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It wasn’t pretty, but it counts where it matters most.

The New York Mets completed a series sweep over the Oakland Athletics, the worst team in baseball. It was their first sweep of the season. They accomplished what they could not last week against the Marlins, winning on Sunday to complete the trifecta.

Brett Baty’s call-up to the majors may be the start of a new era at third base for the Mets. As other prospects continue to rake in the minors while key hitters stagnate, the question is whether the team can be carried on the back of its top two players.

3 Up

The Other New York Slugger

Aaron Judge rightly collected accolades last season for his record-breaking 62 home runs. However, the last time Judge set a record, his counterpart on the other side of town broke it shortly thereafter.

MLB.com might not consider Alonso a top-10 slugger in the game, but he currently leads the majors with eight homers after slugging another two in the series against the A’s. They were no-doubters, too, traveling 421 and 430 feet, respectively. Alonso now has seven homers in his last 10 games. This is nothing new for Pete: his homers tend to come in bunches.

Both of Alonso’s homers were important, too. The first cut the A’s lead to 2-1 in the fourth inning on Saturday. The second was a game-tying shot in the ninth inning after the A’s had just overtaken the Mets, 3-2, in the bottom of the eighth.

Alonso will hit his cold stretches during the season, but when he’s hot, there are few bigger power threats in the game.

We Found Nimmo – And So Did the Ball

One of the most remarkable transformations the Mets have seen in recent years is that of Brandon Nimmo’s glove. Considered his predominant weakness as a prospect, Nimmo’s defense is now a true strength. He ranked in the 90th percentile in OAA in 2022, showcasing that improvement statistically.

In the final game of the series, Nimmo put on a clinic in the field, making two spectacular catches. The first one was compared by Mets radio broadcaster Howie Rose to that Tommie Agee’s grab in the 1969 World Series. With the Mets up 1-0 in the second inning, Nimmo covered a massive amount of ground before making an all-out dive behind and to his left to snag the ball.

He later saved the game in the ninth inning with the score tied 3-3 and runners on first and second, busting to his right for another diving snare.

Nimmo continues to do all the Mets have asked him at the plate, getting on base at a .463 clip, recording 15 walks, and stealing three bases. His prowess with the glove takes him to a different level as a complete ballplayer.

Comeback Cookie and Kid

The Mets received two quality starts in the series, one from a struggling veteran and the other from a young prospect called up for an emergency go.

Carlos Carrasco desperately needed something to go right after his disastrous opening to 2023. It was far from ideal for Carrasco, but he’ll take a five-plus-inning, two-run performance to start getting back on track. Carrasco allowed four hits with only one walk (albeit three hit by pitches, resulting in some heavy lifting) and struck out three. He did not get the decision, but he lowered his ERA from 11.42 to 8.56.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Mets had to go to their Triple-A options in the rotation. After Max Scherzer was pushed back a few days due to lingering soreness, Jose Butto was called up to make a spot start in his place. Butto was looking to get a quality start in after his first major league appearance in 2022 went disastrously to the tune of four innings, nine hits, seven earned runs allowed (including two home runs), two walks, and five strikeouts.

Butto’s second cameo was far more successful than his first. Against a weak A’s lineup, he went five-plus innings, allowing one run on five hits with four walks and two strikeouts. Again, it certainly was not perfect: Butto often struggled to find the plate, allowing those four free passes while throwing only 43 of his 83 pitches for strikes (52%). Still, he held the fort down for a team whose starting pitching depth has been sorely tested in the early going.

Though the Mets can still hardly wait for the return of Justin Verlander, their other starters have continued to scratch and claw their way to decency.

3 Down

Diaz-less Depth

Adding David Robertson and Brooks Raley to a bullpen that already had Edwin Diaz and Adam Ottavino was supposed to give the Mets options for high-leverage situations. Instead, with Diaz down and the starting pitching struggling to provide any sort of depth, they were forced to turn to John Curtiss and Jimmy Yacabonis in a high-leverage situation on Sunday.

Buck Showalter had hoped to avoid using both Robertson and Ottavino after the pair threw the day prior, notching 12 and 28 pitches, respectively. Drew Smith was also unavailable after throwing 26 pitches. Therefore, up 2-1 in the eighth inning after a strong two innings from Denyi Reyes, Showalter went to Curtiss and stuck with him despite a clear lack of stuff.

After recording a quick out, Curtiss allowed a walk, single, and go-ahead two-run double to give the A’s the lead. He managed to squeak out of trouble and limit the damage, but it put the Mets behind heading into the ninth.

With Diaz in the bullpen, Showalter could have had quality options in the eighth even with his starters’ lack of depth in the series (averaged almost five innings per start). However, the bullpen carousel has already begun for the Mets in April, as they only have three trustworthy arms that must be properly managed.

Even in the ninth following Alonso’s game-tying homer, Showalter turned to Yacabonis, who was just brought up and has a career 5.97 ERA and 1.70 WHIP. Yacabonis danced in and out of trouble to allow the Mets to win the game in extras. It worked out against the lowly A’s, but a team like the Mets’ next opponent would be a different story. Robertson was forced to enter in the 10th to close out the game after Eduardo Escobar grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to hold the Mets’ lead to just one run.

Heading into the Dodgers series, Robertson will almost certainly be unavailable in the opener after having pitched on back-to-back days. The effects of Diaz’s injury could plague the Mets throughout the season unless another one of their pitchers steps up.

Escobar Exit

Eduardo Escobar’s struggles and poor luck continued through this series while his counterpart raked in the minors. Escobar went 2-for-9 in the series, posting a meaningless two-run hit in the Mets’ 17-6 romp while failing to do much else. Perhaps fittingly, his double play with the bases loaded in the 10th may have ended his tenure as the Mets’ starting third baseman. Brett Baty was called up Sunday and, unlike Francisco Alvarez, is more likely to receive significant playing time.

Escobar has been nothing but professional throughout his difficult start to 2023, enduring the calls for Baty with grace. Still, this cannot be easy for a proud veteran after the vote of confidence the team gave him by handing him the starting job heading into 2023.

Escobar’s role going forward is in question. He could see some time as the right-handed DH platoon, but Tommy Pham has taken over a lot of those at-bats. He could also see some third-base action when a lefty pitches. However, his most likely role is that of a $10 million bench player.

Veterans Veering in the Wrong Direction

Meanwhile, Daniel Vogelbach is dealing with early struggles of his own. The hefty lefty was a fan favorite early in his tenure, but he looks lost at the plate right now. For a player who brings no other value besides his bat from one side of the plate, a 4-for-30 start with no homers, one double, and a .227 slugging percentage is not going to cut it. Vogelbach’s eight walks do bring him up to a 101 wRC+ and a .400 OBP, which is part of why the Mets keep him around.

Still, with Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio off to red-hot starts in the minors, it’s only a matter of time before the demands for one or both of them to showcase their stuff become louder. It is still early in the season, and there is no reason for the Mets to do anything rash (or anything at all). However, with J.D. Davis off to a torrid start in San Francisco and the Mets’ offense floundering, Vogelbach will take a significant amount of heat if he does not contribute more as an offensive driver.

While the Mets are not inclined to listen to the howls of their fan base, Baty’s promotion (and the release of Darin Ruf) shows that they do have a breaking point.

Speaking of struggling veterans, Jeff McNeil’s slow start to 2023 mirrors that of the Mets’ offense as a whole. The reigning batting king is hitting just .218 to start the season. Whenever McNeil struggles at the plate, Mets fans recall his down 2021 season and begin to get anxious. However, McNeil’s batting eye is as good as ever, as he’s in the 96th percentile in strikeout rate, 91st in whiff rate, 88th in chase rate, and 88th in walk rate.

The latter two are unusual for McNeil. He has never been above the 51st percentile in chase rate for his career and was below the 10th percentile in 2019-20. He’s also had a significantly below-average walk rate in three of his four full seasons. His MO is a bad-ball hitter. Perhaps focusing less on his batting eye would help McNeil get out of his head and go with the flow of the game more.

McNeil is known as a passionate player who tends to press significantly when he’s slumping. When his emotions are spilling over, perhaps a reset is warranted. Following a strikeout on Sunday in the top of the seventh inning, McNeil threw his bat.

In the past, Showalter has benched McNeil in response to a particularly vociferous exclamation of frustration.

It would not be surprising to see Showalter give McNeil a breather one of these days. The Squirrel had a few funks last season, as well, and he always found his way out of them. Dropping him in the lineup produced a 1-for-3 effort with a walk, including a 102.8-mph line drive that was caught (plus a 53 mph infield single in classic McNeil style). Showalter will try different tactics to help his player, but ultimately, sometimes slumps happen in baseball.