What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets lost to Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Dodgers 4-3; they have now lost five of their last seven games and sit 19 games under .500 (box)
RHP Nolan McLean wasn’t his sharpest, striking out seven while allowing four runs (two earned) over six innings on seven hits (including a homer to Kyle Tucker) and two walks
The third inning got ugly quickly, as the Tucker homer was quickly followed by a Brett Baty throwing error, a messed up PFP play from McLean, and a passed ball by Francisco Álvarez that led to two additional runs crossing the plate
The Met offense scattered a handful of hits and worked several walks off Yamamoto, but ultimately failed to score more than one run over his six innings
Tyrone Taylor brought the game within a run thanks to a late two-run pinch-hit double to score Carson Benge and Luis Robert Jr., but it wasn’t enough to prevent another Mets loss
Daniel Duarte and Huascar Brazobán provided scoreless outings in relief, as this bullpen is wont to do
Carlos Beltrán and Jeff Kent will be inducted into the Hall of Fame today; the ceremony starts at 1:30 pm ET and will be streamed on MLB Network
Injury Updates 🏥
LF Juan Soto (left calf strain) was placed on the 10-day IL and is expected to miss at least 4-6 weeks
Roster Moves 📰
1B Eric Wagaman recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
OF Juan Soto placed on the 10-day IL
Play of the Game 🤷♂️
Tyrone Taylor has been excellent lately.
In his last 15 games, Taylor is slashing .345/.424/.697 with four homers, seven runs scored, six RBI, and four walks to six K’s. He continued his stretch of productivity on Saturday by smoking this two-out, two-run double down the left field line.
His hit was really the only good thing to happen for the Mets on Saturday.
The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
Andrew took the helm of the latest midweek Just Mets pod to recap the Brewers series, take a look ahead at the Dodgers series, and generally assess the current state of affairs just days out from the trade deadline.
SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Down on the Farm 🌾
3B Ronny Mauricio (Triple-A): 2-for-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 K
1B Ryan Clifford (No. 7 prospect, Triple-A): 3-for-5, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI, K, SB
LHP Jonathan Santucci (No. 2 prospect, Double-A): 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K
DH Randy Guzman (Single-A): 3-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 6 RBI, K
3B Antonio Jimenez (Single-A): 2-for-3, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB, SB
BOX SCORES
Single-A SLU | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (43-62) vs. Dodgers (67-38)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Freddy Peralta (5-9, 5.01 ERA) vs. RHP Emmett Sheehan (4-7, 5.13 ERA)
When: 1:40 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Is it almost Tyrone Taylor’s time to shine? ✍️
With Juan Soto destined for an IL stint that’s going to stretch well beyond the trade deadline and Luis Robert Jr. all but certainly bound for a new team, there’s one player who’s been quietly putting together quite the competitive backup resume this season.
His name is Tyrone Anthony Taylor.
Though not famous for his offensive prowess, Taylor’s bat has been relentless since he returned from injury a little over a month ago. He hit .345 over 15 games in July, producing more than half his season’s total homer output. What he’s been doing recently isn’t entirely sustainable, but the Mets will have a space in the lineup to benefit from whatever persists of this present version of Taylor until Soto can return.
His baseline numbers look largely the same as they always have, but Taylor’s seen some improvements in the deeper parts of his data from 2025 to 2026 that are eye-catching. He’s cut his strikeout rate despite swinging the bat the fastest he ever has, and he’s barreling the ball up the most he ever has; unsurprisingly, extra-base output is following. His .232 BABIP is by far the lowest of his career, and his medium-contact rate (55%) is a bit too high for comfort given his low line-drive rate and high ground ball/fly ball rates — and yet, he’s posting his best power metrics in several seasons.
These changes have also led to a specific cost, one common for people trying to give their slug a lift: Taylor is swinging a lot more frequently. This could also be the result of the new hitting department and what’s seemed to be a swing-heavy teamwide mentality. Regardless of the root cause of the swing elevation, though it may be leading to desired results fairly often (especially recently), it hasn’t been a perfect formula. Taylor is swinging out of the zone more than he typically does, and making less contact overall, both in and out of the zone. Again, some of that is to be expected if you’re in pursuit of additional power, but it’s a bit strange to see such a commitment to attacking chase-zone stuff when it appears to be directly impacting his ability to hit middle-middle stuff. More sustained playing time should allow some more of the potentially bad habits to take firmer shape so they can be identified and addressed, but doing so also opens up more avenues for the holes in his game to be exploited.
It’s also certainly of note that Taylor, historically a glove-first player, is posting the worst defensive numbers of his career. This season, Taylor’s outfield efforts have resulted in a +1 DRS, -2 OAA, and -2 FRV, far below his preestablished standard. However, that should probably only be so much cause for concern. Injury, age, and a smaller sample size are likely all playing significant factors in statistical decline, and while that’s not ideal with increased playing time on the horizon…it’s also a finite window of playing time, as Taylor will be a free agent upon this season’s conclusion, so he could very well be a goner in a week anyway if the Mets decide to trade him.
It will be interesting, of course, to see if that actually happens with Soto on the shelf. It seemed like a sure bet before yesterday, but in the end, even with the Mets as sellers before the trade deadline, they need bodies to play positions the rest of the way. With the return on Taylor not expected to be really significant anyway, and an increasing possibility the Mets might deal Luis Robert Jr., maybe they’ll choose to hold onto Taylor down the stretch?
We shall see.
And still, even though he’s seen some down performance overall, his best results in 2026 have come in left field, very recently vacated thanks to a certain superstar’s calf. For his career, Taylor grades out equally in both corners; he’s provided roughly identical defensive value in left field as Carson Benge this season. If Taylor can maintain even 70% of his current offensive value over the next month-plus, the Mets’ outfield could potentially navigate Soto’s time on the injured list without missing too many beats.
It should go without saying that Soto is an irreplaceable presence, especially in this Mets lineup; his absence will undoubtedly be felt. But Taylor doesn’t need to be Soto; he just needs to be a not-too-squeaky wheel that helps this broken-down jalopy of a team inch closer to the end of September.
Around the League 🚩
The Red Sox traded lefty Connelly Early to the Nationals for INF Curtis Mead (MLB.com)
The Athletics signed Dallas Keuchel to a minor league deal (MLB.com)
RHP Dylan Cease threw a one-hit, 12-strikeout complete-game shutout, silencing a scorching-hot Boston squad
Shota Imanaga delivered six scoreless innings backed by a four-hit Pete Crow-Armstrong performance as the Cubs blanked the Pirates, 11-0
Salvador Perez became the Royals’ all-time home run leader with a 400-foot blast off Tigers reliever Kyle Finnegan
Tough to be a writer covering this team now, I would think. Gotta be a worst nightmare. As a fan, what’s to watch? No superstar in the making rookies, no Gooden debuts and a team that genuinely stinks. It’s summer with plenty of other things to do.
The Mets, when the opposition is held to 5 or fewer runs, have been programmed by David Stearns to score 1 less. Of course, the Mets' new run prevention system forces errors and unearned runs to complicate David's system, but the team has learned to overcome. The plans are in full stride.