I agree with you that a lot of people will not want to hear Luis Robert as the new CF, but the reality of it is that the options are as follows:
Robert CF, Ewing 2B
Ewing CF and either Semien (when he returns), Baty or Mauricio at 2B
Likely no one here has been as high on Baty as me, and I'm ready to admit that I was wrong about him. He may find it somewhere else, but I've given up hope that he finds it as a Met.
I'd rather see Jed Lowrie return than put Semien out there again.
I have not given up on Mauricio, and maybe it makes sense to give him some extended time to see if he might ever fulfill some of the hopes for him. It's kind of a toss up to me whether to go with Maurico or Robert. Robert may establish some small trade value if he gets hot as he's essentially on an expiring contract (club option) so maybe someone takes a flier for a lottery ticket.
Let Mauricio get consistent playing time at Syracuse. Ewing might be an elite CFer, keep him there. Is Alvarez a trade chip? What might he bring back? Are we tired of waiting for him and willing to bite the bullet and trade him? 2B? A trade for Peralta or Manaea or Holmes could bring back a 2B. Lots of bullpen guys could bring back a 2B.
Happy B Bo Day! Enjoy these while the last...there are less than 10 to go.
For my less than 2 cents, when Roberts comes back, I'd use him as primary RH DH, and playing CF vs. most LHP where Ewing can take a blow and come in off the bench later game. I'd play Mauricio daily at 2B, and give him a lot of rope. He hasn't had that yet in the bigs, they'll likely be some warts and SMHs, but he may be the most important guy to figure out for the balance of 2026. If the Mets see Mauricio more as a 3B going forward, I'd play him there daily and move Bichette to 2B. It's highly unlikely he returns in 2027, but it is also possible he prefers 2B to 3B as his offense plays best long term at 2B. At this point, Baty and Vientos have proven to be platoon/bench players at best. I agree Marcus is more of a bench/DH player now.
What a great surprise Ewing has been. .268 BA and an OPS of .753 not to mention four dingers from a guy who is not really a HR hitter. Iād rather let him DH on a day they want to put Robert in the field, if that ever really happens. Canāt see taking Ewingās bat out. Second base seems shortsighted and not really run prevention. Where is the outfield coach to work with Ewing to iron out his positioning and approach? As far as Ronnie Mauricio, what exactly are we waiting for? He hits at AAA and simply does not hit at the major league level. Iām not sure that he has a strong defensive position so what we have is another prospect not quite ready for prime time. Love the Jed Lowrie mention. Played nine games on a two year $20 million contract. His agent was a genius. Not a great showing today on Canada Day but it would have seemed rude to win on their national holiday.
The offseason was a weird one. I could see ditching Alonso, Nimmo and McNeil. The latter move was fine (with McNeil's OPS+ at 65!), but Semien did not work out. I thought that Semien would hit a bit better in NY than in TX and certainly field better. Not sure that Ewing would be OK at 2B, but I'd give it a try with Robert in CF for now. Pete is back to his pre-2025 stats basically with four more years to go on his big contract. Nimmo is having a good year, but I don't really miss him in the OF.
Most fans thought the biggest loss was Diaz leaving. Turned out his replacement and setup guys are very good and Diaz is injured.
Losing Alonso would have been OK if Stearns had listened to Brian with Murakami (OPS+ 159, but then injured) and me advocating for Okamoto (OPS+ 112). I did think Polanco could handle the position, but injuries happened. Still a goofy move. I thought Baty was on the upswing and could handle 3B. So why was Bichette signed for so much $$$? Baty probably will never be a great hitter though, I'll say now.
To me (and everyone probably, the starting pitching was and is the problem. Stearns gets a bit fat plus for Holmes here, and I was OK with the trade for Peralta, but more was needed. I wanted Ranger Suarez to be signed as a free agent, but five years for a 30 year old pitcher!? I think his contract was reasonable, but Stearns thinks more than 3 years is a mistake.
Hopefully, Stearns has learned some lessons. We'll see.....
Stearns was in a tough spot with the rotation. It's easy to say he should have taken the money that was given to Bichette and given it to another SP. But this is what he was facing:
David Peterson was very good for 2/3 of the season in 2025
Kodai Senga was awesome for 1/2 of the season in 2025
Sean Manaea was very good in 2024
Clay Holmes was very good in 2025
Nolan McLean was terrific in 2025
Freddy Peralta was great in 2025
Tobias Myers was good in 2024
Jonah Tong was one of the best prospects around
Christian Scott was going to be available at some point in 2026 and was once their top prospect
He needed to get a SP and he did that with Peralta and got a depth starter in Myers, too.
So, Peterson is gone and Peralta most likely won't be in the 2027 team, either. The remainder of 2026 should be to find out about Holmes, Manaea, Senga and Thornton and how much - if at all - they should be counted on for next year.
McLean, Holmes (extend him!), Manaea and Scott look pretty solid to me. Just like last year, there are too many ifs. Last winter, I liked free agent starters Ranger Suarez and Michael King. This winter, how about signing Skubal and King? Jake Bauers for 1B?
The starting pitching has been dreadful, probably the biggest issue on a team with multiple big issues. Stearns failed, because he's in charge, but it's tough to kill him since as you pointed out, this was the trickiest to navigate. Virtually everything turned out to be worse case scenario on the top part. Peterson, Senga, Manaea, Tong, Myers, and Peralta all pretty much disasters. Holmes very unlucky. McLean a step back, but it was unreasonable to expect 2025 performance levels for a young guy only focused on pitching for a couple of years. I'd have made that Peralta dead but it didn't work, thankfully he wasn't given a $200 million extension. Maybe I give Stearns a C-.
Scott is a bit of a pleasant surprise. McLean is a keeper. Manaea is settling down and at his rate of pay, it makes more sense to keep him than deal him. They really need to retain Holmes, find/invest in a top flight starter not named Peralta, and say some prayers that one or two prospects emerge. That staff still isn't dominant, but that's where they are at and starting pitching is the toughest/most costly asset to acquire. So, to compete with the big boys, the offense and defense need to be above average to elite. In those areas, Stearns gets a D-/F.
I guess I go back to - What was Stearns supposed to do with the SP this past offseason?
Was he supposed to DFA/trade for pennies Manaea, Peterson and Senga? That would have required eating well over $50 million. On top of that, he would have had to have spent that much money replacing them, too.
He got a guy on a relative cheap contract to front the rotation. Some thought he gave up too much to get Peralta. No one thought Peralta would be sitting with a 4.81 ERA here on 7/2.
Stearns pretty much did the only thing he could have done with Manaea/Peterson/Senga. He rolled the dice trading two top prospects for Peralta. And it didn't work out - not because the prospects went wild, but because Peralta's turned in his worst season since 2019.
It's pretty easy to say in hindsight that signing Manaea to the 3/$75 deal was a mistake. But you know what? Not one person here thought so at the time.
"Dedniel NĆŗƱez, who is nearly 12 months removed from Tommy John surgery, has started a rehab assignment in Double A. While the usual rehab clock is 30 days, pitchers coming back from Tommy John surgery get up to 60 days, so NĆŗƱez probably wonāt be activated from the injured list until August if all goes well."
I agree with you that a lot of people will not want to hear Luis Robert as the new CF, but the reality of it is that the options are as follows:
Robert CF, Ewing 2B
Ewing CF and either Semien (when he returns), Baty or Mauricio at 2B
Likely no one here has been as high on Baty as me, and I'm ready to admit that I was wrong about him. He may find it somewhere else, but I've given up hope that he finds it as a Met.
I'd rather see Jed Lowrie return than put Semien out there again.
I have not given up on Mauricio, and maybe it makes sense to give him some extended time to see if he might ever fulfill some of the hopes for him. It's kind of a toss up to me whether to go with Maurico or Robert. Robert may establish some small trade value if he gets hot as he's essentially on an expiring contract (club option) so maybe someone takes a flier for a lottery ticket.
Here's how I would rank the team's 2B options:
Ewing - With the understanding it may not work
big gap
Mauricio - He's got to receive consistent playing time
giant gap
Baty - A last-ditch effort
Grand Canyon-sized gap
Semien - Time to embrace the vet off the bench to PH versus LHP 125 PA role
Completely agree (but Iād still put Lowrie ahead of Semien) š
Let Mauricio get consistent playing time at Syracuse. Ewing might be an elite CFer, keep him there. Is Alvarez a trade chip? What might he bring back? Are we tired of waiting for him and willing to bite the bullet and trade him? 2B? A trade for Peralta or Manaea or Holmes could bring back a 2B. Lots of bullpen guys could bring back a 2B.
Cohen is quoted as saying he is not getting rid of Stearns. Looks like we are stuck with him.
Happy Bobby Bonilla day.
Happy B Bo Day! Enjoy these while the last...there are less than 10 to go.
For my less than 2 cents, when Roberts comes back, I'd use him as primary RH DH, and playing CF vs. most LHP where Ewing can take a blow and come in off the bench later game. I'd play Mauricio daily at 2B, and give him a lot of rope. He hasn't had that yet in the bigs, they'll likely be some warts and SMHs, but he may be the most important guy to figure out for the balance of 2026. If the Mets see Mauricio more as a 3B going forward, I'd play him there daily and move Bichette to 2B. It's highly unlikely he returns in 2027, but it is also possible he prefers 2B to 3B as his offense plays best long term at 2B. At this point, Baty and Vientos have proven to be platoon/bench players at best. I agree Marcus is more of a bench/DH player now.
What a great surprise Ewing has been. .268 BA and an OPS of .753 not to mention four dingers from a guy who is not really a HR hitter. Iād rather let him DH on a day they want to put Robert in the field, if that ever really happens. Canāt see taking Ewingās bat out. Second base seems shortsighted and not really run prevention. Where is the outfield coach to work with Ewing to iron out his positioning and approach? As far as Ronnie Mauricio, what exactly are we waiting for? He hits at AAA and simply does not hit at the major league level. Iām not sure that he has a strong defensive position so what we have is another prospect not quite ready for prime time. Love the Jed Lowrie mention. Played nine games on a two year $20 million contract. His agent was a genius. Not a great showing today on Canada Day but it would have seemed rude to win on their national holiday.
The offseason was a weird one. I could see ditching Alonso, Nimmo and McNeil. The latter move was fine (with McNeil's OPS+ at 65!), but Semien did not work out. I thought that Semien would hit a bit better in NY than in TX and certainly field better. Not sure that Ewing would be OK at 2B, but I'd give it a try with Robert in CF for now. Pete is back to his pre-2025 stats basically with four more years to go on his big contract. Nimmo is having a good year, but I don't really miss him in the OF.
Most fans thought the biggest loss was Diaz leaving. Turned out his replacement and setup guys are very good and Diaz is injured.
Losing Alonso would have been OK if Stearns had listened to Brian with Murakami (OPS+ 159, but then injured) and me advocating for Okamoto (OPS+ 112). I did think Polanco could handle the position, but injuries happened. Still a goofy move. I thought Baty was on the upswing and could handle 3B. So why was Bichette signed for so much $$$? Baty probably will never be a great hitter though, I'll say now.
To me (and everyone probably, the starting pitching was and is the problem. Stearns gets a bit fat plus for Holmes here, and I was OK with the trade for Peralta, but more was needed. I wanted Ranger Suarez to be signed as a free agent, but five years for a 30 year old pitcher!? I think his contract was reasonable, but Stearns thinks more than 3 years is a mistake.
Hopefully, Stearns has learned some lessons. We'll see.....
Stearns was in a tough spot with the rotation. It's easy to say he should have taken the money that was given to Bichette and given it to another SP. But this is what he was facing:
David Peterson was very good for 2/3 of the season in 2025
Kodai Senga was awesome for 1/2 of the season in 2025
Sean Manaea was very good in 2024
Clay Holmes was very good in 2025
Nolan McLean was terrific in 2025
Freddy Peralta was great in 2025
Tobias Myers was good in 2024
Jonah Tong was one of the best prospects around
Christian Scott was going to be available at some point in 2026 and was once their top prospect
He needed to get a SP and he did that with Peralta and got a depth starter in Myers, too.
So, Peterson is gone and Peralta most likely won't be in the 2027 team, either. The remainder of 2026 should be to find out about Holmes, Manaea, Senga and Thornton and how much - if at all - they should be counted on for next year.
McLean, Holmes (extend him!), Manaea and Scott look pretty solid to me. Just like last year, there are too many ifs. Last winter, I liked free agent starters Ranger Suarez and Michael King. This winter, how about signing Skubal and King? Jake Bauers for 1B?
The starting pitching has been dreadful, probably the biggest issue on a team with multiple big issues. Stearns failed, because he's in charge, but it's tough to kill him since as you pointed out, this was the trickiest to navigate. Virtually everything turned out to be worse case scenario on the top part. Peterson, Senga, Manaea, Tong, Myers, and Peralta all pretty much disasters. Holmes very unlucky. McLean a step back, but it was unreasonable to expect 2025 performance levels for a young guy only focused on pitching for a couple of years. I'd have made that Peralta dead but it didn't work, thankfully he wasn't given a $200 million extension. Maybe I give Stearns a C-.
Scott is a bit of a pleasant surprise. McLean is a keeper. Manaea is settling down and at his rate of pay, it makes more sense to keep him than deal him. They really need to retain Holmes, find/invest in a top flight starter not named Peralta, and say some prayers that one or two prospects emerge. That staff still isn't dominant, but that's where they are at and starting pitching is the toughest/most costly asset to acquire. So, to compete with the big boys, the offense and defense need to be above average to elite. In those areas, Stearns gets a D-/F.
I guess I go back to - What was Stearns supposed to do with the SP this past offseason?
Was he supposed to DFA/trade for pennies Manaea, Peterson and Senga? That would have required eating well over $50 million. On top of that, he would have had to have spent that much money replacing them, too.
He got a guy on a relative cheap contract to front the rotation. Some thought he gave up too much to get Peralta. No one thought Peralta would be sitting with a 4.81 ERA here on 7/2.
Stearns pretty much did the only thing he could have done with Manaea/Peterson/Senga. He rolled the dice trading two top prospects for Peralta. And it didn't work out - not because the prospects went wild, but because Peralta's turned in his worst season since 2019.
It's pretty easy to say in hindsight that signing Manaea to the 3/$75 deal was a mistake. But you know what? Not one person here thought so at the time.
https://mets360.substack.com/p/mets-retain-sean-manaea-with-a-three/comments
Stearns deserves all of the grief he gets for Polanco, Robert and Semien. But it's not fair to blame him for the pitching moves, or lack thereof.
From Tim Britton:
"Dedniel NĆŗƱez, who is nearly 12 months removed from Tommy John surgery, has started a rehab assignment in Double A. While the usual rehab clock is 30 days, pitchers coming back from Tommy John surgery get up to 60 days, so NĆŗƱez probably wonāt be activated from the injured list until August if all goes well."