If you look at players in the Hall of Fame, you’ll have no problems finding guys who’ve excelled in the game at age 35 and up. In 1971, Roberto Clemente at age 36 put up a 6.5 fWAR. In 1966, Willie Mays at age 35 put up an 8.5 fWAR. In 1931 Babe Ruth at age 36 put up a 10.7 fWAR. But when you expand your sample to include non-Hall of Famers, you’ll find far fewer of these players registering great years at this age.

Excluding Barry Bonds and Pete Rose – who aren’t in the HOF due to reasons beyond talent – just one of the top 20 seasons by a player age 35 and up came from someone not in Cooperstown and that was by Lefty O’Doul. And if he hadn’t spent the beginning of his career as a pitcher – and not a good one – O’Doul might have made the Hall of Fame, too. O’Doul was 31 before he amassed more than 40 PA in a season in the majors. From age-31-36, O’Doul had a combined 145 OPS+.

The very best can continue to be productive players in the majors at an advanced age and not have it be a huge surprise. The non-greats have a much-harder time reaching those lofty heights. Now, it does not mean that it can’t be done. Jose Cruz and Dwight Evans are not in Cooperstown yet put up good years at age 35 and above, including top 10 MVP finishes for both of them at age 35 and age 36.

Still, we’ll have no problem listing multiple players who were great in their 20s and either washed up or out of the league by age 35. Just from a Mets perspective, we have Roberto Alomar, Carlos Baerga and Jason Bay. And if we want to look at it from the Mets getting the good years, we have Edgardo Alfonzo, Jose Reyes and Darryl Strawberry.

Later today, the 2026 Mets – a team going nowhere – will have a lineup with two guys age 35 and up in Marcus Semien and Robert Stock. Semien was once a great player, one who twice posted a 6.5 fWAR in his career. Yet after recording his second 6.5 fWAR in 2023 at age 32, here’s how Semien’s career has played out: 4.3 fWAR in 2024, a 2.1 in 2025 and a (-0.2) here in 2026.

Even now, Semien is a chiseled athlete. You cannot say he’s not good because he let himself go and he’s out of shape. Additionally, Semien seems like a good guy. In interviews, he comes across as intelligent and thoughtful. Unfortunately, Father Time is undefeated and right now Semien is backpedaling with wobbly legs and Father Time is closing in with the knockout punch.

Everyone seems to know this except the Mets. They should have known it before acquiring him and they should know it beyond a shadow of a doubt after having watched him play up close and personal for 402 PA. Yet he plays nearly every day in a lost season. There’s nothing to be gained by playing Semien now and hoping for a dead-cat bounce.

Keith Hernandez – another player who was washed up at age 35 after being great earlier in his career – talks about his final year in Cleveland when he knew he was done. His manager at the time approached him about playing time and Hernandez was fine with letting younger, better players getting the chance to play.

We all want Hernandez to share his knowledge and insights with today’s players. No doubt he could impart a lot of knowledge on how to play the infield to the current group of Mets. He could talk about hitting mechanics, too, especially to the lefty batters on the squad. Yet one thing you never hear mentioned in how he could help today’s players is by telling them how to walk away gracefully. Someone get Hernandez and Semien in a room together and make this the topic.

Which brings us to Stock.

Now, the aging process is a bit different with pitchers. Still, Stock is a guy with absolutely no track record of success in the majors yet the Mets are giving him his third straight start. And the only proper response to that is: Why, dear God, why? Stock is 36 and has no future with the club. Yeah, there’s no one else demanding a start that’s guaranteed to be better. But in this lost season, there’s no better time to give a young guy a shot.

No one will confuse me as a Jack Wenninger fan. But he’s holding his own at Syracuse, a place where many of the club’s pitching prospects before him struggled mightily. He’s got nine starts with a Game Score of at least 50, including two starts with scores in the 70s. Do you believe that Stock could go to Triple-A and put those numbers up?

The remainder of the 2026 season for the Mets should be finding out about people who can contribute to the 2027 squad. Wouldn’t it be something if Wenninger came up and performed in the majors? We saw Nolan McLean come up last year and exceed expectations. We’ve watched Zac Thornton do the same thing this season. Why is it beyond belief that Wenninger could come up and impress, too?

Maybe that chance isn’t great. Yet even if it’s 10% - isn’t that 10% better than Stock’s chance? And we can use that same math with Ronny Mauricio and Semien, too.

As someone with more years behind me than ones I have left, it gives me zero pleasure to make decisions based on age. There are many things that older people can contribute to society. But playing baseball in the majors simply isn’t one of them. A team 16 games below .500 shouldn’t be playing a 35 year old with a negative WAR nor pitching a 36 year old with a 10.13 ERA. It’s not rocket science.

At some point, the Mets have to stop talking about Ronny Mauricio and start playing him.

Mauricio is doing exactly what you would want a 25-year-old former top prospect to do at Triple-A: He is hitting the hell out of the baseball.

And yet, once again, he is in Syracuse while the Mets try to figure out what to do with their infield.

That makes no sense.

Mauricio has been one of the best hitters in the International League, showing the power that made him one of the organization’s most intriguing prospects. He has consistently produced at Triple-A, and this season is no different. The home runs are there. The extra-base hits are there. The production is there.

What isn’t there is a sustained opportunity in New York. And that is the part that none of us can understand. Yes, Mauricio has struggled in the major leagues. There is no reason to sugarcoat it. In limited opportunities, he has not hit nearly as well in Queens as he has in Syracuse. Major league pitching has exposed holes in his swing, and the Mets have every right to have concerns about whether those problems can be fixed.

But here’s the thing: we don’t know. And the only way the Mets are going to find out is by playing him. Instead, the Mets continue to use other options while Mauricio continues to beat up on Triple-A pitching. At some point, the organization needs to decide whether it is trying to win baseball games today or simply avoiding making a difficult decision about tomorrow.

It is not to say that Mauricio should be handed a starting job for the rest of the season, but it is long since passed the time that the Mets should be giving him a legitimate opportunity.

Not five games. Not 20 at-bats. Not an occasional start followed by three days on the bench. Give him 100 to 150 at-bats and see what happens. If he hits, you’ve potentially solved a problem from within your own organization. If he doesn’t, you’ve learned something important and can move on.

What the Mets shouldn’t do is continue to spend time and roster space on alternatives while Mauricio sits in Syracuse waiting for another opportunity that may or may not come. And this isn’t simply about Mauricio. It’s about how the Mets build their roster.

They have certainly bent over backwards to try Mark Vientos and Brett Baty at both first base and third base only to be disappointed by their lack of hitting and their sporadic fielding. Yet they remain on the team. Then Jared Young became the first baseman by default, and he has done an adequate job in the field and after nearly 200 at bats is hitting .259 with an OPS of .771 to go with seven home runs. Is that enough to really consider him as the starting first baseman for 2027?

Every time the Mets bring in another veteran to fill a position like Marcus Simien. Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr., they are taking playing time away from someone they either need to evaluate or send packing. There is nothing wrong with signing established players and Steve Cohen has made it clear that the Mets have the financial resources to do that, and there are times when the best solution absolutely is to buy the player you need.

But you don’t know what you need until you know what you already have.

That’s where Mauricio comes in. As mentioned, they know what both Vientos and Baty can do and they are clear on the ability of what the other veterans bring to the table. Mauricio is one of the few remaining questions.

So answer it. Maybe he fails. Maybe major league pitchers continue to exploit his weaknesses and he proves that his Triple-A numbers don’t mean much against big-league pitching. If that happens, then all of our suppositions about his future will be answered and he can be packaged to another team this offseason. But what would be worse is watching Mauricio put up another .900-plus OPS in Syracuse while the Mets spend weeks wondering whether they need to make another move. That’s not roster management. That’s avoiding a decision.

The Mets have spent years telling us that their farm system is getting better. They have invested heavily in player development. They have acquired and developed young players who are supposed to give the organization cost-controlled talent and flexibility.

Well, here’s one of them. Let’s see him. And let’s see him now.

The Mets don’t need another 15-game audition. They need to give Mauricio a real chance to sink or swim. If he swims, they may have found an answer. If he sinks, they can stop wondering. Either way, the Mets win because they finally have information. Right now, they have questions. And with Mauricio continuing to destroy Triple-A pitching, there is only one question the Mets should be asking:

What the hell are we waiting for?

The Mets hit three solo homers and had the tying run at the plate with nobody out in the ninth inning but they couldn’t get any closer, as they dropped the rubber game of the series, 6-3, to the Braves Wednesday night in Atlanta. The Mets end their nine-game road trip with a 6-3 mark.

Zac Thornton gave up three runs in six innings, which looked terrific compared to Dedniel Nunez allowing three runs in 0.2 IP in the seventh, after the Mets had cut the deficit to 3-2.

Luis Torrens, Luis Robert Jr. and Bo Bichette each homered for the Mets. After Torrens’ blast, the booth talked about getting him into games more often. Yet, somehow, they came to the conclusion that Jorge Polanco had to play two out of every three games. The guy who can’t hit should play 66% of the time but the guy who’s raging hot has to twiddle his thumbs? Somewhere, Tyrone Taylor is going – “yep, sounds like the 2026 Mets.”

Why? Please tell me why any playing time decision should be based on making sure Polanco can make more outs. It’s crazy to the nth degree. Absolutely no playing time decision should be made based on what’s best for either Polanco or Marcus Semien.

Speaking of Semien, he was not in the starting lineup but pinch-hit later in the game. He filed out in the eighth inning and unfortunately came up again in the ninth. He grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game. After homering in back-to-back games – reinvigorating Gary Cohen to praise him at every turn – Semien is 2-17 since.

After an off day on Thursday, the Mets return to action Friday night against the Nationals, with Robert Stock getting the start.

The Mets here in the last eight games either hit like gangbusters or get shut out. With that as our backdrop, here’s how the 11 hitters with the most PA in August have fared this month:

46 PA, .857 OPS - Francisco Lindor
46 PA, .559 OPS - A.J. Ewing
45 PA, .875 OPS - Bo Bichette
42 PA, .726 OPS - Marcus Semien
40 PA, .956 OPS - Carson Benge
37 PA, .878 OPS - Jared Young
33 PA, .838 OPS - Francisco Alvarez
29 PA, .669 OPS - Luis Robert Jr.
22 PA, .610 OPS - Brett Baty
22 PA, .577 OPS - Jorge Polanco
16 PA, 1.346 OPS - Luis Torrens

Five of the top seven hitters in PA have an OPS of at least .838, while another is performing 98 points above his season average in the category. Looks like Ewing could use a couple of days off but it’s not like there’s anyone who can play the outfield who’s demanding more playing time. Unless we want to send Torrens out there. He’s pitched a few times this year - maybe we should see how he looks in LF, too.

If you want to beat the Mets these days, you have to shut them out. For the second time since the trade deadline, the Mets failed to score a run, as they fell to the Braves, 4-0, Tuesday night in Atlanta. The Mets are now 6-2 in their last eight games.

Nolan McLean started for the Mets and was having a wonderful game. He didn’t give up his first hit until the fifth inning, when he gave up a gopher ball on an 0-2 pitch. It was the only hit he gave up in six innings. McLean still had gas in the tank but was removed with the Braves having two lefty batters starting off the seventh.

The announcers speculated that a concern over his season-long innings totals played a role in removing McLean. My preference would be to keep him pitching in a game – especially when he’s dealing – for as long as possible. And if there’s an innings cap, you have someone else make a late-September start in his place.

Jefry Yan replaced him and immediately walked the first lefty he faced, one of three walks he allowed. That free runner ended up scoring the second run. Chayce McDermott came on and stranded two runners for Yan. But he gave up a two-run homer in the ninth to sink any hopes of a 9^th-inning comeback.

Carson Benge had two of the Mets’ four hits. But he ended the team’s best scoring chance when he hit into a double play to end the sixth inning, stranding a runner at third. And he grounded out to end the game.

The Mets can still win the series with a victory Wednesday night. Zac Thornton gets the start, looking to keep the Braves from hitting any more homers.

The Mets made a number of trades recently and it’s created a situation in the farm system where the Mets now have quite a lot of players vying for playing time around the same level and at the same position as other people. It’s a pretty good problem to have too much talent, so long as you have places for all of this talent to play without sacrificing playing time for any of these very talented logs (players).

What am I talking about, specifically? Take a look at the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. The team has quite a few players from and around the Mets Top 50 prospect list with Jefferson Rojas, Mitch Voit, Emilien Pitre, Chris Suero, Jacob Reimer, Billy Amick, Eli Serrano III, Corey Collins, and even Kevin Parada. What’s the problem? Well, Rojas, Reimer and Amick are all vying for time at third base, Voit and Pitre (and also Rojas) want time at shortstop. Amick, Collins and Reimer may all be most naturally suited to playing first base in the long run and we thank heavens that Chis Suero is a catcher capable of somehow also playing centerfield.

I wanted to take a moment to talk about positional depth charts to talk about where the Mets have this talent stacked up. The answer: Largely below AAA.

Catcher:

The Mets have had a ton of catching talent in recent years to go with a young, though often injured, catcher in the majors. This talented pool is still largely intact, although some of the members seem less likely to make an impact than they once did.

By prospect ranking:

• Chris Suero, AA

• Yovanny Rodriguez, A

• Daiverson Gutierrez, A+

• Julio Zayas, A

• Ronald Hernandez, A+

• Jacob Madrid, R

• Kevin Parada, AA

This hasn’t been the logjam expected, partially because of the defensive versatility of Chris Suero, who can play catcher, first base and all three outfield positions. Suero could likely move up to AAA any day, though the Mets would like to see his contact improve and his strikeouts go down before they do that. The only player in the organization who is pressing for promotion from below is Yovanny Rodriguez and I don’t think there is urgency that he move up to Brooklyn just yet.

First Base:

The Mets weakest position developmentally, the Mets do have a Top 30 prospect in AAA but the team seems to understand that Ryan Clifford’s best skill is in tallying strikeouts. The Mets do have some higher quality options in the organization but nobody on this list is a Bonafide tier 2 prospect or better.

By prospect ranking:

• Jacob Reimer, AA

• Billy Amick, AA

• Ryan Clifford, AAA

• Cole Mathis, A+

• Corey Collins, AA

Nobody on this list really stands out as a likely MLB star but we should note that the first four names all profile as 30+ home run hitters if they manage to develop right. I have seen complaints that the Mets don’t seem to value the defense of first base as they seem inclined to weight other positions as pressing. These fans are concerned that the Mets seem too comfortable asking players with no first base experience to play the position when they fail elsewhere. They aren’t wrong but history also shows that first base is one of the easier positions to shift to.

Second Base:

One of the deeper positions for the Mets now that the trade deadline brought in several candidates. Prior to the deadline, the Mets really didn’t have very much in the hopper.

By prospect ranking:

• Mitch Voit, AA

• Sammy Stafura, A+

• Emilien Pitre, AA

• Boston Baro, AA (rehabbing)

• Antonio Jimenez, A+

Voit being freed from Brooklyn has seen his bat come unrealistically alive in AA. He will come down to earth, but we’ll hope he’s closer to his present sky-high numbers than his tame Brooklyn ones. Otherwise the Mets now have the power of Stafura and the contact of Pitre in the system giving them far more options.

Third Base:

The Mets traded for Jefferson Rojas, giving up Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor to the Cubs in return. This gave the Mets a Tier 1 prospect at a position which will probably become a position of need this offseason. The Mets do have two viable options from the previous batch of Top Prospects (the Baby Mets) who haven’t yet proven themselves at the major league level in: Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio. There is also a non-zero chance that Bo Bichette returns, but I think that Rojas is now the player that the Mets organization places here longterm.

By prospect ranking:

• Jefferson Rojas, AA

• Sammy Stafura, A+

• Jacob Reimer, AA

• Billy Amick, AA

• Roybert Herrera, R

• Boston Baro, A+ (rehabbing)

• Antonio Jimenez, A+

• Colin Houck, A+

Shortstop:

The Mets now have a ton of players at this position but quite a few of them play other positions and are more likely to play at one of them instead of at shortstop. That being said two players in the organization are young and talented enough that they may one day unseat Francisco Lindor from shortstop.

By prospect ranking:

• Mitch Voit, AA

• Jefferson Rojas, AA

• Elian Pena, A

• Sammy Stafura, A+

• Emilien Pitre, AA

• Wandy Asigen, R

• Antonio Jimenez, A+

• Colin Houck, A+

Unlike at some of the other positions in this article the Mets have six legitimate prospects at this position with at least two Tier 1 prospects. It should be noted that the Mets are unlikely to need a new shortstop for a number of years and that the only players on this list likely to vie with Lindor would be Pena and Asigen but the Mets did float a Lindor trade into the ether and it would be conceivable that something happen sooner if the Mets decide they need to be more explosive in their offseason rebuild.

Outfield:

The Mets do not seem to have the same level of talent in the outfield that they do in the infield. Part of this is that their two former Top Prospects, Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing are both now in the major league outfield with Juan Soto. The Mets do have some talent and there is a bunch of upside with it as well.

By prospect ranking:

• Aiden Robbins, A

• Randy Guzman, A+

• Aidan Smith, A+

• Cleiner Ramirez, R

• John Spikerman, A+

• Bruin Agbayani, R

• Edward Lantigua, A

• Eli Serrano III, AA

• Kuhio Aloy, A+

• Corey Collins, AA

There should typically be at least twice as many outfield prospects in the Top 50 as any other position because there are three outfield positions that they are spread across. I am also not counting Suero as an outfielder because his ranking is only as high as it is because he is a catcher. I think he might slot in above or below Spikerman if he was listed as an outfielder. I want to highlight that Aidan Smith has performed extremely well since being brought aboard and may be fighting his way into the top 10 quickly.

Brett Baty cracked a first-inning grand slam as the Mets put up five runs in the opening frame. It’s not accurate to say they cruised to the win, so let’s say they hung on for an 8-5 victory over the Braves Monday night in Atlanta. The win clinched the season series against the first-place Braves.

A.J. Ewing led off the game with a double and scored on a Bo Bichette single past a drawn-in infield. Carson Benge walked and one out later Jared Young singled to load the bases. Before the game, Ron Darling nominated Baty as his “pick to click” and Baty did just that, delivering a 407-foot homer that made it 5-0. It was the first career grand slam for Baty.

But Christian Scott was unable to pitch long enough to earn the win. He allowed two runs in the bottom of the first inning and two more in the fourth, which turned out to be his final inning of the game. Scott finished with 4 ER in 4 IP and saw his ERA rise to 3.45 for the year.

Meanwhile, the Mets tacked on more runs. Young had an RBI single in the second, driving in Francisco Lindor, who had a leadoff double. Lindor made it 7-2 with a monster HR to right field. The Mets loaded the bases in the ninth, with the rally started by a Lindor single. Young delivered a sac fly for the game’s final run.

With Scott knocked out of the game early, it was unknown how the Mets would utilize their pen to close out the game. It was an even trickier scenario, as Devin Williams was placed on the IL earlier in the day.

Nate Lavender and Daniel Duarte combined for three scoreless innings, serving as the bridge to the new closer, Kodai Senga. He struck out the first two batters he faced before allowing a walk. But Senga got the next batter to fly out, allowing him to earn his first MLB save.

The Mets are now 6-1 since the trade deadline, with all seven games being on the road. The offense is clicking and they’re getting just enough pitching to stack the wins. They’ll try to clinch the series, with Nolan McLean getting the ball for the 7:15 p.m. start on Tuesday.

With the benefit of perfect hindsight, as well as the use of modern statistical approaches, we can say that the Mets of the first half of the 1970s would have been much better off if they didn’t chase someone to solve their third base issue and instead just put Wayne Garrett there and called the position solved. The problem for the Mets was that Garrett didn’t fit the mold of a slugging third baseman and never seemed good enough because of that to be a starter.

From 1970-1975, Garrett had 2,602 PA and a 102 OPS+. That’s not anything to get excited about. Yet at the same time, it wasn’t really a major problem, either. In that same time frame, Jerry Grote had an 85 OPS+ and Bud Harrelson had a 78 OPS+. They were much bigger drains on the offense than Garrett was. The fans drawing Social Security checks now will say that neither Grote nor Harrelson were in there for their bats and their defense was super important. The first one is true. The second one? Eh, not as much as was believed at the time.

For 1970, the Mets traded for Joe Foy to be their starting 3B. For 1971 it was Bob Aspromonte. For 1972 it was Jim Fregosi. For 1975, it was Joe Torre. None of these four were a success for the Mets. They didn’t give up much to get either Aspromonte or Torre. But they gave up Amos Otis to get Foy and Nolan Ryan to get Fregosi.

Not every position needs a grand-slam solution. If you have stars elsewhere, you can easily carry a league-average player as a starter. Overall, Garrett was a league-average player for the first six seasons of the 1970s. If the Mets had the foresight – Garrett was not good in 1969 – and the wisdom to accept a 3B who was no threat to challenge for 25 HR, they could have had two more stars on their roster – Otis and Ryan. I know we’re not allowed to say anything that might come across as even a tiny bit of a slight toward Gil Hodges – yet if Hodges had held either of those players (or Garrett) in a higher regard, they never would have been traded.

Which brings us to 2026 and Jared Young.

We all have an image of what a 1B should be. Having watched Pete Alonso for seven years, we’d all prefer to have a slugger, someone capable of hitting 30 HR or more on an annual basis, to man the position. That’s the ideal, not too terribly different than what people in the 1970s thought about third base. Much like with Garrett, Young’s not going to fit the mold of a slugger. The question for the Mets is if they’ll view him as good enough.

Let’s check in and see what an average 1B produces, which is more than the average player. In 2025, the average MLB first baseman had a .754 OPS. Here so far in 2026, the average 1B checks in with a .779 OPS. Where does Young rate? He has a .770 OPS.

Young got off to a fine start here in 2026, posting an .841 OPS before going on the IL. Once activated, it took awhile for him to get back to where he was previously. Young had a .664 OPS in his first 78 PA after returning from his torn meniscus injury. But in his last 38 games, Young is slashing .280/.369/.458 for an .827 OPS in 122 PA. And that comes with facing more LHP here lately, ones he was platooned against for most of the season.

Can the 2027 Mets be satisfied with league-average production at first base?

Fortunately, they don’t have to make a decision now. What he’s done in the last 38 games could be nothing more than a six-week hot streak. Yet they get 43 more games this season to see how Young does. If he continues to put up a near-.800 OPS, the Mets will have an interesting choice to make.

Even if they decide to move forward with Young as their primary first baseman, there will be some protection on the roster at the position. While most people want him gone, Mark Vientos does one thing very well and that’s hit LHP. Lifetime, Vientos has a .779 OPS versus lefties. Here in 2026, he has an .855 OPS versus LHP and in 2024, he posted an .884 mark.

And there’s Jorge Polanco, too. Another player that the fan base would prefer to see elsewhere, Polanco is one season removed from a 133 OPS+ campaign. Maybe he’s an option at 1B or maybe he’s an option at DH. It seems likely he’ll be on the roster to start next year to see if there’s any life left in his bat.

Young has the unusual combination of being 31 years old while also being a pre-arb player. The Mets have the chance to fill first base cheaply, while seeing if any of their minor leaguers can step up and announce themselves to be a future option at the position. Maybe he’s not a potential six-year solution, like Garrett was at one time. Yet if Young continues to hit the remainder of 2026, the Mets can do in the offseason what they should have done with Garrett – call the position solved and look at bigger areas of need on the roster.

Sean Manaea continued his strong pitching with seven dominating innings and the Mets’ offense exploded for 11 runs and 15 hits, leading to an 11-1 win over the Pirates in Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon. The Mets have won five of their last six games and they claimed the series win over the Pirates.

Manaea allowed just one run in seven innings and struck out 11, the most of any Mets pitcher this year. He allowed just three hits and essentially had one bad pitch that was hit for a home run. Since joining the rotation in mid-June, Manaea has a 3.50 ERA in 61.2 IP. He was pulled after 91 pitches but it certainly seemed like he had more left in the tank.

Meanwhile, the offense scored early and often. The Mets scored two runs in the top of the first, thanks to a check-swing single by Carson Benge and a sac fly from Luis Robert Jr. In the third inning, Robert clubbed a two-run homer and the rout was on.

There was no shortage of stars in this one. Bo Bichette had a five-hit game, with two doubles, and saw his OPS rise to .685 for the season. Jared Young had three hits, including a triple. Benge and Robert had two hits apiece. Francisco Alvarez had a homer while also being behind the plate for Manaea’s gem.

Despite using just one bullpen member Saturday night, the Mets made a transaction, sending down Xzavion Curry and replacing him with Jack Weisenburger. Curry got a raw deal as there was no need for this transaction. Weisenburger pitched the final two innings and looked good. He pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts, hitting 96 mph.

Next up for the Mets is a trip to Atlanta for a three-game set against the Braves. Christian Scott takes the mound Monday night in the 7:15 p.m. start.

In his first seven starts in the majors, Zac Thornton has been a revelation. Rarely considered as one of the Mets’ top up-and-coming arms, all Thornton has done in the majors is mix his pitches, work all quadrants of the strike zone, throw strikes and keep the ball in the park. Put it all together and he has a 2.52 ERA in 39.1 IP. No one thinks he’s this good but he doesn’t have to be in order to be an asset in the rotation.

So, how good is Thornton then? Let’s take a look at his ERA and compare it to the various ERA estimators:

2.52 ERA
3.70 FIP
4.26 xFIP
4.60 xERA
4.62 SIERA

FIP looks at three main inputs – BB, Ks and HRs allowed. xFIP uses those same inputs but gives the pitcher a normalized HR rate. Since Thornton has allowed just 3 HR with a 7.5% HR/FB rate – his xFIP is worse than his FIP. xERA looks at both the amount of contact and the quality of contact – essentially converting xwOBA to an ERA scale. SIERA looks at balls in play and is park-adjusted, too.

None of the estimators are buying Thornton as an SP1. But that’s okay. The average SP has a 4.22 ERA, which means that Thornton would rate as an SP2 by his FIP and it seems like we’d all sign up for that in a heartbeat. Even his worst estimator, SIERA, has him as an SP5. Maybe we wouldn’t be thrilled with that type of production but in a year where Freddy Peralta, David Peterson and Kodai Senga all delivered worse numbers than that as a starter, it’s definitely acceptable from an unheralded rookie.

To me, it all depends on how well Thornton does limiting gopher balls going forward. In addition to his success in the majors in that department, Thornton allowed just 1 HR in 25 IP this year at Double-A. It was a different story once he was promoted to Syracuse but that’s been a stop that’s tripped up many Mets’ prospects in the past. Thornton allowed 7 HR in 37.2 IP in Triple-A and had a 4.30 ERA. But that’s a better mark than Jonah Tong (5.46) and Jack Wenninger (4.43) have in Syracuse. Even Christian Scott, who’s been great in the majors this year, had a 5.27 ERA in three Triple-A starts this season.

Let’s look at Thornton’s MLB stars and separate those out by ones where he kept the ball in the park and ones where he surrendered a home run:

No HR

6/26 – 6 IP, 1 ER
7/12 – 7 IP, 0 ER
7/21 – 6 IP, 0 ER
8/7 – 5 IP, 0 ER

Total – 24 IP, 1 ER, 0.38 ERA

HR Allowed

5/20 – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 1 HR
7/27 – 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 1 HR
8/1 – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 1 HR

Total – 15.1 IP, 10 ER, 5.87 ERA

It’s certainly no surprise that a pitcher’s ERA is worse in starts where he gave up a homer, compared to ones where he didn’t. Still, this is a pretty significant difference. Every pitcher gives up home runs. Can Thornton give more efforts like he did on 7/27 and fewer like he did on 5/20 and 8/1? The game on 5/20 was his first in the majors. He gave up a 3-run homer in the first inning but settled in after that to pitch a good game.

Luis Torrens has caught six of Thornton’s seven starts. The only one with a different backstop came in his first start, when Hayden Senger was behind the plate. With Torrens as his catcher, Thornton has a 1.80 ERA. Six starts is a very small sample but it seems like a case of why mess with a good thing. Keep throwing Torrens out there when Thornton pitches.

With 44 games left in the season, Thornton should get at least seven more starts, potentially as many as nine more, if the Mets keep on their current rotation and Thornton pitches Game 162. Even if he gets nine more starts, that would give Thornton 16 starts in the majors – half a season’s worth. It will still be a small sample.

Yet it will be curious to see if he maintains that huge discrepancy between his ERA and the estimators. If he does, the correct approach will be to expect regression towards the estimators in 2027. Yet there’s always the possibility that he’s one of those rare pitchers who consistently out-performs his FIP.

Curiously, the Mets have had two additional starters this year with ERAs significantly better than their FIP. Clay Holmes had a 2.39 ERA and a 3.20 FIP and as a SP, Sean Manaea has a 3.79 ERA and a 4.53 FIP.

Maybe David Stearns can tout this as run prevention.

We didn’t expect the Mets to match the Red Sox’ 15-game winning streak. We didn’t expect the loss to be an old-fashioned butt whipping, either. Yet that’s what happened, as the Mets fell behind early and never recovered, losing 9-0 to the Pirates Saturday night in Pittsburgh.

The Mets had a decision to make, as Kodai Senga pitched four strong innings before fading in the fifth, while Robert Stock pitched five strong innings in their respective last starts. The braintrust picked Stock for the rotation and opted to make Senga a one-inning reliever. Well, Stock was completely unable to replicate his start from last time out.

Stock gave up three runs in the first inning, perhaps due in part to some bad fortune. Yet the five runs he gave up after the first were all legitimate. You can argue they weren’t deserved, as Andy Green did not get a reliever up earlier when it was clear that Stock was running on fumes. It will be curious to see if Stock gets another start. If there was a starter in Syracuse ready to come up, you could see Stock getting farmed out after this outing. Too bad Jonah Tong got shelled in his last outing.

Xzavion Curry replaced Stock and gave three strong innings. Guess that makes him the long man in the new, revamped pen. With the Mets trailing by eight, they were allowed to use a position player and they brought in Luis Torrens for the final two innings. Torrens gave up a homer to the first batter he faced but escaped without any further damage.

The offense managed just three hits for the Mets, none after Francisco Lindor’s single leading off the fourth inning. No Mets advanced to second base in this one.

A series win is still a possibility but the Mets will have to overcome the Sunday jinx in order to make it happen. Sean Manaea gets the start in the 1:35 p.m. tilt.

Well, it’s been something for the Mets’ President of Baseball Operations David Stearns, hasn’t it?

After an offseason spent dealing away erstwhile franchise cornerstones and a hugely disappointing first four months of the season, the Trade Deadline arrived. More fun to be had there: most of the marketable pieces left on the major league roster were also sent packing, mainly with a mix of mid-level prospects and minor league lottery tickets as the return. In trying to describe the 2026 Mets, the term I keep coming up with is “scorched earth.” If Stearns’s intent were to remold the franchise to his own image and specifications, well, frankly, he started off by burnin’ the mother down. Yes, we need look no further back than the 2023 deadline, when dead-lock Hall-of-Famers were traded away for a similar gut punch feeling, but fans of a certain age will harken more to the infamous deadline deals of 1977 – the much discussed “Midnight Massacre” – which saw Tom Seaver, Dave Kingman and a herd of minor players dealt away for other teams’ flotsam. With a host of youngsters populating the roster, the Mets’ PR machine of the time cranked hard and came up with the clever enticement, “Bring your kids to see our kids!” That, of course did not happen: the biggest crowd Shea Stadium saw after that was Seaver’s return appearance when the Cincinnati Reds next came to town. Attendance tanked and the team spent the next six-and-a-half seasons in the weeds.

A similar – yet pretty different – feeling seems to be pervading this 2026 squad. In the aftermath of the deadline, the team is suddenly playing its best baseball of the year. And that’s with superduperstar Juan Soto on the shelf for an extended period. A bit ago, someone seeing and dreading how the season was likely to play out saw some slight glimmers of hope. The three players mentioned in that piece – Carson Benge, Nolan McLean and Christian Scott – are still around, thankfully. We can probably safely add A.J. Ewing and Zac Thornton to their company on the Major League roster. Both will probably get some down-ballot Rookie-of-the-Year votes. And if the standard Queens Prospect Hype Machine is to be believed, there is a shoal of real, honest-to-goodness Major League worthy talent roving the bushes of Syracuse, Binghamton, Brooklyn and St. Lucie, some of which Stearns brought in a week ago. The two exceptions to the “lottery ticket” statement above seem to be infielder Jefferson Rojas -- acquired from the Chicago Cubs for Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor -- and Sammy Stafura, late of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization, a local shortstop acquired for Luke Weaver. If you want to mix them in with the likes of Jonah Tong, Nick Morabito, Jonathan Santucci, Elian Pena and Ryan Clifford and see a bright future, that would be understandable, as well, but some of those guys are a long ways off.

The pressure now is squarely on David Stearns. This is his vision and he’s got use of owner Steve Cohen’s sea of money. He will have to sift these youngsters into a mix in which there is unclear leadership among the players – are Soto and Francisco Lindor at odds in the clubhouse? – and uncertainty as to who will occupy the manager’s chair once incumbent interim Andy Green returns to his full-time post as farm director. It will be one of the most consequential offseasons in franchise history and it is a question of whether some of the vets who remain – the Marcus Semiens and Luis Robert, Jr.s of the world – will still be here in March 2027. From Cohen’s point-of-view, will attendance take the same kind of hit it did in the late-‘70s and early-‘80s? Cohen styles himself a lifelong Mets fan, so surely, he remembers those dreary Shea days, when ushers had enough empty seats in the upper deck to spell out “Let’s Go Mets” by folding and unfolding several thousand chairs. Does he have the stomach for a basically empty Citi Field, or will he drop a bundle on the “leader” of this year’s mainly uninspiring free agency class? Meanwhile, despite this recent hot streak which has some pie-eyed fans dreaming of a 35-10 finish and a miracle playoff run, the play right now is probably for the best draft pick they can muster, given the team’s luxury tax restrictions, the result of Cohen’s prior profligate ways.

We fans can only watch and enjoy the play of the younglings and hope that Stearns and Cohen don’t screw this winter up.

Marcus Semien hit a three-run homer as the Mets built a 6-0 lead. He made a nice diving stop for the game’s final out, as the Mets held on for a 6-4 victory Friday night over the Pirates in Pittsburgh. The Mets have won four straight road games, the first time they’ve done that since 2024.

Carson Benge drove in the first two runs of the game, with RBI singles in both the first and third innings. Benge also made a terrific catch, one where he ran a long way and banged into the wall. He stayed in the game after the catch but was removed later on, as he injured his wrist on the catch. He had X-rays on the wrist, which came back negative.

Zac Thornton threw five shutout innings to pick up the win. There was a rain delay early in the game and Thornton returned to the mound after nearly an hour sitting. He was removed after just 63 pitches but there was little point to push him with the Mets enjoying a six-run lead.

But the Pirates made a game of it. The Mets tried to get a second inning out of Dedniel Nunez but he gave up two runs. Jefry Yan relieved Nunez and was fortunate to escape without allowing a run, as Luis Torrens made a great play blocking a ball, chasing it down and throwing to Yan to get the final out of the inning at home plate. Yan also did a nice job getting off the mound after the poor pitch and applying the tag.

Devin Williams made his first appearance after sitting out with a tired arm and was not particularly sharp. He allowed two runs in the ninth inning and only a fine play by Brett Baty in right field, corralling a ball hit high off the wall and throwing out the runner at second base, kept it from being even worse.

The Mets had 10 hits, three by A.J. Ewing, who scored two runs. Ewing also made a nice running catch. Ewing also had a SB in the game, one of four by the Mets in the contest.

Robert Stock looks to follow up his strong outing last time out as he takes the mound for the Mets Saturday night.

The trade deadline stripped eight players from the Mets’ major league roster in exchange for prospects. A few, most notably infielder Jefferson Rojas from the Cubs and shortstop Sammy Stafura from the Pirates, appear to have legitimate upside. Rojas was ranked the No. 63 prospect in baseball, while Stafura, though not a Top 100 prospect, was Pittsburgh’s No. 10 prospect.

Several of the other acquired prospects were also well regarded. Whether that translates into major league success remains to be seen, but Tampa Bay’s reputation for developing talent suggests the Mets may eventually benefit from dealing Freddy Peralta. The Rays consistently contend despite one of baseball’s smallest payrolls, a testament to their player development.

I hated to see Clay Holmes go, but he almost certainly would have declined his $12 million player option and likely a qualifying offer as well. Instead of settling for draft-pick compensation, the Mets landed Rojas. David Stearns deserves credit for that move.

I’m less convinced about trading Luke Weaver and Huascar Brazobán. I would have preferred keeping them for 2027 or waiting until the offseason to maximize their value. Stafura may prove me wrong. He excelled at High-A, is a local product, and was the 43rd overall pick in the 2023 draft.

Brazoban’s return is harder to like. Gabe Davis, a 6-foot-9 right-hander, struggled after reaching Double-A, posting an 8.31 ERA while allowing 11 home runs in 34 innings. Zach Franklin strikes out hitters and limits walks, but he also surrendered 11 home runs in 45 Triple-A innings. Time will tell, but this deal is more difficult to embrace.

Then again, rebuilding a bullpen is something good organizations do almost every offseason. The Mets just swept Cleveland with relievers such as Jefry Yan, Nate Lavender, and Chayce McDermott, pitchers few fans knew a month ago. Stearns deserves credit for finding bullpen help from within.

USA Today recently ranked the Mets’ farm system 26th in baseball. Before getting discouraged, remember that Baseball America ranked it seventh entering 2026. What changed? Promotions. Two top prospects are now starting outfielders, while three others are in the rotation. I’d gladly trade a lower farm ranking for five young players contributing in the majors.

With 46 games remaining, the focus should be on 2027. The offseason—not the trade deadline—is when franchise-changing deals are made. Teams have time to evaluate their rosters, identify weaknesses, and reshape payrolls.

The Mets need to play Ronnie Mauricio every day to determine whether he is part of the future. That evaluation will also influence decisions involving controllable players such as Mark Vientos and Brett Baty.

The rotation also needs an ace. Tarik Skubal will likely be out of the Mets’ price range, while Michael King, Shane Bieber, Corbin Burnes, and Kevin Gausman all carry questions of performance, health, or age.

So the big questions are whether the deadline deals helped set up the Mets for 2027, and can Stearns finish the job this offseason? This off season will define David Stearns’ tenure. If he builds a roster capable of contending in 2027, he’ll justify Steve Cohen’s faith. If not, Cohen may decide it’s time for someone else to run baseball operations.

For Mets fans, 2027 can’t come soon enough.

The Mets erupted for 18 hits, including three home runs, to power past the Guardians, 13-6, Thursday afternoon in Cleveland. The victory gave the Mets a three-game sweep, their first since May.

After falling behind 2-0, the Mets score three runs in the top of the second, as Marcus Semien and Luis Torrens both homered, with Torrens’ blast being a two-run shot.

The Mets extended to a 6-2 lead but Nolan McLean served up a three-run homer to make it a 6-5 game.

But Francisco Lindor got those three runs back with a homer that made it 9-5 and the Mets were never threatened again.

Six different Mets had multi-hit games, with Carson Benge, Luis Robert Jr. and Semien having 3-hit days. The team went 5-13 with RISP. The only negative was that once the lead reached eight, Cleveland brought in a position player, who retired all four batters he faced.

McLean fanned eight batters in five innings but it wasn’t a particularly good start for him, as he allowed 8 H and 5 ER. Still, with the offensive outburst, McLean picked up his eighth win of the year.

Nate Lavender and Kodai Senga both looked good, pitching a scoreless inning apiece.

Next up for the Mets is a trip to Pittsburgh, where Zac Thornton gets the ball in the opener, a 6:40 p.m. start.

Here are my grades on the Mets’ deadline deals:

A.J. Minter for Billy Amick and Bruin Agbayani – They absolutely needed to cut bait with Minter. It’s a reasonable bet that neither of these guys ever make the majors. Yawn. Grade C

Freddy Peralta for Emilien Pitre, Gary Gill Hill and Aidan Smith – This is more than I thought they’d get for two months of Peralta. It wouldn’t surprise me if Pitre turned out to be half-decent. Grade B+

Huascar Brazoban for Gabe Davis and Zach Franklin – Mets didn’t need to trade Brazoban and if this is all they got for him, they should have just kept him. Grade D

Clay Holmes & Tyrone Taylor for Jefferson Rojas – My hope was that they would extend Holmes. Yet if they had to trade him, this was a pretty good return. Grade B+

Luke Weaver and cash for Sammy Stafura – We need to take Stafura’s offensive explosion with a grain of salt, as Greensboro is a great hitter’s park. Of Stafura’s 19 HR this year at Hi-A, 13 came at home in GSO. He still has good numbers. But Weaver comes with an extra year of control. And the cash has to factor in, too. Grade B

Brooks Raley for John Spikerman and Luke Gabrysh – Not a fan of either of these players, while being a big fan of Raley. Hey, I admitted my bias. Grade F

*****

For the most part, my opinion is that it’s silly to put prospects in an ordered list. But that’s what most people want. And it seems like with the influx of players into the system, it’s a reasonable time to do one of these. So, here’s my top 10 for the Mets with the emphasis on future MLB production, rather than how quickly they’ll reach the majors:

1. Elian Pena – He’s more than holding his own at Lo-A with a <s>105</s> 107 wRC+ while adjusting to the U.S. and being two years younger than my preference for the league. Hey, the Mets didn’t give him a $5 million bonus for nothing.

2. Wandy Asigen – It’s always dangerous to go by DSL production. But Asigen has a 150 wRC+ as a 16 year old. Yeah, the hits are falling in for him. But he’s got a 22.2 BB% and a .250 ISO. I’ll put my trust in those numbers from a kid this young.

3. Rojas – Seems like the club’s future 3B

4. Jonathan Santucci – It took him longer to graduate from Double-A than I expected but he still seems like a mid-rotation starter to me. Of course, the Syracuse challenge awaits.

5. Stafura – It will be interesting to see how he handles going from a great hitter’s park to one that’s nowhere near as friendly. But there seems to be a lot to like here.

6. Zac Thornton – He’s probably not as good as he’s appeared so far in the majors. Because if he was, he would top this list.

7. Mitch Voit – He’s had a great first week after being freed from Brooklyn. I’m not as bullish on Voit as David is – there seems to be a pretty big drop for me from #6 to #7 on this list. Hope he proves David right.

8. Carson Wiggins – There’s a lot of risk here. But there’s also potential for an outstanding four-pitch arsenal. A lot of people are wary of Wiggins. My opinion was that it was a great upside play.

9. Jonah Tong – There’s too much reliever risk here for me to place him higher right now.

10. Pitre – He’s not going to hit for power. But Pitre has a great eye at the plate, doesn’t strike out too much, has good speed and will be at least an average fielder. If the Mets installed him as their 2B today, they’d see an upgrade from what they have currently.

The Mets traded away half of their bullpen but new relievers step up and get the job done. The revamped pen allowed just two unearned runs over five innings, as the Mets emerged with a 6-5 win in 10 innings over the Guardians in Cleveland Wednesday night.

This would have been a tough loss, with the Mets holding 3-0, 4-3 and 6-5 leads. But Daniel Duarte came on to preserve the lead in the 10^th, with Devin Williams pitching neither the ninth of the final inning.

Bo Bichette led off the 10^th with an opposite-field single to give the Mets the lead. Bichette was thrown out trying to stretch for a double and the Mets got nothing more in the frame. But it turned out to be enough.

The Mets jumped out to a 3-0 lead, thanks to back-to-back homers by Brett Baty and Jorge Polanco plus an RBI double by Jared Young. It was a good day for Polanco, who had a double in the ninth inning and also hit another ball hard.

After the Guardians tied the game 3-3, Carson Benge homered to put the Mets back on top.

Cleveland scored two unearned runs in the seventh inning off Dedniel Nunez to take their first lead of the game. But the Mets came back in the ninth to force extra innings. Young walked, Polanco doubled to put two runners in scoring position with two outs. Marcus Semien, who was hitless on the game, drew a walk to load the bases. A.J. Ewing then hit an infield chopper that was muffed by the shortstop, which allowed the tying run to score.

The Mets won despite striking out 16 times in the game. They also survived the Guardians having 19 ABs with runners in scoring position.

A sweep is on the table when the two teams square off tomorrow afternoon, with Nolan McLean on the bump for the 1:10 p.m. start.

Tier 1:

Top tier prospects have a fairly lofty pedigree, either coming from a high draft pick or a large international signing bonus. They have combined this with impact scouting and minor league performance. Ironically, the one other current Met prospect I would consider a Tier 1 prospect is currently ranked 4th overall (Elian Peña). Example: Carson Benge

Jefferson Rojas, SS/2B/3B (AA, Age 21): Ranked 1B

The Mets only got 1 prospect during this deadline whom I ranked this highly and I wasn’t ready to rank him above Mitch Voit, whom I am not sold on as a Tier 1 prospect. Rojas earned a mid-season promotion for the Cubs in 2025, after looking very good in Advanced A and seemed overmatched in his 39-game taste of AA. The Cubs sent him back to AA this season and the splits are interesting. He seems to have had an excellent April and June while enduring less memorable months of May and July. Additionally, while he is a righty, he seems to have a favorable split against righthanded pitching. He also has shone with 2-outs and RISP with a 1.044 OPS.

He is a 5-tool player and has shown each of these tools off to good effect. He has played most of his time in 2026 at 3B and I would expect him to continue to do so, as he has been paired with Mitch Voit, Sammy Stafura and Émilien Pitre at AA.

Tier 2:

Second tier prospects are still very good and often become excellent MLB players but their pedigree or expectations are not the same. The Mets have quite a lot of these players at the top of their farm, especially now that the trade deadline has brought in two more. Examples: Mitch Voit or Jonathan Santucci

Sammy Stafura, SS/2B (AA, Age 21): Ranked 7th

Note first, that I assigned Stafura to AA instead of Advanced A despite Pittsburgh having him in the SAL. The reason for this is that he’s performed well enough for Greensborough for the team to have promoted him and Brooklyn is a terrible place for hitters. Stafura is an interesting prospect because he seems to do a number of things very well with the notable exception of his eye. In Advanced A he had a slash of .301/.365/.656, which is great but the 62 Ks and only 20 BBs in 47 games played is not.

The Pirates had acquired Stafura in 2025 from the Reds in exchange for Ke’Bryan Hayes and it is troubling to see that now two teams have failed to see what appears to be a promising prospect as part of their future.

Émilien Pitre, 2B/SS (AA, Age 23): Ranked 8th

Having Stafura and Pitre both in the system is a very interesting situation, as the two players have basically the opposite issues. While Stafura seems to have issues with walking and striking out too much and Pitre not having much power. This isn’t to say that he has none, but that he profiles much more like A.J. Ewing. What Pitre boasts is a tremendous eye and ability to get on base which should see his floor as that of a solid quality bench player.

We’ve mentioned that his power isn’t off the charts, but I want to note that he doesn’t steal as many bases as I would expect either. He has 7 caught stealings in 18 attempts and those are not great numbers. There is nothing glaring or unexpected of note in his splits, but we should mention his age. He is on the upper side of 23; despite being drafted in 2024 and I would expect him to be on a much faster track to the majors than some of the others.

Tier 3:

Some people consider 3rd tier prospects to be organizational filler but that is not quite accurate. There are tiers below this that are demonstrably worse. Tier 3 players are generally not high draft picks and are therefore longshots to the majors. Some of these players, like A.J. Ewing, graduate to being Tier 2 long before they reach the majors. Others do not. Example: Zac Thornton

Aidan Smith, OF (A+, Age 21)

It should be noted that the scouting on Smith is pretty high and he could possibly prove to be a 2nd tier prospect quickly. He has really good power and speed to go with a good arm, but suffers from being a free swinger who doesn’t walk much.

John Spikerman, OF (A+, Age 23)

Spikerman’s calling card is speed and defense but he’s not much for contact and has almost no power to speak of. This suggests he’s projected to be a 4th or 5th outfielder.

Billy Amick, 1B (AA, Age 23)

Amick is in AA and probably held from AAA by the whisper of alleged value still alive in Ryan Clifford. He is a similar player to Clifford but has less prospect prestige. I ultimately have him currently ranked higher.

Gabe Davis, RHSP (AA, Age 22)

A powerful arm and a likely transition to the bullpen. Davis seemed like a valuable Tier 3 acquisition and seems more likely than others to provide major league impact than some of the others.

Bruin Agbayani, OF (R, Age 19)

Son of beloved Met legend Benny Agbayani there is less known about Agbayani (the younger) than is known. His grades don’t jump off the page, but he has some advanced contact and eye expectations which will hopefully see his prospect stock rise.

Gary Gill Hill, RHSP (AA, Age 21)

As a minor league writer, I don’t like low K pitchers. Particularly ones who seem to pitch to contact. His control is good, but I don’t know that his pitchers are good enough for good control to matter.

Zach Franklin, RHRP (AAA, Age 27)

No, at 27 he’s not really a prospect. He does seem more or less ready for the majors and will likely be up with the Mets right away.

Cole Mathis, 1B (A+, Age 23)

This is a special case for a few reasons. As a 2024 2nd round pick, Mathis is likely Tier 2 candidate, but I don’t have faith in him because of whom we traded to get him and his lack of success in rehab outings. At his age and with his pedigree I’d expect him to be easily smashing Low A pitching, especially coming off a successful 2025 Arizona Fall League. I will upgrade him when I see evidence of life in that bat.

Final Thoughts:

Some fans were greatly disappointed with the Mets trade deadline acquisitions. The Mets traded a lot of talent and came away from the deadline with only three prospects who seem likely to make an impact. The Mets farm system did come away looking substantially improved. The team added three players to their Top 10 and 1 player who will be vying to be listed as the organization’s top prospect. The Mets have a lot of infield talent in the farm system now and should be poised to get some of these players into the majors when vacancies will arise.

Also… in case you haven’t seen it:

Mitch Voit is loving Binghamton

He has only been in AA for 7 games, but what a 7 games they have been. He has a hit in more than 50% of his at bats (14 for 26) and he has 8 extra base hits in that time. He has only struck out 3 times, he’s walked 5 times and he’s stolen 4 bases. This offensive explosion should come back down to earth, but it’s been a mighty fun ride.

After the big selloff in 2023, the Mets lost their first six games. Things started better after the 2026 fire sale, as the Mets got three home runs to back another strong start from Sean Manaea, lifting the Mets to a 6-2 win over the Guardians Tuesday night in Cleveland.

Luis Torrens started the power show with a 3-run, opposite-field home run in the top of the second inning. It was quite the day for Torrens, who went 3-3 with a walk and four runs batted in.

Bo Bichette crushed a HR to lead off the third inning and Carson Benge had a 451-foot blast as the first hitter in the eighth.

Meanwhile, Manaea pitched in and out of trouble all game long. He allowed seven hits and five walks but allowed just two runs over six frames. He loaded the bases in the first inning with no outs but got out of it without allowing a run, as he struck out two batters on 95 mph fastballs. Manaea finished his night with seven whiffs and now has a 4.33 ERA. Since moving back into the rotation, Manaea has thrown 54.2 IP and allowed 23 ER for a 3.79 ERA.

Nate Lavender made his MLB debut and got four outs without allowing a run. Kodai Senga pitched the ninth. He allowed one walk but kept the ball in the park and did not allow a run.

The Mets are now 14-14 in Interleague play. They’ll try to move into the black Wednesday night, with Christian Scott on the mound for the 6:40 p.m. start.

Freddy Peralta made five starts for the Mets in July and in that time span he allowed 17 ER in 22.1 IP for a 6.85 ERA. He arrived in the offseason with the idea that he’d be starting Game 1 in a playoff series. He departs with absolutely no one disappointed to see him leave. It’s hard to imagine a worse outcome. At least the prospects they gave up to get Peralta haven’t exactly been lighting the world on fire. The Cubs were able to get David Peterson untracked – 2-0, 1.32 ERA in 23.2 IP over his last four starts – and few will be shocked if the Rays are able to do likewise with Peralta. Which leaves the Mets wondering if, in the long run, the three players they received for trading Peralta will come close to the production of the two they gave up to get him. Wouldn’t that be something?

In the short term, the Mets have to figure out how to replace Peralta in the rotation. Do they give another shot to Kodai Senga? Senga went 13 days without pitching prior to his last start. He was very good thru four innings and then allowed three baserunners to start the fifth, all of whom came around to score. Was he lucky in the beginning of the outing? Was he unlucky with the two runners he left on base both coming in to score? Was there enough there to merit another start for the guy with a 9.66 ERA this year as a SP?

Robert Stock made a spot start and he pitched better than anyone would have guessed. He came up and allowed just a solo homer in five innings. Stock is even older than Senga – he’s 36. He’s appeared in 58 games in the majors, with four starts. Three of those starts have come with the Mets, as he made two for the club in his first go-round in 2021. Those didn’t go quite as well, as he combined for a 5.40 ERA and a 1.800 WHIP.

The Mets have a whole lot more invested in Senga than they do Stock. However unlikely he might be to reach his peak performance, Senga has a much-higher upside than Stock. Perhaps the most encouraging thing in Senga’s last outing is that he didn’t give up a home run. It might not sound like much but prior to that game, he allowed 12 HR in 40.2 IP, which is frightening.

My expectation is that the Mets will give Senga another shot. Regardless if they pick Senga or Scott, the other four starters for the club have been on a nice roll here lately. Here’s how they’ve done since the beginning of July:

24.0 IP, 6 ER, 2.25 ERA – Zac Thornton
24.1 IP, 7 ER, 2.59 ERA – Christian Scott
28.2 IP, 12 ER, 3.77 ERA – Sean Manaea
30.1 IP, 6 ER, 1.78 ERA – Nolan McLean
107.1 IP, 31 ER, 2.60 ERA

In that same time frame, all MLB starters have a 4.23 ERA.

Thru the first four months of the season, the Mets’ strength was their bullpen. But after trading four relievers in the past few days, the starters and the offense are going to have to pick up the slack. For the most part, the starters have been up to the task in the past month. But will they be asked to pitch more innings going forward? Ordinarily, you’d think that would be the case. Yet it seems unlikely they’ll go to the whip with McLean, Scott and Thornton.

So, who makes up the pen going forward? Devin Williams is still around to close out any games the offense decides to score more than two runs. According to FanGraphs’ RosterResource the club will promote Xzavion Curry, Nate Lavender, Chayce McDermott, Dedniel Nunez and Jefry Yan. That’s one more reliever than the club traded away, so a move with a current reliever will need to happen.

Curry has been up before, where he’s been a mop-up man. He’ll likely have to take on a bigger role the rest of the year. Lavender had some buzz coming up from the minors before being lost in the Rule 5 Draft. But he was returned to the Mets prior to this season and has performed solidly. The most impressive thing is the 53 Ks he posted in 33 IP for Syracuse. McDermott was just acquired from the Dodgers. His numbers do not inspire confidence. Nunez was great for the Mets in 2024 before undergoing TJ surgery the following year. He’s rehabbed since late June. In his last six games for Syracuse, Nunez has allowed 1 ER in 6.1 IP with 9 Ks. It would be terrific if he was able to get back to his 2024 form. Yan has 77 Ks in 41.2 IP split between Double-A and Triple-A and has allowed just 2 HR in that span.

My best guess is that Daniel Duarte and either Senga or Stock will fill out the pen.

Clearly, the bullpen will take a major step backwards. It would feel better if Huascar Brazoban was still around. Perhaps Austin Warren can come back and fill a role once he’s recovered from his forearm strain. He’s made three appearances here recently in A-ball and has not allowed a run. It seems likely the Mets will cycle thru a bunch of relievers the rest of the year and hope that a few of them will step up and be contenders for a spot in the pen in 2027.

If things break half-decently, you could see a representative pitching staff the rest of the way, especially if the starters keep up their strong pitching. Yet it’s difficult to have that same optimism around the offense. Perhaps the multiple under-achieving players will turn over a new leaf the final two months of the year. I just cracked myself up typing that line – hope you got a laugh out of it, too.