It's time for drastic changes with the Mets
The Mets were swept away by the Rockies this weekend, scoring just four runs in three games as their historically poor start continues
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets were swept in their doubleheader by the Rockies on Sunday, losing game 1 3-1 (box) and getting shutout 3-0 in game 2 (box)
RHP Nolan McLean started for the Mets in Game 1 and was solid over five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) with two walks and seven strikeouts, but he took his second loss of the season despite owning a 2.55 ERA
RHP Kodai Senga started for the Mets in game 2 and was unable to pitch himself out of the third inning while allowing three runs and three walks
The Mets bullpen did put forth a strong effort in the doubleheader, allowing just one run over 10.1 IP in the two games
The offense went a combined 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position in the doubleheader, and they notched just two extra-base hits among the ten total hits they had in the two games
The club scored four runs in their three-game series against the Rockies, and have scored 38 runs in their last 16 games - they were swept by Colorado for the first time since 2018
Following Sunday’s sweep, the Mets have now scored 92 runs this season – the least among any team in all of baseball this season
The Mets are now 9-19 which is tied with the 1983, 1962, and 1964 Mets for the second-worst start in franchise history — only the 1981 Mets who started 8-20 had a worse start
New York and OF Austin Slater are in agreement on a new contract (Athletic)
Roster Moves 📰
OF Tommy Pham designated for assignment
The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
In the latest edition of the Just Mets Podcast, Rich and Andrew discussed who they think could be the next manager of the Mets if they fire Carlos Mendoza, roster moves they can make to shake things up, and more after being swept by Colorado this weekend.
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Down on the Farm 🌾
RHP Jonah Tong (no. 2 prospect, AAA): 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 6 K
LHP Jonathan Santucci (no. 9 prospect, AA): 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 8 K
INF AJ Ewing (no. 3 prospect, AA): 2-for-5, 3 R
SS Mitch Voit (no. 7 prospect, High-A): 2-for-6, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
OF Randy Guzmán (Low-A): 3-for-4, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R
BOX SCORES
Single-A SLU | High-A BRK G1 G2 | Double-A BNG G1 G2 | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓
The Mets are off on Monday. They open a three-game series against the Nationals on Tuesday night at Citi Field.
This is a meritocracy, not a popularity contest ✍️
Where do I begin now?
Let’s start with this: The Mets have scored two runs or fewer in 14 of their first 27 games. And on Sunday, the Mets scored one run in their doubleheader against the Rockies.
This wasn’t tough luck. This wasn’t the Mets hitting the ball hard all over the park and it just finding gloves. This was a doubleheader full of nothing but empty at-bats end-to-end, poor pitch selection, poor approaches, poor ABS challenges, poor swings on hittable strikes, too many takes on hittable strikes, and a general lifelessness from one inning after the next.
That is pretty representative of these 2026 New York Mets, who were a no-show against the Rockies this weekend, and pretty much all year.
That’s not an exaggeration, there’s no hyperbole in that statement, and that is not a sensationalized take on the first month of this season for the Mets. They are inexplicably 9-19 on the year, it’s not even consistently warm out yet and this team is already 10.5 games out of first place.
After writing that last sentence, I literally had a blank stare out the window and said to myself, “how can that be right?”
Well, it is, and I just double, triple and quadruple checked it.
I actually don’t think we are at the line of demarcation for the Mets. I feel like we are way past that point. This isn’t a situation where we are going to wait for Memorial Day to learn the identity of this Mets team, and where this team is headed into the summer.
That identity has been determined, and in between the doubleheader, when Carlos Mendoza generally questioned the Mets effort in their game 1 loss to Colorado, that identity was solidified.
The Mets just aren’t a bad team. They might not just be a really bad team.
This is a team that simply has no pulse, no energy, and no path forward.
This is a team that cannot change, cannot adjust, cannot adapt.
This is a team that doesn’t even show a willingness to change, adjust, or adapt. They just do the same thing, day after day, take the same kind of at-bats day after day, come up empty day after day, and lose day after day.
But, it is time for change. Big change. Drastic change. Right here, right now. Even if the moves they have to make are unpopular, controversial, or even regrettable.
That the Mets had no response to Mendoza essentially calling his entire team out about their effort in game 1 is as telling as it is concerning. At least the Mets had the bases loaded twice in the first game - it seemed like the Mets couldn’t even get anyone on base in game 2.
On top of that, the Mets spent their ABS challenges while trailing 3-0 by the sixth inning in game 2, the last of which was inexplicably spent by Juan Soto on a first pitch strike which he wasn’t even close to right on. That’s part of their poor approach and part of where their head space is at this point.
Now, whether the Mets had that challenge in the bank or not at the end of the game might not have made a difference. It probably wouldn’t have. But, it’s more about what Soto’s move to use that challenge says and means about the state of the Mets, which is a condition littered with lapses and indifferent play on both sides of the ball.
So, what now?
I have no idea, to be honest.
I’ve seen a lot of bad teams. I recall speaking to a Yankee fan earlier this week saying I’ve seen worse. I remember 1992, 1993, 1994. Those were the worst seasons I have experienced with this franchise, and that includes the unbearable 2002, 2003, 2004 seasons, the pain and suffering from 2007-2009, the bland rebuild teams from 2011-2013, and the stink bombs from 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2023.
I think most people who have followed or written about this team who are my age or similar would agree with that.
But I am now starting to feel like this could be worse than all of that. Certainly, this start being in line with the 1962 Mets hardens that perception for me.
And, it’s never, ever, ever good for any team in Major League Baseball to be mentioned alongside the 1962 Mets, especially a modern Mets team which has among the highest payrolls in professional sports.
Anyway, back to what the Mets might be able to do to shake things up.
They started by designating the hitless Tommy Pham for assignment, and replacing him with Austin Slater on the roster. That’s a peripheral-for-peripheral roster move in the end - Slater was designated by the Marlins earlier this week. But the Mets are at least trying to address an offensive deficiency against left-handed pitching by adding Slater. So, I get that one.
The next move to me probably should be with Kodai Senga, who is just not a Major League pitcher right now and is providing no value to the Mets at this point, and hasn’t for almost a year now. Yes, the Mets would be on the hook with Senga for this year and next, but he isn’t pitchable anymore and these outings which put the Mets behind by multiple runs early aren’t going to get the offense going.
The Mets also have to make a decision on both Brett Baty and Mark Vientos, because they’re both generally lost at the plate, to the point Baty was so clueless on Sunday that he was called out on strikes three times in game 1. Yes, he had been better lately, but it was a short burst of success that has been sandwiched by way too many non-competitive at-bats. It’s as simple as that.
The same can be said for Vientos who, to be fair, has been pretty good at first base defensively in a small sample, but his bat looks a whole lot like it did in 2025 which was not playable - he was only in the majors after May or June because he is out of options.
Now, some people might still be on the Baty train, and some people might still believe Vientos’ power is locked in there somewhere, but in the end, they are not productive at this level right now, and the Mets are either last or in the bottom third of every major offensive category in the majors, so again, the Mets have to change, have to adapt, and have to take some risks in an effort to make this team competitive.
Again, they’re 9-19, just got swept by a team that lost 119 games last year, and look worse in most every aspect of the game against every team they play.
This is a meritocracy, not a popularity contest, and not a situation to keep guys around because they’re nice guys and they work hard.
I am not saying there are competent replacements for either of these guys, or even Senga for that matter. Or, even if Steve Cohen decides to fire Carlos Mendoza, which seems to be the popular pivot for this front office under the current circumstances.
Let’s just say the Mets do fire Mendoza (it’s very possible, even if he doesn’t deserve that). Do we really think Carlos Beltrán or whoever they choose to replace Mendoza would matter? Replacing managers, coaches, holding team meetings, going in front of the mic to try and light fires under teams doesn’t work the way the public thinks it does. These are highly paid, routine-based professional athletes who work hard at their craft even if the results aren’t showing it.
(and if you’re Alex Cora, why wouldn’t you wait for a market for your services to develop in November, rather than take the helm of a team that’s considerably worse than the one you were fired from?)
Hard work and effort are almost never the core of the problem. It’s easy for people on the outside to believe that when things like this occur, but I can assure you that is not the case.
You can easily and fairly argue they’re not preparing properly, whether it’s physically, mentally, from an information intake perspective, or a combination of all of that. You can also easily and fairly argue this is a synergy problem with the roster. This is a roster that clearly lacks the elements it takes to be competitive with respect to the rest of the league they’re in. This is a roster full of short-sightedness, a lot of IFs and hopes that simply aren’t working out to this point, and that’s not an indictment on a manager that inherited the decisions of his boss and his boss’s boss.
Then again, how stubborn is this front office right now? Are they going to stick with this because they still firmly believe this will eventually even itself out?
As I always say, you’re as smart as the record says you are. And right now, well, you know.
Around the League 🚩
The Braves moved to 20-9 with their 6-2 win over the Phillies, who are now 9-19 on the year - Chris Sale fired six shutout innings to earn his fifth win of the season
Yandy Díaz homered as the upstart Rays defeated the Twins 4-2 in St. Petersburg
The Cubs dropped their series against the Dodgers, losing 6-0 on Sunday as they were unable to solve Justin Wrobleski who gave LA six shutout innings
Aaron Judge hit his tenth home run of the season, but the Yankees lost to the Astros 7-4 in Houston
The players have changed , the coaches have changed. If I am changing the Manager, I certainly am not looking for the approval of an injured and underperforming shortstop. I'd be inclined to put Carlos Beltran in the hot seat, and see if his professionalism establishes new norms and standards.
It's miserable alright. But it strikes me as contradictory to say that they're pulse-less and then later on write that effort is not a problem. The saddest thing for me is that it seems that both Vientos and Baty are not who we hoped they were. They've both gotten a pretty good run and both have fallen on their face. Only bright spots are Benge, who is improving, and McLean, who is already an ace. I thought this was going to be Alvarez's year but doesn't look like. Stearns can't be sleeping well these days. He must feel embarrassed and should be. How can they not fire Mendoza at this point? You can't fire the players.