Where do Baty, Vientos, Díaz and the offense rank on the Worry-O-Meter?
The Mets end an impressive homestand on a bum note. Plus, Francisco Alvarez comes through his first rehab assignment...
What’s up with the Mets? ⚾
The Mets were unable to sweep their second consecutive series, losing 5-0 to the Marlins at Citi Field on Wednesday afternoon (box | highlights)
RHP Tylor Megill struggled with his command after allowing two runs on six hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in four innings of work
2B Brett Baty committed a costly error in the fifth inning, allowing two runs to score
RHP Max Kranick, RHP Ryne Stanek and RHP Huascar Brazobán combined for five innings of scoreless relief with five strikeouts
RHP Edwin Díaz allowed three earned runs on just two hits with two walks, a home run and no strikeouts
The Mets were shutout for the first time this season, managing just two hits all game
RF Juan Soto went 0-for-4 with one strikeout, failing to reach base in a game for the first time this season
Despite the loss, the Mets still went an impressive 5-1 on the homestand, and are now 8-4 on the year
Injury Updates 🏥
Luis Torrens (forearm contusion) was out of the lineup again on Wednesday, although an MRI on his arm came back negative. He remains day-to-day
Francisco Alvarez (fractured left hand) came through a rehab assignment with Single-A Port St. Lucie unscathed on Wednesday - he went 1-for-3, 1 K, 108 mph single, played 5.0 innings behind the plate
Who’s Hot? 🔥
New York starters own a 2.10 ERA through the first 12 games of the year - the best mark in baseball. The bullpen owns a 1.70 ERA - the second-best mark in MLB
Francisco Lindor has now hit in seven straight games and is hitting .381/.423/.619/.1.042 over a seven-day span
Pete Alonso picked up a hit and a walk on Wednesday, and is now hitting .333/.451/.667/.1.118 on the year with three homers, five doubles, eight walks and 15 RBIs
Who’s Cold? 🥶
Brett Baty went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts on Wednesday, and is now 3-for-27 (.111) with 11 strikeouts this season
Mark Vientos is hitting .119/.245/.167/.412 on the year with no home runs, one RBI and nine strikeouts
Play of the Game ⭐️
With the game tied, and the offense struggling to get anything going, the Mets needed to play a clean game defensively against the Marlins.
However, in the fifth inning, that plan went up in smoke. Brett Baty, who has been a net-negative offensively, continued his nightmarish start to the season with an awful play out in the field.
With a runner on first and nobody out, Baty fielded a routine grounder to his left and proceeded to sail the ball past Francisco Lindor and into the outfield. The lack of execution and overall poor play led to two runs being scored, effectively sealing the Mets’ fate given their struggles offensively.
You can’t make routine errors like that, and especially not in close games.
Down on the Farm 🌾
DH Ryan Clifford (No. 4 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI
SS Boston Baro (No. 14 prospect, High-A): 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR
2B / PH Colin Houck (No. 30 prospect, Low-A): 1-for-1, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 2B
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG GM 1 | GM 2 | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓️
The Mets are off today ahead of a six-game road trip, which begins against the A’s in West Sacramento on Friday
Introducing the 2025 Mets Worry-O-Meter… ✍️
We’re still only two weeks into the 2025 Major League Baseball season - 12 games to be precise - meaning it would be foolish to overreact to anything we’re seeing right now.
However, it would also be a little naive to totally ignore some worrying early-season trends.
But what is real and what isn’t?
With a small but solid enough sample size to go by, I’m rolling out the Mets Worry-O-Meter for the first time in 2025. Let’s look at some slow starts and figure out how concerned we should be in April…
Brett Baty - 9/10 on the Worry-O-Meter
Although I’m contradicting myself here, I think it is okay to want to press the panic button on Brett Baty’s awful start to the year. Yes, it is still early, but we’ve been here before with the second baseman. Therefore, I don’t think this is an overreaction. The rub on Baty has always been that he’s struggled to put it together on the biggest stage, and that is proving to be the case once again. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts on Wednesday, while also committing a costly error that led to two runs being scored in a loss.
In 27 at-bats, Baty is hitting just .111/.111/.148/.259 with one extra-base hit, no RBIs, and 11 strikeouts. Yes, it is a small sample size, but Baty’s overall history in the big leagues works against him here. With Jeff McNeil nearing a return, it is getting late early for Baty, who arguably needed a fast start more than anybody else on the team. This has been a nightmare start, and it could end up proving really costly for Baty in the long run.
Mark Vientos - 4/10 on the Worry-O-Meter
The third baseman is just 5-for-42 on the season and is struggling to get anything going offensively. He’s also made a couple of costly errors at the hot corner. However, I’m not all that worried about Mark Vientos. He’s making hard contact, he’s made some adjustments and his at-bats have steadily improved. He also drew five walks on the homestand, suggesting that the turnaround is coming. Don’t be surprised if Vientos hits his first long ball of the year and starts to break out on the forthcoming road trip.
He deserves the benefit of the doubt after what he did in 2024. But it is worth revisiting these concerns if a slow start translates into a couple of really rough months for Vientos.
Edwin Díaz - 6/10 on the Worry-O-Meter
As was the case with Baty, some of my current concerns with Edwin Díaz can be traced back to previous years. The closer started to show signs of decline in 2024, and it is clear that his prime years are behind him. Therefore, it is perfectly normal to be alarmed at what we witnessed from Díaz on Wednesday afternoon. He allowed three runs and two walks in the ninth inning of the game, throwing 30 pitches in the process before being removed from the game.
More importantly, Díaz’s velocity on his fastball was down, routinely falling between the 92-96 mph range. Velocity concerns were a storyline with Díaz throughout spring training too. However, on the flip-side of that, the temperature was in the mid-40s on Wednesday and we are seeing relievers throughout baseball struggle with velocity and command in the cold weather. It is also important to note that Díaz wasn’t entering a save situation on Wednesday with his team already losing. Rather, the closer was put into the game in order to get some work having not pitched since Sunday.
Overall, I wouldn’t go into full-blown panic mode over Díaz just yet. Yes, he’s an up-and-down thrill ride at the best of times. And, yes, he has shown signs of regression before this season. But, with that said, let’s see how he looks in warm weather in June and July before we reach top marks on the Worry-O-Meter.
The Offense - 3/10 on the Worry-O-Meter
This explosive lineup has yet to really get going in 2025, despite flashing tantalizing signs of its potential here and there. The Mets were shut out for the first time this season on Wednesday, with the lineup managing just two hits all game. It was just one of those days.
Looking at the big picture, I’m not that concerned at all. Francisco Lindor is starting to look like vintage Francisco Lindor. Juan Soto, although he went 0-for-4 on Wednesday, has been getting on base at a high clip. Pete Alonso has been red-hot to start the year. Brandon Nimmo and Mark Vientos will both break out soon - I’m confident on that. Second base is what it is at this moment in time. I think the ceiling was always low as it pertains to getting production from center field. And, finally, Francisco Alvarez should be back sooner rather than later, adding another big bat to that lineup.
All in all, this lineup generated a lot of excitement throughout spring training for a reason, and I don’t think a slow, underwhelming start should alter anyone’s school of thought. This offense is going to be explosive, it is going to be dynamic and it is going to cause a lot of teams a lot of problems. It is only a matter of time until things start to click for this lineup.
Around the League 🚩
The Blue Jays made official the 14-year extension for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The Cubs placed left-handed starter Justin Steele on the IL with left elbow tendonitis
The Padres, despite missing a host of trio of All-Stars, became the first team in MLB to reach 10 wins this season after beating the A’s 2-1
Jackson Chourio drove in a career-high-tying five RBIs as the Brewers piled on 17 runs against the Rockies
Trea Turner hit his first home run of the year - a game-winning shot in the ninth - to help the Phillies beat the Braves in Atlanta
Mike Yastrzemski hit a walk-off home run into McCovey Cove in the 10th inning as the Giants beat the Reds, 8-6 to improve to 9-3 on the year
Randy Arozarena hit an eighth inning grand slam before drawing a bases-loaded walk to walk it off in the ninth as the Mariners edged out the Astros
I really wanted Baty to succeed this time but I’m thinking this experiment may be coming to an end. He’s always 0-2 and nobody can hit in that count. Nimmo makes me a little nervous too. Is he a .220 hitter now?
To be fair to Megill, you should have put unearned in the post below. And notes, that he did a great job getting out of trouble without his best stuff.
RHP Tylor Megill struggled with his command after allowing two UNEARNED runs on six hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in four innings of work