MIAMI — In this season of transition, the Mets have given their fans a gift by refusing to give up.
It must be respected.
Remember, this was a team that was going strong last year, but by the end of June had largely given up, leading to a selloff as the trade deadline approached.
Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander were notably traded for prospects, and we began to learn (mostly through Scherzer’s candid comments) that team owner Steve Cohen viewed 2024 as a reset year for payroll and audition opportunities for young players.
But a funny thing happened to the Mets as they headed toward a second straight summer of irrelevance: They started winning.
Regardless of their bullpen woes, the Mets have generated as much excitement as any team in baseball over the past six weeks.
The playoff odds, which used to be in the single digits, are now about to become a coin flip. The Mets will enter the post-All-Star break Friday as the team others are looking to secure a National League wild-card spot.
It was the result of a 27-13 run in which players like Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo and Jose Iglesias stepped up and brought a collective “OMG” to Citi Field.
There have been others, whether it’s Francisco Alvarez, Mark Vientos or Harrison Bader (and probably not as much Pete Alonso as one would have expected in such a surge). The starting rotation has become respectable, and the bullpen, well, it’s a problem.
The Mets will need their big guns if this wild ride is to continue, but two other people bear a big responsibility: president of baseball operations David Stearns and his hand-picked manager, Carlos Mendoza.
Stearns was hired last season to build the future. But suddenly the Mets are living in the present, with a real opportunity to win.
Stearns made a deal before the All-Star break to help the bullpen, acquiring Phil Maton from the Rays. Stearns still has work to do. More reinforcements are needed as the team looks to overcome a rash of injuries and underperformance from veterans like Jake Diekman and Adam Ottavino.
Stearns will be able to operate with the considerable advantage of Cohen’s checkbook. Believe me when I say Cohen is thrilled with how this season has turned out and wants to take a shot with this group at fall glory, but only if the Mets don’t go into a tailspin over the next 10 days, and even then, they won’t risk expecting much improvement.
But the Maton deal, in which the Mets absorbed the remaining $2.75 million on his contract — plus a player to be named later or cash considerations — should serve as a template for the kinds of trades Stearns may still seek to orchestrate. And who knows, maybe there’s a deal out there that keeps the Mets on track beyond the final two months of this season.
As for Mendoza, the rookie manager may have arrived with a mission to develop young players like Alvarez and Vientos, but his real-time decisions will now be scrutinized more than ever. There were frustrating moments, particularly regarding Mendoza’s management of an unstable bullpen, but he also deserves credit for a move that helped revive the Mets’ season.
That’s what happened here in South Florida on May 18, when Mendoza moved Lindor to lead off the game and slid Nimmo into the third hole. Nimmo has since settled comfortably into second place and entered the All-Star break as the team’s leader in RBIs.
Mendoza showed courage in giving Iglesias playing time in place of Jeff McNeil, allowing the Mets to expand their roster. If McNeil doesn’t bounce back soon, one wonders when he’ll be completely forgotten.
The goal is just to get to the playoffs and do your best. It doesn’t matter how you get there.
But for the past six weeks, the Mets have looked like a team playing for something bigger than simply sneaking into the October/November tournament. The so-called reset year now has a chance to become something much better than simply waiting until 2025.
