3 takeaways from the Mets' sweep of the White Sox
Mets relief pitcher Edwin Díaz throws against the Chicago White Sox during the ninth inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. Credit: AP/Nam Y. Huh
CHICAGO — Here are three takeaways after the Mets’ series sweep of the White Sox.
1. September is going to be a beast.
This is what it’s all about, right? With four weeks to go, the Mets are extremely relevant.
They will have to earn their way into the postseason, though. At the risk of getting ahead of ourselves, check out the September slate.
They host the Red Sox — the AL version of the Mets as the first team outside the playoff picture — this week. Of the Mets’ final 16 games, 13 are against Philadelphia (seven), Atlanta (three) and Milwaukee (three). Nine of those are on the road.
“We’ve got an uphill battle, for sure,” Brandon Nimmo said recently. “It seems to me like San Diego and Arizona and Atlanta are really playing good baseball at the right time. In order for us to make our way in, one of those teams is going to have to falter a little bit and we’re going to have to take advantage of it.”
2. It’s been a down year for the top of the farm system.
The Mets calling up utilityman Pablo Reyes and lefthander Alex Young — 30-year-olds acquired in minor midseason deals — underscored the rough reality of the Mets’ minor leagues. They didn’t have any fun and exciting prospects worthy of a promotion.
At the start of the season, any of Drew Gilbert, Luisangel Acuna or Jett Williams feasibly could have reached the majors by now. But Gilbert and Acuna missed significant time because of injuries and Acuna hasn’t hit well in Triple-A. Jacob Reimer, further from the majors, also missed several months. And that’s not to mention Ronny Mauricio, who would’ve received extended time in the majors if not for a torn ACL.
On the pitching side, none of Mike Vasil (5.54 ERA), Dom Hamel (6.77) or Blade Tidwell (5.40) have enjoyed much success with Syracuse. And although Brandon Sproat has had a great year, shooting to the top of the minors in his first pro season, his adjustment to Triple-A has proved difficult (8.83 ERA with way less than a strikeout per inning in four outings).
There’s still a lot to like with several of those players. Just not in a September call-up sort of way.
3. The Mets will lean on Edwin Diaz.
At the end of his weird and inconsistent season, if Diaz can bottle this up — throwing strikes, low stress, fast innings — the Mets will like their chances.
He has bounced back in a big way after blowing games in back-to-back appearances against the Padres and Diamondbacks. He made it look easy Sunday even though it was his fourth appearance in five days.
This, manager Carlos Mendoza said, is the time to lean on Diaz. Diaz, likewise, is ready to be leaned on.
“That’s why we protected him throughout the whole year, even when he was down, coming off a year when he was out the whole year,” Mendoza said. “The way he’s throwing the ball, how he’s bouncing back — there’s a reason why we did it early on. Now it’s go time.”
Diaz said: “Now is the time. It’s the last month. We are battling for a playoff spot. I’m ready to go. I’m ready to pitch every single day.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
