“That year, winter came in spring.”
—”The Power Broker,” Robert CaroWhat will be the story the New York Mets tell themselves about this season?Two weeks ago, you could fool yourself with a certain story about the Mets. In that version, the early-season injury to Juan Soto and the resulting 12-game losing streak derailed what could have been. Throw that miserable fortnight out, put Soto in the same lineup with a healthy Francisco Lindor and the proper version of Bo Bichette, and this Mets team could still be quite good.You could have made a case, even, that the 2026 Mets weren’t that different from the 2025 Atlanta Braves — a talented team that was liable to put it together the following year.Well, the Mets have had Soto and a healthy Lindor and an effective Bichette for much of the last fortnight. And it’s been just as bad as that losing streak in April.Even with Sunday’s eye-rolling 10-9 win over Atlanta — “they win the damn thing,” you could hear Bob Murphy saying on the last out — the Mets are 3-12 since June 20. It’s the stretch that finally cost Carlos Mendoza his job, and it’s the stretch that should have David Stearns and the entire Mets front office engaging in deep introspection about what they built for this season and how drastically it needs to change for next.Over the last two weeks, Soto has an OPS+ over 150. Bichette’s is around 130. Lindor has still been better than league average, as have Francisco Alvarez, A.J. Ewing and a red-hot Tyrone Taylor. And yet, 3-12.That’s because the run prevention has been woeful. The pitching staff has an ERA of 6.30. Sunday’s unearned run was the 10th in the last 15 games. (The 1999 Mets allowed 20 all season.) They’ve committed 15 errors in the 15 games, which isn’t to mention all the plays that are not errors but should have been made.That’s where the next month presents an opportunity — and a glimpse into how the Mets will reconstruct themselves for 2027. New York can take the basic approach to the trade deadline, looking for the best deals for expiring contracts in Freddy Peralta, A.J. Minter, Brooks Raley and maybe Clay Holmes.
