The Mets offense continues to struggle, scoring over three runs just twice in their last seven games, and the group now holds an offense below league average in terms of OPS+ so far this season.
Many point to the lack of production at the bottom of the lineup, but Sal says the culprits are the big bats that aren't playing to the back of their baseball cards.
"I'm not saying it's been good, because it hasn't, but that hasn't been the issue for the Mets," Sal said when a caller wanted to vent about the bottom half of the order. "You should be worried or focused on Marte, Lindor, Alonso. Those are the guys who have to hit. When they do, you won't be worried about Tomas Nido in the nine spot, or Tommy Pham, or Vogelbach, or Mark Canha."
Alonso has been carrying his weight thanks to his 11 home runs, but Lindor is batting just .217, while Marte is even worse at .213. Between the top four of Lindor, Alonso, Jeff McNeil, and Brandon Nimmo, only Alonso and Nimmo have an OPS above .800.
Sal says for the Mets to start scoring runs, the top bats simply need to wake up, and the complaints about the bottom of the order would vanish.
"Here's the path for the Mets' success: Marte, Lindor, and Alonso start to hit," Sal said. "You know what you're gonna get from Nimmo and McNeil. Baty as well has been producing. Now you have three spots. The catcher is a lost cost until Alvarez starts going, or Narvaez comes back. Then you have Canha, Pham, and Vogelbach between left field and DH.
"In the grand scheme of things, it's insignificant. What matters is Marte, Lindor, Alonso."
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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