The Next Move
Twenty games in 20 days remain before the break, and they may determine whether the Mets buy, sell or fade away.
Tuesday: June 23
The rain may have delayed the opener against the Cubs, but it didn’t delay reality.
The Mets now enter a stretch that could very well define their season.
Beginning Tuesday night, New York will play 20 games in 20 days before the All-Star break.
Four against the Cubs.
Three against the Phillies. Three in Toronto. Four in Atlanta. Three against Kansas City. Three against Boston.
And somewhere over the next two and a half weeks, the front office will begin to get its answer.
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Buy.
Sell.
Or simply fade away.
The next seven games at Citi Field won’t determine everything, but they may determine whether the Mets have a legitimate chance to make the final weeks before the trade deadline interesting.
Because before New York can talk about chasing down a Wild Card spot, it first has to accomplish something much simpler.
Get back to .500.
The Mets enter this stretch nine games under .500, and while they’ve played 26-27 baseball since Francisco Lindor injured his calf two months ago, hovering around mediocrity isn’t enough when you’re already buried.
The theme of this season has been painfully familiar.
One step forward. Two steps back.
Win a series, lose momentum.
Get hot, cool off immediately.
Build hope, then give it right back. At some point, winning series isn’t enough anymore.
You need a run. You need five in a row.
You need to win nine of 12. You need to play 15-5 baseball over a stretch.
And while there isn’t much evidence to suggest that’s coming, crazier things have happened.
Getting Lindor back certainly helps.
Monday marked exactly two months since the Mets’ shortstop last appeared in a game.
At the time, New York was 8-16. Since then, they’ve essentially played .500 baseball without him.
The problem?
.500 baseball doesn’t erase an awful start.
It only keeps you stuck.
And while Lindor’s eventual return gives the Mets a chance, the reality remains stunning:
He and Juan Soto have played just 11 games together this season.
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That’s almost impossible to believe.
The bigger concern remains the rotation.
The Mets’ starters own a 4.74 ERA, 27th in baseball. They strike hitters out, but free passes and inconsistency have made life difficult all season.
Clay Holmes won’t return until August at the earliest.
Christian Scott could be back this weekend, but help isn’t guaranteed.
Freddy Peralta has an 8.14 ERA over his last four starts.
David Peterson’s spot remains uncertain.
And Kodai Senga now takes the ball Tuesday night after looking rusty in his return from the injured list, and nobody can rely on him.
Manager Carlos Mendoza remains confident.
“I have no doubt they’ve got the talent,” Mendoza said. “They’re more than capable of helping us turn this thing around.”
Mendoza really has no choice. He has to trust what he has.
And he’s right. The starters simply have to be better.
Because hope only lasts so long before it turns into hopelessness.
Fortunately, not everything has gone wrong.
Juan Soto is doing what Juan Soto does.
Carson Benge has been everything the Mets hoped for and more.
The rookie homered in back-to-back games over the weekend and continues to impact games on both sides of the ball.
A.J. Ewing seems to do something productive every night, using his speed and defense to contribute in ways that don’t always show up in the box score.
Bo Bichette looked like the hottest hitter on the planet for a stretch before cooling off in Philadelphia.
And perhaps most importantly, the bullpen has quietly become one of the best units in baseball.
If the starters can somehow provide enough innings to get games to the late frames, the Mets have shown they can shorten contests and give themselves a chance. They haven’t yet, and will need to starting Tuesday night.
Little we’ve seen suggests this team is about to rip off a massive winning streak.
But sports have never cared much about odds.
The Knicks were given a 0.4 percent chance to win Game 4 of the NBA Finals and somehow came back from 29 points down.
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The Mets aren’t the Knicks. But they don’t have to be.
They just need to give themselves a chance.
Because over the next 20 days, we’ll find out exactly what the next move is.
And it all begins Tuesday night.
🐻 Ready To Roar 🐻
Up Next: The Chicago Cubs 🧸
After Monday’s rainout. The Mets come into the Cubs series having dropped each of their last two series against Cincinnati and Philadelphia.
The Cubs have won six of their last nine and currently sit in the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League.
These two clubs met back in April, when the Cubs swept the Mets and outscored them 18-7.
Here are the probable starters:
Tuesday: Kodai Senga (0-5, 9.00) vs. Edward Cabrera (4-4, 5.21)
Doubleheader Wednesday: Order TBD
Nolan McLean (4-4, 3.67) vs. Shota Imanaga (4-6, 4.26)
Wednesday: Sean Manaea (1-2, 4.64) vs. Javier Assad (5-1, 3.89)
Thursday: Freddy Peralta (5-6, 4.83) vs. Ben Brown (4-2, 1.85)
The strength of Chicago is its offense, led by former Mets prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Mets fans know the story. Crow-Armstrong was dealt to Chicago in 2021 for Javier Báez and Trevor Williams as New York pushed for a postseason run. It’s safe to say the Cubs are happy with how that gamble worked out.
PCA is putting together an outstanding season, hitting .286 with a .884 OPS, 16 home runs, 40 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.
Seiya Suzuki has quietly been his usual productive self, hitting .269 with 10 homers, 31 RBIs and an .803 OPS.
In many ways, that describes the Cubs.
They’re not flashy, but they’re solid across the board.
And while the lineup is dangerous, Ben Brown deserves mention as the Mets will faceoff against him on Thursday.
After beginning the season in the bullpen and moving into the rotation in May, Brown has emerged as one of baseball’s biggest surprises.
The right-hander is 4-2 with a sparkling 1.85 ERA after posting a 5.92 ERA a season ago.
For the Mets, the pitching injuries and inconsistency continue to define the season. Getting healthy can’t come soon enough.
If they want to start chasing down the Wild Card teams, it begins tonight.
🔑 Keys To The Series 🔑
Nolan McLean and Sean Manaea keep rolling:
They’ve been the biggest bright spots in the rotation lately.
Manaea’s velocity has climbed back into the 92-93 mph range, and his last two starts against division rivals have put the Mets in position to win.
His matchup with Crow-Armstrong will be one to watch.
As for McLean, his last outing looked like the version the Mets envisioned all along.
Seven innings, three hits, one run and nine strikeouts. His 97-98 mph fastball up in the zone opened up everything else.
That’s the Nolan McLean the Mets need.
Juan Soto stays hot:
It’s a shame the Mets have struggled because they’re wasting one of the best stretches of Juan Soto’s career.
Soto enters the game with MVP type numbers.
When he gets going, the offense follows. He is and always has been the engine that ignites them.
With Francisco Lindor expected back soon, perhaps as early as Wednesday or Thursday, the lineup could finally start looking whole again.
The bullpen continues to sizzle:
As crazy as it sounds, the Mets own the fourth-best ERA in baseball at 3.37.
Brooks Raley, Huascar Brazobán, Luke Weaver and company have been the backbone of this team all season.
Weaver, in particular, has been dominant and deserves serious All-Star consideration.
If these next four games are close late, the Mets have an advantage.
This team needs a run, and it needs one quickly.
The schedule isn’t getting easier, and another showdown with Philadelphia looms later this week.
Get healthy. Get Lindor back. And find a way to make a run.
✍🏼 Written by Casey Lynn and Donald Cucuzzella:
📸 Where Mets History Comes Back To Life
Back on this day, 41-years-ago yesterday, 6/22/1985. Trailing 2-0 in the seventh, Rusty Staub hit a go-ahead pinch-hit three-run homer off Jeff Reardon. The dinger was the final home run of Staub’s 23-year career.
Orange and blue collide this week at Citi Field. The 2026 NBA Champion New York Knicks will have their presence felt in Queens. Play-by-play broadcaster Mike Breen will throw out the first pitch tonight followed by Jose Alvarado on Thursday and OG Anunoby will throw to Jose Reyes on Sunday.
🗞️ News and Notes In Mets Land 🗞️
🔶 Francisco Lindor (calf) will play one more rehab game for Triple-A Syracuse today. Depening on how he feels, the Mets’ shortstop could be activated either Wednesday or Thursday. Lindor has been on the IL since April 22.
🏟️ Around The League 🏟️
🔥 The Cincinnati Reds have announced star shortstop Elly De La Cruz (hamstring) will be activated today off the IL.
💎 Brewers Brandon Woodruff allowed just one baserunner and struck out 10 in his first appearance since April 30th off the IL. He was on another level against the Reds, as he took a perfect game into the sixth. The Brewers defeated Cincinnati, 2-1, in extra-innings.
👀 The Royals are “hopeful” Bobby Witt Jr. (knee) will be available in a couple of days. Witt Jr. has not played since Thursday due a to Grade 1 MCL sprain.
🏆 Your AL and NL Players of the Week:
For the week of June 15- June 21.
🥂 Mariners Logan Gilbert: 2-0, 1.35 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 18 Ks.
🍾 Cubs Pete Crow-Armstrong: 11-for-20 (.550 AVG), 4 HR, 7 RBIs, hit for the cycle on 6/15.
⚾️ Tonight the Mets (34-43) play game one of their four-game set against the Cubs (40-37) from Citi Field. Kodai Senga, (0-5, 9.00) makes the start for New York against Cubs RHP Edward Cabrera, (4-4, 5.21). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10PM. The game can be seen on SNY.
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I say sell !!