It’s Getting Late Early For The Mets
It may be early, but the 2026 season has already reached a tipping point for the New York Mets.
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The 2026 Major League Baseball season is just over a month old, but at 9-19, time is quickly running out for the New York Mets to turn things around. After a promising 7-4 start, New York has dropped 15 of its last 17 games and sits 10.5 games back in the National League East.
They endured a 12-game losing streak before getting swept by the Colorado Rockies at home this past weekend. The Mets own the worst record in baseball, have scored the fewest runs of any team, and rank last in team OPS at .625.
Any way you slice it, this start is an absolute nightmare for the Mets. Being double digit games back in the standings before May 1 is almost impressive in a way.
Another bad week or two would set the Mets dramatically far out of contention for the postseason. There is no time to waste. If New York is going to save its season, it has to start now before it is too late.
Let’s breakdown what the Mets can do and explain how it is still early, but getting late for New York.
Stats were taken prior to play on April 28.
The Bats Are Frozen
Earlier this month, I alluded to how New York’s bats were cold out of the gate. Now, those same bats are not just cold — they are completely frozen.
The Mets have scored one run or fewer in 10 of their first 28 games. Their team barrel rate is down more than three full percentage points since last season, and the overwhelming majority of their at-bats have been poor.
New York is finding a way to do all of the little things wrong. Look no further than the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader, when the Mets had the bases loaded with fewer than two outs twice and scored zero runs. A simple ball in play would most likely score a run, and in both instances they failed to come through.
After hot starts to the season, Luis Robert Jr. and Fransisco Alvarez have come back to earth. Paired with Bo Bichette continuing to struggle and Fransisco Lindor landing on the injured list, the Mets’ lineup is in shambles.
Outside of Juan Soto, the offensive regression across the board is shocking and is the main root of New York’s issues. New York is finding a way to get the least amount of output from their undoubtedly talented players.
Scoring just 92 runs in 28 games, the Mets should consider themselves lucky that they even have nine wins.
What Can They Do?
First things first, it’s unlikely that New York is going to fire manager Carlos Mendoza. If the Mets were going to make that move, they likely would have already done it. Mendoza has mixed and matched the lineup as much as possible and tried to play matchups in every way he can.
Just because the Boston Red Sox impulsively fired manager Alex Cora and his staff after a 10-17 start does not mean the Mets should do the same. Mendoza cannot go out and swing the bat for the players himself, but if there is going to be a major causality of this catastrophe, it could ultimately be him as the fall guy.
Instead of firing their manager and disrupting whatever culture he has in place, the Mets need to shake up their personnel.
After yet another disappointing outing on Sunday from Kodai Senga – 2 2/3 innings, three runs, three walks and one strikeout – his season ERA ballooned to 9.00. His time in the rotation has to come to an end. Whether it’s a demotion to Triple-A or a DFA, Senga needs to be out of the rotation.
No time was wasted after the Rockies series concluded this weekend, as the Mets DFA’d Tommy Pham, who went 0-for-13 in his return to Queens. To replace Pham, they inked veteran outfielder Austin Slater, who was let go by the Miami Marlins earlier this month.
Moves like that need to continue. Not trying to switch things up and improve this team around the edges would be a grave mistake — one the Mets cannot afford to make.
New York also has younger players in Triple-A who could be called up. Nick Morabito, Ryan Clifford and Jack Wenninger are all potential options. However, there is no guarantee that a group of players yet to make their big-league debuts will save New York’s season.
No matter what they decide to do with the roster, if the Mets are going to turn this ship around, it will fall on Mendoza and the players already in the clubhouse. Nobody is going to walk into that room and magically save the Mets. They will have to fight their way out of this funk themselves.
Rest assured, if they don’t find a way to salvage this season, heads will roll.
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Written by
Joe Browne is an aspiring sports journalist and is currently a freshman at St. John's University. Joe is a lifelong Mets fan who is also passionate…