A ho-hum loss for the Mets who need to wake up and smell the coffee
The Mets lose a boring affair against the Yankees, 3-1. Plus, how the franchise needs to get real and sell at the trade deadline.
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets lost a sleepy game to the Yankees, 3-1, in the Bronx on Wednesday (box)
LHP José Quintana made his second start of the season and was solid, allowing three runs (two earned) with five strikeouts over six innings in the loss
RF Jeff McNeil robbed Yankees 2B Gleyber Torres of a home run in the 5th inning
CF Brandon Nimmo drove in the club’s only run of the game with a sacrifice fly in the 3rd
New York only managed four hits and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position on the night
The Mets split their season series with the Yankees and have not lost a season Subway Series since 2017
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (47-54) vs Nationals (43-59)
Starting pitchers: RHP Kodai Senga (7-5, 3.27 ERA) vs. RHP Josiah Gray (7-8, 3.45 ERA)
Where: Citi Field – Flushing, NY
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY, MLB Network
The Mets are kidding themselves if they don’t think they’re sellers… ✍️
Recent reports have suggested that the Mets aren’t quite ready to give up on 2023 and admit that they’re sellers. And I’m here to say… it’s time to wake up.
I can understand why people within the organization may be hesitant to call it quits on this year. The team has not been in realistic contention for quite awhile now, despite playing in a sport where nearly half of the league makes the postseason and in a year where New York shattered the major league record for a team’s payroll. It’s clearly not easy for Steve Cohen, Billy Eppler and company to admit defeat when they invested so much into this roster.
But there is no postseason at the end of this rainbow.
It’s simply not happening for the Mets this year. They have never gotten a sustained run going throughout this season, and have shown zero signs of turning things around at any point. This is a team that is seven games under .500 after 101 games. They’re 5-5 over their last 10 games, 11-9 over their last 20 and 18-26 since June 1st.
They have been a consistently inconsistent club for an extended period of time now, rarely ever pitching and hitting well on a given night.
Honestly, there isn’t all that much to say about it at this point. I know who the Mets are this season, you all know who the Mets are and if we’re being honest, the Mets know exactly who they are, too. They just don’t want to admit it.
But with the trade deadline mere days away, there isn’t much time left for this organization to wake up and smell the coffee. There is no point in investing in this club any further for the 2023 season, and standing pat would be a waste of an opportunity to replenish the farm system with young assets.
While there may not be a laundry list of attractive assets on this roster, there are several players that the Mets should be able to capitalize on in this trade market. David Robertson and Tommy Pham should be absolute givens to be moved in the next week, and players such as Adam Ottavino, Brooks Raley and Mark Canha should all be explored as trade pieces, as well.
And though it is likely that the club will hold onto him for a 2024 season in which they’re expecting to retool and compete in, the Mets could likely get something pretty good in return for Justin Verlander if they did decide to make him available as he’s pitched to a 1.98 ERA over his last eight starts.
Time is ticking, trades are happening and the deadline is nearly upon us. It may not be the easiest thing, but the Mets need to make the smart choice and do the obvious thing. It’s time to sell.
Around the League 🚩
A pair of former Mets were traded for each other, as the Dodgers acquired SS Amed Rosario from the Guardians in exchange for RHP Noah Syndergaard
The Angels have reportedly taken RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani off of the trade market
The Red Sox scored five unanswered runs to complete their comeback and sweep over the Braves, winning 5-3
Mariners CF Julio Rodríguez went 3-for-5 with his 17th home run of the season as Seattle defeated the Twins, 8-7
The Rangers blew out the Astros, 13-3, to stay alone in first place in the AL West