There is just one week left until the trade deadline of July 30. This makes it the ideal moment for the much-anticipated and highly anticipated return of This Week in Mets on Tuesday. Despite positioning themselves as buyers at the deadline, the New York Mets have a lot of flexibility with that designation.
With seven days remaining, let us look at some self-reflection concerns the Mets should address before making any external additions.
Which facet of the offense is likeliest to need help?
With Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo at the top of the order and Francisco Alvarez back and José Iglesias revitalized, the Mets offense has been among the best in the league for weeks. At some point, that offensive will inevitably wane. How do the Mets best position themselves to step it up then?
The three positions where the Mets are expected to see the least amount of output going forward are right field, third base, and second base, using FanGraphs’ ZiPS projection system. a primary cause of that potential regression? Iglesias is the most out of control player on the Mets this season out of all of their main contributors. He had a lifetime OPS+ of 88 going into this season; it is now 188. The team’s happiness over Iglesias’ “OMG” song has obscured how useful he has been in the field, helping the Mets overcome the setbacks of Jeff McNeil and the latest injury to Starling Marte.
If Iglesias resumed his career use, the offense for the Mets would suffer. In order to win, New York would need to rely more on a turnaround from McNeil, Marte’s return from the injured list, Mark Vientos’ consistent play at third base, and perhaps even greater results from Tyrone Taylor or DJ Stewart.
A perfect deadline signing would, therefore, protect the Mets from this scenario by providing them with a bench hitter capable of playing corner outfield or middle infield. The best alternative is Luis Rengifo of the Los Angeles Angels, who can play everywhere, but he would be a starting-level addition that is probably beyond of the Mets’ financial range. Amed Rosario, a former Met, might also be useful.
How many bullpen solutions do they possess internally?
When the Mets witnessed a 2-2 game in Pittsburgh two weeks ago, with Adrian Houser and Eric Orze starting the game, it was reasonable to question if they really needed a brand-new bullpen. They had lost Drew Smith and Brooks Raley, they had seen Adam Ottavino and Jake Diekman struggle, and they had no idea what Edwin Díaz might offer from night to night. Could Carlos Mendoza rely on anyone?
That unit has somewhat stabilized in the past two weeks. Díaz had gone nine games without giving up a run before giving up one on Monday night. Acquired earlier this month from the Tampa Bay Rays, Phil Maton provides a seasoned right-hander for the back end. Perhaps most significantly, Dedniel Núñez and Jose Buttó have established themselves as a reliable set-up bridge.
By practically all standards, Núñez has been the finest reliever for the Mets this season, although he was not even invited to spring training in the major leagues. Since the last week of June, he has thrown and pitched well in bigger spots after dominating for several frames in mop-up roles. Núñez is walking fewer than 6% of opposition hitters this season while striking out more than 35% of them. Díaz is the only Met to have a strikeout rate that high in the past ten years, and only he, Addison Reed, and Seth Lugo have concluded seasons with higher strikeout-to-walk ratios.
This season, Buttó has been a productive starter and an incredible reliever. In the limited sample size, he has struck out over 33% of opposing hitters, given his WHIP being around 0.700, and he gave up his first run on Monday night.
The Mets require assistance in their bullpen, and it is uncertain how long Buttó and Núñez will continue to pitch at this level. But maybe instead of four or five arms, New York just has to bring in one or two.
Can the Mets afford to be cute with their rotation?
This week marks Kodai Senga’s return, therefore the Mets will switch to a six-man rotation. Senga will add to a rotation that already consists of Christian Scott, David Peterson, Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, and Luis Severino. In addition, the Mets have Tylor Megill and Joey Lucchesi in Triple-A Syracuse, buttó and Houser in their bullpen.
The Mets could theoretically take advantage of a seller’s market, deal with their starter excess, and use their depth to backfill. With Quintana in particular, a seasoned innings-eater who will be a free agency this winter, it made sense to move. The team has committed to a six-man rotation with Senga’s return, Buttó has been a formidable weapon out of the bullpen, Quintana has been a key component of the Mets’ resurgence, and Scott has struggled since returning to the majors. Should Quintana (or Severino, who has a comparable contract) be dealt, New York would be depending on Megill to take a regular turn in the rotation and provide few options in case and when an
Such manipulation could be too charming by half, especially if the return is not that great, considering how close the wild-card rankings are. Severino was ranked 13th among starting pitchers on our Trade Deadline Big Board, while Quintana was ranked 19th, which was too low to place him among the top 50 targets. (In 2022, amidst a generally improved season, Quintana of the Pittsburgh Pirates was moved to the St. Louis Cardinals for promising starter Johan Oviedo, along with reliever Chris Stratton.)
The exposition
The Mets’ victory on Monday night allowed them to salvage a split of their four-game series in Miami. They have only lost one of the previous fourteen series, which is less remarkable in practice due to their propensity for splitting series. The Mets are in third place in the National League wild card standings with a 51-48 record.
In the Bronx, the New York Yankees and Rays shared a wraparound series. In the AL East, they trail Baltimore by 1 1/2 games at 60-42.
The Cardinals defeated Atlanta two games to one at home over the weekend. Although it is comfortably in position to earn a wild card in the National League, it is still well behind the Phillies in the NL East. The first game of a three-game series was won by the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night at Truist Park.
The pitching possibles
at New York (AL)
LHP Jose Quintana (4-6, 4.13 ERA) v. RHP Luis Gil (10-5, 3.17 ERA)
LHP Sean Manaea (6-4, 3.73) v. RHP Gerrit Cole (3-1, 4.60)
v. Atlanta
RHP Luis Severino (7-3, 3.58) v. RHP Charlie Morton (5-5, 3.92)
RHP Kodai Senga (12-7, 2.98 in 2023) v. RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (3-5, 4.62)
RHP Christian Scott (0-3, 4.56) v. RHP Reynaldo López (7-4, 2.12)
LHP David Peterson (5-0, 3.14) v. LHP Chris Sale (13-3, 2.70)
Injury updates
Mets injured list
| Player | Injury | Elig. | ETA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moderate posterior capsule strain in right shoulder | Now | 7. July | |
| Right shoulder strain | Now | 7. July | |
| Right shoulder impingement | Now | 7. July | |
| Right elbow inflammation | 7/25 | 8. August | |
| Right knee bone bruise | Now | 8. August | |
| Tommy John surgery | 8/23 | X. 2025 | |
| Torn right ACL | Now | X. 2025 | |
| Tommy John surgery | Now | X. 2025 |
Red = 60-day IL
Orange = 15-day IL
Blue = 10-day IL
- Kodai Senga is slated to return on Friday.
- Starling Marte has started playing baseball in a “low-impact” manner. His return’s actual timeline is yet unknown.
- Sean Reid-Foley could start a rehab assignment this week.
Minor-league schedule
Triple-A: Syracuse at Buffalo (Toronto)
Double-A: Binghamton at Richmond (San Francisco)
High-A: Brooklyn v. Rome (Atlanta)
Low-A: St. Lucie v. Palm Beach (St. Louis)
Last week in Mets
A note on the epigraph
Speaking of out over his skis, during my first semester in college, I took a Goethe and Hegel course. That semester, I cited Gob Bluth’s “I made a terrible mistake” a lot—you should realize that at the time, it was a highly modern allusion.
Trivia time
It should come as no surprise that the Mets’ two best half-season records (1969 and 1988) occurred during postseasons. They finished third in a season where they were eliminated from the playoffs. Which year was it?
(I’ll reply to the correct answer in the comments.)
(Photo of Jose Quintana: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
