Francisco Lindor. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets have struggled to deliver in run-scoring opportunities throughout this homestead, averaging just 2.2 runs per game over their last five contests. While that did not hurt them in their three-game sweep over the Philadelphia Phillies, it has come back to bite them in the first two games against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mets had multiple opportunities with runners on base in Saturday’s 2-1 loss, yet they failed to get the big hit they so desperately needed.

It was a tough game for Francisco Lindor especially, who went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. The shortstop looked overmatched against Blue Jays’ starter José Berríos, who did a wonderful job of mixing his pitches. Lindor had his best at-bat against reliever Trevor Richards in the bottom of seventh inning, but his deep fly ball to center field was caught by Kevin Kiermaier. 

The four-time All-Star is down to a .212 batting average and a .691 OPS in 59 games this season. “It’s a constant fight that I’m fighting uphill, I’m in it right now. It’s frustrating, because I’m not getting the results that I want, but I’ve just got to trust the process, fight the fight, continue to walk the line,” Lindor said. He is now 2-for-28 with seven strikeouts over the last seven games, slashing .071/.133/.286 during that stretch.

Lindor is not the only one who is in the midst of a rough stretch. Pete Alonso is struggling to produce competitive at-bats. The 28-year-old slugger was 0-for-4 against the Blue Jays on Saturday, dropping his batting average to .231 for the season. Brett Baty had a tough day against the breaking stuff of Berríos, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and a walk.

Credit certainly has to be given to the Blue Jays’ starters, as Chris Bassitt and Berríos have been remarkable in the first two games of the series. But the Mets’ struggles at the plate have to be mentioned, especially recently. It is never good to have offensive contributors mired in a slump. It is even worse to have arguably your best two players – Alonso and Lindor – both enduring extremely tough stretches.

The “baby Mets” have come in and provided some life to the offense over the last six weeks, but that has run out as of late. As mentioned, Baty has been struggling immensely, striking out a lot. While Francisco Alvarez (0-for-12 over his last four games) and Mark Vientos (.172 batting average and .469 OPS) are also currently in a bad way at the plate in their own right.

While the starting rotation has been good and the bullpen has shown some improvements, the lineup needs to pick it up sooner versus later. Otherwise, the Mets are going to have a hard time keeping up in the playoff race.

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Good morning, Mets fans!

Blue Jays pitcher Jose Berrios agreed to a seven-year, $131 million extension on Tuesday, according to multiple reports.

The Mets will certainly be in the market for new starting pitchers after Noah Syndergaard bolted for the Angels. Shortly after the Berrios news was announced, “Thor” agreed to a one-year, $21 million contract with the Angels, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.

With Marcus Stroman a free agent, the Mets’ rotation is suddenly looking very thin after ace Jacob deGrom.

BREAKING: Right-hander Noah Syndergaard and the Los Angeles Angels are in agreement on a one-year, $21 million deal, pending physical, sources tell ESPN.

The Angels bolster their staff with the highest-upside arm on the market — and pay a heavy price, plus a second-rounder.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 16, 2021

Latest Mets News

The Mets foundation is donating 5,000 turkeys to families in need on November 19 in advance of Thanksgiving. Mr. and Mrs. Met along with members of the Mets organization, will be distributing the turkeys across all five boroughs.

Latest MLB News

🚨BREAKING

Cleveland Indians cave to pressure and agree to settle with Roller Derby over “Cleveland Guardians” name.

Financial terms were not disclosed. Cleveland baseball simply announced that “both organizations will continue to use the Guardians name."https://t.co/7taPKy7izl

— Dan Lust, Esq. 🎙 (@SportsLawLust) November 16, 2021

The Cleveland Indians settled with roller derby team over the Cleveland Guardians name.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported Howie Kendrick joined the Phillies front office as an assistant to the general manager.

Here is a smol procedural thing that perhaps you were also wondering about: In the event of a post-CBA expiration lockout, teams cannot make international PRO signings (no posting) but CAN sign international amateurs. There would NOT be a major league portion of the Rule 5 draft.

— Hannah Keyser (@HannahRKeyser) November 16, 2021

Hannah Keyser of Yahoo Sports noted some reminders in the event of a post-CBA expiration lockout.

Rays manager Kevin Cash and Giants manager Gabe Kapler won the American League and National League Manager of the Year Award, respectively.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported the Braves and Freddie Freeman are still at odds over the length of a new contract. But the talks remain fluid.

Angels are interested in big arms on short term. So future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander could be a fit for them (and of course many others). He’s expected to turn down the Astros $18.4M qualifying by tomorrow’s deadline.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 16, 2021

With pitcher Justin Verlander expected to turn down his qualifying offer and the Angels to add more pitching, Jon Heyman reported there could be a potential fit there.

Latest on MMO

Nate Mendelson lists five things to know about Mets general manager candidate Billy Eppler.

Nate Mendelson profiles free agent infielder Marcus Semien.

On This Date in Mets History

1961: Yogi Berra signs a two-year contract with the Mets as a player-coach, earning $35,000 per season.

Birthdays: Seth Lugo (32), Val Pasucci (43), Jim Mann (47), Eli Marrero (48), Tom Seaver (77)

Let’s go Mets!

The post Morning Briefing: Mets’ Rotation Takes a Hit in Free Agency appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

José Berríos signed a seven-year, $131 million extension with the Blue Jays Tuesday morning. Héctor José Torres Donato of La Garata had the first report, mentioning that Berrios will get seven years and around $140 million. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet was the first to give the official details of the contract.

The Puerto Rican right-hander was dealt from the Twins at the deadline to the Blue Jays in exchange for top prospects Austin Martin and Simeon Woods-Richardson.

Berrios, 27, pitched to a 3.52 ERA in 2021 over 32 starts. After joining the Blue Jays, he had a 3.58 ERA, with a WHIP of 1.095. The Blue Jays acquired him to provide a much-needed boost to their starting rotation down the stretch as they hunted a playoff spot. He was a very hot topic at the trade deadline, with the Blue Jays, Mets, and Yankees all being involved.

Whichever team acquired him had one more year of team control over the starter, thus giving the Twins more leverage to ask for a bigger haul. The extension buys out one year of arbitration, then tacks on six years after that. This sets the Blue Jays up for a long time, as they look to compete with the highly stacked AL East.

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Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

The next trade deadline pillar was knocked down with three-and-a-half hours remaining as José Berríos is being dealt to the Toronto Blue Jays, according to multiple reports. The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal was the first on the trade.

Jon Morosi reports that Simeon Woods-Richardson, who the Jays acquired from the Mets in the Marcus Stroman deal, is on his way to the Minnesota Twins. Dan Hayes says middle infield prospect Austin Martin, ranked No. 2 in the Blue Jays’ system by MLB Pipeline, is in the deal, too.

Berríos has a career 4.06 ERA over 135 starts and one relief appearance. He’s one of the most consistent starting pitchers in the game, as his ERA has sat around the high 3s each year over the first five-plus seasons of his career. He’s also never been on the injured list. Berríos has team control through 2022 and should bolster a Blue Jays rotation that has desperately searched for consistent above-average starts.

The Mets were part of rumors on Berríos, but the asking price was way too high, according to The Athletic‘s Tim Britton. He said the Twins were asking for a major-league player and two of the Mets’ top six prospects. They ended up with two of the Blue Jays’ top four prospects.

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