Even though the season is just four games old, the New York Mets’ season hasn’t gone as planned yet. Let me rephrase that: check that. With just four games played, the season has already devolved into a rolling trash fire that is tumbling off the road quicker than an Edwin Diaz fastball.
That’s better over there.
Opening Day and Tuesday have been the finest two days of the season so far for the Mets since everything else has gone so badly. What is the connection between those days? Rain prevented the Mets from playing as planned. If you don’t play, you can’t lose, sweetie!
The Mets have a lot of issues. After just one start, Tylor Megill is set to miss time due to shoulder pain, and Kodai Senga is still a long way from joining the rotation. After Ramirez threw behind Rhys Hoskins in retaliation for (checks notes) sliding onto second base in a way that was judged legal on the field and after replay, angering Jeff McNeil, Yohan Ramirez and new manager Carlos Mendoza were suspended. To add salt to an already self-inflicted wound, Hoskins went on to demolish the Mets on his own.
Despite all of their injuries and embarrassing events, the Mets aren’t playing on the field; they’ve trodden on more rakes than Sideshow Bob. Together, McNeil, Francisco Lindor, and Brandon Nimmo are 3-44 so far this year. The Tigers and Mets game on Monday went into extra innings tied without a run, but the Mets kicked the ball around and gave up five runs. The Mets have only scored more than one run in four games. It’s difficult to accomplish that!
Not every Met has had a difficult start to the season, and they should be commended for contributing to keeping Mets supporters from going into total despair. Let’s honor the few players who have already shown up and hope that they swiftly spread to their underperforming teammates.
1) Starling Marte appears prepared to move past the two years marred by injuries.
Starling Marte is where we have to start. The veteran right fielder’s 2023 campaign was severely disrupted by injuries, so he came into this season with a major question mark. However, he has now returned to form like an All-Star. Marte has a.357 average, has hit safely in each of the last four games, and has only struck out twice.
The Mets’ only other hit of the afternoon was Marte’s Opening Day home run; if he continues to hit like this, Carlos Mendoza’s lineup card should quickly rise. The seasoned player has batted fifth three times and sixth once, but his strong start and the ineffectiveness of the hitters above him may allow him to reclaim his previous position in the middle of the order.
It must please Mets supporters that the former Marte is back. The 35-year-old hasn’t attempted a theft this year, so it’s unclear if he still possesses the quickness that has made him so dangerous throughout his career. The struggling Mets lineup can only get better, and if Marte keeps up his current level of performance, some victories should follow shortly.
2) Sean Manaea had a terrific debut with the Mets.
If Yoshinobu Yamamoto could be signed by the Mets this offseason, Sean Manaea would most likely not be in the team. After Yamamoto signed with the Dodgers, David Stearns needed reasonably priced starting pitching. Despite scuffling his way to a 4.44 ERA with the Giants last season, Manaea has looked fantastic since donning the blue and orange (no, that’s not a reference to his new clean-cut look).
Manaea had a strong spring, with a 3.24 ERA in four starts and a strikeout-to-walk ratio better than 5:1, but he excelled in his first outing of the regular season. On Monday, the left-hander silenced the unbeaten Tigers by pitching six innings of one-hit, shutout ball with eight strikeouts and only two walks. Had the Mets lineup not been so bad right now, he would have been in the lead and had to settle for a no-decision when the team lost in extra innings.
Although Manaea has always been a starter, the Giants used him mostly in relief last season, with 27 of his 37 appearances coming from the bullpen. Manaea should have little trouble holding down a spot in the rotation for the duration of the season, especially if he pitches anywhere near as well as he did against the Tigers, given the Mets’ early injury problems and dubious depth at the back end of the rotation.
3) Francisco Alvarez is headed toward becoming the team’s spokesperson.
With the Mets, you sense a change of leadership in the making. Throughout the winter, trade rumors around Pete Alonso’s name, and he is currently in the middle of his contract year without a contract extension. In order to create place for Harrison Bader, who is a superior defensive player, Brandon Nimmo moved to left field, and Jeff McNeil is picking battles rather than receiving hits. It appears that the kids will eventually take over for the Mets, with Francisco Alvarez at the plate, Brett Baty securing the third base position, and the most talented farm system the team has had in more than ten years.
Alvarez is at the forefront. After landing the position last year, the power-hitting catcher has already grown to be a fan favorite. With his enormous explosions and trademark winning smile, it’s not difficult to see this player joining Alvarez’s squad in the near future.
In the last year, the 22-year-old has made significant progress in his English language skills and has confidently participated in interviews in languages other than his mother tongue. He has seemed to be the Mets’ top hitter by far, and his on-field performance has matched his intangibles. His three hits on Saturday against the Brewers included a little bit of everything: a double up the middle in the third to score a run, a home run off a curveball that he dragged to left in the second to put the Mets ahead, and another single that he sliced to right field in the eighth.
Alvarez was bumped up from seventh in the lineup on Opening Day to cleanup in the opening game of the Tigers series, indicating that Carlos Mendoza has taken notice of his play. We would guess that Alvarez will be there the next time the weather permits the Mets to play on the field because he was scheduled to work cleanup again on Tuesday before the game was rained out.