David Lennon: If Mets continue to stack wins, the trade-deadline value of their players will climb
The Mets' Juan Sotofollows through on his seventh-inning home run against the Kansas City Royals at Citi Field on Thursday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Mets, through injury and incompetence, have earned their place among MLB’s worst teams for the first half.
But at least they’re not the Royals.
The difference between underachievement and just plain ugly was on full display this week at Citi Field, where the Mets easily could have swept Kansas City if not for some catastrophic bullpen malfunction in Tuesday’s series-opening 16-12 loss.
We don’t give the Mets credit for much, but they certainly were resourceful in taking advantage of the Royals’ slapstick glovework. That continued in Thursday’s 7-3 cruise, with yet another homer from Juan Soto — his fourth in seven games — and a tying shot by Tyrone Taylor during a five-run fifth inning that cemented a fourth victory in five games.
This was the first series win in nearly a month (June 12-14 vs. Atlanta) by the Mets (40-54) and marked their fifth straight game scoring at least six runs.
The reshuffled lineup, now with A.J. Ewing at the top, is performing more according to expectations lately, with Jared Young getting a firmer grip on first base and Francisco Lindor back at shortstop.
Even the enigmatic Sean Manaea provided a 2024 flashback Thursday, allowing two earned runs in seven innings — his longest outing since Game 3 of that year’s NLDS against the Phillies, which feels like decades ago.
Beating the Royals still has to be put in perspective, as their 38 wins were tied for the second-fewest in the majors entering Thursday night, with a minus-75 run differential to match.
But just as the Mets seemingly are getting the band together — Jorge Polanco returned this week — we’re fast approaching the point when it’ll be time to rip it all apart before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Or as much as president of baseball operations David Stearns can accomplish with some of the limited value on his roster.
One piece that likely came off the board Thursday, however, was Mark Vientos, who suffered what interim manager Andy Green described as a fractured right hand when he was drilled by Michael Wacha in the second inning. Vientos, who was in obvious agony, was removed from the game when the Mets returned to the field.
The Mets figured on Vientos being a significant part of the first base/DH mix when they let Pete Alonso walk during the winter, but their hopes of him regaining his “Swaggy V” plate persona from the amazing 2024 run faded quickly.
It’s still hard to understand how Vientos went from being the Mets’ most dangerous hitter during the second half of that season, as well as deep into October, to becoming mostly a non-factor in subsequent seasons.
Vientos made only his second start at third base Thursday, compared to 53 at first, and is batting .211 with 11 home runs and a .641 OPS. The injury won’t end his season, but he also won’t be capable of polishing his trade value during the next few weeks for whatever modest return the Mets could get.
“I’m just disappointed for what he’s going through now today,” Green said. “I don’t think today’s the day to do a full-season evaluation. That guy turned around 98 from Chris Sale five days ago. Played a huge part in a big win. So just disappointed for him today.”
Vientos has been nowhere near the player he was in 2024, but his presence alone was a throwback to this franchise’s better days and how far the Mets have fallen since. Stearns now has to decide what he should keep in looking to 2027, and much of that will hinge on the developing market.
Some of those choices are easy. Ewing is proving himself to be a viable long-term solution in the centerfield-leadoff slot and fellow rookie Carson Benge, who again was a catalyst for another Royals error-fest Thursday, should have rightfield on lockdown for the foreseeable future.
On Tuesday, Benge’s soft comebacker turned into a three-run Little League homer — thanks to a trio of KC throwing errors — and he pulled a similar trick again Thursday with a pop-up to shallow center that led to two runs on Lane Thomas’ throwing error.
It wasn’t all charity. The Mets did have 10 hits, with Benge, Young and Taylor each recording two.
Speaking of potential trade value, Francisco Alvarez chipped in with an RBI single from the DH spot, where he’s hitting .314 (16-for-51) with three homers and an .869 OPS in 13 games this season.
Stacking some occasional wins in this lost season may be inconsequential in the big picture, but the Mets definitely can benefit from some players heating up in the coming weeks.
“I think it’s just good game-planning,” Young said. “The guys kind of coming together, believing in each other and putting good at-bats up there. You have to realize what you’re doing right now is productive and keep doing the same things.”
Stearns already has said that Green will return to his front-office job at season’s end, so it’s not as if the Mets are motivated to keep him in the manager’s chair. But with the roster becoming more whole recently, it’s not surprising to see this offensive bump and a few more Ws.
What that leads to, however, should be a number of players disappearing by the Aug. 3 deadline in order to make the next few months somewhat worthwhile.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
