QUEENS — Perhaps one of the largest indignations suffered by Mets fans this season came on Saturday at Citi Field when the Atlanta Braves — the long-time tormenters of the Queens club — swept a doubleheader by a combined score of 27-3, including a 21-3 beatdown in the opening matinee.
Entering Sunday’s series finale against Atlanta, the Mets have been outscored 34-3 in the first three games of the set, dropping to 13 games under .500 and now sitting just a half-game out of last place in the National League East.
The losses were expected to pile up after the Mets went from World Series hopefuls in spring to trade-deadline sellers in summer — but not even the most fervent of pessimists could have anticipated outings like this.
How did they get here? After giving up 21 runs on Saturday afternoon, it’s only fitting that we delve into the 21 reasons why the Mets have disappointed this season.
21 reasons why the Mets have disappointed in 2023
1) Edwin Diaz’s injury: The writing for a disastrous 2023 season appeared on the wall before things even got started. Star closer Edwin Diaz tore the patellar tendon in his knee while celebrating a victory with his Puerto Rican national teammates at the World Baseball Classic, sidelining for what could very well be the entire season despite his best efforts to bolt through his rehab. The Mets bullpen never recovered.
2) Billy Eppler: The Mets general manager, despite having the seemingly unlimited funds from Steve Cohen to field a legitimate World Series contender, was unable to do anything to cushion the blow of losing Diaz. It was one of multiple failings this season as he whiffed on finding a legitimate designated hitter and pitching depth.
3) Justin Verlander: Signed to a two-year, $86.6 million deal over the winter, Verlander was sidelined for the first month due to a shoulder issue. He proceeded to sputter out of the gates, going 2-4 with a 4.50 ERA over his first nine starts. By the time he found his usual Hall-of-Fame-worthy stuff, going 4-1 with a 1.49 ERA in his next seven starts, it was too late. The Mets were out of it and Verlander was traded to the Houston Astros.
4) Max Scherzer: Following a successful first season in Queens that ended in disappointment, Scherzer never found his consistent stuff with the Mets in 2023. He dealt with shoulder and back issues, was suspended 10 days for violating MLB’s sticky-substance policy in April, allowed a league-leading 22 home runs, and possessed a 4.01 ERA in 19 starts. He was dealt to the Texas Rangers after not liking what he heard from Mets brass about their future.
5) No true designated hitter: Eppler didn’t do a thing to solve the Mets’ major lingering issue from a 101-win 2022 season, which was finding a legitimate DH. The platoon experiment of Darin Ruf and Daniel Vogelbach failed miserably last year, but the team opted to give Vogelbach another shot. He’s hitting .214 with a .660 OPS and seven home runs this season — not what one would want from a DH.
6) Jeff McNeil: McNeil won the batting title last season, batting .326 to go with an .836 OPS. He’s been nowhere near as productive this season, batting .253 with a .668 OPS over his first 114 games.
7) Carlos Carrasco: Initially deemed as an important backend piece of the rotation coming back, Carrasco has been unable to figure it out in 2023. His 6.42 ERA is on pace for the worst mark of his career in a full season with 16 home runs allowed in 81.1 innings pitched. He allowed 17 homers in 152.1 innings pitched last season.
8) Collapse in Philly: Mets management was already inching toward the panic button in late June, but it became abundantly clear that things were off the rails on June 25 in Philadelphia. Holding a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the ninth, Josh Walker, Jeff Brigham, and Vinny Nittoli gave up four runs on just one hit (three walks, two hit-by-pitch) for an embarrassing loss to the Phillies.
9) Starling Marte: The veteran right field has been a shell of his All-Star self from last season, which was his first with the Mets. Having undergone double groin surgery in the offseason before dealing with a neck injury that lingered in the spring and migraine issues that landed him on the IL last month, the once-reliable No. 2 hitter owns a .625 OPS this season.
10) Brett Baty: Tasked to take the next step to the majors and become the team’s everyday third baseman for the struggling Eduardo Escobar, the 23-year-old Baty struggled to find his footing during his first full season in the big leagues. From July 8-Aug. 6 (23 games), he batted .122 (9-for-74) with two home runs, six RBI, a .451 OPS, and 27 strikeouts — which in 74 at-bats is a punchout rate of 32.4%.
11) Drew Smith: The right-handed reliever that has shown promise of developing into a late-inning option for years still hasn’t progressed in the way the Mets were hoping for. Another Met suspended for sticky-stuff violations, Smith owns a 3.96 ERA this season.
12) June: It all went south in June — a month that has historically been unkind to the Mets. They went 7-19 over 26 games during that stretch, including sweeps at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays and Braves along with a series loss to the lowly St. Louis Cardinals.
13) Pete Alonso’s swoon: One of the most glaring strugglers during the Mets’ summer of discontent was slugger Pete Alonso, who from May 1 to July 19 (59 games) batted just .175 with 15 of his 37 hits during the stretch coming in the form of home runs. His .713 OPS was also 163 points lower than his career mark.
14) Brandon Nimmo: While the lead-off man’s power numbers have experienced a surge, his calling cards have dwindled. His on-base percentage is near career-low marks (.352) and his batting average is 20 points lower from last year.
15) Adam Ottavino: As one of the main arms that needed to step up after Diaz went down, Ottavino shrunk in his late-inning responsibilities this season. His ERA jumped from 2.06 last season to 3.52 in 2023 while his WHIP has catapulted from 0.975 to 1.239.
16) Where’s the depth?: You name it, the Mets lacked it. There wasn’t enough offensive firepower this year to support a bevy of struggling bats, but it was especially felt with the organization’s stable of pitchers. The bullpen floundered without Diaz, but the starting rotation did not receive enough from Tylor Megill or David Peterson when Verlander and Jose Quintana were sidelined this season. It left the Mets with basically a three-man rotation.
17) Jeremy Barnes: The Mets offense has significantly regressed under hitting coach Jeremy Barnes, who took over when Eric Chavez was promoted to bench coach. They’re in the bottom 10 of the majors in runs per game, hits, and slugging percentage.
18) Who are these guys?: The trade deadline was a clear enough indication that the Mets were surrendering in 2023, but some of the lineups that have been trotted out resemble something out of a split-squad spring training game. Rafael Ortega, Jonathan Arauz, and DJ Stewart have all received considerable playing time since Aug. 1.
19) Buck Showalter: The veteran skipper was certainly given a faulty roster by Eppler this season, but his loyalty to Vogelbach and his bullpen management open the door for rightful criticism this season.
20) The sale: After weeks of hinting that they’d be sellers at the trade deadline, Cohen and Eppler pulled the trigger in the five days leading up to the Aug. 1 deadline. David Robertson, Mark Canha, Tommy Pham, Dominic Leone, Scherzer, and Verladner all were traded for prospects that have ultimately bolstered the Mets’ once-thin farm system. But the short-term pain will be undoubtedly felt.
21) Aug. 11: And then there was Saturday. Of all the teams to lay on the misery, it’s the Braves — the team that tortured them in the 90s, the team that hunted them down for the division crown last season. The 21-3 loss in Game 1 of the doubleheader was the most lopsided loss in team history.
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