Juan Soto really got sent out of Washington on a rail, got out of San Diego before they downturned, went to one World Series with the Yankees and decided that his best way of getting another championship ring would be...signing with the Mets.
...who missed the playoffs last year and are now last in the NL East and divebombing further. That suite's gotta be nice though, right?
Here is the sad truth about this Mets team right now: Lindor, Robert, Alvarez and Polanco are hurt, as are Holmes and Senga. Bichette and Semien have been disappointments on many levels, Vientos is struggling, and we're already into 'operation bring up more rookies'. A.J. Ewing, Nick Morabito, Carson Benge and Jonah Tong are getting a ton of playing time. The Mets tried this strategy last year, only it was around August. That we're already trying 'just bring up the rookies' IN MAY...that's not a good sign.
All of this to say that the only thing on this team that's anywhere near as-advertised is Juan Soto. He's hitting .294 with 10 homers and 21 RBIs, he's missed some time due to little stuff but is still very much the beating heart of this lineup. I can already tell you that this is not what Soto wanted. He wanted to be part of a like-minded unit that could build each other up and work together to be the best. You know, like the 2019 Nationals. Trouble is, the 2019 Nationals weren't bought, they were built over time. Contracts did help, yes, like Scherzer and Strasburg, but the key figures were homegrown. Rendon, Soto, Turner, Zim, Robles, etc. This team, it's almost all contracts, and they're almost all struggling. The homegrown elements are trying to take the team back, but they're either not well-established yet or they're hurt. Francisco Alvarez has been in position to get going for YEARS, and he keeps getting hurt the moment it would be most appropriate. Luis Robert finally has an opportunity to do well for a competitor, and he immediately gets hurt.
And so the 2026 Mets right now are leading with Soto, Bichette...Luis Torrens, M.J. Melendez, Brett Baty and A.J. Ewing. Not what was advertised.
Even the rotation feels a little like a cheap compromise. Nolan McLean's doing the best he can, but he's not Jacob deGrom; even with 75 Ks and a 1.092 WHIP, he's got a 4.40 ERA and 30 earned runs in 62 innings. Freddy Peralta's got a 3.52 ERA, much higher than anticipated, and is more human than ever. Peterson's back to how he was, with a 5 ERA and some bullpen-relegated stretches. Clay Holmes WAS doing a bang-up job, but then he got hurt and no one knows when he'll be back. It's just a weak effort from people who were in position to really deliver something.
And yes, it is only May, and great teams have come back from worse. But the Mets have often built something in June and lost it two months later. If they already look lost now, how likely is it for them to find themselves by September? Yes, 2024 happened, but there was arguably more setup to that run than what would be a spontaneous flip of the switch for this year. It's still technically possible, but they need to collectively decide to control the narrative and end this disaster. Because Juan Soto's gonna be a Met for the next decade or so, and if this is how things are starting out...he may want to try a different market.
Coming Tomorrow- The Guardians' wheel of contact player development has landed on this guy, and now he's become a fun breakout in a season chock full of them in Cleveland.
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