As they prepare to enter June, the Mets are not where they want to be — and that’s putting it mildly.
They are 10 games under .500, teetering on the brink of falling so far back of the third Wild Card spot in the National League that another summer sell-off could be one more losing streak away.
If that wasn’t enough, the on-field performance became off-field theater after Wednesday’s loss, with Jorge Lopez firing his glove into the stands after an ejection, showing no remorse afterwards, lying about meeting with Mets brass (he said he didn’t, but had), and saying something that was perhaps at least partially lost in translation.
That the Mets followed up Wednesday’s disaster with a players-only team meeting and comeback win over the Arizona Diamondbacks has at least stemmed the tide for now.
But even after that win, the Mets made a flurry of roster moves — a sign of where the team is at the moment, but also the latest example that president of baseball operations David Stearns will not hesitate to make quick, bold changes if he believes they’re necessary.
And while Stearns has acted fast this season as it pertains to reshuffling the roster, none of the changes the Mets have made have been hasty — even the DFA of Lopez.
Before we get to Lopez and the players the Mets moved on from before him this season, let’s discuss the latest — the demotion of Brett Baty and DFA of Omar Narvaez that came down on Friday morning.
The writing was on the wall as it pertained to both.
Stearns spoke earlier this week about the unsustainability of carrying both Baty and Mark Vientos (two corner infielders without much versatility) while going without a backup middle infielder.
That Narvaez was getting close to the end of his Mets tenure didn’t have to be said.
A .376 OPS this season, a .580 OPS last season, an inability or reluctance to properly block pitches in the dirt, an expiring contract, and the pending return of Francisco Alvarez made Narvaez’s removal from the roster inevitable.
The situation with Baty was trickier and unfortunate, but Stearns made the right call there as well.
Over 168 games and 600 plate appearances in parts of three big league seasons, Baty has slashed just .214/.281/.325 — including a .225/.304/.325 line this season. There have been too many strikeouts, too many balls hit on the ground, and not nearly enough…