Mets blown out by Phillies in worst all-round showing this year

Joey Lucchesi imploded in the fifth inning and mistakes doom New York. Plus, is it time to blow up the current core?

Andrew Steele

May 16, 2024

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

The Mets put up an absolute stinker in a 10-5 loss to the Phillies, committing two errors in a total no-show effort (box)
New York has now lost three straight to Philadelphia, and have dropped five of its last six games
LHP Joey Lucchesi gave the Mets four solid innings before imploding in the fifth, finishing his first start of the year with five earned runs on five hits, four walks and two strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings of work
RHP Grant Hartwig entered the game in the fifth but allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits with no walks and no strikeouts over 1 2/3 innings
RHP Adrian Houser made his first trip out of the bullpen but his struggles continued, giving up three runs, one earned, on three hits with one walk while striking out one over the final two innings of the game
The Mets struggled to get anything going offensively yet again, with three runs in the eighth nothing more a case of putting lipstick on a pig
DH J.D. Martinez did have a productive night, hitting a home run and finishing 2-for-5 with one run scored and one RBI
Batting fifth in his first game back in the majors, 3B Mark Vientos went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, one RBI and one run scored
In an all-too familiar pattern this year, the Mets went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position, leaving eight runners stranded in all
After being stellar for much of the year, the Mets now rank 23rd in the major leagues in ERA (4.42)
The Mets have reportedly agreed a $5 million deal with 16-year-old shortstop Elian Peña (Baseball America)

Roster Moves 🗞️

RHP José Buttó optioned to Triple-A Syracuse
RHP Yohan Ramírez and INF Joey Wendle designated for assignment
RHP Grant Hartwig, LHP Joey Lucchesi and INF Mark Vientos recalled from Triple-A Syracuse

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Injury Updates 🏥

LHP Brooks Raley has been diagnosed with a UCL strain in his throwing shoulder. He will be shut down for two weeks in hopes of avoiding surgery
RHP Drew Smith (right shoulder soreness) experienced a slight setback with a pinch in his shoulder and isn’t ready to come off the IL yet. He will continue throwing

Down on the Farm 🌾

RHP Mike Vasil (No. 11 prospect, Triple-A): 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
3B Yolmer Sánchez (Triple-A): 1-for-2, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR
RHP Brandon Sproat (No. 13 prospect, Double-A): 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
1B Nick Lorusso (High-A): 1-for-3, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR
RHP Kade Morris (Single-A): 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

BOX SCORES

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

Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (19-23) @ Phillies (31-13)

Where: Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia

Starters: LHP José Quintana (1-4, 5.44 ERA) vs. RHP Taijuan Walker (3-0, 4.82 ERA)

When: 6:40 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY, MLB Network

Is it finally time for the New York Mets to blow up the current core? ✍️

To say there was a passionate response to my editorial on Wednesday would be putting it lightly.

If you missed it, I wrote about why calling up Mark Vientos now was the logical thing given how ineffective this lineup has been for long stretches of the 2024 season.

However, there were plenty of Mets fans who felt calling up a young hitter yet to really prove himself in the big leagues was a case of just putting lipstick on a pig.

Instead, there appears to be many out there who want bigger and more drastic changes.

In-fact, a fan Tweeted owner Steve Cohen about tearing everything down and starting again in the midst of an ugly effort to the Phillies on Wednesday night. In a now deleted response, Cohen wrote: “All in the future, not much we can do until trade deadline.”

Not surprisingly, that reply got a lot of attention on social media.

And, as a result, I was handed my editorial subject on a golden platter.

So, it is now worth asking the question; is it nearing time for the Mets to blow up the current core and start from ground zero?

There does seem to be a section of fans who would love nothing better than for this roster to be torn right down to the studs. But, would that be the wisest move?

Of course, it is important to preface everything with the fact that we’re still in May and there is a hell of a lot of baseball still to be played. A lot can change. On the flip side, however, this team as is currently constituted has some clear and ugly flaws. They can’t hit consistently, they are not athletic or creative on the basepaths, they can’t stop the run, they give up a ton of walks, the starting rotation is average at best and the bullpen is probably going to collapse under exhaustion at some point.

Furthermore, this is not a good defensive team and the club’s best hitters are not performing to the back of their baseball cards.

We also have to factor in the entire 2023 season into the overall sample size, too.

All in all, I don’t think this team is going to be good enough over a full 162-game season to make the postseason.

But, what would a complete teardown at the trade deadline look like?

Well, for starters, Pete Alonso would obviously be the marquee piece available should ownership and the front office commit to a full-blown rebuild. A free agent this coming offseason, Alonso would bring back an absolute haul of prospects and young players who could perhaps make an impact now. Even though he’s not having a great season by his high standards, hitting just .225/.306/.450/.756 with nine homers and 22 RBIs, there would be teams lining up to acquire one of the best pure power hitters in the game.

Personally, I’d try to keep hold of Alonso at the deadline and make him a forever Met in the offseason. But, I can also see the argument for why letting a player who is nearly 30 walk, especially if his batting average doesn’t improve the rest of the way.

If Alonso were to sign elsewhere, then you’d think the Mets would be more inclined to make a serious run at Juan Soto in free agency.

Hell, I’d expect them to be serious players for Soto anyway.

If that proved to be the case, you’d head into Opening Day 2025 with an offensive core of Soto, Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Álvarez and Francisco Lindor. As Larry David would say, that is pretty, pretty, pretty good. After all, neither Nimmo or Lindor are going anywhere with those contracts. And, for all his critics, Lindor is the perfect leader for a young team and, despite his slow start, I’m pretty confident he will still end up with some pretty impressive stats come the end of the season. He’s still one of the best shortstops in the game. Period.

As for the rest of the lineup, it is probably more feasible to try and trade the likes of Jeff McNeil, Starling Marte and J.D. Martinez at the trade deadline. Most contenders would take Martinez’s bat. Marte appears to be in the back-nine of his career and, the more I see, the more I feel inclined to say the same about McNeil. It would make sense to offload both McNeil and Marte at the deadline, thus paving the way for some of the elite young talent on the farm to get some valuable playing time in the majors the rest of the way in 2024.

As an aside, I would try and re-sign Martinez to be the team’s primary DH in 2025 and see what happens from there.

If there are any buyers out there, you would also look to try and trade the likes of Harrison Bader and Omar Narváez too.

As for pitching, Kodai Senga is obviously the one and only untouchable from the starting rotation. Everyone else should be in play. Luis Severino, based on his current level of play, could bring a nice return from a contender in need of pitching. The likes of José Quintana, Sean Manaea and Adrian Houser should all be expendable too. And, aside from Edwin Díaz and Reed Garrett, there could be one or two pieces to be moved from the bullpen.

With all the above in mind, the Mets could go into 2025 with a new core of Soto, Lindor and Nimmo, based on the premise that Alonso is allowed to sign elsewhere in free agency and both McNeil and Marte were dealt at the deadline. That would open up roster spaces for the likes of Luisangel Acuña, Ronny Mauricio and maybe Drew Gilbert. You would move Christian Scott into the rotation full-time, and hope that one of Mike Vasil or Brandon Sproat could join him. Senga would be the ace, and you would hope a legit No. 2 starter could be available on the open market or via trade.

By not re-signing Alonso, and by trimming some unneeded fat off the roster, that should free up enough money for the Mets to sign another quality starter, a productive DH - if Martinez doesn’t return - and fill out the rest of the holes on the roster.

Of course, all of this is in theory but there is a path to legitimate contention in 2026 if the Mets did decide to move on from some of the current core. There is enough talent on the farm system now to help make some of those decisions easier, while signing Soto and another high-end starter in the offseason would really raise the ceiling of the team in 2025.

They would certainly be more fun to watch than the current mess we’ve been stuck with.

Whether ownership and the front office proceed to head down that path is another question entirely. But, if the Mets were to finish below .500 in 2024 and miss the postseason again, a complete teardown and a breakup with some of the core could be too attractive an option to turn down.

It is an option that should certainly be on the table as of right now, that’s for sure.

Around the League 🚩

Astros RHP Ronel Blanco has been suspended for 10 games after being caught with a foreign substance on his glove
OF Aaron Judge blasted a 467-ft home run and hit three doubles as the Yankees shutout the Twins, 4-0
The Orioles extended their regular-season sweepless streak to 105 straight series thanks to C Adley Rutschman, who hit a walk-off two-run home run to beat the Blue Jays, 2-1
Cubs RHP Javier Assad tossed a gem, throwing six scoreless innings with just one walk while striking out seven in a 7-1 win over the Braves
OF Jordan Beck went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and 5 RBIs as the Rockies shutout the Padres for their seventh straight win