When you come off a barely .500 team in 2025 that dashed everyone’s hopes you obviously had huge expectations going into 2026 given the wholesale makeover of the roster by allegedly wunderkind baseball executive David Stearns. Granted, at this point we’re only 6 games into a 162 game schedule but what’s shown thus far has not exactly filled folks with a lot of confidence.
Let’s first look at the “noffense” which has only two starting players hitting north of .231. One of them was expected though perhaps not this fast in the form of superstar Juan Soto. He’s slashing a highly enjoyable .346 with a home run and 5 RBIs through his first six games. Everyone knows the kind of hitter he has been and while no one anticipates he’s working on a 150+ RBI season, it’s still great to see him add some fuel to the otherwise frigid batting order.
After that the numbers from the rest of the players paid to hit the ball are downright embarrassing. You do have two part timers who don’t need to get the daily boos facing others. Mark Vientos in his limited action is hitting .400 while backup catcher Luis Torrens is hitting .333. Neither would keep this level of productivity for the long haul but at this point the Mets need every solid base hit they can get given the plethora of .231 down to .000 hitting others on the current roster.
From the pitching side things have fared a bit better but good pitching with no hitting is not a formula for short or long term success. From a starter perspective it is Mets homegrown veteran David Peterson leading the pack with a perfect 0.00 ERA given his single 5.1 inning game while not yielding any runs. He was not keeping folks off base but managed to work around it.
Then came last year’s converted reliever turned started Clay Holmes. The former Yankee finished the otherwise disappointing 2025 season with a highly respectable 12-8 with a 3.53 ERA. Thus far during his solo appearance this season he’s doing even better with a 3.18 ERA accompanied by a 5 Ks in a 5.2 IP game. He did walk three and gave up 4 hits but overall you’d sign up for these numbers for a full season.
Next up on the list is still rookie Nolan McLean. He did not have a great spring training between Florida and the WBC but the expectations are sky high for his success. In his lone start he lasted 5 innings, fanning 8 while walking 2 and giving up 4 hits. Overall he showed some dominance on the mound but working his way back from missed time due to illness most people are willing to cut him some slack. His ERA stands at 3.60.
Somewhat surprisingly the poorest starting pitcher thus far has been the man donned ace of the staff, Freddy Peralta. He’s had two games already and sports a somewhat mediocre 4.35 ERA for his efforts. He’s whiffed 14 in his 10+ innings of effort and only walked 2. Although he’s shown great control he’s given up nearly a hit per inning. No one is having major anxiety in the early going.
Now the bullpen has had its ups and downs with the short intervals delivered by the starters. Five Mets relievers have perfect 0.00 ERAs but take Huascar Brazoban’s number with a grain of salt as he’s already been charged with a blown save. The remaining quartet includes Sean Manaea, Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley and closer Devin Williams. Tobias Myers got the loss in the second Cardinals game on a bloop hit that fell between three fielders, so it’s not as if he did anything wrong.
Then there are the other two who have not earned their keep. In 2 games Luis Garcia is sporting a 9.00 ERA only to be bested by Dicky Lovelady who over 3 games is at half that number with a win and a loss. These end pieces of the pen might be looking over their shoulders as AJ Minter continues preparation for his 2026 season debut.
4 comments:
They are in a definite funk - for sure. Sloppy play & really bad hitting.
The pitching has been strong but they have had to go deep into their pen (somewhat expected with 80-90 pitch count limits) but they should have put another multi inning reliever to give them more flexibility to start the year (Christian Scott) vs throw-away marginal relievers.
There is no real groove yet. It will come but hopefully before they dig into a hole.
Have to figure it out before they play the Dodgers & Cubs later this month.
Didn’t Yogi say that it gets late early? This complete lack of offense after opening day is very concerning.
Despite their 11 run outburst on opening day, the METS are 25th in batting average…”it is early”.
But they were 23rd in batting average in spring training.
That is a LOT of sub par hitting. Still unconcerned?
The team hasn't gelled in any way. Their play appears listless. They certainly aren't manufacturing runs. They are not built to withstand poor offensive seasons from Polanco, Bichette and Semien. That's 1/3 of the starting lineup. I have not changed my view on Alvarez. He hits only pitcher's mistakes hard. That's it. Baty is off to another relatively slow start, and his job was to get the ball in the air with the bases loaded, which he did not do. To be fair, Benge has struggled somewhat as well. Lindor has gotten off to his usual slow start.
I believe they have to win a few games from the offense.
I am not a Mendoza fan. He's not a fit with a team that needs to use its offense to put pressure on the other team. No steals, no hit and run, no advancing runners. Very placid. The bullpen is poorly set up if Manaea isn't being uses every 4th day in a 3/ 4-inning piggback role, If he pitches more often for shorter stretches, then that eliminates him as a piggy back, and also as a potential starter, as everyone claims he is. But if he is used in a piggy back role, then they are effectively working with a 7 man bullpen, two members of which are nowhere near good enough. If you add to that Mendoza's reluctance to pitch Williams and Raley two days/row and you have a very short bullpen that will quickly be overworked. That's another reason why you should be playing offense with a mindset of aggressiveness to win all those close games that we have not won.
Again, in my terms, the team has been unable to create and exploit strategic advantages in close games. It's a mix of things that are the cause, but seeing the patterns emerge and finding ways of breaking through is the job of the manager.
Noffense is a great term. You get a penny for every time it is used on this site for the next six months. If you are not rich by then, the Mets are playing in October.
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