David Lennon: Mets' sinking feeling working its way through entire roster
Mets owner Steve Cohen looks on before a game between the Mets and Minnesota Twins at Citi Field on Wednesday,. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
We’ve spent so much time discussing Carlos Mendoza’s job lately that it’s worth pointing out how many Mets already have lost theirs by late April. Or who should be next in the crosshairs for not doing their part.
The most high-profile demotion involved Francisco Lindor, who was making his fifth straight start Wednesday night somewhere other than the leadoff spot, the place he had called home since mid-May of 2024.
Instead, Mendoza went with Bo Bichette — the fourth Met installed atop the order in the past five games, a stretch that also included three head-scratching cameos by rookie Carson Benge and one guest appearance by Marcus Semien.
Mendoza, the former Yankees coach, hasn’t opted for Billy Martin’s desperate strategy of randomly picking names out of a hat — as far as we know anyway — but he’s not too far off. Other than sticking the returning Juan Soto back in his usual No. 2 spot Wednesday, it’s been like spinning a roulette wheel, or maybe more like Russian roulette given the Mets’ 12-game slide.
The Mets were up to 21 different batting orders through their first 23 games, so Mendoza’s frustration is understandable, considering how rarely any of them worked. Their 75 runs were the fewest in the majors, and they ranked at the bottom — or not far from it — in just about every offensive category heading into Wednesday’s game against the Twins.
“I like stability, I like consistency,” Mendoza said. “In a perfect world, you got six, seven guys (batting) in the same spot. They know where they’re hitting. But given the circumstances right now, I’m going to continue to see what’s best for the team.”
There has been nothing stable or consistent about these Mets, in any department, as their offseason plans — designed by president of baseball operations David Stearns — have failed almost across the board. The same goes for any semblance of clubhouse leadership.
The Mets don’t have a captain — owner Steve Cohen made sure of that with his spring-training declaration — so it’s not like we can say anyone is shirking that official responsibility. But who exactly is steering this rudderless ship?
Early on, it had appeared that Soto was taking a more active clubhouse role, especially with Lindor no longer in line for a captaincy that won’t exist under Cohen’s ownership. Upon Soto’s return, however, he didn’t sound like much of a leader Wednesday when asked about maybe trying to pump up his struggling teammates while he was away on the IL.
“No, not at all,” Soto said. “They’ve been on the road most of the time, so I haven’t talked to them.”
Hmm. Just FYI, that’s not how these conversations typically go when a player of Soto’s stature returns from rehab — never mind one signed to a 15-year, $765 million contract. Usually, they bring up phone calls or text messages with teammates, if for nothing else than to check in when times are tough.
But not Soto. That was a red flag among an increasing number of them with these flailing Mets, along with some early pink slips. Remember Jorge Polanco? He was supposed to be the Mets’ starting first baseman, but made a total of two starts there before a bad Achilles limited him to DH duties — then wound up on the IL last weekend due to a bruised hand.
Polanco didn’t necessarily lose his job, but being unable to do it almost qualifies as the same thing. As far as that position goes, neither Mark Vientos nor Brett Baty have been adequate — at the plate or in the field — and wouldn’t be trusted there for a team with any ambitions of contending this season.
Continuing down the list of demotions, David Peterson was officially bounced from the rotation this week when the Mets announced that Christian Scott would take his start in Thursday’s series finale with the Twins. Incredibly, Peterson was an All-Star last season, and the Mets were banking on a rebound from his poor second half. They waited a total of four starts (6.41 ERA) before pulling the plug, yet kept the non-competitive Kodai Senga (8.83 ERA) in the rotation, mainly because he’s incapable of being used in relief.
And speaking of the bullpen, the Mets already ate Luis Garcia’s $1.75 million by DFA’ing him two weeks into the season — he was signed by the Twins to a minor-league deal this week — and are on the verge of having to remove Devin Williams from the closer’s role.
Williams was nothing short of a ninth-inning dumpster fire Tuesday night, the most troubling of three consecutive face-palm appearances (47.25 ERA). Called on to keep the score tied at 3, Williams immediately walked two Twins — the first on four pitches — got burned by a misplayed sacrifice bunt and then allowed the go-ahead run on Luke Keaschall’s high-chopper through the left side of the infield.
Maybe that was a bad bounce. But Williams followed up by forcing in another run on a bases-loaded walk before Mendoza finally gave him the hook. Mendoza said Wednesday that Williams is still the closer, and that’s a scary thought, mostly because the Mets don’t have any other viable options — not to mention the fact he’s only three weeks into a three-year, $51 million deal.
“He’s done it before,” Mendoza said. “It’s the nature of the business. There’s going to be adversity. There’s going to be stretches where you’re not at your best, and you got to keep going.”
The manager has been delivering the same message about his entire spiraling team lately. But another thing that’s important to remember: if someone isn’t doing their job, the Mets need to find a replacement who can, and that list of culprits is growing by the day.
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.
