You can bring back the old stars. You can dress the current team in the uniform of the old stars. Unfortunately, you can’t magically produce the talent, the grit and the fight of the old team and the old manager. So, on the day that the Mets honored the 1986 World Series team, the current Mets turned in a day quite reminiscent of the 2026 squad, as they fell to the Marlins, 6-2, Saturday afternoon at Citi Field.

Zac Thornton started and didn’t have his best stuff. From my office chair, it seemed like he threw too many curves and those curves were not good pitches. He gave up 4 R in 4.2 IP. Thornton has impressed by throwing strikes and keeping the ball in the park and he didn’t do those things quite as well in this game, as he allowed 3 BB and gave up a HR.

The Mets did something radical in this one – they started their hottest hitter, even without the platoon advantage. And Tyrone Taylor rewarded that faith with a two-run homer to account for the Mets’ only runs. Here’s an idea – start Taylor again tomorrow.

Francisco Lindor had two of the team’s seven hits. But they failed to draw a single walk, which limited their run-scoring opportunities. The Mets had just one AB with RISP and didn’t cash in on that single chance.

Not a single one of the team’s top relievers have been used in the past two days. In a corresponding note, no trades have been made in that time span, either. Maybe one of those things changes tomorrow, as the Mets try to salvage a split of the series, with Robert Stock listed as their starter.

This was potentially the date that Clay Holmes was going to make his return to the majors but the Mets have decided to keep him in the minors in case a potential trade partner wants to have an extra roster spot before he pitches again. It’s Sean Manaea’s turn in the rotation but perhaps the Mets are keeping him fresh for a new team by skipping him on Sunday.

If only the Mets would look at their own roster with as much care as they are seeming to do here with the rosters for other teams.

Something major/tragic happened on July 23, 2015 for the Mets. It’s not big enough for most people to remember by date alone but no doubt you’ll recall it happening if you were following the team back then. That was the day that John Mayberry Jr. batted fourth and Eric Campbell batted fifth. Both players were hitting well under .200 entering the game and then went out to go a combined 0-6 with three strikeouts.

The Mets were above .500 at the time and received a bunch of negative publicity over having those two weak bats in the heart of the lineup. It played some role in the team being active in the trade market, bringing in first Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe (the day after) and then a week later the deal was struck for Yoenis Cespedes.

Unfortunately, the 2026 Mets are nowhere near .500 or we might be drawing parables to the Mayberry Jr./Campbell day. While they’re not hitting fourth and fifth in the order, somehow Marcus Semien and Jorge Polanco hit back-to-back for this year’s club. Animation fans of the 1990s recall Itchy & Scratchy and Ren & Stimpy. The 2026 Mets have Stinky & Putrid. But unlike the cartoon duos, ours do not provide any laughs whatsoever.

Semien (Stinky) and Polanco (Putrid) were high-dollar, offseason acquisitions for the Mets. Anyone with a modicum of sense realized that Semien was in serious decline when the Mets traded for him. But David Stearns was hell-bent on improving the defense and opening up a spot in the outfield for Carson Benge. A lot of people will claim that getting out from under the last few years of Brandon Nimmo’s deal also played a major part.

Meanwhile, Polanco was brought in to help offset the loss of Pete Alonso. Unlike with Semien, Polanco actually was a good player in 2025, as he posted a 132 wRC+. Yet Polanco came with injury concerns, as only twice in his career in the majors had he exceeded 138 games played.

Perhaps you’ll find this hard to believe but Semien continued his slide into oblivion while Polanco got hurt, again.

If defense was truly a big reason to bring Semien aboard, that has to be viewed as a dismal failure. After posting a +6 FRV and a +5 DRS in 1,108.1 innings at second base last year, Semien has a (-6) in both FRV and DRS this season in 798.2 innings. Among the 20 second baseman with enough innings to qualify for the leaderboards, Semien ranks dead last in FRV.

And he’s not making up for it with offense. His 72 wRC+ ranks 18^th among those 20 second basemen referenced earlier. The only saving grace for Semien is his ability to turn on fastballs on the inner half of the plate. That skill has led to 12 HR, a solid total for 358 PA. But, like all players, you need to do something besides hit home runs. The best offensive attribute for Semien after the homers is that he has seven stolen bases. That’s, um, not much upon which to hang your hat.

As for Polanco, he tried to play thru injuries but had just a .532 OPS in 61 PA before winding up on the IL with a sore wrist. And he also had Achilles’ tendinitis, which lingered longer than the sore wrist and which even now that he’s been activated, limits Polanco to DH only.

If you thought the .532 OPS early in the year was bad, Polanco has a .224 OPS in 51 PA since being activated from the IL. He’s currently riding an 0-23 stretch, with his last hit coming on July 20. Polanco is 4-48 since returning to the active roster, with one extra-base hit, a double. That gives him a .021 ISO. And that’s not the type of power that could make a 31.4 K% tolerable.

Yesterday, Semien entered the game as a pinch-hitter, which placed him in front of Polanco in the batting order. Semien went 0-2 with two strikeouts, while Polanco was 0-4 with two Ks. The duo also hit back-to-back in Wednesday’s game and went a combined 1-6. The previous time they hit consecutively in the order on July 25, they went a combined 0-8 with three whiffs.

That makes them a combined 1-20 with 7 Ks when hitting back-to-back in the last week. At least the 2015 Mets didn’t continue to trot out Mayberry Jr. and Campbell hitting consecutively. If the Mets absolutely have to play Semien and Polanco in the same game (spoiler: they don’t) can they at least break them up in the order?

The Mets owe Semien and Polanco a lot of money. The old saying is that it’s bad enough that you have to pay them – you don’t have to make it worse by playing them, too. But the Mets can go beyond that. One of the advantages of having the game’s richest owner is that you don’t have to keep guys just because they have a lot of cash left on their deals.

My opinion is that there’s still some hope left for Polanco. But that hope comes in 2027. The Mets should put him back on the IL for the rest of the season. Yet there’s no hope for Semien. He’s only going to get worse here on out. And given that he’s below the Galvis Line and is the worst-fielding 2B by FRV – well, that’s a frightening thought. He should be DFAd without any hesitation.

The Ren & Stimpy Show was canceled after four years. The Stinky & Putrid Show should have a much-shorter run. It’s already lasted too long. The 2015 Mets subjected us to Mayberry Jr. and Campbell for one game, recognizing that it was no way to win on a regular basis. Just another way the 2015 season is different than the 2026 one.

Maya Angelou said: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” The Mets know better about this duo. The task now is for them to do better. Is that too much to ask?

*****

The image accompanying this piece is AI generated, the result of several iterations in a “conversation” with Copilot. The goal here at Mets360 is to be transparent with what’s real and what’s AI. Nothing else in this piece had anything to do with any form of AI, whatsoever.

Kodai Senga was brilliant thru four innings. Too bad he pitched the fifth. He was charged with three of the four runs the Marlins scored in that frame, which was the turning point in the 5-2 Miami win Friday night at Citi Field.

Originally, Freddy Peralta was scheduled to start this game. But the Mets pulled him as trade rumors circulated. Maybe it was so that Peralta’s trade value didn’t sink any lower. Regardless, Senga got the emergency start and it was the first time he pitched in 13 days.

With help from a big strike zone from the home plate ump, Senga needed just 33 pitches to complete four innings. Given how long it had been since he last pitched, it was a bit surprising that he came out for the fifth. Senga walked the first two batters and then gave up an RBI double before being removed.

Xzavion Curry came on and allowed both inherited runners to score, as well as giving up one of his own in the inning. And Curry ended up finishing the game, allowing 2 ER in 5 IP. In the booth, Gary Cohen speculated that some of the relievers may have been held out because they were already traded.

The Mets had solo runs in the fifth and seventh innings. A.J. Ewing had an RBI single for the club’s first run. Francisco Lindor crushed a home run in the seventh. But that’s all the Mets could get. Striking out 12 times in the game didn’t help. Luis Robert Jr. fanned three times and the only time he made contact, we wished he didn’t, as he hit into a double play.

Marcus Semien did not start but came on as a pinch-hitter. He got up twice and struck out both times. He’s now 1-10 with six strikeouts in his last four games. But stinky has company, as putrid Jorge Polanco went 0-4 with two whiffs. Putrid is now hitless in his last 23 ABs.

And the team’s hottest hitter – Tyrone Taylor – can’t get into the game. Insisting on keeping Taylor nailed to the bench while playing both Polanco and Semien is asking for bad things to happen. Taylor has more trade value than Robert, especially if the Mets follow thru on their statement of not looking to pay down contracts in a trade.

On the plus side, Carson Benge had a 3-hit game and A.J. Ewing threw out a runner trying to get a hustle double. Benge gets all of the accolades for his arm but Ewing has a pretty good one, too.

The 1986 World Series team gets honored before tomorrow’s game. I’d rather have half of that team hitting today in their 70s and 80s than stinky and putrid. Anyway, Zac Thornton gets the start in the game that you know will begin after its scheduled 4:10 p.m. first pitch time.

Right now, everything is about the trade deadline, which makes me chuckle. It’s not like the Mets have made any impact trades (well, for them) at the deadline in recent history, whether they’ve been a buyer or a seller. Why should it be different this time around? Here are players they’ve acquired recently:

2025 – Ryan Helsley, Cedric Mullins, Tyler Rogers, Gregory Soto
2024 – Paul Blackburn, Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek, Jesse Winker
2023 – Luisangel Acuna, Phil Bickford, Ryan Clifford, Coleman Crow, Chris Flexen, Drew Gilbert, Trevor Gott, Ronald Hernandez, Jeremiah Jackson, Justin Jarvis, Adam Kolarek, Landon Marceaux, Jeremy Rodriguez, Marco Vargas
2022 – Phillip Diel, Mychal Givens, Tyler Naquin, Michael Perez, Darin Ruf, Daniel Vogelbach
2021 – Javier Baez, Rich Hill, Mark Payton, Carlos Rincon, Trevor Williams

The first move of 2026 has come down, with the Mets getting two warm bodies who’ll fit in perfectly on the above list. Same as it ever was, same as it ever was!

So, instead of conjuring up fake trades or dreaming about who the Mets can acquire, here are 10 random stats/thoughts about the current team, in no particular order:

1. In his last 43 games and 163 PA, Francisco Alvarez is slashing .278/.362/.479 for an .841 OPS. That’ll do quite nicely moving forward.

2. Since the All-Star break, Carson Benge has a .597 OPS and A.J. Ewing has a .598 mark.

3. Zac Thornton has a 1.42 ERA in his last four starts, which came against the Phillies, Brewers, Braves and Red Sox, facing Boston in the middle of its 15-game winning streak.

4. Three pitchers for the Mets have a 0.00 ERA. Two have pitched one inning apiece, with one being a position player. The other is Daniel Duarte, who has 11.1 IP with 2 BB and 11 Ks.

5. Over his last 14 games, Francisco Lindor has a .964 OPS with a .297 BABIP. Eight of his 15 hits have gone for extra-bases and he has a 12.9 BB% in this span.

6. The contract means this won’t happen but Sean Manaea would be a better acquisition than Freddy Peralta for a team looking for a fourth starter.

7. Despite homering in back-to-back games, Marcus Semien still stinks. He’s gone 1-8 with 4 Ks since then.

8. Cionel Perez has pitched in 21 games for the Mets. In two of those, he’s given up seven runs. In the other 19 games, he’s allowed 5 ER in 24.1 IP, good for a 1.85 ERA.

9. Mark me as ambivalent – in the dictionary definition of the term – about Bo Bichette potentially opting out of his contract. On one hand, he’s rebounded nicely after an ultra-lousy start. On the other hand, that $42 million could be easily spent elsewhere.

10. The Mets fired Carlos Mendoza after a six-game losing streak that dropped the team to 34-47. Too bad they didn’t fire him after a 12-game losing streak earlier in the season. The team has played a tougher schedule since Andy Green took over. However, Green’s winning percentage is .448, compared to a .420 mark for Mendoza.

Luis Robert Jr. delivered a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning, breaking a tie and lifting the Mets to a 4-2 win over the Marlins Thursday night at Citi Field. It was the Mets’ fourth-straight victory over the Marlins and was the club’s fourth win in its last five games.

Bo Bichette got things going in the eighth inning with a two-out double. Carson Benge followed with a line-drive hit to left field but the third-base coach wisely held Bichette at third. Benge swiped second base, setting up Robert’s heroics. He pulled a grounder past the diving third baseman. Bichette scored easily and a close play on Benge was averted with a high throw to the plate.

Devin Williams issued a leadoff walk in the ninth inning but retired the next three in order, two of them on whiffs, for his 16^th save of the year.

Brooks Raley earned the win with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief. Nolan McLean got the start and gave up two solo homers in 6.1 IP.

The Mets had just six hits in the game but three of them came with RISP.

Freddy Peralta goes for the Mets on Friday, his last chance to boost his trade value. Maybe he can end his Mets’ career with a flourish. A complete-game shutout would be nice.

Jonathan Santucci, LHP promoted to AAA

After a poor start to his season, Santucci has righted the ship in a big way. He had a poor April and a mediocre May before getting significantly better in June and July. One particularly strong stat to note is that he is racking up a good amount of Ks with 120 over roughly 90 innings. Another thing that is interesting, particularly about his strong July, is that his overall stats for the month were very strong while he was also dealing with a rather high .359 BAbip.

Santucci does have an upside that could lead him to a front of the rotation caliber pitcher (#3 or #2) and a trajectory that could see him relevant in the rotational conversation by the end of the season. That could add him to a new young rotation of arms including Nolan McLean, Christian Scott and Zac Thornton.

The big question will be how he handles himself in AAA, which has proven to be a difficult steppingstone to recent Mets prospects. We will need to watch his starts through August, and I would imagine he could see the majors if things go well. Santucci currently ranks 7th overall in my rankings and is a longshot to take over the top overall spot but I’d love to be proven wrong.

Mitch Voit, SS promoted to AA

I have not always been the biggest proponent of Voit since he joined the Mets. To be fair, he didn’t exactly start his professional career with amazing stats. Then, thankfully, June came along. Voit had such a tremendous month of June for the Brooklyn Cyclones that there was little doubt of a mid-season promotion. I do wonder as to his position, as I believe he was drafted as a 2B, but he has played almost exclusively at shortstop.

Regarding his stats, Brooklyn is not a good ballpark for offense and particularly power and Voit was able to produce reasonably well in those regards. It isn’t surprising that his numbers were slightly better when playing in away games and we should have some hope to see his offense further bloom in Binghamton.

Some interesting stats for Voit’s season show a notable contact boost against lefty pitching and better stats against older pitching rather than against the youngsters. He does have a lot of appeal as a good all-around player with a solid five tools that do ring across the board. I currently rank him as the 5th overall prospect but could see him rise to vie for the top slot if he hits the ground running in AA.

Yovanny Rodriguez, C/DH

Still around 100 days shy of turning 20, Rodriguez finds himself out of Rookie baseball and in Port St. Lucie. He had very good numbers in the FCL, but his splits have one glaring oddity.

• .211/.310/.310 (24 Games)

• .333/.453/.598 (27 Games)

The first slash line are his numbers from home games and the second represents his numbers in away ones. Does this mean anything? Is he distracted by the FCL Mets mascot? Who can say? Those numbers are wildly glaring.

Other than being vastly different away vs. home, his numbers are also strikingly consistent as his OPS never took a dip below .700 despite his power abandoning him in the month of June. The ceiling for Rodriguez is very high and if he puts on any sort of show in August, we should expect his ranking to finish the year higher than the 6th overall I am currently ranking him at.

Randy Guzman, OF

If you read my posts, you are aware of this prospect, but he gets little buzz outside of my column. Guzman posted a phenomenal July and earned his way onto the Brooklyn roster where he will see if he can make his prodigious power play.

In the month of July, he had a .333/.436/.608 slash line and even managed to cut down the number of K’s he produced on average. He does not appear to be a patient hitter, but that power is very real and very exciting. We just have to hope it doesn’t suffer a Coney Island slump. He’s currently ranked 11th overall on my rankings.

Notable stats from the Top 20:

#2 Overall: Daviel Hurtado, LHP - Fatigue may be setting in for the Met lefty who has seen his peripheral stats take a dip in July. He hasn’t yet seen his results suffer badly and he isn’t yet above his innings total from last year so we will hope this is an anomaly.

#3 Overall: Chris Suero, C - He has suffered a power outage in July with his other numbers remaining solid but his power abandoning him. He has struck out a little too much all season long, but he remains a very exciting bench option to the Mets with his versatility and his ability to hit for power and take walks.

#4 Overall: Elian Peña, SS - While he cooled off majorly in May and June, he has begun to shake off the funk in July and I am holding out hope that he proves to be the Top Prospect that I expected him to shake out to be at the start of the year.

#8 Overall: Aiden Robbins, OF (Draft Pick) - He is playing with Port St. Lucie already.

#9 Overall: Wandy Asigen, SS - It’s the DSL, but the numbers are promising and I would expect him to start 2027 stateside.

#12 Overall: Daiverson Gutierrez, C/1B - There was an uptick in June, but his numbers are just not jumping off the page.

#13 Overall: Jacob Reimer, 3B/1B - He’s in the midst of a rehab assignment and should be back in AA soon.

#15 Overall: Jonah Tong, RHP - His AAA stats aren’t great but there remain signs of some value there. I think the Mets did him a disservice and rushed him up and wonder if his future is now in relief.

#18 Overall: Ryan Clifford, OF/1B/DH - His days as a “prospect” are numbered.

After winning a low-scoring, one-run game in the opener, it’s tough to be overly disappointed with losing a similar game in the nightcap. And that’s what the Mets did, as they wasted a strong pitching performance to lose the second game of the doubleheader, 1-0, Wednesday night to the Braves at Citi Field

Christian Scott allowed just one run in six innings, the first time all season he went that deep in the game. Unfortunately, the Mets could muster no offense against Chris Sale and the Braves’ bullpen. The offense managed just two hits and one walk and struck out 12 times.

Despite taking the loss, Scott lowered his ERA to 2.99 for the season. He walked just one batter and struck out seven. The Mets’ pen combined for three shutout innings, two of which came from Cionel Perez and Daniel Duarte, two hurlers who are likely to be pitching in higher-leverage spots the remainder of the year.

The Mets finished the run of playing top teams at 6-6. Now they get ready to host the 55-54 Marlins. New York swept Miami the last time they played. Do you think Marlins fans say of the Mets squad that’s 17 games below .500 – Gee, the Mets always play us tough? Nolan McLean starts the series opener.

It’s always a good day when you can beat the Braves. Sean Manaea threw six strong innings, giving up five hits, two walks and striking out four. His only mistake was a high fastball to Matt Olsen who tied the game at two with one swing in 6th after the Mets pushed across two in the fifth. In the fifth inning, Tyrone Taylor walked, and Brett Baty smashed the ball for a single off of Olsen’s glove. Then Francisco Alvarez hit a double into the gap to score one run and AJ Ewing hit a sac fly to bring Baty with the second run. In the 7th inning Carson Benge ripped a double to score Ewing and put the Mets up for good. Mets made the most of their six hits and five walks. Benge went 2/4 hitting cleanup That’s all the Braves would get all day as Huascar Brazoban, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams each pitched a scoreless inning and nine of the three walked a batter.

This was the first time in three months that the Mets won three games in a row and they throw Christian Scott against Chris Sale for a shot at a sweep tonight as they make up the rained out game from yesterday.

Cole Mathis, the prospect received from the Cubs in the David Peterson deal, has been activated from the IL. He played one game in the FCL and now two games with Lo-A St. Lucie. So far in his brief career in the Mets’ organization, Mathis is 0-7 with a BB, HBP and a SF. He had advanced to Hi-A with Chicago, so hopefully he’ll advance to Brooklyn before too much longer.

Of course, we’re expecting new prospects to join the org shortly, as the Mets are expected to make multiple moves before the deadline expires. Will they get anyone of substance, someone better than Drew Gilbert? It’s not impossible.

It’s much more fun to be a buyer rather than a seller at the deadline. Although with how poorly the David Stearns’ moves last year worked out - maybe we should be grateful that he’s selling. Perhaps this return to his roots as a small-market guy and spinning off assets will deliver better results than we’ve seen in a long time from the PoBO.

Please use this space for all trade-deadline thoughts and not go off target on any articles posted here between now and August 4.

The Mets have played 10 games since the All-Star break, with all 10 games coming against teams above .500 for the year. And not just a game over .500, either. Three of the four teams they’ve played are division leaders. The four squads are a combined 79 games over .500 – pretty much as good as you can get. Meanwhile, the Mets are 17 games below .500 for the season. How have the Mets fared in these 10 games? Just like everyone expected, they are 5-5.

For the most part, the pitchers are doing their job. They have a staff ERA of 3.21 and have limited opposing hitters to a .699 OPS. What damage has been done has mostly come against three pitchers, two of which – A.J. Minter and Freddy Peralta – may be gone at the trade deadline. Sean Manaea, with a 4.22 ERA, has been essentially average and everyone else has been a plus. The non-Minter & Kodai Senga relievers have combined for 29 IP and 4 ER, a group that includes Daniel Duarte, Cionel Perez and Xzavion Curry.

Meanwhile, the offensive numbers are somewhat skewed by Monday’s 14-run outburst. Still, the team’s hitters have a .251/.343/.442 line in these last 10 games against top-notch competition. That .784 OPS is 101 points higher than what the team did in the first half of the season. Among the encouraging signs is the club’s BB%. After posting an 8.2% before the All-Star break, Mets’ hitters have an 11.7% in the past 10 games.

Francisco Lindor has a 1.016 OPS and Francisco Alvarez has a 1.336 mark. But the top honor belongs to Tyrone Taylor, with a 1.766 OPS. It’s frustrating that he has just 19 PA – only Eric Wagaman has fewer – but at least he’s started the past two games.

The batting lines may take a hit in tonight’s game, as the Mets face Chris Sale, who’s 11-6 with a 2.19 ERA this season. Earlier this year, the Mets scored three runs in five innings against Sale but that’s the best they’ve ever done against him. Lifetime, Sale has a 2.43 ERA against the Mets in six games.

Christian Scott takes the mound for New York. Scott has delivered quality this year, with a 3.13 ERA over 14 games. Unfortunately, he hasn’t really delivered quantity, failing to complete six innings in any start. Personally, I’d sign up for five shutout innings tonight, looking to add quantity the rest of the way. Quality is more important tonight, especially with all of the “A” relievers available for action.

It’s been a tough go for the Mets and their fans this season, especially the ones who live by the ethos of World Series or bust. Yet for those of us who seek joy from the 162-game season, there’s a lot of things to experience the rest of the way. Can the three homegrown starters continue their development? Will any of the “B” relievers step up to the next level and take the place of pitchers likely to be traded in the next week? Which hitters will stake a claim on a bigger role for next year’s team?

On a team level, my hope is to see the squad respond positively to adversity. It’s something they haven’t done in the past 12-plus months. They came up short both in the final three months of 2025 and the first four months of 2026. It’s disappointing given all of the veterans who’ve experienced success who’ve been on the team the past two years.

If the Mets go 33-22 in the final 55 games, there will be some who say – So what – the season was already lost. My reaction will be 180 degrees different. That type of record will be an indication that the team didn’t just mail it in. Giving up is easy. Fighting thru the bad times is the foundation for future good teams. Let’s see that fight in what’s left of the Mets’ season.

One of the maxims in all sports is to play .500 against the good teams and clean up against the bad ones. Here after the All-Star break, the Mets have played .500 against the good teams. There aren’t a bunch of bad teams left on the schedule as, alas, the Mets can’t play themselves. But there will be a bunch of games against teams that aren’t in first place.

Here’s hoping for a lot of wins down the stretch, which will hopefully erase at least some of that bad taste from the final days of the Carlos Mendoza experience.

I’ve watched an awful lot of bad Mets baseball here in 2026. I had to unexpectedly go out of town today and was disappointed that I was going to miss a Zac Thornton start. Yet it turns out what I missed was a good old-fashioned butt kicking of the Braves. The Mets pounded out 19 hits and 14 runs en route to an 11-run win. It would have been nice to do that against the Dodgers but it’s just as much fun to do it against the Braves.

The Mets delivered four home runs, two by Francisco Lindor and two by the players who went yard on Sunday – Marcus Semien and Tyrone Taylor. Five players had 3-hit games, including the top three hitters in the lineup and the guys batting seventh and eighth. Every starter had a hit. Additionally, the Mets drew six walks in the game. They went 4-11 with RISP. Just a great night from the offense.

And the pitching wasn’t too shabby, either.

Thornton pitched into the seventh inning and upped his record to 2-1 for the year. He allowed 3 ER in 6.1 IP but continued to pound the strike zone, as he allowed just one walk while notching five strikeouts. Huascar Brazoban and Daniel Durate cleaned up, with Duarte finishing with two scoreless innings with three punch outs.

The Mets are now 5-3 against the Braves this season.

In 2005, the Mets signed Carlos Beltran to a 7/$119 deal, one that seems almost tame today but which was giant at the time. In his first year in New York, Beltran got off to a good start, with an .889 OPS after 33 games. But it was mostly downhill from there. In his final 118 games of the season, Beltran had a .701 OPS. Put it all together and Betran’s first year with the Mets resulted in a .744 OPS. Given that he had a career .844 OPS, it wasn’t a particularly good start for Beltran. And that doesn’t even take into account his great postseason in 2004. In his first playoff action, Beltran had a 1.591 OPS in the NLDS and followed that up with a 1.521 OPS in the NLCS. He hit a combined 8 HR in 56 PA. He was tremendous.

In 2021, the Mets traded for Francisco Lindor and gave him a massive extension before the season started. Lindor had a career .833 OPS before joining the Mets. In his first season in New York, he got off to a rotten start. After 62 games, Lindor had a .636 OPS. He started to turn things around, posting an .862 OPS in 102 PA before an oblique strain sidelined him for five weeks. Lindor was just 5-34 in his first nine games after being activated. But in his final 121 PA, he had a .941 OPS. Overall, Lindor had a .734 OPS in his debut in Queens, 99 points below his lifetime average coming into the year.

In 2025, the Mets signed Juan Soto to a contract that dwarfed the one given to Lindor. Before joining the Mets, Soto had a lifetime .953 OPS. On May 28 in that first season in Queens, Soto had a .745 OPS. But from that point onwards, Soto had a 1.014 OPS over his final 468 PA. Overall, he had a .921 OPS, which most players would kill for. But it was 32 points below his lifetime mark and 78 points beneath what he had done in 2024.

So, we saw three stars join the Mets on giant contracts and all three struggled to various extents in their first season in orange and blue. Which brings us to Bo Bichette.

Now, Bichette’s not quite the star player the three previous guys were when they joined the Mets. But he did arrive with a $42 million AAV, which puts him in that elite category, whether he deserves to be there or not. And Bichette got off to a lousy start.

After 46 games, Bichette had a .531 OPS. There’s no amount of lipstick you can put on that particular pig to make it look better than hideous. But like Lindor and Soto before him, Bichette turned things around. He hasn’t hit to the extent of either of those two players when they broke out but he wasn’t as good as them, either.

Bichette entered 2026 with a lifetime .790 OPS

When we look at Bichette’s season to date, we still see an unsightly .675 OPS. You can put a hyper-focus on that and conclude he’s been a massive disappointment. Or you can look at what he’s done over his last 59 games and see that he’s essentially performed at his career-average rate, as he has a .791 OPS in that span. Yes, he was worse initially than we had any right to expect a 28 year old to be over his first 46 games. But that’s not who he is right now. How long are you going to punish him for a dreadful start?

Virtually no player performs within a tight window of production over a full season. There are high points and lulls throughout the year. We hope the highs are extended and the lows wrap up quickly. Bichette’s low lasted too long. But his good play since then has lasted longer than the low. And there’s still 56 games left in the season.

None of us know what Bichette will do the rest of the way. If he reverts back to the player he was the first month-and-a-half, I’ll lead the charge saying, “What a crappy year for Bichette.” Yet if he continues to perform at his career rate the rest of the way, what will be the perception of Joe Sixpack?

We’ve seen at least three times this century where an ultra-high-priced player joined the Mets and didn’t have great success in his first season. Anything can happen once. Twice could be a coincidence. Yet when you get three times, well, you’ve got a trend. We could also add Jason Bay. Shoot, we could add Freddy Peralta, too, but he didn’t come here with a huge contract. But he was playing for that monster deal and didn’t hack it. And the greybeards will throw George Foster into the mix, too.

Contrarians will mention Gary Carter and Keith Hernandez. Those two ended up leading the Mets to a championship. None of the other players listed have that claim. Regardless, it’s still many more players with monster contracts/chasing monster contracts coming up short in Year 1 than those high-priced imports being worth their deals. Before you mention anyone else, check to see if their contract was Top-10 like. It’s great that Starling Marte came here and produced right away. But his 4/$78 deal simply isn’t in the Beltran/Lindor/Soto/Bichette range.

The $42-million-man Bichette isn’t going to earn his contract. But anyone who thought he would, well, they were kidding themselves. At the time of the signing, I labeled it a “panic move.” Yet here in late July, it’s not really the appropriate time to judge the initial signing. That time has come and gone.

We live in a “What have you done for me lately?” society. And what Bichette has done in his last 59 games is exactly what we should have expected. That’s a pretty decent sample size, over one-third of a season. If you’re open to a smaller sample, Bichette has a .320/.353/.471 slash line for an .824 OPS in his last 44 games and 187 PA.

An .824 OPS over an extended period in June/July is better than what Beltran and Lindor were doing in that same time frame in their initial season with the Mets. My hope is that the rest of the imports from this past offseason can have a stretch of 150 or more PA where they have an OPS of .800 or better. Jorge Polanco certainly hasn’t. Marcus Semien’s best stretch, which started with his 4-hit game on 5/6 and ended with back-to-back 2-hit games, with the latter on 6/18, produced a .741 OPS over 162 PA. That’s eight points below his career average.

Any fan who’s disappointed with what Bichette is doing right now simply isn’t informed. Yes, he played like dog feces the first 46 games of the season. But the Mets have played 106 games and for over half of them, Bichette has performed exactly at his career rate and in his last 44 games, he’s been 34 points better than his career average.

It will be a great day when Brett Baty, Lindor, Polanco and Semien have a stretch of 150 or more PA where they exceed their lifetime OPS by 30 or more points. Baty, due to his lifetime .656 OPS, has a shot. He has a .765 OPS over his last 71 PA. He just needs to keep it up for 80 more. Lindor has a chance, too. The other two? Eh, not so much.

Some say that what a manager does in the dugout has little to do with what happens in the field. One thing he can do is to play the team’s hottest hitter and bench one of their worst. Andy Green did that, starting Tyrone Taylor and benching Marcus Semien. And wouldn’t you know – the Mets won a game! They downed the Dodgers, 8-3, Sunday afternoon, avoiding a sweep in the process.

Taylor was activated from the IL on June 28 and from that point until the start of this game, he had a 1.360 OPS. The only problem is he had just 35 PA in that span. Getting the start today against a RHP, Taylor was hit by a pitch leading off in the second inning and then in the sixth inning, against a RHP specifically brought in to face him, Taylor belted a 3-run homer to put the Mets in front, 4-3.

The Mets scratched out another run in the seventh inning to go up two runs. And then Semien, who was brought in for defense the previous inning, got an inside fastball – the only pitch he can hit – and crushed it for a three-run HR, extending the Mets’ lead to 8-3.

I hope Taryn was at the game. She’s been a vocal supporter of both Taylor and Semien throughout the year.

Freddy Peralta started the game and once again failed to impress. He needed 87 pitches to complete four innings and allowed three runs (two earned) in the process. As unimpressive as that sounds, it actually lowered his ERA for the year, dropping to a 4.99 mark for the season.

While the starter was no good, the bullpen was excellent. Cionel Perez gave two scoreless innings, followed by one scoreless frame each by Brooks Raley, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams. Weaver loaded the bases but escaped any damage with a terrific play on a weak-hit ball just past the mound. Williams struck out the side in the ninth, with his changeup looking as good as it has all season.

On Saturday, the Mets had six hits and six walks but couldn’t score many runs because they didn’t come up with a clutch hit. On Sunday, they had six hits and seven walks but went 4-8 with RISP. It was nice to see.

Since the break, the Mets have played the Phillies, the Brewers and the Dodgers. It doesn’t get any easier as next up is the East-leading Braves. Zac Thornton will try to keep the good times rolling, as he takes the mound in the 7:10 p.m. start.

The Mets’ 2026 season has been about as big of a bust as you could have fathomed heading into it. Almost everything, from injury luck (and gambles) to projected performance range outcomes, has come up firmly snake eyes for the most part. Seemingly rational calculated risks and bets on positive variance turned out poorly across the board, and potential bounce-back seasons have not come to fruition while the debuts (or continued debuts) of the team’s top prospects have been relatively lukewarm if reasonably successful.

It’s not only made for a miserable season and fan experience, it’s led to justifiably increasing discourse regarding whether or not David Stearns is the right executive for the job and what level of meddling Steve Cohen is actually perpetrating as owner.

It’s never a great sign to be shifting to discussions regarding future seasons less than two weeks beyond the All-Star Break, particularly for a team with the second-highest payroll in the sport, but that’s where we find ourselves as we approach the trade deadline.

Is it hyperbolic to state that this might be one of the more important trade deadlines in recent Mets memory? Yes, probably, but there’s a decent chance that the team can take a mountain of lemons and squeeze a little lemonade out of them in the form of adding assets for future seasons and shoring up the edges of the roster.

Stearns, while addressing the media this week, stated the following:

“We’re sitting here nine, 10 days out from the Deadline, and we’re not going to close any paths down right now.”

That’s the correct, and really only, mindset this team should have heading into a deadline where they hold a good number of the most interesting players actually available. Fans will undoubtedly dream on trades for high-impact players or another team’s top prospects, but the reality is that outside of possibly Luke Weaver (and maybe getting a team to bite on a Clay Holmes trade+extension) they don’t have the premium assets to bring back a haul.

Additionally, a full-blown “tear down” isn’t necessarily in the cards, and Stearns alluded to as much when he noted that his intended course on continued roster construction includes “a couple guys who are likely headed to Cooperstown one day” in addition to the young players already on the roster.

The team is unlikely to get top prospects or premium MLB-ready players, but they really shouldn’t sell for far-off lottery tickets with high bust potential either. That leaves one real, though ultimately still risky, way to maximize the return for the players they’ll realistically make available: good old-fashioned creativity.

While they should be open to including paying down salaries as part of their offers, it shouldn’t just be to get a team’s ninth best prospect instead of their fifteenth. They should instead look to make solid, floor-raising moves like acquiring good bench pieces with years of control left. Perhaps some once-promising youngsters that haven’t quite hit or those blocked at the major league level of their current organizations. They should look to identify diamonds-in-the-rough types or players they believe are on the cusp of a breakout, whether in the upper minors or the majors. Maybe there are players the Mets believe they can get more out of than their current teams have thus far. These are all potentially better outcomes than grabbing a Ryan Clifford or a Drew Gilbert and hoping for the best.

There are two major caveats to this course of action, however. The first and most obvious for all teams at the deadline is that you have to have a willing trade partner. Making these kinds of trades more difficult for the Mets is the fact that teams may look to take advantage of what they deem desperation from a front office that has been taking body blows all year. The second, and most controversial for the Mets at the moment, is that you still have to believe in the current regime’s ability to asses and, in some cases, further develop any talent that these trades hypothetically return.

An additional drawback to this method of deadline dealing is the inevitable and immediate blowback from fans and the media that lack the perspective to recognize the rock and the hard place between which the team currently finds itself positioned. They’re not likely to get players that will have a big enough impact on this season to make a difference, they don’t have the prospect capital for a splashy acquisition, and trading their young major leaguers undermines the process of creating a sustainable winner entirely.

What are some specific examples of the aforementioned “creative” moves? The point of this article is that these trades would be the less-obvious, under-the-radar transactions that no one saw coming but nonetheless continue moving the needle towards that elusive end state of perennial contention. They don’t need to be sexy, they just need to continue the march toward that goal.

In any case, the moves the team makes (or doesn’t make) will be illuminating. Trades perceived as panic-driven would counter Cohen’s recent comments that Stearns’ job is secure, and if the team stands pat it could signal they feel they are still on the right path. Either way, there’s bound to be uproar from one corner of the Internet or another when the smoke clears.

What will ultimately happen at the deadline? Your guess is as good as mine. What I can say for sure is that I’m not particularly excited for any of it.

The offseason was about run prevention and hitters who could make contact. Saturday night was another dismal failure in both regards, leading to a 4-3 loss to the Dodgers at Citi Field.

The difference in the game was the two unearned runs scored by the Dodgers in the third inning. Brett Baty tried to start a 3-6-3 double play but his throw hit the runner in the helmet. While that error was the backbreaker, there were other plays that didn’t go right, as well.

Nolan McLean retired the first six batters he faced before serving up a gopher ball to the first hitter in the third inning. Add in the two unearned runs and it was 3-0 Dodgers. McLean gave up another run in the fifth, with the big hit being a bloop double to open the frame. His final line was 6 IP, 2 ER, 2 BB and 7 Ks.

The Mets got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Bo Bichette, who had a 2-hit game. In the eighth inning, the Mets got the first two runners on base. After back-to-back strikeouts by the dynamic duo of Jorge Polanco and Marcus Semien – what genius puts two automatic outs batting next to each other?!? – the Dodgers brought in a lefty to face Baty.

That gave permission for the Mets to use their hottest hitter. And Tyrone Taylor responded with a line-drive double that plated two runs. After an intentional walk to Francisco Alvarez, A.J. Ewing capped his 0-5 night with a strikeout.

Francisco Lindor led off the ninth inning with a strikeout and Carson Benge ended the game with a whiff. The Mets struck out 11 times in the game.

With six hits and six walks, the Mets had their chances in this one. But going 2-11 with RISP isn’t going to get it done most nights.

A few years ago, the Mets played the Dodgers and got taken behind the woodshed. They’re 0-5 against them this year but four of the games have been close. There’s no ultimate reward for playing close games but it feels like at least the Mets haven’t embarrassed themselves, especially playing without Juan Soto for four of the games.

Instead of a moral victory, the Mets will look to avoid the sweep with a real win on Sunday. Freddy Peralta takes the mound for the 1:40 p.m. start. Maybe Peralta will give a team a reason to trade for him with a good outing. It sure would beat the terrible pitching he’s done here lately.

One of the things that drives me crazy is the Mets’ insistence on acquiring guys who were last good three years ago on another team and then giving them starting gigs. Among the players they’ve tried this with during the Mets360 era are: Eric Young Jr., Chris Young, James Loney, Adrian Gonzalez, Omar Narvaez, Harrison Bader and Marcus Semien. Newsflash: It didn’t work with any of them.

In addition to Semien here in 2026, the Mets tried it with Luis Robert Jr., too. Full disclosure: I was in favor of this move when it was made, banking on Robert’s age to help him bounce back closer to his previous heights, rather than the collection of players on the wrong side of 30 in the opening paragraph.

After posting a 130 OPS+ in 2023, Robert posted an 86 in 2024 and an 85 in 2025. You may not believe it but here in 2026 he currently sits with an 87 OPS+. You almost have to admire such consistency.

The only saving grace is that Robert’s production this year has come in the small sample size of 111 PA. It’s possible to hold out hope that if he had, say, the 338 PA of Semien, he might have better results. Hey, it’s good to have hope, sometimes that’s all you’ve got.

One thing that Robert can point to is that after missing nearly three months, he’s hit 2 HR in 13 PA since his return from the IL. That’s a pace that would make even Kyle Schwarber blush. But that’s not anything remotely to expect going forward. And those are the only two hits Robert has. As a big fan of power, it’s great to see the homers. But no matter who you are, you’ve got to do something positive when you don’t hit the ball over the fence. Schwarber complements his power with a 14.1 BB% and that combo has led to a 144 wRC+.

Robert is offering nothing this year besides the homers.

Juan Soto left yesterday’s game and it’s possible another IL stint is in his future. That may turn out to be a blessing for Robert. The Mets are going to play their rookie outfielders the overwhelming majority of the time. If Soto was also playing, that would seriously curtail the playing time for Robert. Now there might be more opportunities for him to play.

Still, it’s fair to wonder if that playing time should go to Tyrone Taylor, instead.

Since returning from his own IL stint, Taylor is slashing .367/.441/.867 in 34 PA. Why on earth isn’t he playing more when he’s this hot? No, this is nowhere close to Taylor’s true-talent level. But for all things holy, when a player is scorching hot – play him every day until he cools off.

The Mets have played Taylor almost exclusively versus LHP since he was activated from the IL. No doubt having the platoon edge factors into this hot stretch of Taylor’s. It was also the easiest way for him to get playing time, with all three of the club’s preferred outfield starters being LHB. Still, my opinion is that if Taylor was in this big of a groove, he would have successfully performed against RHP, too, even if not to the extent that he did against lefties.

So, Robert or Taylor to get more playing time? In the immediate term, the answer has to be Robert. There’s a non-zero chance that if he hits a few more homers before the trade deadline, he might be someone to flip for a prospect. Now, it’s probably a single-digit chance, but a chance nonetheless. While Robert has that 130 OPS+ season on his resume, Taylor’s highest mark in a season with at least 100 PA is the 108 he posted back in 2021. It’s tougher to dream on Taylor than it is to do the same with Robert.

Still, my preference would be for both of them to get consistent playing time. It’s one of the reasons why I advocated for giving A.J. Ewing some playing time at 2B. Not to make Ewing the full-time starter – rather to give him some games there both to get Semien out of the lineup and to get more playing time for Robert and Taylor.

The Mets have decisions to make on both Robert and Taylor for next season, assuming they’re both here after the trade deadline. Robert has an expensive team option, while Taylor will be a free agent. It’s difficult – but not impossible – to see the Mets picking up Robert’s option. But if he plays and performs, it’s at least a possibility. The Mets could do in 2027 what the White Sox did in 2026 – pick up the option and then trade him.

Meanwhile, Taylor has proven to be a good fourth outfielder but with Nick Morabito having a solid season in Triple-A, it’s possible the Mets will be willing to let Taylor walk and give his playing time to Morabito, instead. Of course, with teams usually employing five outfielders on their 26-man roster, it’s possible that both Taylor and Morabito could be on the ’27 Mets.

Further complicating the picture right now is that the Mets want to give Jorge Polanco playing time, too, and he’s essentially limited to DH at this point. But he’s been unproductive since returning from the IL, sporting a .318 OPS in 32 PA.

It’s wild to think that on a team that’s 43-61 that there are somehow too many guys vying for playing time. It doesn’t help matters when the club insists on playing Semien’s carcass on a full-time basis. Yet until the trade deadline passes, my hierarchy would be Robert-Taylor-Brett Baty-Polanco-Semien.

However, this is how the Mets have allocated playing time with that quintet since Semien was activated from the IL on Jul 17:

20 PA – Semien
13 PA – Robert
11 PA – Baty
10 PA – Polanco
8 PA – Taylor

From my point of view, the Mets have a 40% success rate, with Baty and Polanco getting the correct amount of relative playing time. Perhaps that success rate isn’t surprising, since it matches their .413 winning percentage on the season.

The Mets offense managed just four hits and wasted a strong outing from Sean Manaea, falling to the Dodgers, 4-2, Friday night at Citi Field. The Mets are now 0-4 this year against the two-time defending champs.

Two of the four hits by the Mets were solo homers. Luis Robert Jr. gave the Mets a 1-0 lead in the 2^nd inning, while Francisco Alvarez’ solo blast capped the game’s scoring in the eighth.

Manaea allowed just 1 ER in 6 IP. But Brooks Raley allowed a run in the seventh and A.J. Minter served up a two-run homer in the eighth. In eight starts since returning to the rotation, Manaea has allowed 19 ER in 42.2 IP for a 4.01 ERA.

Marcus Semien saw his modest two-game hitting streak come to an end with his 0-3 night. He’s now 2-19 since returning from the IL, dropping his season-long OPS to a .601 mark. But have no fear, he’ll be back in the lineup again tomorrow.

Nolan McLean gets the start in Saturday’s 7:15 p.m. game on Fox. May the powers that be give us a game with no John Smoltz. A boy can dream…

In the never-ending quest to try to find positive things to write about the 2026 Mets, we see that the offense has been better here in July than it has been for most of the year. Thru games of Wednesday, the Mets ranked 12^th in OPS (.755) and 15^th in runs (76). It just goes to show how off the rails the season has been when ranking in the middle of the pack is being spun as a good thing.

We can field a team with okay or better production from each spot among the nine players with the most playing time. Here’s how the lineup could be for July:

C – Francisco Alvarez - .804 OPS
1B – Jared Young – 786 OPS
2B – Brett Baty - .791 OPS
3B – Bo Bichette - .670 OPS
SS – Francisco Lindor - .812 OPS
LF – Juan Soto - .825 OPS
CF – A.J. Ewing - .768 OPS
RF – Carson Benge - .805 OPS
DH – Tyrone Taylor – 1.263 OPS

It helps that Marcus Semien and his .489 OPS here in July ranks 12^th in PA due to his time spent on the IL. The problem, of course, is once he was activated, he plays every day. The other issue is that Taylor, the most-productive player this month, is ninth with 32 PA. If Alvarez and Baty could hit like this over a longer stretch, it would be a nice thing.

WHY ARE THE METS DRAGGING THEIR FEET WITH HOLMES? – Back on April 25, here was my take on Clay Holmes:

But give me the power and my first order of business right now would be to extend Holmes on a 3-year deal, valued on his FIP. And then hope he continues to be the rare pitcher who can consistently have his ERA out-perform his peripherals.

Of course, Holmes ended up on the IL after getting hit by a comebacker on May 15 that broke his fibula and the extension talks were sidelined. Yet we’ve heard recently that Holmes is open to an extension. So, why the f@#$ hasn’t it happened? Holmes just made his first rehab start and will undergo at least one more before he returns to the majors. Here’s hoping the two sides come to an agreement before then. Holmes should be part of the post-2026 Mets.

HOW MUCH SHOULD POST-PROSPECT FATIGUE GUIDE US? Former minor league baseball maven John Sickels, the man who coined the phrase LOOGY, once wrote about a phenomenon that he observed among prospects. If a guy had been in the minors as a touted prospect for more than a few years, people would grow tired of hearing about him and would downgrade him for no good reason. He termed it “prospect fatigue.”

It seems to me we have post-prospect fatigue with Baty. Wasn’t he supposed to be established by now? Regardless of your answer to that question, it seems pertinent to ask now: What would Baty have to do for the rest of the season in your mind to merit another chance? Assuming Bichette does not opt out, what would Baty have to do the remainder of the year to be the front-runner to be the starting 2B in 2027?

Baty has been an average defensive second baseman, so it all comes down to how much he would need to hit. The average 2B so far here in 2026 has a .252/.321/.385 line for a .706 OPS. The Mets rank 29^th in the majors with a .602 OPS from their second basemen this season. Wouldn’t it be nice to upgrade to middle of the pack?

In his last 16 games, Baty has a .283/.297/.500 line in 64 PA. If in the remainder of the year, Baty has a .750 OPS, would you be open to have him being your starting 2B next season? Or has he passed your point of no return, not someone you ever want to consider as being a player to count on? My opinion is that it’s not unreasonable to be ill & fatigued with Baty. Still, it wouldn’t bother me if he performed well enough down the stretch and received another chance.

METS FACE ANOTHER BULLPEN REBUILD – The 2026 Opening Day bullpen had little in common with the group that began in 2025. The only pitcher who was in both was Huascar Brazoban, who had spent time in the minors in 2025. Now the Mets approach the trade deadline with serious interest in four of their relievers. It would be a shock if the Mets didn’t trade a reliver and few would be surprised if they dealt more than one.

I like Brazoban. I like Luke Weaver even more than that. And if the term wasn’t borderline repulsive to me, you could say there was a man-crush with Brooks Raley. Yet it’s very possible that two of those three will be sent elsewhere, along with A.J. Minter. In one way, it’s going to be sad.

But bullpen rebuilds happen all of the time. Just from the Opening Day crew, Luis Garcia, Richard Lovelady, Sean Manaea and Tobias Myers are no longer in the pen. Perhaps Xzavion Curry, Daniel Duarte, Cionel Perez and Guillo Zuniga are ready for prime time. If nothing else, the successes of the Brazobans and Austin Warrens of the world make you wonder how much you should invest in relievers.

NO TEARS OVER NO TOP PROSPECTS – Keith Law is my favorite prospect maven. He recently released his list of MLB’s top 70 prospects and not one Met was on it. In a way, it’s a shocking fall for a team that quite recently was considered to have one of the top farm systems in baseball. But there are two important things to remember. The first is that farm rankings are just a snapshot in time. These rankings can and do change very quickly.

And the other thing is that it’s far superior to have young players performing in the majors than to have highly ranked prospects. This recent Law list included a 27 year old at #41. Call me crazy, but my preference is to have 24-year-olds Alvarez, Nolan McLean, Zac Thornton and 23-year-old Benge and 21-year-old Ewing performing well in the majors than to have representation on a prospect list with a 27 year old in the minors.

Luisangel Acuna was ranked as the 66^th-best prospect by mlb.com prior to the 2024 season. Since then, he has a 73 OPS+ in the majors. Drew Gilbert was ranked as the #29 prospect by Baseball Prospectus prior to 2024. He has an 82 OPS+ in the majors. BP ranked Ryan Clifford as the #77 prospect before 2024. He hasn’t made the majors and has a revolting 36.3 K% in Triple-A.

Prospect lists are great fun. But they are far, far from infallible. Zac Thornton never appeared on a top 100 list and here he is performing well in the majors. Back in 2017, Law had Amed Rosario as his top overall prospect in his midseason update. He’s played for seven different teams in the majors and never realized the potential of that lofty ranking.

The Mets have had great prospects in the recent past and my expectation is that they’ll have them again in the future. But the fact they (apparently) don’t have them currently is just the cyclical nature of things. The players under age 25 who are performing in the majors today is an indication of how productive the farm system has been.

After taking a terrible route to a ball in the outfield on Wednesday that ended up costing the Mets three runs, Brett Baty faced the press and completely owned up to his gaffe. It’s an admirable quality in a player. But you know what? It’s an admirable quality in a manager, a PoBO and an owner, too. And we don’t see that type of admission from those three entities on the Mets on anything remotely resembling a sporadic basis, much less a consistent one.

It was one thing to try Baty in the outfield in Spring Training and early in the season, as a way to get him additional playing time. But here in the third week in July, there’s really no reason to use Baty as a starter in the outfield. In March, no one knew what Carson Benge could do and A.J. Ewing wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card not only to be in the majors but here as one of the club’s better hitters, too.

Currently, the Mets have Benge, Ewing, Luis Robert Jr., Juan Soto and Tyrone Taylor as outfielders on the active roster. They also have Jared Young, who’s currently playing first base but who has experience in both corners. That’s six players who should log playing time in the outfield, rather than Baty. So, why was he out there Wednesday?

The Mets wanted to give Soto a day off to give him 48 hours of rest. They also wanted to give Robert the same thing. My opinion is that it was perfectly fine to do that with Soto yet not so clear that was the right thing to do with Robert. Yes, they’ve tried to be ultra-careful with Robert, given his injury history. And that made sense in the beginning of the year.

However, it’s my opinion that the club should treat Robert right now as a rented mule – try to get as much value as you can from him for the rest of the season. Soto’s going to be here for years, while Robert’s shelf life with the Mets has an expiration date that’s much shorter than that. Maybe he’s gone at the trade deadline or maybe his club option is declined at the end of the season.

And there’s a third option, one that may be the least likely of all but one that has a non-zero chance of happening. What if the Mets play Robert the rest of the way and he’s good? Like really good – good enough that he’s worth bringing back for 2027. Neither Baty nor Robert are hitting much this season. But Baty has had over three times the PA than Robert this year. There’s still a chance Robert can shake off the rust and be productive down the stretch.

Even if you agreed with the decision to rest Robert, too, there’s still the question of why not use Taylor instead of Baty. Taylor has been very productive in limited playing time here lately. Since returning from the IL in late June, he’s slashing .367/.441/.867 in 34 PA. Shouldn’t the Mets be looking for spots to play a hot bat like that? And Taylor is solid defensively, not someone trying to learn the position, like Baty.

We have no idea who’s making the lineup decisions. It should be the manager but for all we know, Andy Green’s hands are tied in this regard. Whoever is responsible should follow Baty’s lead and acknowledge that they made a bad decision.

No one should be expected to be perfect, to bat 1.000 on their decisions. Yet the Mets operate in a way where just about no one is held responsible for consistently making poor decisions. If you want to talk about culture – and it seems everyone loves to use that word – perhaps the Mets should instill a culture where decisions are examined in real time and changes are made before another season is lost.

Baty’s not an outfielder so now that there are six better options to use on the grass – he shouldn’t play there again, certainly not for the remainder of 2026. Baty has 500 innings in the majors at second base and has a 0 FRV and a +3 DRS. Compare that to Marcus Semien, who in 744.2 innings at 2B this year, has a (-5) FRV and a (-6) DRS. If the Mets still believe in run prevention – if they ever did – they can improve that part of the team by playing Baty over Semien at second base.

But to do that, the PoBO has to admit he made a mistake trading for Semien in the first place.

Just how long do the Mets plan to play Semien – a player in clear decline before 2026 – to justify the trade? At what point will the decision makers say: “Perhaps this 35 year old with a giant fork sticking out of his back isn’t going to find the Fountain of Youth and we should try something else.” Because the vast majority of us want to see someone else play second.

The situation at 2B is so bad that I actually advocated for trying Ewing there for a couple of games, just to see if he wouldn’t be horrible in the infield. The first step in solving a problem is admitting you have one. The Mets have a 2B problem and the sooner they admit that, the better off they’ll be.

Here are things that it would be great if the manager and PoBO would admit and change the lineups accordingly:

Baty is not an outfielder
Semien is not worth playing
Robert shouldn’t be treated with kid gloves because who knows how long he’ll be here
Luis Torrens should be behind the plate whenever Sean Manaea pitches
Kodai Senga’s pitch mix isn’t working

No doubt you have others but here’s a good start. As for the owner – perhaps he can admit that he’s less concerned over what happens in this year and next – although he’d certainly like to win – and that his focus is on 2028. How wild would it be if he said the quiet part out loud?

The Mets’ ninth-inning comeback fell short, as they dropped the rubber game of the series to the Brewers, 4-3, Wednesday afternoon in Milwaukee.

Marcus Semien gave the Mets the early lead when he homered in the second inning. But Christian Scott allowed three runs in the bottom of the inning, done in by a leadoff walk and then the inability of Brett Baty to make a tough catch in right field. The ball was stung and Baty ran a down-and-out trying to catch the ball. A more experienced outfielder might have come up with the ball, especially if they took a better route.

Baty followed with a solo homer in the fifth inning to cut the deficit to one run. But an inning later, the Mets gave back that run, as A.J. Minter was unable to retire the lefty batter he was brought in to face, instead giving up an RBI triple.

In the ninth inning, Tyrone Taylor drew a leadoff walk. Two outs later, he scored on an RBI single by Francisco Alvarez. But A.J. Ewing grounded out to end the game.

Scott couldn’t throw enough strikes and the Brewers didn’t chase, leading to 89 pitches before he was removed with two outs in the fourth inning. The Mets need him to go deeper into games. The bullpen allowed just 1 ER in 4.1 IP but it would be nice if the relievers weren’t asked to give so much.

On offense, the Mets again had too many strikeouts, as they whiffed 15 times in the game. The two home runs were nice but they couldn’t make up for going just 1-7 with runners in scoring position.

After an off day on Thursday, the Mets return for a 10-game homestand, starting with a three-game set against the Dodgers. The Mets were swept when they played earlier this year in Los Angeles, as the offense managed just three combined runs over the three games. They’ll need to produce much better than that if they hope to win some games this weekend.