Let’s try a special exercise to bring some interest to Mets fans for the remainder of the 2026 season by pretending it is just starting tomorrow after the All Star break draws to a close. There are people who feel that no matter how bad things are they will improve with no particular major changes made to the roster. Then there are the others who simply want to blow everything up and play all the kids who are not exactly setting the world on fire in the minor leagues. Then there is a road somewhere in between these two extremes which could be the one that the club might want to consider.
It is understandable when a team due to injuries or massive slumps needs to fill lineup spots normally held by the regulars now instead being handed over to 30+ year old has been or never was players for extended periods of time. If you’re fielding a lineup with 7-8 regulars and then were forced to accommodate one of these types, you might be able to live with it, but when your everyday lineup includes the likes of Jared Young, Zack Short, Eric Wagaman and others who’ve already been booted out really don’t help in either of the two extremes. The club is not a mere one player away nor will they return to contention with 2-3 AAAA players getting every day at-bats.
The same applies to pitching. It is perfectly reasonable to bring up a minor leaguer when you face multiple injuries and need players healthy enough to provide the innings on the mound. With the number of hurlers hitting the IL for long stretches of the season and the multiple ineffective pitchers on the active roster it is reasonable to allow one or two of these types as your 25th and 26th players on the roster. Instead,, the Mets have had a revolving door of both starters and relievers throughout this season by players thrown away from multiple other organizations or who are career minor leaguers who have not been able to establish themselves as major league regulars.
A month or two of poor performance can be rationalized as adjustments, slumps, injury setbacks or other reasonable if not 100% accurate evaluations. However, after April and May of mediocrity with no sign of improvement you really need to assess who is going to be part of the Mets in the future. A good example would be rehabbing second baseman Marcus Semien, rehabbing center fielder Luis Robert, Jr. and substandard starting pitchers Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga. What is to be achieved giving more opportunities to people who clearly have not contributed to the few games the club has managed to win? If you identify who is not going to be Mets in 2027 then stop giving them opportunities to bury yourself further into the cellar.
While some AAA ballplayers like Ryan Clifford do not have the eye popping stats that suggest he would be an instant improvement in the majors, there are others like Nick Morabito and Ronny Mauricio who have not had the opportunity to face major league pitching regularly for 45-60 days to demonstrate if they can adjust to the increased level velocity and ball movement around the plate. The club has already whispered about Zach Thornton becoming a part of the ongoing major league roster but there are other pitchers in the minors about whom the Mets have incomplete evaluations like Jonah Tong, Jonathan Pintaro, Dylan Ross and others who need to face the best hitters in the game to see if they can handle the increased competition instead of keeping them at a lower level.
8 comments:
Bring up the kids and dump the vets. I think that Sterns was sitting on this for a while because he was hoping for a Boston Red Sox like rally. It just has not happened. It’s still could, but it’s very unlikely the cast of characters they have right now. But I will only bring up people who have earned it. And of those there are very few, definitely. Wenninger probably. Tong has been mysterious I think they screwed him up. And Dylan Ross has been horrible. However, I would bring up Nate lavender.
You want to get one of those top picks that don’t get penalized 10 slots in the next draft. We need some star power coming out of the draft. Hard to get a real star drafting 27th.
Me?
I want to trade Peralta, Weaver, Manaea, Bichette so I would continue to feature them
I would re-sign Holmes to a 2-yr deal with a 3rd yr club option
I would add Thornton to the rotation
I would promote Voit to Syracuse
I would promote Yonny Rodriguez to St. Lucie
I would promote Saul Garcia to Syracuse
I would bring Abner Mesa stateside
The common thread seen here by everyone not named David Stearns is to DO SOMETHING to try to address the team's future.
this year's second pick has pure star projection
try to imagine the future if Alonso, McNeil, and Nimmo were traded for team controlled prospects instead of the players they did get
It's almost as if the POBO doesn't have the qualifications for the job he holds, huh?
Will there be a 2027 season?
It will be interesting to see what they do when Semien returns. Will they continue to play Baty at 2B to continue to see how he plays & also potentially showcase him for offseason trade or play Semien as the expensive vet & to try to see if he can find anything left in the tank?
Roberts will play to show he is healthy enough to trade for a bag of used baseballs in August.
Manaea would be great to trade with a but down in the remainder of his co tract.
Senga - pitch him as a one inning guy until he shows he can do it or his arm falls off. Last chance to salvage his contract.
Bring up Wenninger even as a reliever asap after the trade deadline.
Promote Santucci to AAA now.
No room for Mauricio with Baty & Semien. Let Mauricio play in AAA & trade him at the deadline or offseason. Can’t stand talking about him anymore. It’s been almost 10 years since he was drafted at this point.
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