In Los Angeles, May is gray. It’s rainy with few moments of bright sun shining through. So it was for the Mets across the continent, as the team went 13-15 and slipped into second-place in the National League East. But there is hope that things will turn around soon. Below are five such reasons.
Matt Harvey will be better
While anyone would take 15 strikeouts to just three walks over two games, 11 earned runs are a bit hard to swallow. Harvey’s velocity is still astounding, reaching 95mph with regularity in 2015. Previous to his past two rough outings, he had only allowed three runs in 28 innings. It’s more likely that we’ll see those dominating kind of performances more so than what we received at the end of May. Harvey could still be a Cy Young candidate and the bulldog the Mets need on the mound to shut down any rough stretches.
Michael Cuddyer should continue to improve
The much-maligned outfielder now has a seven-game hitting streak, with two home runs and five RBI in that span. Since May 5th he’s hitting .291/.351/.395. While the power is still missing a bit, he’s not the easy out he was earlier in the season. With Daniel Murphy taking over cleanup, Cuddyer has been able to concentrate on just squaring the ball up, rather than driving in the leadoff hitters. More time in the five or six hole will probably only help Cuddyer’s overall season. And his defense hasn’t been nearly as bad as everyone predicted it would be.
Daniel Murphy is hot, hot, hot
He scorched four hits in five at-bats yesterday, and from his last day off on May 14th to now, he’s hitting .364/.417/.530 and has driven in 11 runs. Both he and Cuddyer have benefited from elevated BABIPs, but that’s what often drives hot streaks, so there’s nothing to complain about there. Over that same timeframe, his BB% has been 8.3 and his K% has been 9.7. Papa Murph has always been streaky, but right now we are on the lucky side of things. No longer is Murphy a prime trade candidate, but more of an essential ingredient for a playoff push from the Mets.
Injuries are healing
Dilson Herrera, Rafael Montero, Vic Black, Travis d’Arnaud and Bobby Parnell should all be coming back sometime in June. Not all will come back with a hot bat or with their best stuff on the mound, but these are all extremely important cogs in the Mets machine moving forward. A healthy Herrera gives the Mets options to move Murphy to third if they must, and a return of d’Arnaud could put the team’s offense over the top and back into the first place. Not to mention David Wright, who if cleared to play this week might be the most important piece of any listed above.
Steven Matz might get a look
A six-man rotation might work in theory, if Dillon Gee and Jon Niese are throwing quality outings. The odds of that happening are not high, though. Should one of these guys be traded, or should another serious injury strike the rotation, Matz might get his call-up to the majors earlier than we think. He’s striking out over a batter per inning, but his BB/9 and FIP are both over three down in Las Vegas. These are minor hesitations, especially considering he’s maintained a 1.98 ERA in a hitter-friendly league. If Matz gets the call and joins Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard as another viable, ready-now young hurler, he could bolster the rotation as perhaps the best in baseball.
I like the way you are thinking. At times I feel like I can fall down the negativity rabbit hole. But today the Mets are tied for 1st place — so why not look at the bright side?
My latest thought is, hey, let’s do it for David Wright. This might be his last season, who knows? Let’s make the playoffs for him, get him back on the field. And maybe, perhaps, even ownership could rally behind that notion and, say, pony up that little extra it takes to support a team in the stretch drive. Bring in some outside talent, a piece here and there.
Let’s do it for David.
Game 163 or bust?!
So mad I didn’t think of “papa murph” first.
Patrick the problem is what do you get back from Gee and or Niese being traded? What do the Dodgers have that the Mets need? Eithier? Doubt it. What do the Tigers have? Detroit desperately needs SP and pen but are they going to move J.D, Martinez? Matz will have his innings capped at? Colorado is already doing their annual fade but is Tulo on Aldersons wish list? Would solve most of their issues and leave Tejada on the bench where he belongs.The Met’s need a consistent offensive bat in any trade. Problem is there aren’t too many out there.
I think a more likely trade will be a pitcher plus Murphy for another infield bat that is under control for a few more years.
I think Gee has value. Regarding Niese, he appears, at least recently, unable to win. So, for him, I’d require almost nothing. That may sound harsh, but if he continues to lose games and pitch as he has, he’s worth more not being on the team, and I’d be less concerned what we get in return. Sometimes, you improve by subtraction. Of course, there’s a few guys on the team in which this is the case. But as we have a pitcher in Matz, who is likely to be more effective, we are losing games we might not lose if Matz is pitching in place of Niese.
A very nice summation Patrick. Cuddyer needs to slightly improve over his post May 5th numbers. I would love another month like May from Murphy but that would be unrealistic so even a good month can’t make the Mets “better”. The Mets need TdA back and it would be great to see Herrera return and play like Tejada has the past few days. A strong summer from Herrera would help to add clarity to a muddled infield. I can’t wait to see Matz but I would prefer a strong June from Niese and Gee so that your July prognosis could include some trades.
I like Herrera’s potential, but if he plays, who sits and who plays SS and 3rd?
Nice article Patrick. I am eager to see Matz getting called up, but I do think the Mets have to move Gee and/or Niese. It is going to be interesting to see how the 6-man rotation pans out, and if there are any differences in the production of the starting rotation once this move is made.
Good article. Niese should be traded. I think there’s another issue. Granderson. If he has to play, he should be dropped to 7th or 8th. It just makes no sense that he gets more AB’s than everyone else. If he hits 8th and walks, the pitcher can bunt him over. I am also optimistic going forward. d’Arnaud returning is huge, as Plawecki is really struggling. I wonder why Monell hasn’t been brought back. Plawecki needs time at AAA. He was only hitting .216 down there, and Monell is at .368 for 26 games. I think Herrera complicates things. I’d like to see Flores at 2b, Tejada at SS, and Murph at 3rd. I think Herrera will be great, but as Tejada is hot, and he’s clearly our best SS, not sure how this works out this season.