Mets in MLB's second half: Five questions as they return from All-Star break
New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga warms up to pitch for the Brooklyn Cyclones on rehab assignment on July 3, 2024 in Coney Island. Credit: Olivia Falcigno
The Mets’ season resumes Friday with the last chunk of this layup portion of schedule: four games against the cellar-dwelling Marlins. It gets harder after that, but they have positioned themselves well heading into trade deadline season, narrowly holding the third and final NL wild-card spot at the All-Star break.
Here are five questions that will hover over the rest of the Mets’ season.
1. WHAT WILL KODAI SENGA PROVIDE?
Senga’s next start will most likely be with Triple-A Syracuse (which also returns from its break this weekend), not in the majors, a person familiar with the Mets’ plans said Wednesday.
But the righthander nonetheless is nearing his season debut, which could be as soon as late next week, when the Mets host Atlanta.
That means we are close to getting the beginning of an answer to one of the team’s most interesting questions entering the season: What can Senga do for an encore? Was his standout rookie season just the start of something bigger, or was that his stateside peak?
In 2023, Senga was the Mets’ best starting pitcher. He had a 2.98 ERA and 1.22 WHIP, good enough to finish second in NL Rookie of the Year voting and seventh in NL Cy Young Award balloting.
But he hasn’t pitched at all this season, initially because of a strained right shoulder and then multiple setbacks, including nerve inflammation in his right triceps. It’s not clear that his return to the roster also would be an immediate return to his previous level of performance.
The Mets knew about his lengthy injury history, particularly with his shoulder, when they signed him to a five-year, $75 million contract in December 2022. That is partially why they intend to again slot him into a six-man rotation — allowing consistent extra rest for him and everybody else — alongside Luis Severino, Christian Scott, David Peterson, Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana.
2. WHAT WILL THE METS DO PRIOR TO THE JULY 30 TRADE DEADLINE?
Let’s temper expectations, even if they solidify themselves as buyers. This is not an all-in kind of season for the Mets, who were and are straight up about their hope to snag a wild-card spot and get hot when it matters most. So let’s figure the front office won’t spend major prospect capital to reinforce this roster.
The most obvious answer: Add at least one more reliever, probably two. The bullpen is a glaring weak spot, so much so that president of baseball operations David Stearns acquired Phil Maton from the Rays (for cash or a player to be named) last week.
That’s fine — Maton has allowed one run in two innings so far — but it needs to be just a start. Ideally, the Mets would add a pair of relievers, one lefty and one righty, both capable of pitching in high-leverage situations.
The Mets’ late-inning picture is desolate, even if Edwin Diaz is more stable the rest of the season than he was earlier. His top setup guys are Reed Garrett (on the injured list with nerve inflammation in his right elbow) and Dedniel Nunez. Both are out-of-nowhere contributors who opened the season in the minors, so they’ve never had to prove it in truly important spots. It would be helpful to add legitimate high-leverage help, basically replacing what Adam Ottavino (demoted to lower-leverage guy) and Brooks Raley (Tommy John surgery) were supposed to be.
Another variable in trade-deadline chatter: What’s up with Starling Marte? He has been out since June 23 with a right knee bone bruise. As of the most recent update from manager Carlos Mendoza last weekend, Marte was still in pain and not particularly close to starting baseball activities.
If Marte is out for most or all of the rest of the season, the Mets might not want to rely on Tyrone Taylor, DJ Stewart and Jeff McNeil (with Jose Iglesias at second base). So corner outfield is probably No. 2 on the needs list behind the bullpen.
“It would be really helpful,” said Brandon Nimmo, speaking generally about additions by the end of the month.
3. HOW WILL THE METS HANDLE AN ARDUOUS AUGUST?
Players have been quietly dreading this for months. It’s less about strength of competition — which varies — and more about travel and logistics.
Their August opens with a 10-day, 10-game, four-city trip. It goes like this: three at the Angels, one makeup game all the way in St. Louis on what was supposed to be an off day, three at Colorado and its mile-high ballpark that adds an extra challenge, and three at Seattle. That’s a lot.
Then the Mets come home for a week and a half, this one homestand representing the only Citi Field action all month: Athletics (three), Marlins (three), Orioles (three).
Then they head back out west to play the Padres and crawl east with series at the Diamondbacks and White Sox. The Mets can help themselves by beating San Diego and Arizona, two of the clubs competing with them in the wild-card race.
If the Mets still hold a playoff spot come Labor Day, they will have very much earned it.
4. ARE THESE PETE ALONSO’S FINAL MONTHS WITH THE METS?
We won’t know until the offseason. But it’s possible.
Alonso is scheduled to be a free agent after the season; nobody on either side has seemed interested in in-season contract talks. Through September, the chatter will get louder. Can he get hot and make this look more like a regular Alonso season? Is this his last big moment with the Mets? Is this his final home game? How will his performance in the pressure of a playoff race impact his and the Mets’ interest in a long-term contract?
Already perhaps the top homegrown slugger in franchise history, Alonso’s 211 home runs rank fourth on the Mets’ all-time list. He is very likely to pass Mike Piazza (220) for third by the end of the season.
As for the possibility that Alonso gets moved at the trade deadline? Unless the Mets completely fall on their faces in the 11 games between now and then, consider the chances of that virtually zero. Their major turnaround should have ended that conversation weeks ago.
“I don’t dwell on it at all. I’m just focused on winning games,” Alonso said this week at the All-Star game. “I love where I’m at. I love this team. I hope that I get to see things through. I hope that we’re continuing to play well.”
5. DO THEY HAVE ANY IN-HOUSE ELECTRICITY?
Inserting a top prospect is a heck of a way to add some energy into the dog days of summer.
In a different version of this season — one in which their best position players in the minors stayed healthy and/or performed better — the Mets would have options. But instead, Jett Williams had wrist surgery and is unlikely to return this season. Drew Gilbert tore his hamstring in April and hasn’t returned to Triple-A Syracuse yet. Luisangel Acuna hasn’t hit much in Triple-A, following a better June with a couple of cold weeks in July.
Their best bet for late-season impact from the farm system may well be righthander Brandon Sproat, who is in his first professional season. He is 23 years old, touches 100 mph with his fastball and was the Mets’ representative in the Futures Games last weekend. He has a 2.05 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in eight starts with Double-A Binghamton.
Even if the Mets’ rotation is full, Sproat would be a fascinating September/October addition to the bullpen, similar to Spencer Strider (Atlanta) and Orion Kerkering (Philadelphia) in recent autumns.
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.
