HarthorneWingo wrote:
We have too many weak spots in the order. Nimmo is hitting just over .200. McNeil sucks. 1 HR, 7 RBIs and BA well under .250. Nido and Narvaez can't hit. And then there's Pete. No wonder we can't score runs.
On the pitching side, we walk way too many hitters to be successful in the long run unless we some more changes to the rotation. Yes, Senga is coming back and hopefully he's healthy but I don't have high hopes for Megil. He's never been consistent.
I would seriously consider looking to trade McNeil and Nimmo for sure. DJ Stewart and his .190 BA can go too. I'd rather Vientos get those ABs. Trade Joey Wendle, the gold glove fielder who can't field ... or hit for that matter.
I can tell already that season is lost. Too many issues.
From a roster perspective, they're not trading Nimmo. They don't have enough OFs to do that.
Bader is gone after 2024 and Marte after 2025. Marte is also injury prone at his age, so, no way they trade Nimmo.
I doubt they trade Jeff either because he can play 2B and LF and that's good versatility to have and it's a little early to give the job to Acuna and say - go out there every day.
DJ has 17 walks, he leads the team in OPS and he's got a .380 OBP. If he starts to struggle, then sure. Vientos is there to replace him, but he was good last year and even with the low average, he leads the Mets in OPS this year. I think he's fine.
Wendle sucks, so if they trade him, it'll probably be for cash like they got for Short or Diekman (I think it was Diekman). Zero trade value, but getting rid of Wendle - sure. Sign me up.
I'd look for them to trade Houser too. Maybe there's a team out there desperate for pitching who'd take him. With Megill close to returning, Houser is an odd-man out, even as a long man and spot starter.
Alonso is a guy they could trade. That would make an opening to look at Vientos at 1B. I don't know if they do that unless they're out of the playoff hunt, but that could happen.
They're certainly going to make some trades, but I also think it's too soon to give up on the season.
Hitting is down across MLB, so if you just look at the numbers, I don't think that gives a complete picture. Look at OPS+
Nimmo, for example, has a 120 OPS+. Alonso 107. DJ Stewart, 136.
McNeil was at 100 the last time I mentioned him, but his struggles the last few games, he's at 83. Ouch. Lowest among Mets starters and Lindor is up to .95 and much better than that if you remove the slow start.
I think there are more good pitchers and pitching beats hitting. I think that's the reason.
https://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/offense-is-down-across-mlb-and-rob-manfred-cant-be-happyOPS correlates to team-level run scoring more than any other statistic. 24 points of OPS is a significant drop. League-wide OPS has not been below .700 since 1989. It appears that the efforts of MLB to increase batting average through the elimination of the shift is not working either. A .240 batting average is not only five points lower than last year, it would be the lowest since 1968, when it was .237.
I don't think there's a solution to better pitching, unless they move the pitching mound back a foot or maybe even 6 inches. That would be interesting.
But if they do end up sucking, then they can sell players at the deadline.
Trade Pete
Trade Severino, Manea and maybe Quintana (all 3 are either free agents or can opt to be free agents next year).
Maybe trade Bader if a team wants him & JD Martinez.
Interestingly, they have enough starters, even if they trade those 3 starters and Houser.
Senga, Scott, Butto, Megill, Peterson, Luchessi, Kranik, and in a pinch, Vasil/Hamil.
I guess they could try to trade McNeil too though he's owed 33.5 million for 2025/26 with the buyout for 27, so I don't think any team would take that right now.
If they really do suck, then they have a fire sale like they did last year. I don't think they'll get what they got for Verlander & Scherzer, but they'll get something.
But I'm not convinced they suck. The bats need to wake up, and I'd give that maybe 1 chance in 3, but it's not impossible, and maybe they're buyers, not sellers at the deadline.
No ears were harmed. Carry on with your Sunday afternoon