How the Mets have fared after the all-star break

Here we are at the all-star break with just 65 games left to go and the Mets find themselves a half game behind the Phillies after completing an awful month of June. In June of 2024 the Mets took a promising start and left limping after slumping with 9-19 record. In 2025 they were off to an astonishing start until losing their way, one again in June, finishing with a 12-15 record.

While that was better than the previous year, it let the Phillies weather their injuries and get back into the race. At least it looks like a two team race as the Braves appear mired in their first really awful season in anyone’s memory. Of course, given their history and the players on their team, the Braves are just a hot streak away from jumping back into the race, however unlikely that might seem.

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It got me thinking about how the Mets have played after the all-star break these past four years and whether that means anything when they open the second half (actually much less than just a half) against the Reds on Friday.

In 2021, the Mets entered the all-star game with a 47-40 record, good enough for first place in the NL East. Despite spending 100 days in first place that year, they fell apart in the second half winning just 29 games and losing 46 to finish third. Star pitcher Jake deGrom was shut down for the season in July, the offense struggled and some poor trade deadline moves sealed the deal. This was the year the Mets picked up Javy Baez and Trevor Williams in what seemed like a good midseason pickup and only had to send prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong to the Cubs. It’s looking like that trade will haunt the Mets for years, but at the time, it also looked like Baez, if he played to the back of his baseball card, could put them over the top. Instead, Baez became famous for his thumbs down display that dragged Francisco Lindor down a bit.

In 2022, the Mets roared to a 58-35 record to sit atop the NL East and went a more than respectable 47-22 after the break resulting in a divisional tie with the Braves at 101-61. They faded at the end of the year losing the season series to the Braves in the final days. Jake deGrom returned as a force, despite pitching in just 11 games and Max Scherzer posted an 11-5 record with a 2.29 ERA. They were then over matched by the Padres in the wild card round and went home to watch the rest of the playoffs on television. It was a historic 101 win season with a disappointing ending.

In 2023, the Mets sat at 42-48 at the break, good enough for 4^th place in the NL East. They limped to a 34-38 record the rest of the way and stayed in 4^th place. The performance of the team, just one season away from 101 wins, caused a big selloff at the trade deadline as they moved Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Mark Canha, David Robertson and Tommy Pham with an emphasis of rebuilding the farm system.

In 2024 the Mets started off with a dismal 22-33 record on their way to sitting at 46-50 at the break, good enough for 4^th in the NL East. They were 40-27 after the break to finish at 89-73, good for a third place finish. They clinched a postseason spot with an 8-7 win over the Braves in the first game of a controversial double header caused by a rainout after MLB would not give them another day to play or move the series to a neutral dry stadium. The Mets beat the Brewers in the wildcard series, and then beat the division winning Phillies, both wins considered upsets. The season ended losing to the Dodgers in the championship round in six games. The season was marked by a resurgence of Lindor, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo, the return to form of Edwin Diaz and the emergence of a strong Luis Severino, who they oddly refused to bring back.

This year the Mets ended the first half with a respectable 55-42 record despite another poor month of June, a starting rotation of walking wounded and a .154 batting average with runners in scoring position, the second worst in the NL. Alas, the reinforcements have arrived. Kodai Senga made a nice start, Sean Manaea threw well in relief despite taking the loss against the Royals, and Frankie Montas has generally looked good since he returned. Even the pen has started to look good, however overworked.

So what should we expect in the second half? The offense, while exploding every now and then, still can’t seem to consistently score enough runs and their pen continues to be overworked leading to them not holding on to leads, if they are lucky enough to have one. They need to find a way not to have the pen need 9-12 outs every night. They need to find a way to hit with runners in score position and not fall into team hitting slumps that have been all to common this season.

We do an awful lot of complaining about a team that is certainly in the thick of things with strong odds to enter the playoffs, but that is how we Met fans live our lives. With my glass always half full, the key now is whether David Stearns will work his magic to bring in some substantive additions between now and the trade deadline, to propel this team forward. The memories are still strong from a decade ago when the Mets picked up Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers for prospects Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa, and he took the offense to a new level. He hit 17 homers the rest of the way, including nine in a 13 game stretch.

Who will be this year’s Cespedes? Can’t wait to find out. It could be the difference between making the playoffs and hanging a championship banner.

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