Mets need to get smart in a hurry while 'learning about our team'
Juan Soto #22 of the New York Mets scores a run during the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly past Drake Baldwin #30 of the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Maybe if the Mets timed their June swoon a little differently, Rafael Devers would be playing in Flushing right now.
Doubtful, sure. But a few weeks earlier, and who knows if owner Steve Cohen might have been tempted to take on Devers’ remaining $250 million to bolster the Mets’ sputtering lineup, one that’s failed to cover for the pitching staff’s painful regression of late.
As crazy as that sounds, based on what we’ve witnessed this month from the spiraling Mets, whose 7-4 loss Tuesday night to Atlanta was their 10th in 11 games, should anything be considered off the table?
Definitely not. Aside from Frankie Montas’ five scoreless innings (five Ks) in his 2025 debut, this defeat was more like a cry for help — between multiple rounds of booing from the rightly upset crowd of 38,130 at sweltering Citi Field.
The Mets had only two hits through the first eight innings, including a two-out single by Brett Baty that actually helped put them ahead 3-0 in the second. Then came another bullpen meltdown, with Jose Castillo, Huascar Brazoban and Reed Garrett providing the gasoline during a five-run sixth.
“We’re going through it right now,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But they’re professionals. They’ve been there before. They know they’re good players. But we gotta go out there and do it.”
Regardless of how we viewed the Mets on Opening Day (I picked them to win the NL East) or even on June 12, when they were 21 games over .500 and led the division by 5 1⁄2 games, the circumstances have changed dramatically across the roster. With the July 31 trade deadline five weeks away, president of baseball operations David Stearns should be prepared to go shopping, with some obvious needs surfacing.
“Any time you go through a stretch like this, it’s added information,” Stearns said. “We’re learning about our team.”
The recent batch of intel is not great. Just in the past 72 hours, the Mets demoted their 23-year-old slugging catcher Francisco Alvarez due to his stalled development and also were forced to pump the brakes on the imminent return of Sean Manaea, who was diagnosed Tuesday with a “loose body” in his elbow that the team hopes will be cushioned by a cortisone shot.
Manaea, remember, has yet to throw a pitch that counts since signing his three-year, $75 million contract last December. And to be honest, when I asked him, the amiable lefty didn’t seem all that super-confident that a large helping of anti-inflammatories was going to keep his elbow functioning for the next three-plus months.
“I don’t really have any frame of reference,” Manaea said. “It’s definitely something new for me. But I hope it’s not like grinding every single outing. Just that this thing subsides and I’ll be able to pitch through it.”
The Mets’ best-case scenario has Manaea delayed only by a week, which would have him rotation-ready in early July. But even with that rosy outlook, a semi-operational Manaea doesn’t begin to solve the myriad issues plaguing these Mets. Stearns’ clever rotation-building blueprint went sideways this month, due to both sudden injury and shoddy performance. While the expectation is that Kodai Senga (hamstring) will again be ace-caliber once he heals, can his fragile nature be trusted as a No. 1 for a team with World Series aspirations?
The healthy starters have shown cracks, too. Since June 13, the rotation’s 6.31 ERA is the second-worst in the majors, which in turn puts more pressure on the bullpen. Further complicating matters is the bats’ inability to ride to the rescue, and Mendoza publicly vented that frustration Monday in calling out the bottom of the Mets’ lineup for ghosting him.
What’s a manager to do? As the roster currently stands, career minor-leaguer Jared Young has served as the lefty DH (in the absence of the injured Jesse Winker), the .221-hitting Luis Torres is the primary catcher and Mendoza is rotating infield spots with Baty and the soon-to-be-demoted Ronny Mauricio. On Monday, the glove-first Tyrone Taylor batted sixth — too high for him — before Mendoza went with Jeff McNeil in center Tuesday night.
Even with Mark Vientos (hamstring) returning later this week, there’s no guarantee last year’s October hero is going to be part of the solution after he’s come back down to earth this season (.230 BA, .678 OPS). Both Vientos and Alvarez were counted on to be difference-makers. Presumably, Vientos gets straightened out — despite hitting .118 at Triple-A Syracuse — but Alvarez now has plenty to prove in the minors before punching his ticket back.
“We’re going to get more information in the coming weeks,” Stearns said. “Especially as we get healthier, and how we perform then, and how we think those players are adjusting back to the big leagues will be a part of how we view our team as we get to the deadline.”
The Mets do have some time for those evaluations. Getting back to their previous winning ways is a more immediate concern. What Stearns doesn’t know quite yet, however, is how quick — or how big — he’ll have to act to make sure that happens.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
