Mets' missteps: What's gone wrong; how could they get back on track?
Mets pitcher Kodai Senga reacts after an apparent injury during the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals. Credit: AP/Pamela Smith
So, what’s wrong with the Mets?
Maybe that feels like a strange question to be asking for a team that has spent 70 days (out of the season’s 89) atop the National League East. But after Monday night’s 3-2 loss to Atlanta, the Mets have now dropped nine of 10, including seven straight, as they continued to slip farther from the first-place Phillies.
The message? This wasn’t going to be as easy as it had looked for 2 1/2 months. Spending $325 million on the roster, swiping Juan Soto from the Yankees, even cobbling together MLB’s best rotation (statistically speaking) with a group of unsung heroes didn’t guarantee anything over the long haul.
Whether you believe it’s a market correction or just an old-fashioned slump, the Mets begrudgingly welcomed their Peachtree demons to Citi Field while in the worst funk (1-8) of the season. Had to be Atlanta, right? And a four-gamer. None of the recent symptoms should be considered terminal, but a few of the troubling trends need to be reversed, so we’ve put together a checklist going forward.
Bad spin on rotation
Remember when we were gushing (for the second straight year) over David Stearns’ uncanny ability to craft a playoff-quality rotation from castoffs and second-chance starters? That strategy has been put to the test this month, with the IL claiming a projected All-Star in Kodai Senga (hamstring strain) and the reliable Tylor Megill (elbow strain) before the surviving arms got afflicted with a bad case of regression to the mean.
With Paul Blackburn lasting only 4 2/3 innings Monday, giving up three earned runs — including a solo homer to Ronald Acuna Jr. — the rotation has averaged roughly 4.50 innings over the 10 games since June 13. The starters’ 6.31 ERA over that stretch is the second-worst in the majors.
“I feel like everything is kind of magnified when you’re struggling, right?” said Blackburn, who is 0-2 with a 6.62 ERA in three starts and two relief appearances. “No one’s unaware of it, for sure.”
Said manager Carlos Mendoza: “It happens. We still believe in those guys and we’ll get right back on track.”
That faith will be tested. The Mets send out Frankie Montas for his 2025 debut Tuesday night fresh off his 13.19 ERA in four rehab starts at Triple-A Syracuse. Beyond that, Sean Manaea could rejoin the rotation by the first week of July. Senga threw off a bullpen mound Monday but his exact timetable remains uncertain.
No relief for bullpen
Sensing a theme here? The Mets’ pitching staff was the group primarily responsible for the team’s fast start as the big-money bats played catch-up, but the heavy bullpen usage has begun to take a toll, as it typically does around this time of year. Since June 13, the relief corps has pitched 41 innings over the past 10 games, with a 5.71 ERA that is the sixth-worst in baseball over that span.
It’s a small sample size, but the strain is showing, prompting Monday’s signing of Richard Lovelady as a second lefthander along with the reliever merry-go-round happening between Syracuse and Flushing. On Monday, Mendoza had to use Jose Butto (his 40 2/3 innings are fourth-most among MLB relievers), Ryne Stanek, Reed Garrett and Edwin Diaz in a game the Mets never had a lead.
“When your starters are not giving not only length but quality innings, then your bullpen is going to get exposed,” Mendoza said.
Young guns misfiring
Francisco Alvarez and Mark Vientos were supposed to be big contributors to the 2025 Mets ¡ not just promising building blocks for the future — but neither one has come close to fulfilling expectations for this season. In fact, they’ve gone backwards. Alvarez struggled so badly since returning from a spring-training wrist injury that the Mets had no choice but to demote him Sunday.
As for Vientos, he’s expected back from a rehab stint (hamstring) later this week, but he’s lucky that Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio have not given the Mets a reason to keep him down there. Alvarez and Vientos were going to be crucial to lengthening the lineup. Instead, the Mets’ bottom half is bottoming out.
“We’re relying pretty much on the top four or five guys,” Mendoza said Monday night. “If those guys on the bottom are not able to get on base, that’s why we’re having a hard time scoring runs right now.”
Who’s the next hero?
The Mets’ .214 batting average with runners in scoring position is the second-worst in the majors, the putrid White Sox (.211) being dead-last, and they’re the only 45-plus win team in the bottom 18 of that category. Over their last 10 games, they’ve scored two or fewer runs in six of them, and Juan Soto’s two-run homer (No. 17) Monday night accounted for their entire offensive production.
Meanwhile, the previous team MVPs are struggling, as Pete Alonso is hitting .208 (10-for-48) with one homer, three RBIs and 17 strikeouts over his last 13 games. Lindor had a pair of singles Monday, but is still batting .200 (11-for-55) with seven runs scored and four RBIs in the past 14 games.
“Just keep trying,” said Soto, whose .878 OPS is now second only to Alonso (.929). “Never give up. That’s one of the things that’s going to make everything change.”
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.
