Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Mets managed five hits on the evening, only one of which came from the bottom four spots in the order on a Francisco Alvarez double in the eighth. It has become a nightly occurrence: the Mets simply couldn’t string together enough competitive at-bats to generate offense. Their only run on the night came by Francisco Lindor’s bat, his first homer since returning last week, in the seventh inning. 

Another trend continued Monday: the Mets once again seemed to be on the wrong end of the luck equation. Of the 21 balls hit harder than 95 mph, the Mets hit 14 of them, with only three of them falling for base hits. Actually, given the lack of offense, it’s remarkable how many hard-hit balls found gloves. For context, here’s how hard they hit the ball during their two biggest offensive nights of the last month:

June 14th vs. ATL

• 8 runs scored
• 7 balls hit over 95 mph

June 17th at CIN

• 9 runs scored
• 13 balls hit over 95 mph

But let’s zoom out. The Mets are currently dominating the ‘unlucky’ leaderboard which is the differential between Weighted On-Base Average (wOBA) and Expected Weighted On-Base Average (xwOBA). Of the 35 players with the highest negative differential, the Mets place five players:

• 7th – Marcus Semien
• 18th – Bo Bichette
• 23rd – Mark Vientos
• 34th – Brett Baty
• 35th – Carson Benge

For much of the season, the silver lining was that the underlying metrics suggested better days were ahead. Three months later, that optimism has worn thin. At some point, expected production has to become actual production.

For example, Bichette has put together a strong June (.898 OPS), but it hasn’t translated into wins. He went 0-for-4 Monday night, another example of how individual production and hard contact hasn’t consistently come in the moments the Mets have needed it most.

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Even after firing manager Carlos Mendoza on Friday, the Mets couldn’t rally under a new voice. Interim manager Andy Green lost two of his first three games in charge in a series loss to the Phillies.

While there were some positives on display, we also saw more of the same old problems that have helped to create the current mess the Mets find themselves in.

New York is now 3-10 over its last 13 games. As a result, the team continues to dig itself an even bigger hole to try and climb out of. If the season isn’t over already, then it is on life support.

On that cheery note, let’s recap everything from the weekend in the latest edition of 3 Up, 3 Down …

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

3 UP

SOLID RELIEF 

Kodai Senga flashed a little something in his first outing out of the bullpen on Sunday. He also showed why he’s struggled in the rotation so much. Let’s get the bad out of the way. With the Mets leading by one run in the seventh, Senga threw a very hittable fastball to Kyle Schwarber. The result? Schwarber mashed it over the fence to give the Phillies a lead they never gave up. It was a fatal mistake. However, before that, Senga proved effective over five innings of bulk relief. He struck out four while allowing just two earned runs on four hits with one walk. He was effective with his forkball and largely did a good job of shutting down the Phillies’ offense outside of that lone mistake. There could be something there to work with.

GREAT SECOND IMPRESSION

Making just his second career start in the big leagues, Zach Thornton certainly impressed on Friday night. He allowed just one earned run over six innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. He gave the Mets much-needed length and also provided his team every opportunity to win the game. That’s all you can ask out of a starting pitcher. Granted, it is only one outing, but Thornton certainly showed that he has the skill set needed to force his way into this rotation at some point.

UN-HITTABLE 

Of all the failed moves by David Stearns this past offseason, Luke Weaver is the one working out. The reliever has been stellar for the Mets so far, pitching to a 2.06 ERA on the year. Furthermore, Weaver has been unhittable as of late. Literally. He hasn’t allowed a run to score in 23 consecutive innings. You’d have to go all the way back to the end of April for the last time Weaver gave up a run. That’s pretty incredible.

Jun 26, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets interim manager Andy Green (center) stands in the dugout with bench coach Kai Correa (left) and third base coach Tim Leiper during the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

3 DOWN

NO MAGIC WAND

People hoping for a spark with a new voice in the dugout will probably be disappointed. The Mets dropped two of interim manager Andy Green’s first three games in charge. And, in doing so, we saw exactly why this team is where it is. I’m not convinced we’ll see much of an improvement in results, even with a change of manager. For instance, the Mets have now lost eight of nine and 10 of their last 13. That’s bleak. Plus, the offense is still a hot mess, and the starting rotation is still in absolute shambles. While it was the right decision to move on from Carlos Mendoza, I’m not sure we’re going to see the same dramatic uptick in fortunes as the Phillies did when they made a change in the dugout.

EASING IN DOWNFALL

Look, on the face of it, easing Francisco Lindor back in makes sense. He missed a lot of time, and it would be foolish to overload him straightaway. That said, the decision to give Lindor a complete day off on Sunday proved costly. Arguably so at least, anyway. A man short on the bench, and in a close game, not having Lindor available really hindered the offense. Ronny Mauricio popped out with the bases loaded in the eighth, which would have been an ideal spot for Lindor to come in to try and change the game. It would have been smart to at least have him on the bench as an option for later in the game.

NOT TAKING CHANCES

The offense continues to frustrate at a high level. During the series finale on Sunday, the lineup went just 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position, leaving a whopping 14 runners stranded on base. Mauricio, Francisco Alvarez, Bo Bichette, and Eric Wagaman all whiffed in a big spot with runners on. It was a similar story on Friday in the series opener. The Mets managed just one run in that game, with the entire lineup struggling to get anything going. The inability for this offense to come up with the big hit is really quite alarming.

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Therefore, while it was probably the right decision to fire manager Carlos Mendoza, it is also right that Mendoza wasn’t the main culprit for the current mess.

Furthermore, you can make a case that Mendoza should have lost his job a lot earlier. But you can also argue that more accountability is needed from this franchise.

Mendoza clearly deserves some of the blame for the Mets being where they are. He oversaw last season’s monumental collapse. Then, this season, he’s presided over a team that has failed to adapt and adjust on the fly. We’ve seen the same lackadaisical errors night after night after night. At some point, the blame for that has to fall on the coaching staff.

It became clear after an embarrassing four-game sweep by the Chicago Cubs that change was needed more than ever. While he’s clearly respected in the clubhouse and within the organization, his presence and leadership weren’t leading to any tangible signs of improvement. In fact, things were getting worse.

Mendoza just had to go. And you could make a compelling argument that this change should have come much sooner.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

All Eyes On Stearns

However, with all of that said, firing Mendoza alone may not be enough.

After all, president of baseball operations David Stearns is the one directly responsible for constructing a roster that is seemingly fatally flawed.

Granted, let’s not skip over the impact injuries have had this year. And let’s also not give the players a free pass. They are the ones who have failed to execute on the field. They are the ones who have not performed to the back of their baseball cards.

Still, the buck ultimately stops with Stearns. He failed to learn from his mistakes in 2025, not doing nearly enough to strengthen a clear weakness in the starting pitching. Acquiring Freddy Peralta alone apparently wasn’t nearly enough given the slew of question marks in the rotation. Stearns also spent a large part of the offseason preaching about improving run prevention, which according to defensive runs saved, he has done. However, by jettisoning Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo to do so, the offense has bottomed out.

Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. have combined to play just 38 games all year. Marcus Semien, who was already a fading force offensively, has seen his defensive skills diminish too. To cap it off, Bo Bichette has underperformed greatly.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

What Now?

To hammer the point home, the Mets are 72-102 since June 12, 2025. While Mendoza and the players take some of the blame for that, it is Stearns who is ultimately the architect of that run.

What happens now remains to be seen.

If the players continue to fail at even the most fundamental basics, then the pressure on Stearns will only increase. His seat will only get warmer if he fails to execute the right strategy at the trade deadline. And the calls for Stearns’ head will only increase in volume if we see no improvement from this team the rest of the way.

With Mendoza gone, there is nobody else left to blame. And, if Stearns can’t fix the mess he created, then he may be next out of the door. And, if things don’t change, and soon, then that would probably be the fair and right decision.

The post Opinion: All Eyes Now On Stearns Following Mendoza Firing appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Nick Kalantzopoulos

I’m hearing a lot of “this isn’t Mendozas fault it’s the roster.” And while the roster certainly isn’t as good as advertised, this is not a last place roster. In the end, a manager is graded on “is the whole greater than less than or equal to the sum of its parts” and the whole has been less than the sum of its parts for 12 months. I think Mendoza should have been fired much earlier in the season for the most part his inability to pull the Mets out of extended losing skids. I believe the team had 4 streaks of 7+ losses in just a few months and for a squad (at that point) that talented it’s inexcusable.

Postponing this move was a Stearns miss. Although I will say I don’t get the people who say Stearns didn’t want to do this because now the spotlight is on him, as if the spotlight from fans hasn’t already been on him.

James Villani

The Mets rightfully entered the season with sky-high expectations. The data, sportsbooks, among other non-subjective sources backed that up. Unfortunately, the season has gone much differently than planned and some of that blame should be shouldered by the manager of the ball club.

With that being said, this is not all on Carlos Mendoza. Issues are rooted deeper, such as underperformances and injuries. However, when are you 72-102 since a point last season, a theme starts to develop.

Something should have been done earlier, for sure, but even with that said, there’s no concrete evidence a change would have resulted in any different results. Regardless, moving on was the right move.

Chris Bello

Carlos Mendoza’s firing is peculiar.

Not because he didn’t deserve to be let go. And not because I’m absolving him of fault due to roster construction or injury. It’s due to the timing of the decision.

If the club was going to let him go, it should have come back in April when the team lost 12 games in a row. Or in May when they lost five games in a row. Letting the manager go on June 26 is a day late and a dollar short.

That being said, the Carlos Mendoza tenure will be polarizing amongst fans. He was captain of the ship when the club reached the NLCS in 2024 and was the best team in the majors half way through 2025. But he was also captain for the Mets’ biggest in-season collapse in franchise history last season and the club’s most disappointing season in 2026.

I find myself in the second category of those polarizing opinions. Mendoza got too much support from staff and many of the Mets beat. His in game management of the bullpen was head scratching and he never seemed to have a feel for his starters. The players at the plate and on the field looked disinterested this season. And you can even argue the magnitude of Mendoza’s effect in the 2024. The turnaround didn’t come till J.D. Martinez’s-led players meeting and José Iglesias’s promotion.

David Melendi

I wish this happened sooner because firing a manager can give a team a jolt. I think it’s too late now. Mendy was a part of the problem, but the bigger problem is the players. Too many have been poor, inconsistent or injured.

But there were a handful of games last year I thought Mendy cost the Mets the game and that was the difference in making the playoffs. A few this year too. If the team doesn’t turn it around, I would fire David Stearns too.

Christian De Block

Too little, too late. The Mets are 13 games under .500 and 9.5 games out of a playoff spot. Frankly, they waited too long to make a change. There isn’t enough time to turn this around. Not a chance.

Is this underwhelming season all on Carlos Mendoza? No, their roster has proven to be quite flawed, even at full strength. That falls more on David Stearns, who will be under even more pressure moving forward. And rightfully so, given who the Mets decided to let walk this past winter. Moving on from Mendoza was the right call, but my focus is on Stearns and how he operates moving forward.

Brandyn Pokrass

The firing of Carlos Mendoza feels like one of those moves that needed to happen a while ago. No, the Mets’ issues do not all fall on Mendoza. The roster has major flaws, whether on the pitching or hitting side. Mendoza cannot field for the players in the field. He can’t make them swing at the right pitches or use challenges in the proper situations.

However, Mendoza’s flaws were ones that did not help the Mets. His management of the bullpen and the starting pitchers has been puzzling. His utilization of hitters has been all over the map. It may be a stretch, but one could pin some of the Mets’ inability to get the likes of Baty and Vientos rolling on Mendoza’s off and on usage of them. Additionally, his management of other young players has been a major point of contention.

I don’t know if firing Mendoza fixes or helps anything at this point of the year. But it was time to make a change. All eyes fall on David Stearns now. How the Mets go forward from here, whether good or bad, will be dictated by his decisions and choices. And honestly, it is about time that all the focus goes on him.

Mathias Altman-Kurosaki

Is Carlos Mendoza entirely responsible for the Mets’ failures? No. However, a change had to happen. The team has fallen flat since the middle of 2025 despite all of the talent on the roster. Coaches were fired, players were added and subtracted, yet the same problems resurfaced. This past series against the Cubs might have been the worst display of baseball in the Mendoza era, with the Mets playing sloppy, uninspired ball. I just wonder why the organization waited to so long to make a change – they could’ve easily done this after the 2025 season or during that 12-game losing streak. Maybe the managerial change sparks a run for the Mets, but it’s gotten late early in Flushing.

Kai Chang

This was the right move. There were just too many on-field issues that can be directly attributed to Mendoza. Most notably, he simply did not manage the pitching staff well enough. From what I saw, he rarely pulled starters at the right time, and his handling of the bullpen was questionable. The last straw for me was how poorly the Mets handled the ABS system. Although the challenging has improved recently, it took far too long to address.

I still think hiring Mendoza back in the offseason before 2024 was a fine decision, but I don’t really attribute much of the team’s success that year to him. After the Mets signed Juan Soto, Mendoza no longer was the right man for the job. In 2024, it felt like the players mostly led themselves, and that did work for some time. But once these key veterans left, Mendoza was exposed. Without that player-driven leadership, he seemed to be scrambling, and it became clear that he was not the strong presence the team needed.

Ultimately, two straight seasons of the Mets playing far below expectations left him as something of a scapegoat for this failure. This was a move David Stearns probably needed to make a while ago, to establish accountability for this collapse. I will remember Carlos Mendoza for his lack of presence more than anything else. He seems like a good and likeable all-around guy by most accounts. I wish nothing but the best for him and his managing career

Johnluke Chaparro

While this season doesnt fully fall on the shoulders of Carlos Mendoza, he does take his share of the blame. Roster construction aside, he failed to keep his players engaged and focused on the game, which allowed for little mistakes to turn into huge problems on the field.  His inability to feel his starters correctly and overmanage matchups at the plate cost him dearly. In addition, it seems that he lost the clubhouse, judging off of the attitude of the club.

Mendoza gets credit, and rightly so, for the 2024 NLCS run, but also takes share of the blame for last seasons collapse and this years bad start. I liked Carlos a lot but a change had to be made, but it might be too late now.

Matthew Tutrone

I went to my first game of the season last night and Mendoza was promptly fired. I’m going again on Saturday. Who’s next on the chopping block?

Allison Waxman

Really not surprising news, however, it feels like kind of a moot point right now and probably should have been done instead during the 12-game losing streak if this was always going to be the result. I may be in the minority that Mendoza was not the issue and firing him does nothing, but these things usually provide a spark or light a fire under some behinds. Just look at the Phillies. For what anyone wants to say about Mendoza, I’ll always remember 2024 and be thankful for that. I knew this was coming, and it sucks because I thought he was going to be our guy. However, something needs to change and this is always the first step in these scenarios. 

Mike Mayer

I think three things can be true: 1) The Mets needed to fire Mendoza (argument can be made for during last offseason) for a variety of reasons including the recent sloppy play and poor in-game decision making. 2) The bad run the Mets are ongoing back to last season is far more on the shoulders of David Stearns than Mendoza. 3) Injuries have killed the Mets, and that combined with a couple of key players completely underperforming, is even tougher to overcome when the manager and POBO have underwhelmed.

The post MMO Roundtable: Reactions To Carlos Mendoza’s Firing appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Nate Lavender, Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Then, seven games into his 2024 season at Triple-A, he tore his UCL. Lavender underwent the internal brace procedure on his elbow and missed the rest of the season. The Mets didn’t add Lavender, who was still recovering from elbow surgery, to the 40-man roster ahead of 2025. The Tampa Bay Rays pounced, taking Lavender in the Rule 5 Draft. The Mets’ best chance at a homegrown lefty reliever was gone.

Lavender suffered a setback with the Rays and needed another surgery to remove a bone spur in his elbow. He never pitched for the Rays, and after the season, he was returned to the Mets, this time with much less hype around him.

Finally healthy, he slowly worked his way through Single-A St. Lucie and High-A Brooklyn through the first month of the season, easing his way into his first game action since early 2024. He rejoined Triple-A Syracuse on May 9, and since then, he has looked great.

Don’t let the ERA—4.41 at Triple-A and 4.78 overall—fool you. Lavender has been excellent.

Nate Lavender in 2026. Image courtesy of Thomas Nestico @TJStats on X.

ERA, especially in the minor leagues, can be deceiving. Minor league defenses can be ugly, and minor league ballparks themselves are weird. There are many other stats you can look at instead, and one of the best, and arguably the simplest, is K-BB%. Strikeout minus walk ratio is very important, and Lavender is killing it. He’s striking out a staggering 42% of batters in Triple-A, and walking 8.7%. That’s a 33.3% K-BB% at Triple-A, a Top 5 mark across all pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched at the level. It’s the best in the Mets organization among pitchers at any level.

Lavender doesn’t throw hard, but the stuff is good. He’s a funky lefty, and guys like him consistently get away with not throwing hard. He throws strikes, gets a ton of swing and miss, and keeps the ball on the ground at a rate well above average. The ingredients are there.

The Mets currently have two lefties in the bullpen with Brooks Raley and A.J. Minter, but there’s still plenty of room for Lavender. (Realistically, you can see a world where he sticks if the Mets decide to sell at the deadline and send Raley and Minter to contenders.) There’s no rule against three lefties, and if anything, it’s probably a good thing. At the very least, Lavender should join Jonathan Pintaro, Daniel Duarte and others in the group of relievers who ride the express from Syracuse to Queens and back throughout the year.

It’s time for the once highly anticipated MLB debut of Nate Lavender.

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Unable to put any sort of winning streak together, the Mets once again showed how flawed they are during a series loss in Philadelphia over the weekend.

Despite taking the series opener, the Mets flamed out in the final two games, including suffering a humiliating 15-3 blowout loss on Saturday. As a result, New York was outscored 25-11 by the Phillies. The team is also 34-43 on the year and sitting in last place in the NL East.

The Mets are now 2-4 over the last week. Consequently, they look anything but a team that can drag itself back into the playoff race. Plus, with the starting pitching a complete mess, those odds are looking more and more insurmountable.

It is time for another edition of 3 Up, 3 Down …

Carson Benge by Berto Carlo

3 UP

HELP ON THE WAY

Without doubt, the biggest positive for the Mets over the weekend was the continued progress made by Francisco Lindor. The shortstop came through two rehab games in the minor leagues unscathed over the weekend. He even ticked off a big box by recording a stolen base for Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday. As a result, Lindor looks set to return to big league action later this week. That would serve as a big boost for the Mets, who need all the help they can get.

REWARDING THE FAITH

In a weekend full of lows, Sean Manaea at least provided a faint glimmer of hope. The lefty was solid in his latest outing, giving up two earned runs on six hits and one walk with five strikeouts. More importantly, Manaea pitched into the sixth inning, doing enough to keep his team in the game until the offense took over. Furthermore, Manaea’s gritty outing also eased the workload on the bullpen. Overall, the veteran is showing small signs of heading in the right direction.

GETTING HOT

Carson Benge was a consistent producer for the Mets in Philadelphia. He recorded five total hits, including a three-hit night in the opener. He also smacked homers on both Saturday and Sunday. Even though the offense did very little against the Phillies, Benge at least tried his best to provide a spark. Plus, Benge is now hitting .290/.333/.548/.882 over his last seven games.

Jun 20, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Freddy Peralta (51) throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

3 DOWN

HITTING THE LOWPOINT

This weekend provided another reminder of just how badly things have gotten off track this season. Thursday’s opener aside, the Mets were not really competitive in Philadelphia. They were totally blown out on Saturday in just an embarrassing effort. And they also couldn’t dig themselves out of a hole on Sunday. As a result, we saw further proof that the Mets probably aren’t equipped to handle good teams or great pitching. This series was just another sobering reminder of how fatally flawed this team really is.

STINKING UP THE JOINT

Freddy Peralta was next-level awful on Saturday. The guy who was supposed to be an ace for this team laid a Godzilla-sized egg on the mound. In what was the worst start of his career, Peralta allowed a career-high 10 runs over just 2.2 innings. He was relentlessly smacked around in a hard-to-watch beatdown. Now owning a 4.83 ERA, Peralta must bury Saturday night as he bids to turn his season around. Buying your team before the third inning is unacceptable, especially for a player of Peralta’s ilk.

NOT HELPING MATTERS

With the Mets reeling from Saturday night, David Peterson needed to offer some stability. Instead, he did the complete opposite of that. Peterson was uncompetitive from the get-go, allowing two runs to score in the first. Then, in the second, he sealed his team’s fate by giving up a three-run bomb to Kyle Schwarber. And, just like that, the Mets were dead and buried by the third inning for the second time in as many nights. The fact that Peterson even started this game underlines what a mess the rotation is right now. The lefty has now allowed 19 earned runs over his last five outings, and is showing no signs of stopping the slide. For the second straight year, it sure looks like the starting pitching will play a big role in dooming the Mets.

The post 3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Humiliated In Philly appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The following are the most notable free agents the Mets will have following 2026: LHP A.J. Minter, LHP David Peterson, RHP Freddy Peralta, LHP Brooks Raley, and OF Tyrone Taylor. With these individuals coming off the books, it’ll grant the Mets an additional $35.65 million in payroll.

In addition to the straight free agents, the Mets have several players with options. These consist of the following: INF Bo Bichette (player), OF Luis Robert Jr. (team), and RHP Clay Holmes (player). If each were to not return in 2027, the Mets would clear another $75 million. However, both Bichette and Robert Jr. do have a buyout, which brings that $75 million figure closer to $65 million.

In total, the Mets may be set to shed in excess of $130 million in payroll entering the offseason. A massive figure that would drop them from the highest payroll in the league to a figure that would currently rank toward the bottom of the top-10. Granted, their will be several moves to be made following that.

The post Early Look At The Mets’ Offseason Payroll Situation appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Mets need innings now, especially if they sell at the deadline, and the solution may be in their organization already with their relievers.

The Mets themselves in recent years have had success not just at the major league level with that transition but in players they have drafted too. McLean, Scott and Tylor Megill were primarily relievers when they pitched in college, and the organization converted them into starting pitchers.

So what traits do successful reliever to starters have, and who in the Mets’ system could be potential future converts?

Let’s compare them to three Mets relievers:

• Tobias Myers
• Jonathan Pintaro
• Austin Warren

David Frerker-Imagn Images

Velocity

Most pitchers lose around two-to-three miles per hour of velocity going from a reliever role to a starting pitcher role. It makes sense that you can throw harder when you don’t need to worry about saving your energy for a longer outing. Looking at some of the pitchers who converted after pitching in the majors as a reliever, you see their fastball velocity changed to the following degrees:

• Reynaldo López – 98.2 (2023) to 95.5 miles per hour (2024)
• Clay Holmes – 96.6 (2024) to 93.7 miles per hour (2025)
• Michael King – 95.9 (2022) to 93.3 miles per hour (2024)
• Seth Lugo – 94.4 (2022) to 93.3 miles per hour (2023)

While you do not need elite velocity to be a successful convert – there are other traits we will touch on – when you talk about losing velocity, it helps to start from a higher spot.

Where do the Mets relievers mentioned above sit while pitching in the bullpen?

• Jonathan Pintaro – 95.4 miles per hour
• Austin Warren – 94.0 miles per hour
• Tobias Myers – 92.8 miles per hour

Jonathan Pintaro is the only one of those three who has the velocity that jumps out as falling in the same range as the successful converts above. Myers, though, has shown in the majors so far that he has not lost velocity when converting to a starter, even averaging 92.9 miles per hour as a starting pitcher in 2024. Myers also has traits that make his fastball play up more than others, specifically the incredible induced vertical break he creates. Warren does not rely on his fastball as much as the other pitchers, so in theory this could impact him less.

Pitch Diversification

An important part of being a starting pitcher is having enough of a repertoire that you can face a lineup a third time through. Relievers can get through an inning on only two pitches. Outside of 2021 Jacob deGrom, there aren’t many starters who can be successful throwing only two pitches.

Many relievers will add pitches when they convert into starters, but typically they were not only two-pitch pitchers as relievers.

As relievers, the successful converted pitchers mentioned above threw:

• Michael King – slider, sinker, four-seam fastball, changeup
• Clay Holmes – sinker, slider, sweeper, four-seam fastball
• Seth Lugo – curveball, four-seam fastball, sinker, slider, changeup
• Reynaldo López – four-seam fastball, slider, changeup, curveball

All of these converts had deep repertoires as relievers and added to them even more as starters.

For the Mets relievers I mentioned, you have:

• Tobias Myers – four-seam fastball, splitter, slider, cutter
• Austin Warren – sweeper, sinker, four-seam fastball, curveball, cutter, changeup
• Jonathan Pintaro – cutter, sinker, sweeper, four-seam fastball, changeup

All of these Mets relievers have deep repertoires that should allow them the ability to attack a lineup multiple times through.

A High Strikeout or Ground Ball Rate

Quick outs are important as a starting pitcher. You don’t want to get into deep at-bats with a lot of traffic from batters you walk. And when you do let batters get on, you want to be able to get out of trouble with either a well-timed strikeout or a double play ball.

• Michael King – 33.2% strikeout rate and 47% ground ball rate
• Clay Holmes – 25.1% strikeout rate and 65% ground ball rate
• Seth Lugo – 25.4% strikeout rate and 46.2% ground ball rate
• Reynaldo López – 29.9% strikeout rate and 39.2% ground ball rate

Seth Lugo is the only one there that was not elite in one of those two categories, but he was roughly 15% above average in both. Clay Holmes ran elite ground ball rates while King and López ran elite strikeout rates.

As for the Mets’ relievers:

• Tobias Myers – 18.6% strikeout rate and 35.2% ground ball rate
• Austin Warren – 24.1% strikeout rate and 37.3% ground ball rate
• Jonathan Pintaro – 30.9% strikeout rate and 33.3% ground ball rate (In Triple-A)

Pintaro does not have enough of a sample size in the majors so I used his Triple-A numbers, where he is running an elite strikeout rate. Myers sticks out here as he does not fit either category, but he has run a career 6.3% walk rate, which makes up for this. Austin Warren has not been elite at generating strikeouts but is still well above-average.

A True Carrying Tool

Finally, having a true carrying tool can make all the difference in converting to a starting pitcher. For some it is strong movement profiles, for others it is a plus feel for spin and for many it is outlier velocity as mentioned above. Many may have more than one carrying tool. For the successful converted pitchers mentioned, you have:

• Michael King – Plus movement from a deceptive delivery
• Clay Holmes – Plus spin rate on secondaries
• Reynaldo López – outlier velocity
• Seth Lugo – Elite curveball spin rates

It makes sense why these traits would help these pitchers convert to becoming successful starting pitchers. Spin rates typically carry over with the increased work load and helps force weak contact as well as generate swing and misses. Plus-movement profiles also carry over, and a deceptive delivery is repeatable even over longer outings.

As for the Mets relievers:

• Myers – Elite fastball induced vertical break from a unique arm slot
• Pintaro – Plus movement from a deceptive delivery
• Warren – Plus movement and spin from a low arm slot

Pintaro profiles very similar to Michael King, he just does not have the same level of command of his pitches as the San Diego starter. Myers makes up for his velocity with a fastball that is incredibly difficult for batters to pick up. Warren generates both plus-movement and spin and throws from a very low slot compared to Myers’ very high arm slot.

Conclusion

To finalize, let’s recap what each pitcher has going for them to convert to a starter if the Mets were to decide to do so.

Myers

• High iVB fastball from a unique over-the-top arm slot
• Deep pitch mix
• Has had success as a starting pitcher before
• Low walk rate

Pintaro

• Plus movement from a deceptive delivery
• Elite strikeout rate in Triple-A
• Strong fastball velocity
• Deep pitch mix

Warren

• Plus spin rates and movement from a low slot
• Deep pitch mix
• Above average strikeout rate

All of these pitchers could likely have success at least to some extent as starting pitchers, but should they be converted?

Myers struggled in his last appearance, but should be given more of a chance to start than being called up on short rest on the road. He has stretched out to some degree, throwing 43 pitches most recently, and president of baseball operations David Stearns said that they like how Myers can be used as a bulk guy and a starter. He has shown the ability to be a mid-rotation level starter in the majors before, and with his arm slot, pitch mix, and movement, he has the stuff to be a mid-rotation level starter as well if he were to get enough run. With Scott’s injury, Myers should continue to be built up and could slot right into the rotation.

Pintaro should be converted in Triple-A. His ceiling is essentially becoming Michael King if he can learn to improve his command by about a grade. Most likely, a realistic high-end outcome would be a fourth starter. At the very least, it is worth exploring because he very clearly has the stuff to be a pitcher in the majors and it is much easier to convert back into a reliever.

As for Warren, he is having so much success in his current role is it hard to argue moving him out of it. There could even be arguments into developing him further as a reliever into a leverage role, but he has the stuff that if they ever decided to convert him into a starter, he should be able to be at least a backend option.

The post Could These Mets Relievers Become Starters? appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Yes, the Mets dropped two out of three to the Reds as maddening inconsistency continues to plague this team. Losing this series in Cincinnati made the previous series win against the Braves seem moot.

However, this team did show how things could be in the series finale, avoiding the sweep thanks to an ace-like performance and a relentless and efficient offense. Granted, what we saw on Wednesday just made the failings of this season so far even more frustrating.

Why can’t the Mets play like that on a much more consistent basis?

While we don’t have the answer to that question, we do have the latest edition of 3 Up, 3 Down hot off the press for you…

3 UP

ACE-LIKE

That’s more like it, Nolan McLean. The righty put together his best outing in weeks on Wednesday, absolutely dominating the series finale against the Reds. McLean looked at the very peak of his powers, tearing through the Cincinnati lineup with absolute ease. He allowed just one unearned run over seven dominant innings with one walk and nine strikeouts. McLean just overwhelmed the opposing lineup by having complete control of his stuff. It also helped that his four-seam fastball was back to being dangerous, generating five whiffs on 11 swings. All in all, McLean pitched like a true ace, and that’s exactly what the Mets will need moving forward.

ELITE HEATER

There’s hot, and there is whatever Bo Bichette is doing right now. The infielder has finally settled into a groove and he looks unstoppable at the plate. Bichette had three hits in the series opener, two hits in the middle game, and another three hits in the finale. He was at his best on Wednesday, finishing with three runs scored, an RBI, and a walk. Plus, after combining with Juan Soto for five runs and three RBIs in the final game, Bichette showed just how dangerous the top of that Mets lineup could be. This version of Bichette is certainly a lot of fun to watch, too.

NOT MISSING A BEAT

Since coming off the IL on June 9, Francisco Alvarez has made it his mission to lock right back in. The catcher has been swinging a hot bat since his return, and that continued in Cincinnati. After recording a hit in each of the first two games of the series, Alvarez really came alive in the series finale. He went 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI, driving in a run with an RBI single in the fifth inning. If the Mets are to go on the kind of run needed to salvage this season, Alvarez staying hot at the plate – and also staying healthy – will be vital.

Jun 16, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga (34) looks to the video board during an ABS system challenge during the game against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

3 DOWN

SEEN ENOUGH

Is it fair to ask if the Kodai Senga experiment has already gone too far? Outside of a dream debut season in 2023, things have hardly gone well for Senga in Queens. And a lot of that has to do with his inability to stay healthy. Well, after returning from his latest stint on the IL on Tuesday, Senga delivered another clunker. He allowed four earned runs on two hits and four walks with five strikeouts over four innings, including giving up a pair of home runs. It is clear that Senga just does not have it anymore, and he’s now allowed 20 earned runs over his last four starts. The fact that he’s still in the rotation just highlights how big a letdown starting pitching has been for the Mets this year.

PLAN BACKFIRED

The front office hasn’t learned from its past mistakes when it came to pitching, and it is coming back to haunt the Mets right now. Starting pitching doomed this team in 2025, and history looks set to repeat itself in 2026. This team simply doesn’t have enough reliable starters. With that said, it also doesn’t help how the coaching staff and front office have handled certain pitchers. Take Tobias Myers, for instance. The righty was sent down to the minors in order to be stretched out as a starter. However, that never happened, and serving as the opener on Monday, Myers was shelled for seven earned runs on four hits over 1 1/3 horrific innings. The handling of Myers has proved to be an unmitigated disaster, as has the Mets’ approach to building a rotation for the second straight year.

MADDENINGLY INCONSISTENT 

Forget treading water, the Mets just continue to sink, and it is becoming increasingly frustrating to watch this team on a daily basis. There was some hope after the series win over the Braves, only for reality to hit after the Mets dropped the first two games to the Reds. They just can’t get out of their own way. Inconsistency is the biggest problem at play here. The offense was stagnant for the first two games, only to come alive in the series finale. Even in winning the series finale, the defense committed a number of blunders. The starting pitching, as detailed above, remains an absolute wild card from game to game. At this point, given their inability to put it all together, it would probably take a miracle for the Mets to salvage anything at all from this infuriating season.

The post 3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Finish Strong To Avoid Cincy Sweep appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Then his next outing on May 10, he saw a velocity spike. Across 20 pitches he averaged 91.3 miles per hour. A week later on May 17, he threw 57 pitches and averaged 91.6 miles per hour. From May 10, onwards Sean Manaea has averaged 91.1 miles per hour on his fastball and 91 miles per hour on his sinker. He has thrown as hard as 93.9 miles per hour and has thrown 26.2 innings to a 3.04 ERA, 3.49 FIP, and 1.01 WHIP.

To be clear, this is a small sample size but with the Mets injury concerns, it is worth looking into how much Sean Manaea’s velocity changes him as a pitcher and whether or not he should get the opportunity to fully rejoin the rotation.

David Frerker-Imagn Images

What Has Changed?

Obviously the biggest change is that he is throwing harder. Adding two miles per hour may not seem like a huge change, but it has improved his arsenal from the top down. Through the end of April, batters were slashing .279/.354/.512/.866 off his fastball. Since his velocity increase, they are slashing .107/.188/.286/.474. That is roughly the difference between Bryce Harper and James McCann. Against his sinker, batters were slashing .417/.588/.667/1.205 but since the velocity increase they are slashing .258/.281/.290/.571.

His sweeper has also played up, going from a 27.8% whiff rate and 34.1% chase rate to a 35.7% whiff rate and 35% chase rate. He is throwing his sweeper a full mile per hour faster and is generating three inches more of horizontal break.

Across the board everything under the hood looks improved.

Before his velocity jump:

• 39.7% hard-hit rate (66th percentile)
• 22.3% strikeout rate (56th percentile)
• 21.8% whiff rate (29th percentile)
• 30.3% chase rate (44th percentile)
• 10.2% swinging strike rate (30th percentile)
• 89.4 miles per hour average exit velocity (30th percentile)
• 9.7% walk rate (21st percentile)
• 33.8% ground ball rate (7th percentile)
• 13.2% barrel rate (4th percentile)

Since his velocity jump:

• 5.7% barrel rate (98th percentile)
• 85.7 miles per hour average exit velocity (96th percentile)
• 35.7% hard-hit rate (86th percentile)
• 25.5% strikeout rate (81st percentile)
• 6.6% walk rate (74th percentile)
• 33.5% chase rate (84th percentile)
• 11.6% swinging strike rate (58th percentile)
• 23.8% whiff rate (52nd percentile)
• 40.8% ground ball rate (44th percentile)

This is not jsut an improvement. This is the difference between a fringe backend starter and a mid-rotation starter with number two upside.

There is one major caveat here: Manaea has yet to throw more than 84 pitches in an outing yet. His 84 pitches came in his most recent outing against the Braves where he did still go six innings allowing two earned runs. The good news is that even with the elevated pitch count he still averaged 91.2 miles per hour on his four-seam fastball and 91.6 miles per hour on his sinker.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

How Does This Compare to 2024?

Sean Manaea will likely never be the pitcher he was the second half of 2024. Not even because of the bone chips in his elbow—that is unlikely why he has struggled. Many pitchers pitch with them for years and it is very atypical to remove them unless the pitcher is in pain or they are pressing against a ligament. Per Courtney Hollman of MLB.com, Edwin Diaz had bone chips in his elbow similar to Sean Manaea for his entire Mets tenure and did not feel discomfort to the point of needing removal until this season, 14 years after he noticed them.

The most likely factor that has worked against Sean Manaea is father time. Manaea is 34 years old now. After his first outing of spring training, Manaea confirmed when talking to SNY that he had a late start in his throwing program and game action. It is possible could have also attributed to the delay in his velocity build up.

All of that said, in this small sample size, he has been closer to 2024 than you might expect.

Four-Seam Fastball

In 2024, Manaea averaged 92.2 miles per hour on his four-seam fastball compared to 91.1 miles per hour since May 10 this year. He generated 10.9 inches of induced vertical break in 2024 vs 10.5 inches in 2026 and 13.8 inches of horizontal break compared to 13.2 inches. His -4.5 vertical approach angle is almost identical to the -4.4 in 2024. His 2028 rpm of spin is also almost identical to his 2013 rpm in 2024.

So while the velocity is is down just over one mile per hour, his pitch shape has remained largely unchanged.

Sweeper

Manaea is throwing his sweeper two miles per hour slower than he was in 2024 but with an almost identical iVB (1.7 vs 1.5). He is throwing from a slightly lower arm angle than 2024 (16 degrees vs 18 degrees) which has allowed him to generate -15.8 inches of horizontal break compared to -13.1 inches in 2024. He is throwing it out of the zone far more often which has led to a drop in whiff, but significantly more chase (35% vs 30.3%). He is also generating significantly more spin at 2308 rpm vs 2169 in 2024.

Sinker

His sinker is coming in at 91 miles per hour compared to 92.2 miles per hour in 2024 and he is throwing it with a much different shape. This has turned it into much more of a chase pitch that moves more arm side at 18.5 inches of HB vs 16.9 inches in 2024 and is coming in at 4.5 inches of iVB vs 9.6 in 2024. This has turned it into a pitch that surpasses hard contact better and generates more ground balls, but also takes away a swing a miss weapon.

Cutter and Changeup

These were Manaea’s least used pitches in 2024, and he is especially using his changeup even less in 2026 going from 11.7% down to 3.3% of the time. His changeup is profiling much weaker this year with more spin and worse movement and is now more of a pitch used to change things up when needed (pun intended).

His cutter, despite being slower, looks much stronger than it did in 2024 which is likely why he is throwing it 10.6% of the time vs 7.0% of the time in 2024. Despite coming in at only 84.1 miles per hour, he is getting significantly more horizontal break (-3.3 inches vs -0.1) without sacrificing too much iVB (6.4 inches vs 7.6). His 2136 rpm of spin is almost 100 rpm more than his 2040 rpm in 2024. It isn’t a plus pitch by any means but it looks much more like a league average pitch for him to mix in.

The Improvements Look Legit

Sean Manaea is not the 28% whiff, 28.4% strikeout rate, 14.2% swinging strike, and 33.2% hard-hit rate borderline ace he was at the end of 2024 even with his jump in velocity. He is generating significantly more swing and miss than he was the first few weeks of the season, but he is relying on weak contact far more than he was in 2024.

Manaea will likely give up a little of his gains as he gets stretched out more. He may even have some bad outings, especially outings where the velocity could dip earlier if he is fatigued.

But he is showing that if he can keep this up, he could maybe be a starter that shows flashes of who he was in 2024 and if he can maintain his velocity enough, maybe even maintain a ERA under 4.00 the rest of the way. Or, this last month could be a blip and his next start after this article comes back he could be throwing 89 miles per hour and get crushed. I would like to be an optimist and say I hope that Sean has turned a corner and can be a stable factor at the back of a rotation that very quickly now needs quality innings. And maybe if we are lucky, this can carry over to 2027.

The post Has Sean Manaea Turned a Corner? appeared first on Metsmerized Online.