The New York Mets and New York Yankees will have disbursed nearly $640m in player salaries by the end of the 2025 season, but money hasn’t bought happiness for either New York City fanbase. After enjoying hot starts to begin the 2025 season, the Yankees are now in third place in the American League East while the Mets are a woeful 11-16 since the All-Star Break and 4-11 in the month of August.
Even though both teams would qualify for the postseason if the season ended today, neither of them are meeting their lofty preseason expectations. With under 40 games remaining in the season, what is ailing the teams that enjoyed comfortable first-place leads earlier this season? And is all hope lost as they enter the last quarter of the season?
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The Mets
When the Mets signed Juan Soto to a record-setting 15-year, $765m contract in December, they lured the superstar away from the wealthy crosstown rival Yankees and inherited the weighty expectations that come with a historic signing. When Soto started (relatively) slowly over the first two months of the season, the Mets covered for him with some of the best pitching in baseball (a 2.88 ERA through 31 May) and a strong offensive season from first baseman Pete Alonso.
When Soto found his usual form in June, the Mets started faltering. Since the start of June, Soto has hit 21 home runs and posted a .408 on-base percentage, but the Mets are a dreary 28-36 in that same time span. The month of August has been an ongoing nightmare for their pitching staff: the starting pitching that anchored the team to start the season has a ghastly 6.22 ERA in August, which has taxed a tired bullpen that added two major pieces (Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers) at the trade deadline in July.
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The Mets’ bullpen is responsible for eight of the team’s eleven losses in August. Helsley, a two-time All-Star who led the National League in saves last year with the St Louis Cardinals, was brought in to set up All-Star closer Edwin Díaz. Unfortunately, Helsley has stumbled to a 7.11 ERA in his first eight games with his new team. It’s an uncharacteristically bad stretch for one of baseball’s most dominant relief pitchers, and the Mets need him to find his usual form if they want to compete in a loaded National League playoff race.
Even with their horrendous run of recent form, the Mets remain one of the most talented teams in baseball and a viable…