It's time to start believing in Mets, who should be buyers at trade deadline
Mets rightfielder Jeff McNeil runs on his double against Atlanta during the third inning of an MLB game at Citi Field on Friday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The e-mail from the Mets arrived on Friday afternoon.
“We’re always looking to enhance our fan experience, and we need your input.”
The topic: Start times for Monday-Thursday night games at Citi Field in 2025.
“Your opinion matters!”
The choices: 6, 6:15, 6:40, the current 7:10, and 7:40.
This is big stuff.
We could spend a lot of time debating the merits of each starting time slot. Six? Too early! Seven-forty? Too late! And what about 6:50? Or 7:05? Why don’t they get a tumble?
The mind boggles.
But the real interesting notion — with the trade deadline approaching on Tuesday — is the idea of the Mets crowdsourcing decisions.
How about a fan poll on which deals David Stearns should make?
Not binding, of course, just like the start time poll. But do you want more bullpen help? An outfielder? A second baseman? All of the above? None of the above?
Do you want Stearns to hold onto the Mets’ top prospects? Some of them were acquired just a year ago, when the pre-Stearns regime was tearing down a bad team for a shot at a better future.
But what a difference a year makes. Instead of sending out stars such as Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, this year the Mets have to add, right?
The standings tell the story. The Mets went into Friday night’s game against Atlanta on a four-game winning streak. The Mets held the second National League wild-card spot and were one-half game behind Atlanta for the top spot.
No. 1 would mean home playoff games. Now, that didn’t go so well for the Mets two years ago, when they lost the wild-card series in three games to San Diego.
But so much has changed at Citi Field since 2022, starting with the men making decisions under Steve Cohen.
Then, it was general manager Billy Eppler and manager Buck Showalter. Now, it’s president of baseball operations Stearns and manager Carlos Mendoza.
Who knows how this season is going to turn out. But at this moment, Stearns and Mendoza deserve a ton of credit for getting the Mets to 54-48, which was their record going into Friday.
If you had taken a fan poll during the Mets’ 9-19 May, chances are Stearns and Mendoza would have fared poorly. It would have been a true “don’t read the comments” situation.
At that moment, you would have expected the Mets to be sellers heading into the trade deadline. All the talk now would be about whether Pete Alonso and Luis Severino and Sean Manaea and who knows who else would have been heading to a contender for more prospects.
Now the Mets are contenders. According to baseball-reference.com, going into Friday they had a 59.1% chance of making the postseason and a 1.8% chance of winning the World Series.
So you’re telling me there’s a chance? Yes, that’s what I’m telling you.
Let’s get back to the fan trade deadline poll. The deals have already begun, with players such as Randy Arozarena and Zach Eflin and Yimi Garcia reportedly getting moved, and plenty more should come by Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Obviously, the Mets can use more bullpen help, even after Stearns picked up righthander Ryne Stanek from Seattle on Friday. Every team in baseball needs bullpen help. That’s an easy checkmark.
Jeff McNeil is back to being an offensive force — he hit fifth on Friday, protecting Alonso — and has been playing the outfield with Jose Iglesias getting reps at second.
But should the Mets count on Iglesias continuing to perform as he has so far (and we don’t mean with a microphone, but with a bat)? Iglesias went into Friday batting .366. That’s unlikely to continue, so it would be good to give Mendoza more options.
McNeil’s versatility gives the Mets the choice of adding a second baseman or an outfielder to add more sizzle to their already deep lineup. The Mets should be in “the more the merrier” mode, as long as the cost isn’t ridiculously high.
It’s not easy. Not like deciding the right start time for a Monday-Thursday night game.
Obviously, that’s 6:30.
Or maybe 7.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.