NEW YORK As the season approaches its halfway point, the Mets are roughly where they should be. Even though they knew they would not likely win the NL East, they still thought they could go to the postseason, and now they find themselves in the National League’s third wild-card place.
Naturally, phrasing it in this way ignores the dizzying journey the Mets took to get here. Their dismal May saw them drop as many as 11 games below.500, which raised legitimate fears about Queens facing another summer of irrelevance. However, a resurgent June, which is not how things normally go around here, turned around the Mets’ luck and has them playing and looking like a club that can make an October run.
Here are three of the main narratives that the Mets are dealing with as the second half gets underway in Miami on Friday night.
How will David Stearns approach his first trade deadline in Queens?
Six weeks prior, with a number of upcoming free agents available, including Pete Alonso, the Mets appeared ready to be a full-fledged seller at the deadline. However, since the beginning of June, their brilliant play has significantly altered the market, so even a severe downturn between now and July 30 might not force Stearns and Co. to sell.
Therefore, the concerns center on how Stearns may intend to purchase. Does he act in this way with aggression, thinking the Mets can make a significant impact in addition to reaching October? In that scenario, New York might benefit from having a front-line starter, a few relievers, and bench support.
Does Stearns purchase only what he needs, or does he try to take advantage of the Mets’ surplus in the rotation? Jose Quintana or Luis Severino might be traded by New York in an effort to strengthen its farm system or improve its bullpen.
What lift can Kodai Senga provide?
Despite this shocking fact—that their ace, Kodai Senga, has pitched 0 innings for the Mets—they have started the second half of the season in a postseason position.
Senga suffered a shoulder ailment at the beginning of the Grapefruit League season, and his initial return date of May has been rescheduled several times. However, the right-hander is scheduled to make his comeback by the end of July after making three rehab starts in the minor leagues.
Senga was a standout rookie for New York, earning votes for Cy Young, making the All-Star team, and registering an ERA below 3.00. After a first period where he struggled with his command, he developed his groove over the last three and a half months. (After mid-June, he did not allow more than three earned runs in a start.)
A New York rotation that has held its own would benefit from an extra boost if Senga can start the season like he did in the past. The mainstays on the Mets’ roster are back-end starters who sustain them in games. Senga stands out among the others in this lineup as a starter for Game 1 of a postseason series.
Can the offense sustain this pace?
A Mets fan could have been forgiven for turning off the TV on May 31, when they gave up three runs in the first inning against the Diamondbacks. At that point in the season, New York was only managing an average of 3.5 runs per game, which further indicated that their offense was mediocre in the major leagues.
The Mets’ lineup has not looked back since they scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning that evening, leading to a 10-run explosion. Since then, New York has amassed the finest offensive line in baseball, averaging almost six runs per game over those six weeks. The Mets have scored at least seven runs in 17 games and reached double digits six times in those 39 games.
The addition of Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo to the top of the order, who have combined OPSs of over.950 over that time, has been the main driver of that turnaround. Having said that, New York has also profited from players farther down the lineup, like Harrison Bader’s comeback, Mark Vientos’ breakthrough, Francisco Alvarez’s return, and the might of José Iglesias.
The Mets are leading the majors in runs and on-base percentage since the end of May, but they are second in home runs. If you keep it up, in the fall New York can really cause a stir.
(Top photo of Francisco Lindor: Wendell Cruz / USA Today)
