Meet the Mess, orchestrated by David Stearns

Plus, the losing gets even worse in Chicago and another positive update on Juan Soto

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets have now dropped nine straight after losing 12-4 to the Cubs in the opening game of the series in Chicago on Friday (box)

• RHP Kodai Senga had another rough outing, allowing seven runs (six earned), including a pair of homers, on six hits and three walks while striking out three over 3.1 tough innings

• LHP Sean Manaea was not good out of the bullpen, giving up five earned runs on six hits and one walk while striking out two over four innings of work

• The offense showed some signs of life with 2B Marcus Semien hitting an RBI double and LF Tyrone Taylor adding a two-run single to make it a one-run game in the second inning

• C Francisco Alvarez went 2-for-3 with a run scored, a RBI, and a walk, while DH MJ Melendez continued to impress with two hits and a walk

• RF Carson Benge - hitting leadoff for the first time - went 1-for-4 but now has six hits in his last seven games and is showing signs of figuring it out

• SS Francisco Lindor went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored and is starting to come out of his early season funk

• All in all, the Mets finished with 14 total hits with nine different players finishing with one and five of them finishing with two, although they did go 4-for-11 with RISP

• The Mets’ nine-game losing streak is their longest since 2004, when they lost 11 straight

---

Injury Updates 🏥

• LF Juan Soto (right calf strain) took live at-bats at Citi Field on Friday for the second consecutive day, while he also took part in some “high intensity running” and outfield work as he continues to ramp back up

• 1B/DH Jorge Polanco is in a “better place” with his Achilles bursitis, but is now dealing with right wrist soreness with the Mets awaiting the results of an MRI

---

---

Play of the Game 🤬

For the second straight start, Kodai Senga just didn’t have it.

The righty struggled from the outset, and he gave up a three-run blast to Moisés Ballesteros in the first inning to hand the Cubs an early 4-0 lead.

Senga never recovered from that, and neither did his team, and he’s now allowed 13 earned runs over his last two starts combined.

It is hard to win baseball games when your starter gets beat up early, especially with the way this Mets offense is playing right now. But make no mistake about it, Senga’s first inning implosion doomed his team from the get-go.

---

David Stearns Speaks 🗣️

Corey Sipkin - NY Post

Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns met with the media prior to Friday’s game against the Cubs. Here’s a selection of highlights from what Stearns had to say:

• Stearns confirmed that Juan Soto is expected to return in time for the Mets’ next homestand.

• Carlos Mendoza’s job security has been a hot topic throughout this losing streak, but Stearns defended his manager, adding that he believes Mendoza is doing a “good job” and putting the players in the best position to succeed.

• Stearns pushed back on the notion that the Mets are playing with a lack of urgency, insisting that “there’s plenty of urgency, there’s plenty of want.”

• However, Stearns did acknowledge that having plenty of urgency can lead to an increase in chase rate, which is what we’re seeing with this offense right now.

• Stearns reiterated his belief in the players, stating his confidence that they will eventually turn things around.

• Stearns also spoke about there being an adjustment period for so many new players, especially in New York, while adding that he believes the team has jelled pretty well. Stearns went on to detail that a team’s identity can be forged through adversity and that the Mets have an opportunity to turn this current stretch into something good over the longer term.

• Finally, Stearns again pushed back on the idea that the Mets haven’t been good defensively, stressing that the team has improved in that area and that the defense hasn’t been a problem.

---

The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️

In this week’s edition of the Midweek Show, Andrew Claudio vents his frustrations over the Mets getting swept by the Dodgers.

SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

---

Down on the Farm 🌾

• RHP Jack Wenninger (No. 6 prospect, Triple-A): 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR

• SS Ronny Mauricio (Triple-A): 3-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 1 SB

• DH Ji Hwan Bae (Triple-A): 2-for-4, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR

• 3B Jacob Reimer (No. 5 prospect, Double-A): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 2B, 1 SB

• OF Eli Serrano III (No. 13 prospect, Double-A): 1-for-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR

• SS Mitch Voit (No. 7 prospect, High-A): 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR

• C Chase Meggers (Single-A): 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 2B

BOX SCORES

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

---

Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (7-13) at Cubs (10-9)

Where: Wrigley Field - Chicago, IL

Starters: RHP Freddy Peralta (1-1, 3.86 ERA) vs. RHP Jameson Taillon (0-1, 4.86 ERA)

When: 2:20 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

---

David Stearns deserves the blame for this Mets mess ✍️

Corey Sipkin - NY Post

I’m going to be honest right off the bat here.

It was my intention to try and spin a positive into today’s editorial and highlight MJ Melendez’s positive impact since being called up.

I was sick to death of writing about just how bad this team is right now - as I’m sure you are reading about it - and I desperately wanted a break from all the negativity and doom.

However, by about the third or fourth inning, I jumped ship and abandoned that particular idea. There was just no way I could try to write anything positive after watching yet another horror show.

Despite David Stearns’ best and somewhat laughable attempt to downplay the crisis currently engulfing Queens, the Mets took backward steps in Chicago on Friday. Forget about rock bottom, this group has somehow found a way to dig beneath it.

In other words, he tried to pull the, “nothing to see here!” bit. Nice try.

And I don’t care that we’re still in April. I think we are way beyond the point of being able to be officially panicked about what this team is and the direction it is heading in. Things are bleak, and I’m not seeing anything on the field that suggests a turnaround is imminent.

Therefore, it is time to start asking some really serious questions of Stearns.

While a baseball executive is always going to be positive and stick to clichés, I thought Stearns’ comments before the game on Friday were tone-deaf. I’d go as far as to say that he was treating the fanbase with contempt with how he was twisting himself into a pretzel to defend this team.

But, again, he was never going to smash a baseball bat against the dugout wall and call this team out. That just isn’t his style. Although dishing out empty platitudes is hardly the issue here.

The biggest problem, of course, is the mess of a team that Stearns is directly responsible for constructing.

Sure, the players are ultimately responsible for not hitting. Francisco Lindor is the only one to blame for committing the most basic of mental errors. And melting down on the mound is on David Peterson and Kodai Senga, nobody else. And Carlos Mendoza does deserve blame for lineup and in-game decisions, while he’s ultimately accountable if players are turning up for games unprepared or aren’t putting in enough effort.

AP

However, with all of that said, the bulk of the blame lies with Stearns, not with Mendoza or even the players. At the end of the day, Stearns is the one who put this team together and crafted a roster in his image.

Stearns is the one who wanted no part of the Pete Alonso business from day one, despite the fact that Alonso is one of the best power hitters in all of baseball.

Stearns is the one who then didn’t do enough to replace the power that walked out of the door with Alonso, or sign an actual first baseman to replace him.

Stearns is the one who made the decision to get rid of Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil, sacrificing defense and versatility in the process.

Stearns is the one who wasn’t willing to go that little bit extra to retain one of the best closers in baseball in Edwin Díaz.

Stearns is the one who preached about run prevention all offseason, only to then sign Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco to play alien positions, while relying on Mark Vientos and Brett Baty to fill in the gaps, at alien positions.

And Stearns is the one who clearly didn’t learn his lessons from the debacle that was the 2025 season, insisting on doing things his way only to build a roster that clearly has sizable holes.

That’s why I don’t want to hear the whole “it’s still early talk” anymore. Yes, this team could still turn it around like they did in 2024, although we’re seeing zero signs of that happening right now.

In any case, this franchise hasn’t earned our benefit of the doubt anyway.

They only made the playoffs in 2024 thanks to a miracle run that was driven by a lot of good vibes, only to miss the postseason the following year. And now, the 2026 Mets have got off to a disastrous start.

Even if they do right the ship and turn this around, should we have any faith that the front office will be able to put a sustained winning product on the field? Because, so far at least, Stearns has failed to do exactly that.

AP

He failed to address the starting pitching in 2025, took way too long to call up Nolan McLean, and, outside of acquiring Freddy Peralta, didn’t do enough to correct the biggest fatal flaw that sunk the team last year. And now the Mets are in a position where Peterson, Senga, and Sean Manaea are all regressing. Senga was awful again on Friday, getting beat up early and giving his team no chance of winning the game. Manaea also didn’t help out of the bullpen.

Despite insisting that the Mets don’t have a problem defensively, our eyeballs tell a different story to the one Stearns is trying to weave. Baty, the man chosen to play first base yesterday, misplayed two routine balls that were just embarrassing to watch. Vientos has hardly looked comfortable there, either.

There were some signs of life offensively on Friday, but hardly anything to get too excited about. Only three of the Mets’ 14 hits went for extra bases and they scored just one run after the second inning. Stearns is ultimately responsible for building that offense. Mendoza can only put together lineups with the pieces he’s been given by Stearns.

All in all, the Mets are an ugly, embarrassing, hot mess right now, and a lot of that boils down to the decisions made by Stearns and the front office. As such, he should be the one firmly under the microscope and the one getting the majority of the heat.

At this point, when you look at the bigger picture, Stearns has made more wrong moves than right ones as the brains of the operation. Look at it this way; since June 13 of last year, the Mets are on a 98-loss pace. We’re talking about a large sample size of pure ineptitude here.

Who knows, maybe the return of Juan Soto will help to spark a turnaround. But it is worth noting that only nine teams in Major League Baseball history have gone on to make the playoffs after losing nine consecutive games.

The omens certainly don’t look good, and if these struggles continue and the Mets fail to make the playoffs again, then Stearns should be the first guy on the hot seat.

He built this flawed team, after all. This is his mess.

---

Around the League 🚩

• The Angels announced that 2002 World Series champion Garret Anderson tragically passed away of a heart attack on Friday

• The Padres are on the verge of being sold to private equity billionaire José E. Feliciano and his wife for an MLB-record $3.9 billion, nearly $1.5 billion more than what Steve Cohen paid for the Mets (Wall Street Journal)

• 1B Munetaka Murakami hit his first career MLB grand slam as the White Sox crushed the A’s, 9-2

• Angels ace José Soriano lowered his ERA to 0.28 after striking out eight over 5 2/3 scoreless innings in an 8-0 win over the Padres

• 3B Ryan McMahon hit a go-ahead two-run homer late to propel the Yankees to a 4-2 win over the Rays

• 3B Austin Riley hit a pair of homers and finished with four RBIs as the Braves shutout the Phillies, 9-0