Instead of looking forward to a potential run in October, the only date that figures to matter for the rest of this season is Aug. 3.
They have until then — the trade deadline — to move whatever assets they can in what is almost certainly going to be an ugly selloff.
The problem — along with the fact that the deep-pocketed Mets were never supposed to be in this position — is that they don’t have too many valuable pieces to trade.
Freddy Peralta, acquired from Milwaukee in the offseason, should have been high on the list of starting pitchers eyed by other teams, especially with his $8 million salary as he heads towards free agency.
But like so many of his teammates, Peralta has been a disappointment and he didn’t do himself or the Mets any favors in another shaky outing Saturday, a sleep-inducing 4-0 loss to the Red Sox at Citi Field
Peralta allowed just three hits, but he lasted only 4 ⅓ innings and was done in by five walks and a two-run homer by Andruw Monasterio, as Boston won its eighth straight game.
The 30-year-old right-hander entered the game with a 6.22 ERA in his previous 10 starts after opening the year with a 3.10 ERA in his first nine outings.
He wasn’t helped Saturday by a Mets offense that didn’t get a hit until the fourth inning and came up small in clutch situations.
They were shut down first by left-handed rookie Eduardo Rivera — making his first major league start, and just his second MLB appearance.
Jorge Polanco got the lone hit off of Rivera with two outs in the fourth.
Four Boston relievers blanked the Mets the rest of the way.
Peralta was fortunate not to give up more than the two runs.
In the fifth, he walked Tsung-Che Cheng to open the inning.
Anthony Seigler followed with a smash towards second base, where Zack Short made an excellent diving stop and throw to second for the force.
Cedanne Rafaela’s flare to shallow right fell for a double that sent Seigler to third and after a walk to Wilyer Abreu, Peralta was pulled for Huascar Brazobán.
The right-hander struck out Caleb Durbin looking and got Masataka Yoshida to ground out to first to keep it a two-run game.
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A.J. Minter pitched around a leadoff triple an inning later.
And the Mets, 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position in Friday’s loss, again couldn’t come up with clutch hits on Saturday.
They loaded the bases in the seventh, but A.J. Ewing struck out looking against Justin Slaten.
An inning later, Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor opened with walks, but Carson Benge lined out to right and Polanco grounded into a double play.
The Mets will head into the All-Star break following Sunday’s series finale against Boston battling against the Giants and Rockies as the worst team in the National League.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
