As the New York Mets allowed a three-run homer to Carson Kelly, the Chicago Cubs would take a 4-1 lead in the 6th inning, which was all they needed to win 4-2 and hand the Mets their tenth loss in a row on Saturday. And then, New York would proceed to allow a game-tying double in the ninth inning of the final game of the series on Sunday, leading to their 11th loss in a row. It has been disastrous for Mets the injury to Juan Soto.
Ultimately, New York actually started quite well without Soto, going from 3-4 to 7-4 and without Soto. However, from that point onward, New York has yet to win a game yet. If there is one thing that has been shown, it is that New York has weaknesses.
The Mets Are in the Midst of a 11-Game Losing Streak
The Offense is Downright Awful
Even when New York had Soto, the Mets struggled pretty immensely after the first game to score runs. And now, without him, the Mets have continued to struggle badly. Perhaps it’s the fact that Bo Bichette has been underwhelming, as has Francisco Lindor. However, it is a combination of injuries and underperformances. Bichette and Lindor haven’t done much at all, and others, including Bret Baty and Marcus Semien, have left a lot to be desired. Meanwhile injuries have affected many players, including of course Soto and Jorge Polanco, who has been affected by a nagging Achilles injury and was finally sent to the IL.
Not to mention, Jared Young and still others have hit the IL and made the Mets lineup and bullpen much thinner. Overall though, it has just been a massive struggle for the Mets just to get good at-bats or even hit home runs, which obviously, is a major key to offense.
The Rotation May Have Significant Holes
The concern is also the rotation. The Mets have two aces in Freddy Peralta and Nolan McLean, and a good starter in Clay Holmes. However, the other two, David Peterson and Kodai Senga, have left much to be desired. Peterson has a 5.40 ERA and looks like he might not even be in the rotation anymore after New York didn’t even start him. Senga meanwhile started the year off pretty well and throwing gas, to losing velocity and being hit super hard.
The 2022 version of Senga feels like forever ago with the way he has pitched, as now through four starts, Senga has an ugly 8.83 ERA and an 0-3 record. It is only four starts, but he also has an 8.83 ERA, which is awful. Even though New York has the foundations for a strong rotation, two pitchers doing this badly can mean a lot, and New York needs all the help they can get. There should be some hope for both pitchers though, as at one point over the last couple of seasons each of them were considered aces.
There Is Light at the End of the Tunnel…. And Some Solutions
For the offense, the Mets just need to get healthy, and potentially that could change everything. Obviously Soto would be nice to have back and so would a better version of Polanco. Not to mention, it isn’t likely that Bichette and Lindor will be batting .220 or worse at the end of the season. The offense may very well just need to wake up, including the forgotten bat of Semien. If it doesn’t, then New York can still even go to their farm system for a spark.
As for the rotation, New York can definitely, but only if they need to, go to the farm. Christian Scott is one interesting name, as he pitched to an 4.56 ERA in nine starts in his first season. He unfortunately missed 2025, but he can be the left-hander to replace Peterson if the Mets need to. Scott isn’t the only guy too, as there are others including the rehabbing Tylor Megill who can make a difference eventually.
A 11-game losing streak is very embarrassing, and not to mention not easy to come back from. However, the problems the team has is evident, and they can be fixed. They won’t be easy to fix, but such a team won’t even sniff the postseason, which should never happen again to such an expensive team.
Main Image: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
