The Mets still have a lot to fight for in 2026

While the season is all but lost, this team needs to show it can learn from this year's mistakes. Plus, the Mets open up their series in Atlanta with a loss...

🇺🇸 Happy July 4th to all of our readers and subscribers! We hope you have a great holiday weekend 🇺🇸 🎆

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What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets opened up their four-game series with the Braves with a 5-3 loss in Atlanta on Friday night (box)

• RHP Christian Scott wasn’t great on the mound, allowing three earned runs on two hits — including a pair of home runs — with four walks and seven strikeouts over four innings

• LHP A.J. Minter gave up a solo home in the fifth inning as Atlanta stretched its lead, before RHP Kodai Senga provided 2.2 innings of relief, striking out four but also allowing a home run

• LF Juan Soto went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs, and a walk in the loss

• 3B Bo Bichette drove in the Mets’ only other run with an RBI single in the ninth

• Ultimately, the offense was disappointing yet again, going 2-for-5 with RISP and leaving 10 runners stranded, while seven hitters recorded just one hit or fewer, including CF A.J. Ewing who went 0-for-3 while hitting leadoff for the first time

• The Mets have now lost 11 of their last 13 games, and are a season-worst 16 games below .500

• Former Mets player and now special assistant J.D. Martinez has made it clear that he has no interest in becoming the franchise’s next manager (NY Post)

• OF Juan Soto and SS Francisco Lindor both insisted that their relationship is fine, downplaying any perceived issues from last year (The Athletic)

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Injury Updates 🏥

• INF Jorge Polanco (left Achilles bursitis) went 0-for-3 with a leadoff walk and a run scored in the fourth game of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse on Friday night

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Play of the Game 🙃

The Mets were killed by the long ball on Friday night.

While the Braves only recorded five hits, four of those hits were home runs. And they all did a lot of damage.

However, arguably the most costly homer came in the bottom of the third inning. Christian Scott was looking to do his part after Juan Soto tied the game with a home run of his own in the top of the inning. Instead, Scott gave up a solo blast to Ozzie Albies to break the tie.

Scott’s mistake wiped out all momentum the Mets had after Soto’s homer, and it set the stage for Atlanta to take over the game with Matt Olson going on to hit a pair of home runs to effectively seal the win for the Braves.

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The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️

ICYMI: Rich and Andrew went on the pod to cover another losing week of Mets baseball and the ‘departure’ of Carlos Mendoza, with a preview of the week ahead against the Blue Jays and Braves.

SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• LF MJ Melendez (Triple-A): 2-for-5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R

• RHP R.J. Gordon (No. 18 prospect, Double-A): 5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

• 2B Nick Lucky (Double-A): 3-for-4, 3 RBI, SB

• RF Yohairo Cuevas (High-A): 2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI, BB

• CF John Bay (High-A): 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBIs

• RHP Christian Rodriguez (Single-A): 3.2 IP, 7 H, ER, 0 BB, 7 K

BOX SCORES

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

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Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (36-52) at Braves (51-35)

Where: Truist Park — Atlanta, GA

Starters: LHP Sean Manaea (1-3, 4.71 ERA) vs. LHP Chris Sale (8-6, 2.10 ERA)

When: 8:08 PM EDT

Where to Watch: FOX

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What these Mets must show us the rest of the way in 2026 ✍️

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It says a lot about the sorry state of this season that every latest Mets loss — and there are a lot of them right now — just feels like more of the same.

There’s been little to no response to a change in the dugout, let alone a spark, with this team that is now 2-5 under interim manager Andy Green.

That includes a yet another loss to the Braves on Friday night. The Mets limited their rivals to just five hits on the night, but still lost the game with four of those five hits being home runs. Christian Scott made some big mistakes at critical times, and the offense struggled yet again to even get three runs on the board.

At this point, the Mets have hit the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean quicker than the Titanic. The season is all but over barring an all-time miracle, and we’re already consigned to a long summer of yet more awful baseball that doesn’t mean a whole lot.

However, while the next few months will probably be pointless in terms of the outcome this season, they will be very important for the future of this organization.

And that’s because in order to move on from the wreckage of the last couple of years, we need to see certain things from this team and this franchise going into the offseason in order to have any faith that 2027 and beyond will be any better.

First off, and I’m starting simple, we need to actually see some signs of a turnaround, even if it doesn’t mean anything. Under Green, the Mets have remained largely lifeless and we’re seeing the exact same fatally flawed baseball that we witnessed under Carlos Mendoza. It would be nice at some point to see this team show that they are willing to adapt and adjust on the fly and be able to learn and rebound from their mistakes.

It would be nice if we could see this offense actually put together a consistent run of productive results, rather than flash fireworks for a game or two and then go ice cold for prolonged stretches. More importantly, the front office needs to get to the bottom of why this offense has been so unreliable this year and act on it in time for the offseason. If it is a coaching thing, then the organization will need to use owner Steve Cohen’s money to bring in a hitting coach that can get the best out of the players they have at their disposal. If it is an execution issue on the part of the players, then the coaching staff should be working day and night the rest of this season to make sure that isn’t an issue going forward. And if it’s a player issue, well, the Mets better be ready to make some more moves this winter.

In regards to starting pitching, there isn’t a lot that can be done during the season to correct what is just a mishmash of a rotation. In reality, it will probably only get worse if certain starters get dealt at the trade deadline. However, what the organization can do is focus on the development of Nolan McLean and Scott, as well as the likes of Jonah Tong and Jack Wenninger, who have both trended downwards down in the minors. Ensuring those young arms are ready and able to contribute in a meaningful way in 2027 will be a massive key.

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The same can be applied to the young players in the lineup. Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing have already proved that they can be impact players at the highest level, and both players must now continue to be put in the best possible position to keep on developing. Furthermore, the organization must get to the bottom of why there has been so much regression in the farm system — something Steve Cohen himself expressed concern over during his recent podcast appearance — and correct whatever the problem is as soon as possible. There is no point in stockpiling prospect capital at the deadline if that talent isn’t going to get developed in the correct way in the minor leagues.

In the same way, the front office must decide on the futures of Francisco Álvarez, Mark Vientos, and Brett Baty. Talk about three really big letdowns. Álvarez is probably what he is at this moment in time, a streaky player who will run into some power success here and there, but who will also spend a fair amount of time on the IL. Álvarez clearly has talent and has given the team far more than the other two “Baby Mets,” so it is probably worth sticking with him and trying to lean into his strengths as much as possible. As for Vientos and Baty, I think we firmly know who they are as players by now and it would be wise to look to move on from both at the trade deadline. Sure, they probably won’t get much in return, but at least the team can move on and focus on not having as many ill-fitting pieces on the roster moving forward.

Behind the scenes, we can only hope that David Stearns is actively learning from his past mistakes and is prepared to move away from the blind spots that have resulted in a roster that just clearly isn’t good enough. Hopefully, he is now realizing that signing players to play positions they’ve never played before isn’t a good idea (shocker) and won’t actually lead to improved run prevention. Hopefully, he has discovered that signing reclamation projects to take on big roles will fail more times than not. And hopefully, Stearns has also discovered that having an identity as a team is actually pretty important… because this team sure doesn’t have one. Furthermore, Stearns now has a chance to work some magic at the trade deadline and at least win back some level of confidence that he’s the right man to turn this around. If he can get back some intriguing pieces that have high upside, then that’s a major start.

There also needs to be a continued focus on rebuilding the clubhouse culture and ensuring any past complicated dynamics aren’t allowed to pop up again. That obviously includes Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor truly burying any issues they may have had before and rising up as aligned leaders of this franchise. They need to set the tone on and off the field every single day as a united force. If they are at war with each other, that’s only going to create a negative divide within the rest of the clubhouse.

All in all, the rest of this season can be looked at as a fact-finding mission for the Mets. They need to learn from their mistakes, figure out the players who can lead them into the future and the ones who can’t, and putting in place building blocks that will hopefully lead to a resurgence in 2027.

And, for those of us who are still watching, it would just be nice to actually see some competitive baseball on a more regular basis during the second half of the season. We need to see some tangible signs from the new core of this team that prove not all hope is lost as it pertains to the long-term view.

So, while this is more than likely a lost season in terms of the playoffs, the Mets still have plenty of work to do and lots to prove the rest of the way to ensure that the mistakes from this year aren’t repeated again.

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Around the League 🚩

• Dodgers OF Teoscar Hernández hit a go-ahead grand slam to help propel LA to a come-from-behind 4-3 win over the Padres

• Red Sox LHP Aroldis Chapman made history on Friday, setting the all-time record for most strikeouts by a reliever with 1,364 during the Boston’s 5-2 win over the Angels

• Rockies OF Jake McCarthy became just the seventh player ever to hit a leadoff home run and a grand slam in the same game as Colorado beat the Giants, 15-3

• The red-hot Rays have now won nine straight after beating Houston 3-1, thanks in part to 3B Junior Caminero hitting yet another home run

• Yankees DH Ben Rice hit a two-run home run to help New York beat the Twins 5-2 and snap a seven-game skid

• Blue Jays RHP Dylan Cease was dominant on the mound on Friday, striking out nine over seven scoreless innings in a 2-0 shutout win over Seattle

• Cardinals 1B Alec Burleson had four RBIs as St. Louis destroyed the Cubs by a score of 17-1, with Chicago becoming just the second team in MLB history to win a game by 15+ runs but then lose its next game by 15+ runs (OPTA)