The Braves are 10 games behind the Mets further back of the Phils. They are not contenders for the division at this point. Even their manager said 5 out of 7 wasn't good enough, they needed all 7.
I still "trust in Stearns" (copywright), and think the rotation and pen will be the area he focuses on. Would love a splash, but so long as Senga and Manaea come back and perform at expected levels, I also feel comfortable in the playoffs with a 4 man rotation of Senga, Manaea, Peterson, Montas/Holmes with Holmes more likely to be deployed out of the pen as a set up option before Diaz. I would also like Stearns to bring some of his Brewer strategy over to the Mets and bring up Mclean and Tong for the playoff pen like he did with Burnes, Woodruff and Peralta before they became fixtures in the rotation. Oh yeah and Sproat too - forgot about him hmm.
On the offensive side, I think McNeil's play in CF makes it less likely they will add there, and unless Mauricio and Baty flop there just isn't a lot of playing time to go around if you bring in someone else, particularly once Winker comes back.
Nice convo. It’s still baffling that the Mets have not tried Acuna and Mauricio in the OF given the log jam at the positions they play. Same holds for a few other minor leaguers who are blocked at the MLB level but continue at their normal positions. Perhaps that’s a better way to entice other teams to take some of those prospects in a trade. Not worried about out Alonso because his numbers will be okay especially after his amazing start. Also seems logical that McLean needs to come up for a spot start and neither he nor Tong leave in any trade. Agree that a good #1 starter would be a great pickup given that Canning is gone for the season. Also believe the Orioles will take lower level prospects for rental Mullins and the Mets have plenty of those to offer. In the meantime a little timely hitting will cure what ails this team.
Well now, 0-2 against the lowly Pirates. Scored 3 gave up 18. Awful. I would not focus on CF or third base. We need a bat, period, even a first baseman. No way on Robert, Arenado or any other over the hill or lousy player. We also need a couple of relievers and really need a number 1 or 2 starter. I think Stearns will still play the long game, no rentals. We need to trade based not just for this year, but for next year too. Lets face it, Baty, Mauricio, Vientos and Alvarez have stunk. At least last year, Vientos had a great year, so by him playing poorly it is minus one right there.
I cant see Stearns not making moves, but he wont overpay. You overpay when a rare young player becomes available. Oneil Cruz would be a great target. With their lousy pitching staff, please do not trade Tong or McLean.
And we were in this game today, until Mr H Walk Brazoban came in to give the game away, and another pitcher of the day Poche made it worse. Why couldnt they keep Warren fir a few extra days, he pitched well in his only appearance.
If we are really honest with ourselves, this patchwork pitching staff is not going take us to the playoffs. It has been painful not to have Manaea all year and Senga getting hurt, again. Now Canning out for the year and Blackburn has been horrid.
It is half time, with the season being half over. What can we realisically do? And Skenes is a pipe dream. There is no way Pittsburgh is trading a generational talent. But who are some other targets from selling teams who need an overhaul? I know it sounds like an insane idea, but maybe we should sell. McNeil, Holmes, Diaz, Alonso. Or maybe Holmes, Vientos, Baty, Mauricio.
I watched the Braves beat the Phillies. Atlanta develops Strider. Atlanta develops Schwellenbach, who throws 6 pitches for strikes.
All I know, is that right now, it is really hard to watch this team implode.
Speaking of offering seven prospects this July : Not that it was clear as day in 2021 that PCA was going to be a decade plus fixture in CF but I like to see Clifford continue to get his average up and reduce strikeouts. I have no idea if he can play a very adequate first base but with Alonso likely gone, bucks to go to a SP I do I hope Stearns is projecting the youngster for first. Of course, he has not had an ABAT in AAA. Speaking of the pen, maybe they keep the roster intact this year in Binghamton and let those pitchers go into the playoffs in AA and dominate. Let them have those fresh in their mind if they are to pitch in Flushing in next year's playoff race. Lots of very intriguing prospects coming thru St. Lucie and Brooklyn. Will McClean get a call up soon. Did they have him come out of the pen twice in Syracuse?
McLean did indeed make two relief appearances for Syracuse but they were "piggyback" type outings, where Frankie Montas got the start during his rehab stint.
Edit: McLean pitched 4 innings in one and 5.1 in the other.
Saw some optics on Drew Gilbert. A HR trot, his uniform number being #1 as the Mets were seemingly blown out of a game, adding to his very ordinary — ignored if it was not Gilbert stats this year — and it is in my view down to two of the prospects that Cohen threw in $xx,xxx,xxx in salary on those trades who might contribute in MLB. At best fantasy Clifford clearly will not start in Flushing at first but when and can they ever get Alonso to take a day off start looking at someone else playing first next year?
Possibly—offseason work might be sufficient —but Lukas’s throw in the 2015 World Series is still etched in my mind.
I'm definitely not going in as a buyer this July. What this team desperately needs is a young, disruptive, high-energy player who can give you 150+ games, steal bases, drop drag bunts, and be that classic, annoying #2 hitter. In theory, that could be Jett Williams as a late call-up in 2026—ideally a near-plus center fielder. Just a theory, though. I haven’t actually seen him play.
Still, this lineup feels too laid back. Too many hitters have exploitable holes in the strike zone, or they just aren’t dominant enough to force opposing pitchers to work around them. These are the kinds of problems the front office is paid to solve.
Is a less cocky Vientos a better Vientos? Is it about bat speed? Impatience? Did he take the offseason off? Were the 2024 tapes studied hard by other teams?
Home runs off high 90s hurlers a major stat, and his playoff success, opposite-field power, and ability to turn on high-90s fastballs inside should’ve made him a case study. That should work in his favor.
The real question is: does he have an adjustment in him?
It would take more than 7 prospects to get both Skenes and Cruz
The Braves are 10 games behind the Mets further back of the Phils. They are not contenders for the division at this point. Even their manager said 5 out of 7 wasn't good enough, they needed all 7.
I still "trust in Stearns" (copywright), and think the rotation and pen will be the area he focuses on. Would love a splash, but so long as Senga and Manaea come back and perform at expected levels, I also feel comfortable in the playoffs with a 4 man rotation of Senga, Manaea, Peterson, Montas/Holmes with Holmes more likely to be deployed out of the pen as a set up option before Diaz. I would also like Stearns to bring some of his Brewer strategy over to the Mets and bring up Mclean and Tong for the playoff pen like he did with Burnes, Woodruff and Peralta before they became fixtures in the rotation. Oh yeah and Sproat too - forgot about him hmm.
On the offensive side, I think McNeil's play in CF makes it less likely they will add there, and unless Mauricio and Baty flop there just isn't a lot of playing time to go around if you bring in someone else, particularly once Winker comes back.
Nice convo. It’s still baffling that the Mets have not tried Acuna and Mauricio in the OF given the log jam at the positions they play. Same holds for a few other minor leaguers who are blocked at the MLB level but continue at their normal positions. Perhaps that’s a better way to entice other teams to take some of those prospects in a trade. Not worried about out Alonso because his numbers will be okay especially after his amazing start. Also seems logical that McLean needs to come up for a spot start and neither he nor Tong leave in any trade. Agree that a good #1 starter would be a great pickup given that Canning is gone for the season. Also believe the Orioles will take lower level prospects for rental Mullins and the Mets have plenty of those to offer. In the meantime a little timely hitting will cure what ails this team.
Well now, 0-2 against the lowly Pirates. Scored 3 gave up 18. Awful. I would not focus on CF or third base. We need a bat, period, even a first baseman. No way on Robert, Arenado or any other over the hill or lousy player. We also need a couple of relievers and really need a number 1 or 2 starter. I think Stearns will still play the long game, no rentals. We need to trade based not just for this year, but for next year too. Lets face it, Baty, Mauricio, Vientos and Alvarez have stunk. At least last year, Vientos had a great year, so by him playing poorly it is minus one right there.
I cant see Stearns not making moves, but he wont overpay. You overpay when a rare young player becomes available. Oneil Cruz would be a great target. With their lousy pitching staff, please do not trade Tong or McLean.
And we were in this game today, until Mr H Walk Brazoban came in to give the game away, and another pitcher of the day Poche made it worse. Why couldnt they keep Warren fir a few extra days, he pitched well in his only appearance.
If we are really honest with ourselves, this patchwork pitching staff is not going take us to the playoffs. It has been painful not to have Manaea all year and Senga getting hurt, again. Now Canning out for the year and Blackburn has been horrid.
It is half time, with the season being half over. What can we realisically do? And Skenes is a pipe dream. There is no way Pittsburgh is trading a generational talent. But who are some other targets from selling teams who need an overhaul? I know it sounds like an insane idea, but maybe we should sell. McNeil, Holmes, Diaz, Alonso. Or maybe Holmes, Vientos, Baty, Mauricio.
I watched the Braves beat the Phillies. Atlanta develops Strider. Atlanta develops Schwellenbach, who throws 6 pitches for strikes.
All I know, is that right now, it is really hard to watch this team implode.
RIP Dave Parker.
Speaking of offering seven prospects this July : Not that it was clear as day in 2021 that PCA was going to be a decade plus fixture in CF but I like to see Clifford continue to get his average up and reduce strikeouts. I have no idea if he can play a very adequate first base but with Alonso likely gone, bucks to go to a SP I do I hope Stearns is projecting the youngster for first. Of course, he has not had an ABAT in AAA. Speaking of the pen, maybe they keep the roster intact this year in Binghamton and let those pitchers go into the playoffs in AA and dominate. Let them have those fresh in their mind if they are to pitch in Flushing in next year's playoff race. Lots of very intriguing prospects coming thru St. Lucie and Brooklyn. Will McClean get a call up soon. Did they have him come out of the pen twice in Syracuse?
McLean did indeed make two relief appearances for Syracuse but they were "piggyback" type outings, where Frankie Montas got the start during his rehab stint.
Edit: McLean pitched 4 innings in one and 5.1 in the other.
Saw some optics on Drew Gilbert. A HR trot, his uniform number being #1 as the Mets were seemingly blown out of a game, adding to his very ordinary — ignored if it was not Gilbert stats this year — and it is in my view down to two of the prospects that Cohen threw in $xx,xxx,xxx in salary on those trades who might contribute in MLB. At best fantasy Clifford clearly will not start in Flushing at first but when and can they ever get Alonso to take a day off start looking at someone else playing first next year?
I'd like to see Vientos get a few starts at 1B but I'm not holding my breath...
Possibly—offseason work might be sufficient —but Lukas’s throw in the 2015 World Series is still etched in my mind.
I'm definitely not going in as a buyer this July. What this team desperately needs is a young, disruptive, high-energy player who can give you 150+ games, steal bases, drop drag bunts, and be that classic, annoying #2 hitter. In theory, that could be Jett Williams as a late call-up in 2026—ideally a near-plus center fielder. Just a theory, though. I haven’t actually seen him play.
Still, this lineup feels too laid back. Too many hitters have exploitable holes in the strike zone, or they just aren’t dominant enough to force opposing pitchers to work around them. These are the kinds of problems the front office is paid to solve.
Is a less cocky Vientos a better Vientos? Is it about bat speed? Impatience? Did he take the offseason off? Were the 2024 tapes studied hard by other teams?
Home runs off high 90s hurlers a major stat, and his playoff success, opposite-field power, and ability to turn on high-90s fastballs inside should’ve made him a case study. That should work in his favor.
The real question is: does he have an adjustment in him?