Despite injuries to their starting rotation throughout the season, the Mets lead MLB in team ERA. The Mets rotation is rolling, but New York’s staff is getting some reinforcements to help make their pitching attack even stronger. Frankie Montas has begun making rehab starts and now Sean Manaea is expected to make his first rehab start for High-A Brooklyn this Friday. The Mets’ 2024 breakout star is slated to throw two innings or 35 pitches as he comes back from a right oblique strain.

On Wednesday, the Mets secured a season series victory over the Dodgers Wednesday night, topping Los Angeles by a score of 6-1. Griffin Canning threw another gem, going six shutout innings, while Pete Alonso bludgeoned the Dodgers with two home runs and five RBI.

The Amazins‘ will look to grab a series victory over the Dodgers on Thursday as David Peterson (4-2, 2.69 ERA) will face Landon Knack (3-2, 4.58 ERA) in the four-game sets’ finale.

Latest Mets News

Mark Vientos has a low-grade hamstring strain. He’ll receive treatment for 10-14 days then begin ramping back up.

Baseball America’s Top 100 June Update includes four Mets, click here for more.

All-Star Game voting officially opened. Click here to vote for your Mets!

Luisangel Acuña was making plays at a new position off the field on Wednesday night.

Even on the bench, Luisangel Acuña is LOCKED IN 😂 pic.twitter.com/P5HGQB3QGP

— MLB (@MLB) June 5, 2025

Jonah Tong had another great outing for Triple-A Syracuse, going five no-hit innings with 11 Ks, bringing his ERA down to 2.02.

Latest MLB News

The San Francisco Giants made a flurry of moves, including DFAing OF LaMonte Wade Jr. and signing former Met Dominic Smith to a one-year major league deal.

The Cincinnati Reds placed flame-throwing starting pitcher Hunter Greene on the 15-day IL with a right groin strain. They also signed LHP Wade Miley to a one-year major league contract. 

Rob Manfred will propose the ABS system and it’s likely to arrive to MLB in 2026, per Evan Drellich of The Athletic. For more on the report, click here!

Twins former All-Star RHP Pablo López will be out the next 8-12 weeks with a grade 2 teres major muscle strain, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic.

The Colorado Rockies completed a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins with their win on Wednesday, their first series victory of 2025.

Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela hit a measly 308-foot homer to give the Red Sox an 11-9 win over the Angels, recording the shortest walk-off home run in the Statcast Era.

CEDDANNE RAFAELA TUCKS IT INSIDE THE POLE FOR A #WALKOFF HOME RUN! pic.twitter.com/Hl5T74OLjK

— MLB (@MLB) June 4, 2025

Latest On MMO

Tylor Megill bounced back after a rough start to his outing on Tuesday.

The ABS system could be coming soon.

Jonah Tong continues to deal!

On This Date in Mets History

2022: Adonis Medina strikes out Will Smith to get out of a tenth inning jam, giving the Mets a 5-4 win over the Dodgers and Medina’s first career save.

2001: The Mets select third baseman David Wright out of Hickory High School in Virginia with the 38th overall pick. 

Born On This Date: Dedniel Núñez (1996), Robinson Chirinos (1984), Bill Spiers (1966), Paul Siebert (1953)

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Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Dominic Smith is signing with the Washington Nationals, as USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale first reported. FanSided‘s Robert Murray reports that the deal is one-year, $2 million with an additional $2 million available in performance bonuses.

Smith, who was projected to make $4 million for the 2023 season through arbitration, was non-tendered by the Mets nearly two months ago.

This past season, the former Mets’ first baseman and outfielder hit just .194/.276/.284 with zero home runs in 58 games at the major league level. After enduring some early season struggles, the Mets demoted Smith to Triple A-Syracuse, where he posted a .839 OPS with 10 home runs over 54 games.

Smith, formerly a first-round pick of the Mets back in 2013, made his major league debut with the club in 2017. In 447 major league games spanning six years with New York, Smith hit .246/.308/.424 with 46 home runs and 179 RBIs. His best year as a pro came during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, in which Smith hit .316/.377/.616 and posted a .993 OPS with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs over 50 games.

The California native was never able to regain that form, as he hit .244/.304/.363 and posted a .667 OPS with 11 home runs, playing in a career-high 145 games in 2021—a season that was marred by minor injuries. He followed up that performance with his worst season to date and saw his role in the organization evaporate once the Mets acquired first baseman/DH Daniel Vogelbach from Pittsburgh in July.

Staying in the NL East, Smith will have a chance to face off against his former team more often than not. He’ll likely take over their first base job with the team losing Josh Bell to free agency and non-tendering Luke Voit. The team’s other first base options include Jeimer Candelario and Joey Meneses with no real threat waiting in the wings in the minors.

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Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, Mets fans!

On Friday, the Mets non-tendered Dominic Smith, making him a free agent. Smith had been with the Mets for parts of the last six seasons and he struggled to consistently produce with the team. The 2020 season, possibly in part because it was shortened, was by far his best season with the team as he produced a brilliant slash of .316/.377/.616/.993.

His 2021 and 2022 seasons were failures, as he was unable to come even close to having the success he had in his 2020 season. This move was widely expected and now Smith is free to sign with any team. Mike Puma of the New York Post already reports that the Royals and Rays could have interest in Smith this offseason.

In addition to Smith, Sean Reid-Foley is a free agent too as he was also non-tendered by the Mets.

Now onto the morning briefing!

Latest Mets News

The Mets made a trade with the Miami Marlins on Friday, acquiring pitchers Elieser Hernandez and Jeff Brigham in exchange for minor league pitcher Franklin Sanchez. Hernandez and Brigham were recently DFA’d by the Marlins, and they provide the Mets with pitching depth which they lacked last season.

In another move to add pitching depth, the Mets claimed pitcher William Woods off waivers from the Atlanta Braves.

Mark Canha and his wife, Marci, participated in the Mets’ turkey giveaway in Manhattan on Friday morning, giving Thanksgiving food to those in need.

Latest MLB News

The Minnesota Twins unveiled new uniforms, including new fonts and logos.

The Oakland Athletics announced that Billy Beane is shifting into a new role as “Senior Advisor to A’s Managing Partner”. David Forst, who has been with the A’s for over two decades, becomes the new head of baseball operations.

Jon Heyman reports that the Los Angeles Dodgers could make a serious run at Aaron Judge this offseason.

Jon Morosi reports that the San Francisco Giants are interested in free agent Kenley Jansen.

The Los Angeles Angels announced that they acquired infielder Gio Urshela in exchange for minor league pitcher Alejandro Hidalgo.

The Minnesota Twins acquired infielder Kyle Farmer from the Cincinnati Reds.

The Cincinatti Reds acquired infielder Kevin Newman from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for reliever Dauri Moreta.

The Milwaulkee Breweres acquired pitcher Javy Guerra from the Tampa Bay Rays for a PTBNL.

Several players reached an agreement to avoid arbitration with their teams, including Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Lou Trivino, Miguel Andujar, and Mike Yastrzemski.

Several players were non-tendered by their teams on Friday, including Cody Bellinger, Jeimer Candelario, Danny Mendick, and Brian Anderson.

The Atlanta Braves signed lefty reliever Tyler Matzek to a two-year, $3.1 million contract. The deal also includes a $5.5 million club option for 2025. Matzek, who had Tommy John Surgery in October, is expected to miss the entire 2023 season.

The Colorado Rockies extended reliever Tyler Kinley to a three-year contract that includes a club option for 2026.

The San Diego Padres met on Thursday with Kodai Senga. Senga, who is expected to be pursued by many teams this offseason, is close with Yu Darvish, and has played with Nick Martinez and Robert Suarez previously in Japan.

The Los Angeles Dodgers claimed reliever Jake Reed on waivers from the Boston Red Sox.

Latest on MMO

Andrew Steele-Davis discusses a report by ESPN’s Jeff Passan that Brandon Nimmo could receive upwards of $130 million in free agency.

John Sheridan breaks down the Mets’ trade for two Marlins pitchers.

On This Date in Mets History

1979: The team’s Board of Directors announced its intention to sell the Mets before the 1980 season. This was the first time in the franchise’s history that the Mets were up for sale. Ultimately the team was sold to a group led by Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon.

Birthdays: Francisco Álvarez (21)

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Photo by Rick Nelson

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (62-83) 5, Worcester Red Sox (72-72) 4 Box Score

• CF Jake Mangum: 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, K, .339/.368/.468
• 1B Dominic Smith: 1-for-2, HR (10), 2 RBI, 3 BB, .288/.374/.486
• RF Carlos Rincon: 2-for-4, 2 2B, 2 R, BB, 2 K, .225/.275/.364
• C Michael Perez: 2-for-3, 2B, RBI, .175/.213/.263

Syracuse scored five runs on nine hits as they beat the Worcester Red Sox 5-4 Friday night.

Dominic Smith opened the scoring with a two-run home run off a rehabbing Nathan Eovaldi in the first inning. Smith has hit safely in nine-straight games. He’s 15-for-35 with four home runs and 12 RBIs in that span.

After Worcester tied the game in the bottom of the first, Carlos Rincon led off the second with a double before coming around to score on a fielder’s choice.

The Red Sox then took a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning before the Mets responded with two runs in the sixth on a Michael Perez RBI single and a Jake Mangum sac fly.

• RHP Harol Gonzalez: 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 7.90 ERA
• RHP Bryce Montes de Oca: (W, 2-2), 1.2 IP, H, BB, 4 K, 3.58 ERA
• RHP Adonis Medina: SV (1), 1.0 IP, H, BB, 3 K, 4.50 ERA

Harol Gonzalez struggled in the start, allowing four runs on five hits in 4.1 innings. However, the Syracuse bullpen combined to pitch 4.2 scoreless innings to hang on to a one-run victory.

Bryce Montes de Oca earned the win, his second in Syracuse, striking out four over 1.2 innings. Alex Claudio and Trey Cobb each pitched a clean inning before Adonis Medina earned the save, working around a hit and a walk with three strikeouts, in the ninth.

Syracuse will look for a fourth-straight win over Worcester Saturday afternoon.

The post MMN Recap: Dom Smith Homers in Syracuse Victory appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Photo by Ed Delany of MMO

It turns out Dominic Smith was playing hurt last year.

As reported by Pat Ragazzo of Sports Illustrated, Smith played through the last portion of the 2021 season with a partially torn labrum in his right shoulder.

Add that to the right wrist strain and the groin injury that clearly hampered him, then it is no surprise that the first baseman/outfielder saw his play fall off a cliff.

Smith suffered the partial tear in late-May/early-June of last season, hitting just two home runs  in the second-half of the season. In total in 2021, the 26-year-old posted a .244/.304/.363 slash line with 11 home runs and 58 RBIs.

Smith’s rapid decline was just one of many disappointing storylines to emerge from a car crash of the 2021 season, although at least now there is a concrete reason for the slugger’s clear struggles.

And, speaking exclusively to SI, Smith explained his troubles last year: “I was a little bit banged up,” Smith said.

“The wrist started in spring training on a check-swing. I didn’t want to miss too much time, so I just wore a little tape on my wrist, and went after it. But then, because my wrist was hurting, I wound up messing up my labrum due to my one hand follow through on my swing.

“I’ve seen guys from in (the clubhouse) play through so much stuff. I couldn’t come in and make excuses. If I was available, then I was going to go out and play.”

Smith managed to play in 145 games for the Mets last year and didn’t require surgery on his partial labrum tear, which had a clear negative impact on his swing.

The good news, however, is that Smith spent the entire and extended offseason getting healthy, rebuilding the strength in both his shoulder and wrist, focusing on grip holds and grip strengthening while also ensuring he put a lot of time into mobility exercises.

“It’s good enough,” Smith said when asked if his labrum is fully healed. “I think it’s healed. You still take some swings and feel stuff, and that’s just a part of it. But it’s good enough to go. It’s a lot better than last year, I will say that.

“I’m trying to take everything extremely serious, so I’m not only healthy for 162 games, but I’m actually helping the team and producing by being the player I know I can be. Nothing hurts right now. Trust me, if something hurts, everybody will know. I won’t be out there playing if I’m hurt. That’s something that’s going to change from the past.”

It is hardly a bold statement to suggest that, if the Mets are to meet lofty expectations in 2022, then they will need Smith firing on all cylinders and returning to hitting bombs and being a force at the plate.

Smith got off on the right foot when he blasted two home runs against Max Scherzer on Wednesday in an intrasquad game.

If he can do that and remain healthy throughout the season, then both the Mets and Smith himself should enjoy a much more productive year. Let’s certainly hope that’s the case.

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Credit: Andy Marlin, USA TODAY

It was Camp Day for the Mets as they finished up their five-game set with the division rival Atlanta Braves on Thursday at Citi Field, hoping to bury the Braves six games behind them with the trade deadline coming up on Friday. To do so, they sent Taijuan Walker to the mound to start in the hopes that he’d rebound from his difficult start to the 2nd half.

He breezed through the first three innings, especially after Dom Smith‘s RBI single to drive in Brandon Nimmo in the third inning to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. But that lead would not last as Walker would get rocked with back to back home runs – first by proverbial thorn Austin Riley, then by Abraham Almonte to give the Braves a 3-1 lead.

The Braves would tack on two more in the fifth before Pete Alonso responded with an upper deck home run to make it 5-3. However, a mistake pitch by Jeurys Familia was sent right into the bullpens by Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson to all but seal it as the Braves would extend their lead to 6-3 and their bullpen would hold the Mets in check, despite Taijuan Walker striking out seven and walking two through five innings of work and 87 pitches (61 strikes).

On the loss, Pete Alonso said “It’s unfortunate how this series panned out, but every day is a new opportunity and I think it’s gonna be a great series ahead of us against the Reds.”

Taijuan Walker added in “For me, it’s two things. One, the long ball has been killing me and two, it’s just the pitch selection. It’s just not trusting myself and you throw a pitch without conviction.”

Walker’s ERA at the All-Star break was a sparkling 2.50, it’s now up to 3.71 on the season. Walker is also up to 99 1/3 innings for the season, the highest mark since he threw 157 innings for Arizona back in 2017.

He went on to say “I didn’t do my job today, we scored some runs, but I didn’t do my job in helping the team to win.”

Mets will be back at it Friday night as they start up a weekend series against the Reds in not only the return of the iconic black jerseys, but also the debut of Carlos Carrasco.

The post Taijuan Walker’s Struggles Continue appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets sent the ace of their pitching staff, two-time NL Cy Young award winner Jacob deGrom, to the mound on Thursday to close out their set against the division rival Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta.

After the Mets got a lead early on, deGrom got rocked for three runs in the bottom half of the first inning, capped off by a two-run home run to right field by Austin Riley. But deGrom would settle down, at one point making another run at Tom Seaver – striking out eight Braves in a row. He would end up going seven innings, allowing three runs on five hits with 14 strikeouts. After that first inning, he all but completely cut his fastball and went to the slider for half his 93 pitches, 70 of which went for strikes.

“I noticed they were hunting the fastball, that’s why I tried to go heavy on slider and changeup…made the adjustment…” deGrom said when assessing his shaky start. “The mistake I made was to Albies, biggest mistake pitch I made of the night…good job by Riley there. I said to James, ‘How did he hit that?'”

After deGrom left, Trevor May was called in to keep the game close, in turn leading to a game-tying home run by Dom Smith in the ninth, only to be undone by Freddie Freeman‘s walkoff single in the bottom half of the inning.

“It’s tough. Tough to hear out there, I was yelling at him…” Seth Lugo said about that final play by Guillorme on the Freeman walkoff during a postgame press conference. “We’re grinding it out, every inning, every game…”

Lugo also had a critical error to start the Braves’ ninth inning when he lost his footing on what appeared to be a routine play to first.

“Honestly, I should’ve put the ball in my pocket…” Lugo went on to say when talking about his error.

The Mets will look to rebound from this bad stretch when they face the struggling Yankees for a three-game July 4th weekend set at Yankee Stadium starting Friday. Taijuan Walker will take the mound for the Mets against Jordan Montgomery for the Yankees.

The post DeGrom Fans 14, But Mets Get Chopped By Braves appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Mets sent Taijuan Walker to the mound in his first start since coming off the injured list and they provided him with plenty of run support.

James McCann got things going by sending one over the right center field wall to open the scoring. Then, after a McCann double and outfield error, Dominic Smith singled McCann home to make it 2-0 in the third.

Former Baltimore Oriole Jonathan Villar pitched in with a home run into the apple out in central, then Francisco Lindor’s daring bunt attempt followed by a McCann single set the table for Tomas Nido to bat Lindor in on a fielder’s choice to make it 4-0 in the fifth inning.

After the Braves plated one in the top of the sixth, the Mets went on a seven-run outburst fueled by home runs from Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney to make it 11-1.

Lindor would add two more in the seventh off his fourth dinger of the year to make it 13-1.

The Braves would plate one in the eighth, but it was already too little, too late as relievers Sean Reid-Foley, Miguel Castro and Jacob Barnes shut the door.

“It’s taken us a while to put together a game like this, but being able to put up runs and guys coming through in big spots, everyone contributed,” McCann said. “That makes it a lot of fun in the dugout.”

Manager Luis Rojas added that it was a huge boost for the team to explode as such offensively.

“It builds a lot of confidence from the offensive standpoint,” manager Luis Rojas said. “That’s something we hadn’t done in the season so far.”

New York will look to close out the series against Atlanta on Sunday night and take the shortened two-game set after Friday’s rainout.

The Mets will then face the Diamondbacks in Phoenix to start a nine-game road trip. The Mets and Braves will meet again June 21-23 at Citi Field, part of a seven-game homestand for the Mets.

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New York Mets players Dominic Smith and Miguel Castro have been fined by Major League Baseball in the wake of Friday’s bench-clearing incident against the Phillies.

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports that Smith and Castro have both received undisclosed fines for their roles in what unfolded on Friday at Citizens Bank Park. Phillies’ reliever Jose Alvarado didn’t get away as lightly having been served a three-game suspension and an undisclosed fine.

News: Major League Baseball has fined Mets players Dominic Smith and Miguel Castro for their roles in Friday's benches-clearing incident.

The big punishment went to Phillies reliever José Alvarado, who received a three-game suspension. He's appealing it.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 2, 2021

If you aren’t sure what we are talking about, then let us remind you by taking you down recent memory lane quickly.

In what was an otherwise lowkey 2-1 win for the Phillies on Friday night, a game in which the Mets’ sluggish offense again failed to wake from its slumber, all of the headlines were quickly written themselves when tempers flared at the top of the eighth inning.

With Alvarado on the mound, the reliever struck out Smith for the third out with the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on second, and decided to make his feelings clear by celebrating and then engaging Smith with a few heated words and gestures.

Understandably already frustrated at having failed to at least make it a tied game, Smith took exception to Alvarado’s behavior and fired back, leading to the latter hauling his glove to the ground and charging at Smith with both benches and bullpens completely emptying.

No punches were thrown with Phillies catcher Andrew Knapp getting in the way of Alvarado and Smith, but it was still an incredibly heated moment and the situation could have easily spiralled out of control given the emotions on both sides.

Castro, meanwhile, was fined for walking Rhys Hoskins and then following him to first base after his third and fourth pitches were clearly way inside. It was just a frustrating night for all concerned on the Mets.

You can argue that maybe Smith and Castro both being fined was a little harsh, and it is also worth noting that Alvarado has appealed his three-game suspension so he could face the Mets tonight in what will be the final game of a three-game series that has had plenty of juice attached to it thanks to Friday night.

The Mets saw their offense finally breakout somewhat in a 5-4 win on Saturday with Michael Conforto hitting a huge home run in the top of the ninth inning, a moment that has created the legend that is “Donnie Stevenson,” and they will hope that the bats stay hot tonight in order to take the series on the road.

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Ed Delany/MMO

The holiday season encompasses a lot of moving parts.

Sure, it’s nice to spend time with family, eat tasty food, crack open a few cold ones and enjoy the festivities, but it also comes with a lot of stress. Having to wait in line for presents, wondering if the ones you ordered in the mail are going to come in time, having to wrap said presents, and yes, spending time with your family also falls in this category as well.

Spring Training elicits a lot of similar emotions to the holiday season, only it’s exclusively pure excitement. The beginning of a new baseball season! Hopes are high, the incumbent guys mingling with the new offseason acquisitions, and in the Mets case in 2021, they’re doing it all under a brand spanking new owner.

It was a busy offseason for new owner Steve Cohen’s Mets. There were a few dark points such as the disgusting allegations against now former general manager Jared Porter and coach Ryan Ellis, but New York acted swiftly and reportedly have more stringent vetting processes and standards in place so these things don’t happen again.

Even this showed a major difference from the previous ownership group, and hopefully, they stick to their word and prevent circumstances like this from happening in the first place.

Beyond handling those situations properly, Cohen revamped the front office, filled out a coaching staff, and turned over nearly 50 percent of the team’s 40-man roster.

Now, there are Mets fans that will tell you that this offseason was a failure. Sure, the team whiffed on the top free agent available in pitcher Trevor Bauer, but maybe even that’s for the better, as he’s barely into his Los Angeles Dodgers tenure and is already wreaking havoc on the Twittersphere.

Sure, outfielder George Springer going to Toronto stings because he actually would have been a huge acquisition to the team, but the Mets did add one of the best young talents in the game in shortstop Francisco Lindor and a extremely reliable starter in Carlos Carrasco in a move that somehow flies under the radar.

The Mets already had a fun, easy group of young talent to root for in Pete Alonso, Dominic Smith, Michael Conforto, Jacob deGrom and Jeff McNeil among others, but they’ve added several guys into the fold who seem easy to root for.

The aforementioned Carrasco has beat cancer and took home the Roberto Clemente Award in 2019 due to his contributions and charity work in several different countries. Plus, he comes with wild stories. He also ordered Domino’s Pizza for three months straight when he first entered pro ball because it was the only thing he knew how to go about getting. He got free pizza for a month from them in return.

The newest Mets’ pitcher Taijuan Walker popped open a bottle of wine from the late Tom Seaver‘s vineyard after he signed with the team, and released a statement saying he’s ecstatic to join such a talented team and can’t wait to win in the Big Apple.

You have new reliever Trevor May interacting with fans on Twitter and talking to them when he streams on Twitch. There’s catcher James McCann who has made it a priority to reach out to the pitching staff throughout the winter. Reliever Aaron Loup wants to toss back some brewski’s in the clubhouse after working as an opener.

And even incumbent Mets Marcus Stroman, Noah Syndergaard and deGrom are all getting fans pumped in their own ways. Stroman’s excitement and initiative to be the best that he can and radiate positive vibes. Syndergaard throwing down a string of noogies on Bauer over Twitter. DeGrom hinting that he wants to be a Met for life.

It’s refreshing and it’s contagious.

The vibe around the Mets this year is extremely exciting and the team has a lot of players that are easy to root for. This is just a damn good group of guys on and off the field.

So yeah, I think Christmas comes a bit late for me usually, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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