Paul Articulates - Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda ...

Baseball has always been an unpredictable sport, yet we are still shocked when the underdog rises above all odds to win.  Unfortunately, we are also shocked when the most talented of teams fails to live up to high expectations, and in the case of the 2025 Mets, crumbles to a logic-defying final day exit from playoff contention.

In the aftermath of one of the most epic collapses in modern baseball history, it is natural for all involved to ask, “What should we have done differently”?  It is all hindsight of course, because the damage was done long ago when choices were made and the team moved forward towards this ignominious destiny.

I will provide my opinions in three different categories: “Should have” being the strongest without reservation opinions on what would have made things better.  “Could have” are those ideas that may have had an impact on the collapse, but we will never know.  “Would have” are things that Paul would have done if he was being paid to do what Stearns and Mendoza do.

Should have (past):

• David Stearns should have left Cedric Mullins in Baltimore.  Sure, Mullins had a season in his past where he played at an all-star level, and the price was relatively low for a deadline deal, but Mullins was always a redundant solution to the same old problem: defense-only centerfielders.  But in this case, Mullins’ defensive credentials only included his range and his speed.  For a center fielder, he had a weak arm, and this was exposed in a few critical instances during the fatal final month.  I understand that he was a step-in for an injured Siri, but Tyrone Taylor and for that matter Jeff McNeil played better than Mullins in the months after the trade deadline.

• Kodai Senga was considered too valuable to damage, so the Mets tried to be ultra-careful not to overwork him.  The Mets should have pushed him into a five-day rotation routine.  If he couldn’t hack that, it would have been better to know early that he would not have the stamina to make it through the full season.  He got injured and spent more time on the IL than on the field despite all the kid glove handling – and the relievers paid the ultimate price for this.

• Mark Vientos should have been made a designated hitter by the end of April.  He should have played third base only in emergency situations.  Instead, the Mets justified that he could play there because of adequate performance which would keep his bat in the lineup.  This not only hurt the team defensively, but caused a carousel of third basemen between Vientos, Baty, and Mauricio that helped none of them gain proficiency and kept all of them from achieving their potential.

Could have (past): 

• The Mets could have called up their young pitchers earlier.  With all the injuries and the sub-par performances by the starting rotation, there was plenty of need for guys like McLean and Tong to step up and get some innings, get some experience, and show how they stacked up to MLB hitters.  Instead, the Mets rode a struggling Sean Manaea, a tiring Clay Holmes, and Senga right down the slide from “best in baseball” to third worst in the league over the last 90-or-so games.  The desperation call-ups of McLean, then Tong, then Sproat was too little too late.  They all proved worthy, but without any experience in the big show, Tong and Sproat did not get up the curve quickly enough.  Calling them up earlier may have back-fired if they were not ready and had awful experiences, but after burning out one bullpen and buying a new one at the trade deadline, it seems ludicrous that they would not get fresher arms on the starting side.

• The Mets could have played Mauricio more in September.  Yes, Baty was playing very well and earned the every-day starter job at third.  But Mauricio got virtually no playing time (13 at-bats in 30 days), and looked like he was playing in the second week of spring training when he was forced into action due to Baty’s oblique injury.  Mauricio seemed unsure in the field and struggled on any breaking balls thrown his way while at the plate.

Would have (past):

• If I was making the lineup decisions (not sure who really was), I would have hit McNeil higher in the lineup on a regular basis.  His hot August (.276/.339/.459) was squandered mostly in the 7th or 8th positions in the order while the lineup cycled through countless iterations of R-L-R-L-R-L batters.  I also would not be so anal about trying to disadvantage the other team’s specialty relievers by making sure no two consecutive batters hit from the same side of the plate.  Yes, I understand that there are plenty of analytics that drive the highest probability of success from that approach, but those numbers are based on really large samples.  Sometimes you just have to go with the hot hand.  So if Lindor, Soto, and Baty are crushing the ball for several games in a row, why put colder hitters up in-between to keep them from driving in multiple runs?

• If I was making the pitching decisions (I know this was Carlos), I would also stop using the law of left versus right for every single pitching change.  If Ryne Stanek is getting barreled on every third pitch, he is still not the right guy to bring in to create a right-versus-right matchup.  Now, if it is a close game and Kyle Schwarber and Harper were coming up, then I would certainly wave my left hand at the bullpen.  Otherwise, think about it – a starter is allowed to throw to both righties and lefties for (hopefully) a few times through the lineup.  If they can get the opposite guy out, so can a reliever.

Enough hindsight – we can’t change another historical Mets collapse that will go in the books alongside the 2007 and 2008 seasons.  The future is the only thing that can be influenced over the next few months’ decisions, so let’s discuss the “should-could-would” actions to set the table for a quick recovery in 2026.

Should do (future):

• Sign Pete Alonso.  If he hasn’t opted out yet, he will.  He earned the paycheck.  We need him back on this team for his bat, his scoops, and his devotion to everything orange and blue.

• Incentivize Edwin Diaz to not exercise his 2026 player option.  He still has great closer stuff.  Put incentives in his revised contract for every baserunner that he holds on first.  Put disincentives in his revised contract for every three consecutive balls that miss by 12” on the arm side.

• Pick up the club option on Brooks Raley.  He was one of very few guys that performed every time he came into the game.

• Sign Luis Torrens.  He was the perfect guy to back up the oft-injured Alvarez.

• Thank a few guys and send them packing.  Starling Marte has had some great years with the Mets, and he showed that he can still hit.  However, he had to see limited action to keep him healthy, and that takes a full roster slot for a partial player.  Keeping him inhibits the club from making Vientos a DH-only player.  Ryne Stanek can still throw 100mph, but when he throws his other pitches, they go 100mph in the other direction.  Time for him to go in the other direction.

Could do (future):

• The Mets could re-sign Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill, Max Kranick, David Peterson, and Tyrone Taylor for 2026.  The first three had too much injured time to prove their worth, and each showed flashes of brilliance.  Peterson carried the club through the summer by eating innings and getting the Mets into position to win.  Yes, he faded in the end but if that happens next year, there are plenty of young arms to call up.  Taylor is the best center fielder the Mets can field until either Carson Benge or AJ Ewing is ready to challenge.  Yes his bat has had its ups and downs, but he’s much better than Siri and Mullins.

Would do (future):

• I can’t really see what is going on behind the scenes regarding pitching and hitting decisions.  Prevailing opinion is that the lineup is handed to Mendoza by some combination of Stearns and the analytics guys.  His decisions on pulling pitchers have been highly questionable, but it is uncertain how much they are influenced.  If I was calling the shots, I would hand him the full responsibility for both and let him sink or swim.  He clearly has the support of the players, but if he is not up to making winning decisions for the club (or if he can’t be trusted to), then he is not the man for the job.

• Get a guy in the clubhouse that doesn’t tolerate losing.  This could be a veteran player or a coach, but someone has to spark enough emotion in this team to bust out.  There was way too much talent for them to play .408 baseball (38-55) from June 13th to the end of the season.  Every team has bad streaks, but this wasn’t a streak – it was a mentally exhausting spiral that consumed the team’s resiliency.