With the bases loaded and nobody out, the Mets had an opportunity to blow the game open against the Brewers on Wednesday night. Francisco Álvarez had just drawn a bases loaded walk to tie the game, and it appeared the Mets had Wade Miley on the ropes. Brett Baty struck out looking, and Mark Canha followed with a double play to end the inning. The Mets did not score another run and went on to lose 5-2.
While the pitching has been the biggest culprit for the Mets’ disaster of a first half, the offense has been plagued by inconsistency. After leading the National League with a .259 team batting average in 2022, the Mets have fallen to 20th in MLB in 2023 with a .239 team average. They are 19th on on-base percentage, 20th in slugging percentage, and 19th in OPS after finishing in the top eight in all three categories last season. The Mets have fallen from a top five run scoring team to a bottom 10 run scoring team.
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The Problem Spans The Whole Team
Like so many issues the Mets are currently dealing with, the blame cannot be put squarely on one person. Part of the reason for the Mets’ recent struggles has been the slumping rookies in the lineup. Both Baty and Álvarez are seeing the growing pains of playing in their first year as MLB regulars.
Baty’s batting average has come around after hitting .275 over his last 15 games, but the power has not been there for the Mets 23-year-old third baseman. His double on Wednesday night was just his third of the month, and he has not hit a home run since May 19 against the Guardians.
Álvarez is mired in a deeper slump. Since his huge May that saw him hit .292/.363/.667 with seven home runs, the Mets’ catcher is hitting just .147/.205/.338 in June and has just one homer in his last 15 games.
The Mets have also been had plenty of veterans who are struggling, none more than Jeff McNeil. McNeil did not start against the left-handed Miley on Wednesday, but he pinch-hit and went 0-2 in the loss. In June, the 2022 batting champ has hit just .179 and has just one hit in his last 23 at-bats. His batting average for the season has fallen to .255, just four points higher than the career-low .251 mark he had in 2021. While McNeil has not focused on power since hitting 23 home runs in 2019, he has not been able to produce extra-base hits at a rate anywhere near last year’s. He currently has just eight doubles, one triple and three home runs, which has him at a career-low .323 slugging percentage.
Like McNeil, Starling Marte has seen his batting average plummet while his extra-base hit power has dissapeared. Though he’s performed slightly better as of late, Marte is hitting just .254/.307/.331 with four home runs and seven doubles after hitting 16 homers and 24 doubles in 2022. Despite having already eclipsed his stolen base total from last season, Marte has seen his numbers regress in every other category. With two years left on his contract after this season, the 34-year-old right fielder having the lowest OPS on the team at .638 is cause for concern.
Since returning from the injured list, Pete Alonso has struggled to get going. In 10 games since his return, the Mets’ slugger is hitting just .154/.233/.359 with a pair of home runs. After returning in just ten days from an injury that was expected to cost Alonso three-to-four weeks, it is not a total surprise that Alonso needs time to get back to form. The Mets reliance on Alonso’s power has made his slump more noticeable.
Can They Get Going?
All in all, the Mets have too may regulars in their lineup that they expect to be key contributors that haven’t been consistent. While Francisco Lindor and Tommy Pham are playing well as of late, they have both seen their share of struggles in 2023. It has been a puzzling year for the Mets where it seems like anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
The Mets have six players in their lineup that they expect to be a part of their long-term core with Baty, Álvarez, McNeil, Alonso, Lindor and Brandon Nimmo. Marte is signed for two more years, too. Outside of Nimmo, all of these players are having seasons that you simply expect more from. While the Mets can certainly add to the lineup in the other three spots, the reality of the situation is these players will have to improve for the Mets to have success in the coming years.
