Is the Mets defensive configuration survivable?

The team played poorly in the final game against the Diamondbacks, and many players are struggling to adjust to their new positions early on

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets gave up seven runs again to the Diamondbacks to lose 7-1 and drop the series against Arizona (box)

• RHP Nolan McLean was fantastic with the only runs scoring after he departed the game. His final line was 6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, and 8 K

• RHP Luke Weaver suffered his worst appearance as a Met so far. He allowed two inherited runners to score plus two more

• RHP Luis García pitched only a third of an inning and gave up three runs

• CF Luis Robert Jr. accounted for their only run with a home run in the first inning

• The team went 0-for-5 with RISP and left seven men on base

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Injury Updates 🏥

• Jorge Polanco (Achilles tendinitis) was out of the lineup again on Thursday - Carlos Mendoza would not rule out a stint on the injured list for him

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Play of the Game ⭐️

When Nolan McLean departed the game with two on and one out, Luke Weaver entered, who had been good so far this season. Unfortunately, he gave up a well-struck double to right field off the bat of Gabriel Moreno to tie the game at one a piece. The Mets would go on to surrender three more runs in that frame, and then three more in the eighth to seal an ugly and flat loss to Arizona.

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The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️

On the latest edition of the Midweek Show, Andrew reacts to and recaps the Mets dropping their series to the Dbacks which included back-to-back blowout losses.

SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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Who’s Hot? 🥵

• Over his last seven games, 3B Bo Bichette is hitting .333/.375/.400 with ten hits, four runs scored, and three RBIs

• Over his last five games, CF Luis Robert Jr. is slashing .333/.484/.458 with 8 hits, five runs scored, one home run, two stolen bases, and seven walks

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Who’s Cold? 🥶

• Over his last seven games, SS Francisco Lindor is hitting just .167/.242/.200 with five hits, four runs scored, three walks, seven strikeouts, and a stolen base

• Over his last seven games, C Francisco Alvarez is hitting .250/.308/.500 with six hits, three runs scored, two home runs, 2 RBI, 2 BB, and six strikeouts

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• RHP Christian Scott (Triple-A): 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

• RF Cristian Pache (Triple-A): 2-for-4, 3 R, HR, RBI, SB

• RHP A.J. Minter (Single-A): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

• SS Elian Peña (No. 9 prospect, Single-A): 2-for-4, 2 SB, K

BOX SCORES

Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR

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Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (7-6) vs. Athletics (5-7)

Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY

Starters: RHP Clay Holmes (2-0, 1.42 ERA) vs. RHP J.T. Ginn (0-0, 5.14 ERA)

When: 7:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: WPIX

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The learning curve defensively for many Mets is proving to be a challenge ✍️

There’s only so many times in a season a baseball team can go to the well. And already, the Mets may have gone to their well too early and often in 2026.

The team has been playing with fire all season, with players playing out of position seemingly on a daily basis, and they finally got burned in the series finale against the Diamondbacks.

First, Brett Baty could not get to a ball in left that led to the game-tying run, and then Mark Vientos could not get a runner out at home plate later that same inning. For Baty, his issue was clearly inexperience as he meandered after a catchable fly ball in right field and took a poor approach to it. With Vientos’ play— who is a third baseman by trade as we all know, and not a good one at that— it was a routine ground ball to first, but his throw home was to the wrong side of the plate which allowed another run to score.

Quickly, a 1-0 lead for the Mets turned to a 4-0 deficit, and with the offense already struggling, that became too much to overcome.

Perhaps Vientos was a victim of the broadcaster’s curse because earlier in the night, analyst Jerry Blevins posted on X.com: “Vientos looks like he could be a very good first baseman. Didn’t know I would ever say that as I hold 1st base as a very underappreciated defensive position. But he has all the tools to be excellent.”

To his credit, Vientos has looked okay over at first base aside from dropping a ball in game two of the series and the wild throw home; he hasn’t looked out of place over there. It isn’t a high-leverage position, and for the Mets specifically, the bar is low defensively and the Mets really only need Vientos, Jorge Polanco, or their first baseman of the day to merely be competent out there. Those mistakes happen, even to the most experienced first basemen.

Baty is a bit harder to judge since he has played all over the diamond this season. But add to Bo Bichette’s struggles at third, and it could be a recipe for disaster for the Mets.

Ironically, they just came from playing the Giants, who played so poorly defensively that Keith Hernandez said that he had to turn off the TV. The Mets have not played down to that level quite yet, and hopefully, they never will, but games like this are definitely concerning and again, asking players to play out of position so many times will only work so many times.

So far this season, Baty has one defensive run saved (DRS) in right field, but has a -1 fielding run value (FRV). He has one DRS and 0 FRV at first base. Vientos has two DRS and 0 FRV at first base. So, statistically speaking, they’ve been generally fine but the eye test unquestionably reveals the inexperience at times for them at these spots.

During the offseason, David Stearns preached run prevention, and while there’s no question the Mets are better defensively up the middle with Luis Robert Jr. in center field and Marcus Semien at second base, he signed a bunch of players - albeit very accomplished players - to play out of position. Jorge Polanco has seen limited time at first since he has been battling an Achilles injury, but he served mostly as the Mariners DH last season and is a middle infielder by trade. Again, up the middle, the team should be solid defensively, but the jury is still out on the rest of the diamond. It’s still early, and it has been cold at Citi Field, which is tough to play in. But these are major leaguers, and major leaguers making a lot of money, and the Mets are expected to win while these guys adjust to life at new positions when the stakes are pretty high on a daily basis.

So far, that’s proven to be a bit of a trial.

Hopefully, Stearns’s gamble pays off, and nights like this are just an aberration as the season goes on. Time will tell.

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Around the League 🚩

• Tigers OF Parker Meadows was hospitalized for overnight observation after a scary incident where he collided with teammate Riley Greene (ESPN)

• Athletics LHP Jeffrey Springs and the bullpen threw a combined one-hitter against the Yankees (MLB.com)

• Eight new City Connect jerseys were unveiled for the 2026 season (MLB.com)

• The average major league salary rose to $5.34 million which is a new record (ESPN)

• The Marlins improved to 8-5 on the season with an 8-1 blowout of the Reds