimistic enough to think that by August 1st he should be ready to sit atop the rotation for the remaining two months of this season.  The Mets need to see that he is indeed healthy and still capable of pitching at a near elite level.

Given that he holds an option for his own future, expect that Sean Manaea is still going to be a part of the 2024 rotation as the season draws to a close.  His performance has been better than expected with a 3-1 record and a 3.11 ERA.  The control (like most Mets pitchers) has not been good but you can´t argue with the overall results. 

I would expect to see Jose Butto back in the rotation as the club needs to determine if he is indeed a part of the Queens baseball future or if he is to become trade bait in the offseason. 

Expect that if he is healthy Tylor Megill is also likely going to see a great many starts to help ascertain yet again which Megill will show up on the mound.  His lifetime numbers are pretty bad but his minor league and spring training numbers this year were decidedly better.  He too could be part of the future or part of a trade package.

On the Way in From the Bullpen:

Edwin Diaz was given a stellar contract for stellar pitching.  Then he missed an entire year.  Now he is in purgatory, not even being entrusted with 8th inning assignments, let alone closing.  I am pretty confident he will overcome whatever has pushed him off the top of the heap and given his salary he is a closer for the future for the Mets.

Reed Garrett, Sean Reid-Foley and Jorge Lopez may not make anyone else reach for bottles of champagne, but they have been far better than anyone expected.  They are not highly regarded enough to fetch much in return for trades, so I would expect them all to be here.

Drew Smith is in a similar boat given his overall career track record, but right now health is the primary issue to resolve.  He also would not net anything significant in trade, so I would expect he will also be around.

The surprising name here is emergency relief pitcher David Peterson.  The club has ample arms to start games but with Jake Diekman not being of Brooks Raley´s calibre (and Raley done for the year), the club is in need of another southpaw.  Other mediocre starters like Dennis Eckersley made the transition to the pen later in their careers.  It may likely be time for Peterson to do the same.

Conspicuous By Not Being On These Groupings...

• Pete Alonso
• Jeff McNeil
• Omar Narvaez
• Harrison Bader
• Starling Marte
• Luis Severino
• Adrian Houser
• Adam Ottavino

Any of these players can and should be on the trading block if the club continues to play more like it is 2023 than like it was 2022.  When the core isn´t working then you build a new core.  ´Nuff Said.