Mets drop finale to Red Sox to lose the series, marking the time for the Mets to sell
Carlos Carrasco struggled in his latest outing against Boston, the Mets didn't hit, and all signs point to an exit ramp for the Mets to be sellers ahead of the August 1 trade deadline
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets dropped the finale 6-1 in Boston with another lackluster performance on both sides of the ball (box)
Carlos Carrasco struggled yet again and did not make it out of the third inning. He gave up 10 hits and five runs in 2.1 innings while walking two and striking out just two batters
David Peterson struck out two in his one inning of work
Mark Canha had three outfield assists and, according to Sarah Langs, he was the first Met to pick up three outfield assists in a game since Endy Chavez in 2006
Brandon Nimmo went 2-for-4 at the top of the order while the rest of the team scattered four hits among them
The team went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base
After another lost series, the Mets are 7.5 games back in the Wild Card and 7 games below .500
The Mets are now 10-7 in July, 4-7 against the AL East, 4-5 since the All-Star Game, 8-39 when allowing five or more runs, 9-31 when scoring three or more runs, 5-11-2 in road series, and 12-18-3 in series overall
Today’s Game 🗓
The Mets will travel back to New York to take on the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday.
Sell, sell, sell… ✍️
If it wasn’t already obvious to the front office earlier in the month, there is now no doubt that the Mets should be sellers at the ever approaching August 1 trade deadline.
They’re awful, they’re unwatchable, they’re incompetent in so many ways. These are just the hard facts.
They don’t hit, and when they hit they don’t pitch, and when they pitch they don’t hit.
And when they hit and pitch, something else goes wrong.
This team is going to look very different post-deadline so how should the organization handle a team missing a few of its players in the final months of the 2023 season?
The starting rotation will likely remain the same. Trading Max Scherzer or Justin Verlander is going to be tough for Billy Eppler to pull off. That they have no trade clauses and are owed so much money in the years ahead, they’re simply not appealing trade pieces in this marketplace, especially since they’ve underperformed their salaries in 2023.
The question then becomes what will the 2024 rotation look like? They could use this time to see if David Peterson, Tylor Megill, or Joey Lucchesi can be a solution in the back of the rotation, but it’s likely they’re going to hit the free agent market again this winter since there’s really no viable internal option available to them.
Currently, Megill is still struggling mightily in Triple-A and Peterson has been serviceable in the bullpen so perhaps they can see if they have something there to fix the volatile relief corps. To make room for them in the rotation, perhaps they would consider releasing Carlos Carrasco in August, who appears to be at the end of the line short of a couple of good starts this season anyway.
The Mets are finding every excuse not to call up Ronny Mauricio but should a major sell-off happen, and spots open up, there is no reason to keep Mauricio in the minors. At that point, the team should give as many at-bats as possible to Mauricio, Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, and Francisco Álvarez in the final two months of the season and evaluate the good, bad and ugly in each.
There is no better time to see what they have in these prospects than in a lost season like this. Use this time to develop the Baby Mets and evaluate their development which gives the organization information on how to construct the 2024 team.
Edwin Díaz will undoubtedly be a key part of next year’s team and he has been working hard to get back on the field as soon as possible. There were dreams that the trumpets would herald his return in the playoffs but that’s just not going to happen, even if he’s deemed ready in the next couple of months. With how this season unfolded there is no reason for the electric closer to rush back. The organization should just have him focus on his recovery so he is fully healthy for next year.
The final months of the season have a good chance of being uglier than what came before them, but if the Mets use the time wisely, it could hopefully set them up for future success.
Around the League 🚩
Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame with a ceremony in Cooperstown, NY
The Orioles extended their lead in the division over the Rays after taking three of four from their rivals over the weekend
Shohei Ohtani hit his thirty-sixth home run of the year which leads the majors in dingers
Aaron Judge faced live pitching for the first time since getting injured on June 3
The Dodgers are pushing back Clayton Kershaw’s throwing program although they insist he has not suffered a setback as he works his way back from a shoulder injury
The clock is ticking, and it's about 10 PM. If they don't get to within 4 of a wild card by Sunday night, it would be hard to see post season and really start looking to next year. Would love to see Ronnie at 2b for the rest of the year.