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The D-backs entered the All-Star break with a record of 49-47, in second place in the NL West, and coming off a sweep of the reigning World Champions. I think we would probably have taken that on Opening Day, especially considering the Vegas sports books had Arizona predicted to be under .500 this season. It’s on pace for an 83-game final mark which… might be good enough to get us a playoff spot? Probably not though. But it’s not as if the team is lacking ways to improve. First-base has been historically terrible. CF and DH not much better. Our rotation currently consists of E-Rod, guys with ERA+ of 80 and 92, and two more who combined have six career starts and a 5.70 ERA.

Personally, I’m wondering how the heck we are above .500, especially considering the team has been outscored (by thirteen runs, 416-429) and are just okay in one-run games (16-14 – no team in the NL has played more of them). There are positives. The bullpen ERA of 4.00 is the lowest for the Diamondbacks since 2018. But that’s still only 14th-best in the majors. Corbin Carroll, despite the recent slump, is still deservedly an All-Star, Geraldo Perdomo has bounced back, and Gabriel Moreno might be the first-half MVP. Eduardo Rodriguez has been amazing, and Paul Sewald has a better save percentage than many, far more highly-paid closers.

The All-Star break is a chance to sit back, take stock and see where the team sits. The record is the same as Arizona were in 2024, and three games better than last year, at the same point. But it is five games below where the D-backs sat after 96 contests, the last time they made the post-season, in 2023. It feels like the team dodged a bullet in Los Angeles. A defeat, or worse yet, a sweep, and rather than 49-47, we could have been as bad as 46-50. Mike Hazen might have been leaning over to pull the plug in that situation. Instead, it feels like adding a good first baseman/DH, and perhaps a starting pitcher, and the team could be well-placed for a second-half push.

Or is it the case that the team simply has too many holes to fill? You answer to that question likely is related to how you feel the team performed in the first half, and that’s what this week’s poll is about. We have our usual five options, and of course, please explain yourself in the comment section below…

It’s been 30 years since Philadelphia has hosted the All-Star Game, but as the country marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it’s hard to imagine a better host for tonight’s festivities. Only one current Chicago Cub will take the field tonight for the National League squad, but with Pete Crow-Armstrong putting up some of the best defensive numbers in baseball while simultaneously looking to repeat the 30-30 season he posted in 2025, is certainly one of the players to watch tonight. After all, PCA will head into tonight’s action leading all of MLB in fWAR with 6.0 WAR accumulated so far this season. As we get ready for the Midsummer Classic, let’s take a closer look through the lens of some Statcast metrics and the AL and NL players to watch.

The Lineups

First things first, let’s take a closer look at each squad, beginning with the starting lineup:

Starting lineups for the 2026 #AllStarGame ⭐️
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📺: 8 pm ET on @MLBONFOXpic.twitter.com/CNnXhchHNq

— MLB (@MLB) July 14, 2026

The AL starters run Shea Langeliers behind the plate, Ben Rice at first, Ernie Clement at second, Junior Caminero at third, Bobby Witt Jr. at short, Mike Trout, Riley Greene and Cody Bellinger in the outfield, and Yordan Alvarez at DH. Expect leadoff man Trout to gets a hero’s welcome. After all, the kid who grew up playing in New Jersey is essentially in his backyard. Over on the NL side, former Cub and 2016 World Series hero, Kyle Schwarber will lead off in front of a hometown crowd at Citizens Bank Park. He’s followed by Juan Soto, Freddie Freeman, CJ Abrams, Max Muncy, Ozzie Albies, Brandon Marsh (another Phillie making his All-Star debut), Andy Pages and Drake Baldwin.

While these lineups are stacked, some of the players putting up the best numbers this season will come into the game later as replacements. Say what you will about fans voting for the starting lineup, but it really is absurd that a player like James Wood, who is slashing .279/.410/.575 with a wRC+ of 166 and 4.6 fWAR so far this season isn’t starting.

Let’s Talk Barrels

Speaking of James Wood, he’s built that strong season on some monster underlying stats. He’s got a .437 xwOBA (which as a reminder, stands for expected wOBA. wOBA is a stat that weights on base percentage by giving players more credit for extra base hits). Wood is barreling the ball 22.7 percent of the time, a 5.7 percent improvement over a year ago and probably a big reason he’s already got 28 home runs. PCA is also on the bench for the NL with a career high 48.6 percent hard hit rate to pair with his elite glove. Check out this leadoff home run from Wood against the Yankees on Sunday [VIDEO].

The AL bench also has some firepower, starting with Munetaka Murakami’s 20% barrel rate, the highest on the AL roster with Aaron Judge (and his 21.4 percent barrel rate) sitting out the competition. Old friend Willson Contreras, who put on a bit of a show last night in the first round of the Home Run Derby, is also on the bench for the American League. His 14.3 percent barrel rate and 54.7 percent pull rate is a big reason he’s already got 20 home runs on the 2026 campaign (for reference, his career high in home runs is the 24 he hit in 409 plate appearances with the Cubs in 2019).

The Pitchers

Dylan Cease will start the game for the American League squad, he’s been excellent at suppressing barrels this season for the Toronto Blue Jays giving them up just 4.4% of the time. That mark is good for third in all of baseball behind the presumed NL starter (who will miss this game due to “soreness”) Jacob Misiorwoski (3.2%) and the San Francisco Giants Landon Roupp (who did not make the NL squad but has only given up barrels on 3.8% of hits so far this season). Check out Cease flirting with a no-hitter during his last start against the Giants [VIDEO].

The National League will counter with hometown ace Cristopher Sánchez, who leads baseball among qualified starters in ground ball rate, with an absurd 57.8 percent of batters generating ground balls off his pitch offerings. That probably goes a long way to explaining his 2.62 ERA off a 2.70 FIP so far this season. Sánchez will be joined on the bench by a cast of flame throwers including the Pirates Paul Skenes and the Padres Mason Miller, who Cubs fans no doubt remember from these absurd pitches 100+ miles per hour during last year’s Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field [VIDEO].

Who’s got the edge?

If this were a pure power contest, I’d call it a coin flip. Murakami and Yordan Alvarez can match anyone the NL trots out, swing for swing. But All-Star Games are decided in flashes, not innings. The best batters in the world facing off against the games most unhittable pitchers would be high drama all on its own. It’s a new level of difficulty when you only get to see each of those pitchers one time before a new guy throwing 100 miles per hour or a wicked slider enters the game.

Both rosters are stacked with talent, but the NL bench looks a tad deeper than the AL bench. If the Senior Circuit can keep things close early, I’d look for PCA, Wood or maybe Sal Stewart to make their mark late in a close contest. But who knows? It could end in a tie like last year’s, treating all of us to another Home Run Swing Off [VIDEO].

The lineups for the 2026 All-Star Game were released on Monday and just like last year’s lineup, three Dodgers will be starting for the National League at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

Freddie Freeman moves up a spot in the starting lineup, going from cleanup last year to hitting third this year. This is Freeman’s fifth consecutive All-Star selection since signing with the Dodgers, and this is the 10th selection of his career. Freeman will be starting the All-Star game for the sixth time in his career.

Max Muncy starts his very first All-Star game, batting fifth in the lineup becoming the first Dodger third baseman to start the game since Ron Cey in 1977. This is Muncy’s third All-Star selection and his first since 2021.

Andy Pages is the biggest newcomer to the All-Star game for the Dodgers, as the center fielder will hit eighth in the starting lineup after being selected for the first time in his career.

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease starts for the American League, while Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez gets the nod for the National League at his home ballpark on Tuesday.

The NL's starting lineup for the #AllStarGame (Tuesday, 8 pm ET on @MLBONFOX):

Kyle Schwarber, DH
Juan Soto, LF
Freddie Freeman, 1B
CJ Abrams, SS
Max Muncy, 3B
Ozzie Albies, 2B
Brandon Marsh, RF
Andy Pages, CF
Drake Baldwin, C
Cristopher Sánchez, P

— MLB (@MLB) July 13, 2026

The AL's starting lineup for the #AllStarGame (Tuesday, 8 pm ET on @MLBONFOX):

Mike Trout, CF
Yordan Alvarez, DH
Shea Langeliers, C
Junior Caminero, 3B
Bobby Witt Jr., SS
Cody Bellinger, RF
Ben Rice, 1B
Riley Greene, LF
Ernie Clement, 2B
Dylan Cease, P

— MLB (@MLB) July 13, 2026

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The MLB All-Star break got started yesterday when St. Louis’ Jordan Walker won the Home Run Derby with 12 homers in the final round, for a total of 31 over three rounds, putting him ahead of Kyle Schwarber by one.

Tonight, it’s time for the Midsummer Classic.

The 2026 MLB All-Star Game gets started at 8 p.m. ET tonight with some of baseball’s biggest stars on both the field and the bench. Both the National League and the American League’s starting position players were determined by fan vote, and the starting lineups will represent both New York teams.

The Yankees have two starting players for the American League: Ben Rice at first base and Cody Bellinger in the outfield. Mets left-fielder Juan Soto will start for the National League.

The managers of last season’s AL and NL pennant winners will serve as All-Star team managers tonight. Blue Jays boss John Schneider will manage the American League’s team, while the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts will manage the National League for the second year in a row.

Here’s everything you need to know to tune in to the 2026 MLB All-Star Game.

MLB All-Star Game 2026 time

The 2026 MLB All-Star Game is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET tonight, July 14.

What channel is the MLB All-Star Game on?

The MLB All-Star Game will air live on FOX.

How to watch and stream MLB All-Star Game 2026 for free

If you don’t have cable or an antenna, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream the MLB All-Star Game for free.

DIRECTV is our favorite service for watching live sports for free. Right now, you can take advantage of a five-day free trial before saving $30 on your first month. We recommend subscribing to the Choice plan, which includes FOX as part of its 125+ channels.

2026 MLB All-Star Game rosters

American League

Starters

• Catcher: Shea Langeliers (Athletics)
• 1B: Ben Rice (NY Yankees)
• 2B: Ernie Clement (Toronto)
• 3B: Junior Caminero (Tampa Bay)
• Shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City)
• Outfield: Mike Trout (LA Angels)
• Outfield: Riley Greene (Detroit)
• Outfield: Cody Bellinger (NY Yankees)
• DH: Yordan Álvarez (Houston)

Reserves

• Catcher: Dillon Dingler (Detroit)
• Catcher: Adley Rutschman (Baltimore)
• Infield: Travis Bazzana (Cleveland)
• Infield: Willson Contreras (Boston)
• Infield: Kevin McGonigle (Detroit)
• Infield: Miguel Vargas (White Sox)
• Infield: Munetaka Murakami (White Sox)
• Outfield: Randy Arozarena (Seattle)
• Outfield: Ceddanne Rafaela (Boston)
• Outfield: Tristan Peters (White Sox)
• DH: Yandy Díaz (Tampa Bay)

Starting pitchers

• Dylan Cease (Toronto)
• Parker Messick (Cleveland)
• Nick Martinez (Tampa Bay)
• Drew Rasmussen (Tampa Bay)
• Joe Ryan (Minnesota)
• Cam Schlittler (NY Yankees)
• Ranger Suarez (Boston)
• Michael Wacha (Kansas City)

Relief pitchers

• Bryan Baker (Tampa Bay)
• Aroldis Chapman (Boston Red Sox)
• Jacob Latz (Texas)
• Cade Smith (Cleveland)
• Louis Varland (Toronto)

National League

Starters

• Catcher: Drake Baldwin (Atlanta)
• 1B: Freddie Freeman (LA Dodgers)
• 2B: Ozzie Albies (Atlanta)
• 3B: Max Muncy (Dodgers)
• Shortstop: CJ Abrams (Washington)
• Outfield: Brandon Marsh (Philadelphia)
• Outfield: Juan Soto (NY Mets)
• Outfield: Andy Pages (LA Dodgers)
• DH: Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia)

Reserves

• Catcher: William Contreras (Milwaukee)
• Catcher: Hunter Goodman (Colorado)
• Infield: Luis Arraez (San Francisco)
• Infield: Bryce Harper (Philadelphia)
• Infield: Otto Lopez (Miami)
• Infield: Matt Olson (Atlanta)
• Infield: Sal Stewart (Cincinnati)
• Outfield: Corbin Carroll (Arizona)
• Outfield: Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs)
• Outfield: Jordan Walker (St. Louis)
• Outfield: James Wood (Washington)
• DH: Iván Herrera (St. Louis)

Starting pitchers

• Braxton Ashcraft (Pittsburgh)
• Chase Burns (Cincinnati)
• Jesús Luzardo (Philadelphia)
• Max Meyers (Miami)
• Jacob Misiorowski (Milwaukee)
• Eduardo Rodriguez (Arizona)
• Chris Sale (Atlanta)
• Cristopher Sánchez (Philadelphia)
• Paul Skenes (Pittsburgh)
• Logan Webb (San Francisco)
• Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LA Dodgers)
• Justin Wrobleski (LA Dodgers)
• Foster Griffin (Washington)

Relief pitchers

• Jhoan Duran (Philadelphia)
• Raisel Iglesias (Atlanta)
• Mason Miller (San Diego)
• Riley O’Brien (St. Louis)

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The Mets’ poor first half continued right into the All-Star break. They had a bad time north of the border, dropping two out of three to the Blue Jays before losing the first two games in Atlanta as well. They then rebounded a bit, scratching out a split with the Braves and beating the Royals—one of the only teams with a worse record than the Mets—two out of three before falling on their faces over the weekend and getting swept by the Red Sox. The Mets have been bad in the first half in just about every facet of the game. Though heavily weighted by their early struggles, the Mets are 26th out of 30 teams in team wRC+ in the first half despite having one of the five best hitters on the league in their lineup most nights. Though the Mets’ pair of rookie outfielders have met or exceeded expectations, nearly everyone else on the position player side has fallen short due to underperformance, injury, or both.

Player	Last week	This week
Francisco Alvarez, C
Brett Baty, UTIL
Carson Benge, OF
Bo Bichette, 3B
A.J. Ewing, OF
Francisco Lindor, SS
Ronny Mauricio, INF
Jorge Polanco, DH
Zack Short, INF	—
Juan Soto, OF
Tyrone Taylor, OF	—
Luis Torrens, C
Mark Vientos, 1B/3B
Eric Wagaman, 1B/DH
Jared Young, 1B/DH

The biggest development on the position player side in the couple of weeks before the break is the long-awaited return of Jorge Polanco from the injured list. Polanco has been exclusively DHing and not playing the field in order to keep his Achilles bursitis at bay. Unfortunately, after a promising start, Polanco has sputtered to a 29 wRC+ in his first 18 appearances. He had just three hits and one extra base hit. He walked once, drove in a run, and scored a run. When Polanco was activated, Ronny Mauricio was sent down to Triple-A. Prior to being sent down, Mauricio had one hit and a run scored in eight plate appearances.

As one player returned from the injured list, another hit the injured list. After a dismal first half, things got even worse for Mark Vientos when he was hit on the hand with a Michael Wacha pitch, resulting in a fracture that will sideline him for quite a bit. This has resulted in a lot more playing time for Jared Young and Eric Wagaman. Young has been fine playing the lion’s share at first base, putting up a 103 wRC+ in 41 plate appearances. Of his eleven hits, three of them were doubles. He scored two runs, walked once, and drove in four runs. Wagaman has not fared as well, but as the righty in this pseudo platoon, he is not getting as many at-bats. He has just one hit and two walks in his last ten plate appearances. Zack Short took Mark Vientos’ spot on the roster and is providing defensive flexibility, but has gone hitless in his first seven plate appearances with a walk and two strikeouts.

As has been the case for the majority of the first half of the season, the Mets’ trio of outfielders have been their most consistently productive hitters. Elected to his first All-Star Game as a Met, Juan Soto posted a 153 wRC+ in 57 plate appearances over the past two weeks. His twelve RBIs were far and away the most on the team—more than twice as many as anybody else. The same goes for his thirteen walks. Three of those walks and three of those RBIs came in the series finale against the Braves in which Soto’s home run off Rasiel Iglesias in the top of the ninth gave the Mets the lead in a game they would go on to win in extra innings. It was one of four home runs for Soto over this 13-game span and in a season mostly devoid of great moments, one of the few highlights of the year. Soto’s defense, however, has been inconsistent. He made a highlight reel worthy catch in the Royals series to strand two runners, but then also dropped a routine fly ball on Friday night and his miscue in Toronto resulted in a Little League home run for George Springer.

A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge each knocked in five runs for the Mets over this 13-game stretch heading into the break and both of them are in the green for the second straight meter. Now entrenched in the leadoff spot, Ewing unsurprisingly led the team in runs scored with ten. Benge led the team in hits with 15 while Ewing was not far behind with 13. Ewing went deep an impressive three times in the past two weeks, hitting for more power than most expected. Benge led the team in past two weeks with four stolen bases. Benge put up a 136 wRC+ over 56 plate appearances while Ewing posted a 125 wRC+ in 53 plate appearances. In just half a season, both young outfielders have established themselves as a big part of the Mets’ future and legitimate Rookie of the Year candidates.

After looking like he was out of his long malaise, Bo Bichette has hit another brief slump right before the break, posting a mediocre 68 wRC+ in 46 plate appearances. Of his 11 hits, only one went for extra bases. He scored four runs, drove in five runs, and walked three times.

Francisco Lindor has been so-so with the bat lately, but he has been uncharacteristically horrendous defensively at shortstop. Though he drove in both runs in Sunday’s series finale against the Red Sox, he then cost the Mets the game with an error on what should have been a game-ending double play. Instead, the Red Sox took the lead against Devin Williams in the ninth and won the game, spoiling what would have been Zack Thornton’s first big league win. Of Lindor’s ten hits in the past 13 games, four went for extra bases, including three home runs. He drove in five runs, scored seven runs, and walked four times.

Tyrone Taylor has had an unexpected power surge of late, going deep three times in just 23 plate appearances with a 209 wRC+. In fact, all but one of his six hits went for extra bases. Taylor scored five runs, drove in three runs, and walked twice. He has been mostly used against left-handed pitching, against which he fares far better than righties. Because of his usefulness as a defensive replacement and right-handed bat off the bench, he is a dark horse trade candidate.

Speaking of trade candidates, the Mets’ catchers both keep getting brought up as players teams are interested in. Francisco Alvarez put up a 105 wRC+ in 39 plate appearances in these past two weeks, racking up ten hits, including a double and a home run. That home run represented his only run scored, but he drove in four runs and walked twice. Luis Torrens drove in three runs, two of those being on a tenth inning double in the series finale against the Braves, helping to lead the Mets to a narrow victory. He scored five runs and walked three times, notching five hits in total.

After a rough couple of weeks, Brett Baty has clawed his way back to respectability with a 95 wRC+ in 51 plate appearances. With Marcus Semien on the injured list, Baty has been playing pretty much every day. His eight runs scored match Carson Benge for the second most on the team. He also matches Ewing’s 13 hits for the second most on the team. Five of those went for extra bases, including a home run. He drove in five runs and walked twice. Baty was also the only Met besides Benge to steal multiple bases during this 13-game span.

Well, we wondered if anyone would be interested after a disastrous first half, and it turns out the Boston Red Sox came calling. The Detroit Tigers have traded pinch-hitting, lefty mashing specialist Jahmai Jones to the Red Sox in exchange for a player to be named later.

Getting anything at all back for Jones is fine, as the Tigers just could no longer float Jones on the active roster considering his brutal performance in the first half of the season. Jones slashed an abysmal .137/.219/.221 with a 33.3 percent strikeout rate, two home runs, and a 27 wRC+, putting him over 70 percent worse than league average.

That came of the heels of a 2025 season where he slashed. 287/.387/.550 with seven homers in 150 plate appearances and a 159 wRC+. Nearly all of these at-bats came against left-handed pitching, but even in such a specified role, Jones couldn’t repeat his 2025 run. Teams started spinning in more breaking stuff while keeping fourseam fastballs out of his sweet spot and he just could not adjust with any success. After seeing 35.1 percent fourseam fastballs in 2025, he saw just 23.1 percent of them this season, and was unable to lay off the breaking stuff well enough to get into favorable counts where pitchers might have to challenge him.

Jones got plenty of leash to try and figure it out in May and early June after a rough April, but things just got worse and his playing time quickly dried up. His plate appearances went from 37 in April and 41 in May to just 25 in June.

The emergence of Ben Malgeri as at least a decently competent hitter who, unlike Jones, is a pretty solid outfielder, cut into his playing time, and the brief hand injury to Dillon Dingler gave 1B/C Eduardo Valencia a shot as well. It’s too early to get real excited about either option, although Valencia has been a lot of fun over the past week, but Valencia makes for at least as good an option as Jones even in the exceedingly specific role of pitch-hitting against left-handers. He also provides more defensive utility despite being mediocre behind the plate and at first base.

With Gleyber Torres and Javier Báez rehabbing with an eye toward a return around the end of July or early August, Jones was eventually going to be forced out anyway. The Tigers will be in a better spot in terms of left-right balance in their lineup when those two return. In the meantime, Dillon Dingler and Spencer Torkelson have absolutely dominated left-handed pitchers this season, limiting the relevance of the whole issue. Probably the easiest and cheapest way for the Tigers to upgrade their offense right now would be to find a temporary left-handed hitting first baseman, allowing them to keep Torkelson on the bench and ready to hit a lefty reliever more often. Colt Keith simply hasn’t had the playing time at the position to really be comfortable there, and the Tigers should get him more reps to open up more flexibility, as playing Torkelson full-time this year has really hurt them against right-handed pitching, despite the strength of the overall lineup against RHP.

We wish Jahmai Jones well. The Red Sox are in a similar position to the Tigers, trying to run down the American League leaders after a really rough start. The Green Monster in left makes for a pretty good park for Jones to try and turn his season around in. Maybe he’ll figure it out with a fresh start.

The #RedSox today acquired OF/DH Jahmai Jones from the Detroit Tigers, in exchange for a player to be named later.

To make room on the active roster, Boston optioned INF/OF Nate Eaton to Triple-A Worcester.

— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 14, 2026

We open up the Mets Mailbag at the All-Star Break to discuss the state of the team and what's to come ahead of the MLB trade deadline...

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David Stearns has been a complete trainwreck the past two seasons. Even Steve admitted “it’s not going well,” so why would he publicly give him support to finish out this five-year contract? -- @HustleDiva1

Steve Cohen’s rationale for keeping Stearns, at least as he has articulated it publicly, is twofold: one, he hand-picked Stearns years in advance, waited for him, and made a significant financial commitment to him. He believed in him that much, and he believes he will adapt and adjust.

Two, Cohen has said he does not want to be perceived as a flighty billionaire owner in the George Steinbrenner mold because he believes that will deter top talent from coming to work for him. If a highly touted executive is choosing his or her next home, why would that person put his or her career in the hands of someone they know will turn on them at the first sign of trouble. Again, this is Cohen’s rationale. And certainly with Stearns, this year is not the first sign of trouble.

That being said, I did not hear Cohen say he is definitely keeping Stearns for the duration of his contract. In fact, when Joel Sherman pressed him on that during that excellent podcast interview last week, Cohen admitted that if things aren’t going well, he might have to make a move. I thought that was significant, particularly because Cohen did not think firing Carlos Mendoza would be necessary earlier this season, according to people familiar with his thinking. When things got worse, he changed his mind.

Cohen wants stability. He hopes Stearns will learn from failure and be a better long-term fit for it, and I will say that in a sport as fickle as this one, it does sometimes take time for people to get things right. And I also don’t think he will keep Stearns long-term if things get worse. The question I do not know the answer to, however, is what "worse" would have to look like if we have not seen it yet.

Is it unpopular opinion if I say that Torrens should be the everyday catcher and Taylor needs to be in the lineup more often? They are battlers and have a much needed approach in the batter’s box. Pretty good defensively as well. Have been for years but somehow seem undervalued. -- @kevind7195

That opinion is certainly not unpopular with me, and the catching perspective seems to be the prevailing notion with the Mets these days, too. Near the end of Mendoza’s tenure, he started committing to playing Torrens more behind the plate, and he has gotten more consistent playing time there since then as the Mets have used Francisco Alvarez more as a designated hitter. That balance has been complicated somewhat by the return of Jorge Polanco, who can only serve as the DH and therefore limits the Mets’ ability to use Alvarez in that position. But I believe the organization is seeing the importance of Torrens’ steadiness defensively and his ability to get the most out of pitchers, and I would expect him to split time more consistently with Alvarez down the stretch as much as possible. 

I also think the organization views Torrens highly enough that they would be willing to trade Alvarez if presented with a return they deem suitable. I do not know whether they would trade Torrens, whom they signed to a team friendly extension earlier this season, though I would expect teams to ask. Obviously, I would not expect them to deal both.

As for Taylor, I think he is both undervalued and playing about as much as this team can afford to play him now. The Mets have committed to giving Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing regular at-bats, so outside of the occasional tough lefty matchup for Ewing, Taylor has no clear path to regular outfield duty. When he has gotten chances, he has been productive. He is a tremendously valuable asset as a fourth outfielder because of his ability to produce in limited duty. And because of that, plus the fact that he is a free agent after this season, he might end up being a valuable trade piece, too.

We were told this was a World Series team with better defense and a more well rounded offense. How could they have been this wrong?

I’m not here to argue with the premise of your question, but I will say the Mets are not the only people who read this group wrong. Oddsmakers, projection analysts, and even just regular baseball writers like me all predicted them to be contenders in the National League East with a chance to run through October if they added enough at the deadline. And of course, none of that materialized.

Injuries are part of the reason. Lindor missing so much time and needing time to recover his form really hurt them. Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. missing most of the first half didn’t help, though that was predictable. Spencer Jones shattering Clay Holmes’ leg made things very difficult. But everyone has injuries, and I think they miscalculated the extent of their depth.

I also think they misread their people. Freddy Peralta was more vulnerable to the pressures of a contract year than they thought. Devin Williams has been more susceptible to the pressures of closing in New York than Stearns clearly expected. Alvarez and Mark Vientos and Brett Baty were not ready to take the next steps forward the Mets needed them to take. All of that added up to a weaker, shallower lineup than they thought they had.

But I also think they were wrong about the state of their clubhouse. Whether or not they needed to clear Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Jeff McNeill will be debated for years, though people in the clubhouse and around the team insist the vibes are better this year. But better vibes are not enough. Whether because of public discussions about a potential captaincy, injuries, or something else, Lindor is not the same person he seemed to be in years’ past – a little less… sure somehow.

Soto might someday exert his influence more forcefully on this clubhouse, but for now he insists he sees himself as one of the guys, not an enforcer. They do not have an emotional anchor, and with a struggling team and brand-new coaching staff, neither Mendoza nor Stearns nor anyone in the clubhouse could provide one. Emotional anchors matter most when things go wrong, and when they went wrong early this year, the void was glaring. It continues to be.

So mostly, I think they missed on the intangibles – the injury risk, the way pressure would impact players new to New York, the type of people they needed in the clubhouse and they type of young players they had. Few teams get those things right, and some that do luck into it. But the Mets will not build long-term success until they figure them out. And the good thing about intangibles is they are impossible to calculate. Maybe, then, they are not as far from figuring them out as it seems. Or something.