Okay, so, to recap: only two of the Mets' 2026 additions actually left the team at the deadline. Freddy Peralta and Luke Weaver, all ironically traded to smaller market teams. Which means Bo Bichette, Luis Robert, Jorge Polanco, Devin Williams and Marcus Semien are still with the team. So the Mets, in retaining those pieces, hang onto a combined....-1.9 WAR. Which means everything that either Carson Benge or A.J. Ewing has given to this team on a come-up, those combined guys have taken away.
The Mets lineup that remains is very similar to the one that was here before, except now they're faced with the soggy decisions they made heading into the year. Semien isn't hitting, he's got a .208 average and keeps striking out. Bichette has been a disaster, only hitting .256 with 11 homers and [a team-leading] 55 RBIs, but completely without any substance, much like his father towards the end of his career. Polanco's batting .144 in 30 games, clearly injury-hampered and off his game. Robert has also been injury-stunted, and his .189 average through 37 games is pretty much par for the course from his Sox era, sad to say. The attempt to reinvigorate the lineup has pulled it down completely, and the guys who've kept the team alive are the tentpoles [Lindor and Soto] and the two new kids [Benge and Ewing]. Lindor's missed a lot of time, but he's not got 9 homers and 25 RBIs in 58 games, and is finally feeling like himself again. Soto is still hurt, but WAS pulling peak Soto numbers and saving the team. Beyond that, though? Any chance at lineup depth has rotted away. Francisco Alvarez is here, healthy and hitting, and at 24 his ceiling's still high, but will his success even be with the Mets anymore? Brett Baty had a chance for a permanent role in the infield but, despite playing in more games than most of the team, he's hitting .219 and still very much a day-to-day bit player. Ronny Mauricio has still refused to factor into the team's success, and Nick Morabito wasn't ready on a brief day-trip from Syracuse. I have even less of an idea of where this team is going than I did last year, and the idea was that adding all the stars would HELP.
I at least know the direction of the rotation. Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Zac Thornton and eventually Jonah Tong when he manages to stay in the bigs, they will be fine. Not 2015 rotation good, but they're all pretty impressive and they fill me with more hope than the lineup. McLean is a little shaky, but he's got his ERA down to 3.29, and he has 148 strikeouts and a 1.122 WHIP. Thronton's got a 2.88 ERA in 6 starts and looks to be a keeper. Scott is still cruising along with a 3.15 ERA. The Mets also did the unthinkable and brought up the imitable Jefry Yan, a 29-year-old career minor league closer who leaps into the air on a strikeout. The Guardians fans were polarized by him, but I think a basket case like Yan is perfect for the Mets. The stakes are low, the season's over, it's Jefry Yan time. Why not?
So yeah, not really too much left for the Mets to accomplish this year, other than spoiling some NL East wannabe playoff guys. I guess they tried, but they can't buy a championship with artificial depth. Next year will hopefully be a few steps closer to a better approach.
Coming Tomorrow- Ironically a former Mets farmhand, who pitched overseas, came back and unwittingly joined a competitor.
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