When the Mets beat the Twins this past Wednesday to snap their interminable 12-game losing streak, and then followed that up by topping Minnesota again in a wild game on Thursday, it felt like they had turned a corner.
The problem for the Mets was that the street they turned down was a dead end.
That dead end was (mystifyingly) the Rockies, who embarrassed the Mets while sweeping them in a three-game series at Citi Field over the weekend as New York mustered just four runs.
Of the three losses, the most damning was Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader, when New York could barely do anything against starter Jose Quintana, who entered the game with an ERA of 6.23, was throwing an assortment of slop at them, and had serious issues over the first few innings as he tossed more balls than strikes.
In that game, the Mets had four chances with the bases loaded. Just one hit could've turned the game in their favor. The results in those spots?
Strikeout swinging
Strikeout looking
Pop out
Strikeout swinging
The Mets' offensive futility has resulted in a 9-19 record, tied with the Phillies for the worst in MLB. New York's 92 runs scored are the fewest in baseball.
With a season that began with sky high expectations in danger of slipping away before the calendar flips to May, what can the Mets possibly do to shake things up and turn it around?
The Carlos Mendoza situation
I wrote last week that most of the blame for what's gone wrong falls on the players, then on head of baseball operations David Stearns, then on Mendoza.
Nothing has changed in that regard.
And while around the team last week, there was no sense that Mendoza was in immediate danger.
Things change, though.
The Red Sox, in a similar predicament to the Mets, fired Alex Cora over the weekend while also dismissing most of his coaching staff. Cora, of course, won a World Series in Boston in 2018 and is viewed as one of the best managers in baseball.
It seems Boston has scapegoated Cora and his staff instead of looking themselves in the mirror and properly assigning blame. At the same time, it's hard to argue with a team changing the manager and coaching staff amid a disastrous season.
Mendoza is in the final guaranteed year of his contract (New York holds a club option for 2027) and is working with a mostly-new coaching staff. So in that regard, the road has already been paved for the Mets to move on in a clean way during this season if they so choose.
To reiterate: the Mets' 9-19 record is not Mendoza's fault. However, it's more than fair to point at their many miscues so far this season (both mental and physical) and lay a good deal of that at Mendoza's feet. He can't hit or pitch, but the players' preparation and readiness to perform is a reflection of the manager.
What's next for Kodai Senga?
The situation with Senga in the rotation has become untenable, with him being unable to pitch more than 3.1 innings in any of his last three starts.
After Sunday's game, Senga acknowledged his poor performance but was non-committal when asked if he would accept an assignment to Triple-A Syracuse.
The Mets could theoretically move Senga to the bullpen, but that seems like a very poor fit given his routines. Beyond that, the Mets already have three starting pitchers working in relief roles -- David Peterson, Sean Manaea, and Carl Edwards, Jr. They also have Tobias Myers in the bullpen, and he is often relied on for multiple innings at a time.
Speaking last week, Stearns made it clear New York was happy with Myers in his current role. So by process of elimination, it seems the easiest way to replace Senga is to slide Peterson or Manaea into the rotation.
More complicated is what to do with Senga, who is under contract through the 2027 season.
The first base problem
Jorge Polanco could return from the IL relatively soon. But when he does, the expectation is that he'll be used mostly as a DH -- something that makes sense given his Achilles issue.
The problem for the Mets is that both Brett Baty and Mark Vientos are struggling badly offensively.
Baty is hitting .220/.250/.329 (65 OPS+) in 88 plate appearances.
Vientos is hitting .243/.280/.357 (81 OPS+) in 75 plate appearances.
Amid the Mets' first base uncertainty, there have been some fans calling for the team to promote prospect Ryan Clifford from Triple-A Syracuse.
While Clifford's power is tantalizing, he isn't really tearing it up in Triple-A (.768 OPS) and has been striking out at a high rate -- fanning 37 times in 25 games. Clifford is not the answer, at least not now.
Can the offense be jolted by a trade?
The nearly three-week absence of Juan Soto and the current absence of Francisco Lindor has not helped matters, but the offense has been unable to do much of anything due in large part to their big offseason additions (Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien, and Luis Robert Jr.) not providing much.
Bichette (63 OPS+), Semien (65 OPS+), and Robert (89 OPS+) were supposed to deepen the lineup. That hasn't happened. And before he missed time, Polanco (52 OPS+) was not himself at the plate.
Add to that the aforementioned issues facing Baty and Vientos, and you get a situation where a jolt is needed. But where could it come from?
Impact trades are incredibly rare this early in the season.
Even if there was one to be made, it's fair to question whether the Mets should even do it, since it would likely require sacrificing key pieces of their future in an effort to try to salvage a season that might not be salvageable.
Perhaps it could make sense if there's a deal out there that brings New York an offensive difference-maker who is under team control for years to come. But again, it's hard to see something like that materializing this early.
Any top prospects on the horizon?
Christian Scott got a chance in the rotation last week and will likely be back sooner rather than later.
Jonah Tong's stuff has been better than his overall results early on this season, and he has started to lock in recently. But he's still working on refining his secondary offerings in Triple-A and will not be rushed (nor should he be).
Flamethrowing reliever Ryan Lambert should impact the big league club at some point this season, but walks remain a serious issue for him as he's issued nine in 7.2 innings for Syracuse.
The most intriguing position player in the higher levels of the minors is A.J. Ewing, who was promoted to Triple-A on Monday after tearing up Double-A Binghamton.
In 81 plate appearances over 18 games for Binghamton this season, Ewing slashed .349/.481/.571 (1.053 OPS) with two homers, six doubles, one triple, and 12 stolen bases.
The 21-year-old Ewing, whose future is expected to be in the outfield, has started 13 games in center field this season, four at second base, and one at DH.
Ewing is now just a phone call away from the majors.
COVERS INTEL: The Cubs pace the majors in wOBA while averaging 6.0 runs per game during the highlighted 13-5 stretch.
