After another scalp-scratching loss, the Mets are looking more like, well, the Mets. They are 35-39, 8.5 games out of first place, and lacking purpose and personnel. They haven't gotten the starting pitching or hitting they expected, and their bullpen has cratered way too often.
So as the Mets march through the forest of mediocrity, the brass must decide if they are bulls or bears as the trade deadline emerges. We are many games from the July 31 frenzy of phone calls, rumors, and retooling teams. But the Mets, like every other MLB squad, must ponder its prospects as a contender.
If we're candid, almost every player on the Mets has either disappointed or played below the back of his baseball card. Only Pete Alonso has flashed the promise and blasted the baseball with the kind of consistent thunder the club expected. Among the new faces on the payroll, Jed Lowrie has been injured, Robinson Cano has been frustrating, Edwin Diaz has been disappointing, and Jeurys Familia has been appalling.
Yet their rookie GM keeps couching this season in riddles.
Brodie Van Wagenen, who charmed us with his cheer, his Hollywood looks, and fresh perspective as a former player agent, had us frothing for baseball in Flushing. He told us the Mets were the team to beat in the NL East, made a bunch of bold moves in the winter, and acted the part of someone cool and in control.
As the Mets stumbled, he told us to adjust our optimism, whatever that means. Then he recently told us his Mets have played well, despite their sinking in the standings. So either there's an epic disconnect between the GM and the team, or perhaps he knows something about the arc of this club that eludes us. He said he's not giving up on the team or manager Mickey Callaway, which is great news for everyone except Mets fans.
No matter how competent or confounding the Mets are come July, this is pretty much the product they have. Other than Noah Syndergaard and Alonso - the rookie slugger now fifth in the voting among NL All-Star first basemen - the Mets don't have much to offer if they chose to sell. The Mets may get something for Zach Wheeler or Steven Matz, both under 30 with very modest salaries (about $9 million combined.) But unlike the 2016 Yanks, who could unload Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman for some top-shelf prospects, the Mets don't have the resources for a franchise-changing trade.
Likewise, the fourth-place Mets don't have the prospects to lure a star and give the team a seismic bump in the standings. They did in 2016, when they got Yoenis Cespedes, who carried the Mets all the way to October. Now the Mets outfielder is slowly decaying into a hobbled has-been, finding new ways to get hurt while he's already on the IL. The Mets don't have an R.A. Dickey to deal for a young Thor.
As unsexy as it sounds the Mets likely have to win - or at least try - with the pieces they have. According to a preseason piece by Bleacher Report, the Mets' farm system ranked No. 23 out of 30 teams. Most pundits have the Mets' minor league system among the bottom-third in the majors, meaning they don't have the seductive prospects that often hypnotize other GMs. There's no Doc or Darryl shooting down a gold-plated pipeline. Van Wagenen made his bold moves in the winter, leaving the cupboard rather bare for the summer.
Not to mention the Mets are in the thorny center of a brutal schedule. After losing two of three to the first-place Atlanta Braves, the Mets stagger to Chicago for four games against the Cubs. Then they travel to Philadelphia for four games against the Phillies. Then they come back to Flushing for three more games against the Braves, two games against the Yankees, and then three more against the Phillies.
After that minefield of games, the Mets will be largely alive or dead in the division. Fans have every right to hope the Mets emerge from the next few weeks with a .500 record, and a new, recharged attitude toward the season. Just don't expect the Mets to look much different on August 1 than they do on July 30.
Twitter: @JasonKeidel
