Mets at the Halfway Mark

Let’s start with the important stuff; the Mets are 55-42 at the halfway mark of the 2025 season. This puts them in a solid position for a playoff run, but there are still areas that need improvement. This puts them .5 games behind the Phillies and 3 games clear of the Giants in the Wildcard race. Winning the division is something the Mets should be shooting for, but really it’s being one of the top 2 division winners. If you don’t get the bye the advantages are gone.

Going into the season two supposed cogs of the starting pitching staff were Manea and Montas. Both missed almost all of the first half, but are ready to go now. Montas after a mixed first few starts has looked better his last two outings. Manea looked great when he came in relief on Sunday. Add this to Senga who recently returned from the IL and the Mets staff is in it’s best shape of the year. As always the key will be staying healthy. They still will need a 6th starter as they like to give Senga the extra day, and on top of that Clay Holmes has already thrown more innings than he ever has in his career.

The bullpen is in rough shape, again due to injuries. AJ Minter was supposed to be a huge piece of this pen and he is out for the year. Add in Devin Nunez and Max Kranick who are both in need of Tommy John Surgery and the Mets need to find some help in the pen. This is their biggest need. Diaz has been unreal this year while others like Reed Garrett have been solid, but have had to fight their way out of recent struggles. Old friend Brooks Railey who himself has been working his way back from injury was signed by the Mets earlier this season and is on his way back. He could fill a huge hole from the left side. The biggest problem with the bullpen has really been the lack of innings from the starters in too many games this year. Hopefully with the staff getting healthy this will improve.

Let’s talk offense. We all know what the top players bring to the table everyday. Lindor started out hot, but seemed to slow down while playing through a toe injury. Recently he seems to be back to himself, including a few stolen bases after not running for a month. Soto is Soto, and Pete has been really good. Nimmo started slow but has been good recently as well, add in McNeil who has gotten some big hits recently and the Mets have a top 5 that can compete with anyone. The problem is depth, and it has made the offense look anemic at times. Vientos was not playing well before he got hurt, and he was penciled in as a big bat on opening day. They have been shuffling young guys in and out to try and find someone to get hot. Vientos showed signs in Baltimore and Kansas City to close out the first half, so let’s hope that is the sign of things to come. Baty’s defense has been a huge surprise, but he has been very inconsistent at the plate. Recently they have been giving Mauricio some time and like Baty he has has shown promise, but no consistency. With his speed and ability to play multiple positions very well it would be a gift if he can find a true comfort level. Then there is the catching position. Alvarez has looked totally lost at the plate. He has spent the last month down in Syracuse and hopefully has found his swings in the last few weeks. He has an OPS over 1.000 down there and I expect him back when the Mets take the field Friday night. Even at DH the platoon of Winker and Marte have given them very little due to injuries. The bottom line is the Mets need to find a few guys who can at least make the pitchers work after 1-5 or they will continue to be inconsistent.

The Mets are a good team, and are close to being a team that is good enough to win the World Series. We saw with the Dodgers last year you can win without a true ace, but the staff has to stay healthy. While Vientos might not return to 2024 form tomorrow, I think he and Mauricio are both about to get hot. Mauricio to me looks like a guy who has all the tools to play at this level. The Mets have 7 guys with an OPS+ over 100 and Mauricio is one of them. Yes in limited time, but the numbers are backing up the eye test. He just needs the reps. The organization needs to find a way to get a couple more arms in the pen, and maybe a depth starter. Other than that the guys here have to get the job done. Let’s go Mets!