If almost 8,000 people can climb more than 29,000 feet to the top of Mount Everest, what sounds so daunting about the Mets overcoming a 7 ¹/₂-game deficit in the National League playoff race?
Well, just about everything. But president of baseball operations David Stearns isn’t ready to pack up and head down the mountain in defeat.
“We have not had a good year so far,” Stearns said Friday in an understatement after a 23-33 start. “We’re not where we thought we would be. We’ve dug ourselves a hole. It’s not an insurmountable hole.”
Seventeen days, eight wins and eight losses after he acknowledged feeling a time crunch to improve, Stearns projected a there’s-still-time vibe Friday before opening a three-game series against the Marlins. Whether he convinced any outsiders to believe in the NL’s third-worst team is another story.
“We’re going to have to play a lot better baseball to do what we want to do this year,” Stearns said.
Ace Freddy Peralta started Friday’s game against the backdrop that he could garner the best return — even in his walk year — if the Mets want to start trading off pieces.
“We’re not there yet,” Stearns said. “We’ve got time.”
Tick, tick, tick.
The MLB trade deadline is Aug. 3, but the Mets aren’t the only flailing big-expectations contender. What if the Red Sox, Tigers, Giants or Rangers want to get a jump on the seller’s market?
“I still think it’s early to have very robust trade discussions,” Stearns said. “If you look at the history of midseason acquisitions, we really are talking about the majority taking place in a very concentrated period after the All-Star break and close to the end of July. We’re still a long ways away from that. Is there a specific set of circumstances this year that maybe accelerates that? I think that’s possible, but we haven’t seen that yet.”
Stearns’ patience in the face of the fans’ impatience is good for …
The coaching staff: As mental mistakes mount every game — as SNY analyst Ron Darling recently vented after pitcher David Peterson failed to back up an errant throw — it reflects poorly on the coaching staff.
Or does it?
“I think our coaching staff does a really good job,” Stearns said. “On the Petey one in particular, that’s a pretty heady player who is frustrated.”
Manager Carlos Mendoza received a vote of confidence from Stearns earlier this season but continues to twist in the wind with no contract security beyond this season.
“We’re not always going to be public about it, but we’ve had certain players at times get a little bit off the rails in their respective disciplines,” Stearns said. “And I think our staff has done a very nice job of course-correcting in certain instances. I also think that the motivation and energy from these players remains very high. I understand there is frustration everywhere, there is exasperation — we all get that — but our players are playing hard and they compete. That’s a reflection on them and our coaches.”
The young veterans: One of the failings of the Mets has been the development of former top prospects Brett Baty and Mark Vientos into core pieces who can complement Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor (when healthy). The same could be said for injured Francisco Alvarez.
“Any player who demonstrates a level of inconsistency over multiple years or over their careers, there are probably individual reasons,” Stearns said. “Candidly, I think … we know the reasons and are working. In certain cases, we don’t. That’s the reality of baseball and player evaluations.”
Still-developing minor leaguers: You could make a case center fielder A.J. Ewing (12 games at Triple-A) and Jonah Tong (5.68 ERA at Triple-A) were rushed to the majors because of injuries, but Stearns isn’t quite ready to keep dipping down for more reinforcements.
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The time will come, though. Maybe for first baseman/outfielder Ryan Clifford or pitcher Jack Wenninger.
“We have to be confident those players are ready and can contribute,” Stearns said. “We’re certainly not going to preclude ourselves from adding more from our minor league system. We believe we have very good players down there — some of whom aren’t too far away. We have players in the minor leagues right now that we would anticipate contributing at the big leagues over the course of the season. It’s very difficult for me to put a time frame on it.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
