Reese Kaplan -- Changes Better Be a'Coming!

So as the Mets descend further and further into their subterranean NL East standings, people are again questioning the reasons for the ongoing losses.  You can pick any of the following as partial or primary causes for the inability to win games.  There are a multitude of injuries to a large number of players that kept them off the field and the AAAA relief corps obviously has not gotten it done.

Then there are the players on the mound and at the plate who simply are not playing up to their historical norms.  While anyone is entitled to go through an occasional cold spell or slump, the magnitude of the problems across the board have sabotaged efforts to turn losses into wins. 

One of the victims of this horrific season was manager Carlos Mendoza.  His .430 winning percentage was certainly nothing to brag about and it seemed as if he was not motivating players through their difficulties nor taking corrective actions that worked effectively. 

Andy Green was brought in with the interim tag to fill in the rest of the 2026 season and he’s been even worse.  Granted, it’s only been eleven games thus far but he’s living on a record of just 4-7.  That’s a .360 winning percentage.

So what has changed or can change?  Better question, will it even matter?

Well, Jorge Polanco returned for the game of July 7th and nearly had a home run that the umpires overturned.  It would have been a great comeback story after having delivered virtually nothing since the season began, but such is the case with the Mets this year. 

Luis Robert is off to Binghamton to play regularly but he’s not demonstrated any ability to hit against minor league pitching, so the likelihood he would flourish against better hurlers in the majors is certainly unlikely.  It is certainly apparent that the Mets are better off with rookie A.J. Ewing being the regular center fielder than they would be with a platoon of sorts opening up based upon Robert’s paycheck when he is deemed healthy enough to return. 

The biggest missing piece right now is starting pitcher Clay Holmes who was one of their better arms before the fibula fracture.  Right now any game in which Sean Manaea, Kodai Senga and other pitchers appear are certainly huge steps backwards from what the former Yankee reliever provided as a starting pitcher. 

There is a lot of discussion about wholesale selling of existing players as the trade deadline appraoches.  There could be some validity here.  Jorge Polanco is unmovable with his injury history and big paycheck.  Sean Manaea is likely in a similar situation unless the Mets pay down a huge chunk of his remaining contract.  Bo Bichette has heated up nicely but it’s a double edged sword in that he could opt out at year’s end in the quest of a longer deal.  Letting other clubs know he could be had in the right deal might be a smart thing to do.  Relievers A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley are not going to be here next year so it’s entirely possible to include them as well.

Now we get to some of the more interesting yet somewhat far fetched options.  Devin Williams has been more down than up but his track record is so good that another team might feel he is a closer who could rebound with a change of scenery.  Francisco Lindor’s apparent poor relationship with Juan Soto could suggest he could be traded in the right deal.  The third one would be stellar reliever Luke Weaver.  His future ties in Devin Williams.  If Williams goes, then Weaver becomes the closer by default.  If Williams stays, then Weaver could be the one on the move.  It all depends on the packages offered.  The Mets have pretty much vacated their upper minor leagues of their better players, so prospects would certainly be most welcome.