The trade deadline has passed, but the Mets still need help. I’m here with some suggestions that may fit the bill.
But first, let’s spell out how badly Carlos Mendoza’s team is playing, to the point where he called out his hitters after Wednesday’s near no-hitter by Gavin Williams for not making the necessary in-game adjustments to the way they were being pitched.
Here are some key stats:
- Since June 13, the Mets are 18-28, even with a seven-game winning streak during that time, so at this point it feels like more than simply a bad stretch.
- For the season, their .231 team batting average with runners in scoring position ranks 27th in MLB, and if you’ve watched closely, that number probably even feels too high.
- Since the All-Star break, their team OPS is .639, dead last in MLB, and their .213 batting average ranks 29th.
- Their .225 batting average against left-handed pitching ranks 25th in MLB.
And lest we think it’s all about the offense, since June 14, their starting pitchers are averaging 4.7 innings per start, which is why they’ve almost certainly spent more money than any team in baseball shuttling relievers back and forth from Triple-A to replenish the bullpen on a daily basis.
Yep, it’s bad, and in truth, the only way out of this extended run of bad baseball is if their stars start playing like stars, above all Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso on the hitting side, and Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga on the pitching side.
But it doesn’t mean a few changes wouldn’t help.
With that in mind, I offer these ideas…
1. Hire J.D. Martinez as a sounding board/troubleshooter of sorts for the Mets’ hitters
The Mets can use this as a way to address the problems of making the in-game adjustments that Mendoza brought up Wednesday.
Why not take a shot with the retired Martinez as some form of supplemental hitting coach? The guy was known throughout baseball as a hitting savant during his career, after all, and he seemed to have a positive effect on the Mets’ clubhouse last season, even if age seemed to catch up with him as a DH late in the year.
Ideally, the current hitting coaches, Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes, would welcome the knowledge Martinez would bring. If not, well, they don’t have much room for complaint after Mendonza, unwittingly or not, essentially raised questions about whether they’re doing what’s necessary to help players make the in-game adjustments the manager deemed as lacking.
Maybe Steve Cohen could be convinced to make it worthwhile for Martinez to put his burgeoning pickleball career (he signed a deal in July to play professionally) on hold for a couple of months in pursuit of a World Series ring.
2. Bring back Luisangel Acuña from the minors
Brett Baty’s not hitting (again) and for a team struggling to score runs, Acuña offers more ways to help win low-scoring games, coming off the bench as a base-stealer and quality defender.
Hey, it’s not like there are other obvious solutions for this offense. At this point, it’s nothing short of mystifying as to why Lindor, Alonso, Soto and others have been so streaky and worse, shrinking at big moments this season.
This is largely the same offense that thrived in clutch situations when it counted most last September and October. The addition of the great Soto was supposed to be the final piece, yet he hasn’t hit in the clutch, and lately he’s slumping the way he did early in the season, even chasing pitches out of the strike zone, negating his biggest strength.
And so, with no assurance these Mets will break out in a big way, recalling Acuña could be a way of trying to win on the margins.
As one small example, had Acuña been pinch-running in the ninth inning on Monday night, and not Tyrone Taylor, there’s a good chance the Mets would have won the game. Taylor is fast, but not as fast as Acuña, and that likely would have been enough for third base coach Mike Sarbaugh to send him home on Lindor’s double, rather than hold Taylor as he did.
Baty offers more offensive potential than Acuña, but he’s slumping lately, continuing his pattern of running hot and cold with the bat, so why not take advantage of Acuña’s baserunning and superior defense to help win close games?
3. Get Brandon Sproat or Nolan McLean up here pronto and put Frankie Montas in the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever
Then, maybe sooner than later, make room for the second of the kid pitchers, either as a starter or a bulk reliever, depending on whether Clay Holmes can build on his good start on Tuesday, albeit only five innings.
As for the pitching, there were opportunities for McLean and/or Sproat to make spot starts in recent weeks, but now it’s different. It’s August, both have pitched well in Triple-A, with Sproat on Wednesday being named International League Pitcher of the Month for July, and Montas has a 6.68 ERA in seven starts.
Either one is likely a better option and even if they wouldn’t necessarily solve the problem of length for Mets’ starters, as their innings likely would be limited, either or both could present an opportunity for Montas and even Holmes to slide into roles as bulk relievers. And that is very much needed since the Mets now have a bullpen full of high-leverage relievers, which these days means primarily one-inning relievers.
David Stearns himself indicated the looming presence of Sproat and McLean was the reason he wasn’t willing to pay the high prices being asked for starting pitchers at the trade deadline, so the Mets must feel they’re about ready.
If their success in Triple-A translates to the big league level, it would eventually give the Mets the flexibility to create those quality bulk relievers they need. If a spot in the pen needs to be opened, the Mets could certainly live without Ryne Stanek and his inconsistency.
All in all, why not? It’s time to try something different.
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