The Mets can't stop losing, López talks his way outta town

Guess what, the Mets lost again on Wednesday. Plus, how the Baseball Gods may be giving us a sign for the summer ahead...

Rich MacLeod

May 30, 2024

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

The Mets were swept by the Dodgers on Wednesday, losing by a 10-3 score (box)
1B Pete Alonso exited the game in the first inning after being drilled in the right hand by a pitch – x-rays were negative and the club will await the results of a CT scan
Entering a tie game, RHP Adam Ottavino was tattooed with four runs in the 8th inning – one day after blowing a save on Tuesday
Following the an ejection, RHP Jorge López went on a postgame rant expressing no regret for his actions while calling the Mets the worst team in MLB and himself the worst teammate
It was reported less than an hour after his comments that the Mets would be designating López for assignment
LHP David Peterson made his 2024 season debut and looked solid, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits and three strikeouts over five innings
C Tomás Nido clubbed his third home run of the season, a two-run shot, to get the team started on offense on Wednesday
DH J.D. Martínez went 1-for-4 with an RBI double in the defeat
New York is now 10-25 with a -58 run differential since April 21st, the worst record in the major leagues over that time
The Mets bullpen has allowed 68 runs in the 7th inning or later over their last 35 games

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Injury Updates 🏥

RHP Edwin Díaz was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement
1B Pete Alonso is expecting the results of his CT scans at some point later today – x-rays were negative after he was hit in the hand by a pitch

Roster Moves 🗞️

RHP Edwin Díaz placed on 10-day injured list
LHP Josh Walker recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
LHP David Peterson activated from 60-day injured list
RHP Dedniel Núñez optioned to Triple-A Syracuse
RHP Jorge López designated for assignment

Down on the Farm 🌾

2B Luisangel Acuña (No. 5 prospect, Triple-A): 1-for-3, BB, SB (19), 2 runs scored
RHP Blade Tidwell (No. 10 prospect, Triple-A): 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
DH Luke Ritter (Triple-A): 2-for-4, 2 RBI
RHP/DH Nolan McLean (No. 19 prospect, Double-A): 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (loss)

BOX SCORES

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

Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (22-33) vs. Dbacks (25-30)

Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY

Starters: RHP Christian Scott (0-2, 3.97 ERA) vs. RHP Zac Gallen (5-4, 3.12 ERA)

When: 7:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY, MLB Network

The baseball gods want you to take your summer back ✍️

If you were looking for a sign from The Baseball Gods, they may have given it to you.

Wednesday was the latest in a series of unfortunate events for the New York Mets as they placed struggling closer Edwin Díaz on the injured list and lost Pete Alonso to a hit-by-pitch in the first inning. X-rays were negative but as of Thursday morning, the Mets are still awaiting word on the results of Alonso’s CT scans.

We’ll wait for an official prognosis from the team, and we don’t love to speculate, but it may not be a positive one. It was just one year ago that the club lost Alonso for a period of time due to a bone bruise he suffered on that same hand after being hit by a pitch.

For Alonso, a severe injury would only accentuate what has been an incredibly unfortunate contract year for the slugging first baseman. Prior to going down on Wednesday afternoon, Alonso was hitting .231/.305/.453 with 12 home runs, 26 RBI, 29 runs scored, a .758 OPS and a 122 OPS+. And while the overall production numbers are still a bit above average, they’re certainly nowhere near the marks that Alonso is used to in his career nor are they what him (or his agent) wanted to see entering free agency.

Beyond Alonso, though, Wednesday afternoon really does underscore what kind of year this has been for the New York Mets. They may have lost both Alonso and Díaz, two core pieces to this roster, to injuries while other key pieces such as Kodai Senga and Francisco Álvarez have been missing from action for some time. The team has also already lost Brooks Raley to the season after the news that he needed Tommy John surgery.

“Things just keep going from bad to worse, and even worse,” SNY play-by-play man Gary Cohen said as the club melted down once again in the 8th inning on Wednesday.

At some point you begin to wonder if the powers that be are trying to tell us something and give us all our Summer back in an unsavory attempt to spare us from any additional time wasted.

Even if you’re someone who finds joy in following the minor leagues and watching those games, that bad luck has seemed to spread it’s way through the farm system, as well.

Before this season even began, the Mets lost Ronny Mauricio to a season-ending injury. Since the season has started those hits have kept coming as the club’s No. 2 ranked prospect Drew Gilbert hasn’t appeared in a game since April 6th due to a hamstring injury. And if that wasn’t enough, the No. 1 ranked prospect in the organization, Jett Williams, may need surgery on his wrist if his body does not respond well to a recent cortisone shot.

And though I’m not trying to say that there’s no reason to watch the Mets minor league affiliates this summer – pitching prospects like Brandon Sproat and Blake Tidwell have shown a lot and Luisangel Acuña is finally starting to heat up – it does seem like an extra punch to the stomach to potentially lose your top-two prospects to injuries after what’s been going on with the big league club.

The team’s best players and prospects are either injured or under-performing, they’re having closed-door meetings, and you’ve got guys throwing their gloves into the stands all before the end of May.

We’ll wait and see what the status is for Alonso and Díaz moving forward but with the injuries this club has sustained and the hole they’ve dug themselves early on, this could simply be a case of the baseball deities telling us that it’s not gonna be our year.

Around the League 🚩

Pirates RHP Paul Skenes dominated once again, striking out nine Tigers in the club’s 10-2 victory in Detroit
Tensions were high after an up-and-in pitch to Bryce Harper cleared the benches as the Phillies beat the Giants, 6-1
Rangers SS Corey Seager crushed a home run in a 2023 World Series rematch victory against the Dbacks