It is the middle of July, and the New York Mets are limping in to the all-star break on a three game losing streak and a record that is 17 games under .500. This would have been unfathomable if you projected it during the pre-season after the front office went for broke with a major overhaul of the team and the defense.
Maybe the term "unfathomable" is overstated. Certainly we expected a significant improvement from the 2025 nose dive based upon the definitive steps that were taken to change the team. But at the same time, you could categorize that re-build as a high risk, high reward decision. Unfortunately, the risk was realized and the reward was not.
In the steps that followed, the front office made many low risk, low reward moves by acquiring players on waivers from other teams, players that were unsigned free agents, and churning the AAA rotation to fill the MLB team. From this, there were a few small positives such as the discovery of Jared Young as a very competent first baseman. But all the rest did not deliver rewards and the constant churn on the roster took its toll on the field of play. There is no consistency, no cohesiveness, and certainly no record to brag about.
There are too many moving parts right now, and it promises to be even more unsettling as the majority of injured players that were new to the team this year are just about ready to return to the active roster.
This is a major concern to me, because there are only a few things that I can identify as positives from the first half and I don't want to see any of those things marginalized.
Positive: The play of the youngsters Carson Benge and AJ Ewing. These kids are not only gaining confidence that they can compete at this level, they are excelling. Ewing (.276/.350/.439) and Benge (.263/.326/.402) are two of the best bats in the current lineup. I cannot condone sitting one or both so Luis Robert (.224/.327/.329) and/or Marcus Semien (.214/.271/.341) can play. And don't forget Tyrone Taylor.
Positive: Juan Soto has played to expectations. He has hit with power, hit for average, and gotten on base consistently. Unfortunately it has not delivered wins for this team but he seems to be enjoying himself more with the enthusiasm that the rookies have injected in this outfield. Soto's defense has been shaky recently, but if he is the DH when Robert is in the outfield then there is a solution.
Positive: Jared Young has shown to be very competent as a first baseman and his bat has not been a negative. He is hitting .248/.318/.426 and seems to have a knack for getting hits in key situations. With Jorge Polanco back on the active roster, this either means less reps for Young or an issue with too many designated hitters vying for at-bats.
Positive: Brett Baty is showing signs of life with his bat. After struggling mightily in the first three months, Baty has suddenly started to make better contact. He had a 10 game hitting streak going into yesterday's game and even some of his outs were very loud. But with a three day cool-down period and then a log jam of available players, will Baty lose his stroke and his confidence? I don't know where you fit him if the Mets want to play Bichette, Lindor, Semien, and Young/Polanco in the infield. We already noted how crowded the outfield and DH positions have become.
Normally, when you have such competition for the starting lineup it is a very positive thing. The competition often brings out the best in players, and having options for every day's lineup is a blessing. But the reason I cannot label this as a positive is that none of these returning guys that want to play every day have batting statistics that help the lineup. Semien (.214), Robert (.224), Polanco (.178), and Bichette (.255) are not going to get this offense revved up.
Andy Green has his work cut out for him. He needs to find a way to keep these guys happy until the trade deadline relieves some of the pressure. Unfortunately that is not the only goal. Mets fans would like to see their team win a few games as well, and as mentioned earlier the dynamic of constant change has hurt this newly built club's ability to gel.
7 comments:
We simply have too many Quality players. Unfortunately, a number of them are low quality. They will have to do some juggling to get guys playing time. That is for sure.
This team finds ways to lose. Which is the worst part. The lost yesterday, taking Away Thornton‘s first career win, was brutal.
The Yankees have been really struggling without judge, and trail late in the game three times this weekend. They rallied late in all three games to win. If the Mets did that to their fans, many of them would have heart attacks.
'what a terrible loss! Clearly something is amiss with Lindor. I'm no GM but why not dump these guys coming off DH?
Sorry DL not DH
Lindor is going nowhere. Sorry.
I think the Mets currently own the 4th worst record. If the season ended today they would not lose 10 picks in the draft. That means they could draft higher quality more talented players that are damaged.
Some teams draft players that can do damage. Other teams draft damaged players.
Robert is making $20 million. He likely will return next week. 100 games in. So his remaining salary is $7.6 million, roughly. If the Mets eat all but $1 million of that, some team might want him as a short term rental. He is 6 for last 13 in AA rehab. So there seems to be a pulse.
Terrible loss y/day but Lindors uninspired play of late and the fact it takes him a month or 2 to start hitting is just another bonus as the only thing he seems interested in doing lately is changing his hair styles. Soto needs to be a DH period. I just love when they mention him playing first base lol. He should not ever play the field again so 750 million Cohen bucks well spent and this boy genius is suddenly going to turn this around ....really? Oh and lets give him another year or 2 to do it.
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