04/22/2026
It's been far too long since I last posted on this page, and I miss talking sports with the guys. Part of me is upset I'm taking a leave of absence from the program, part of me is happy, because I'd have to address this dismal Mets team. A season cannot be won in April, but a season can surely be lost in April - they're quickly entering dire straits. As Yogi Berra once coined, "It's getting late early."
The 2025-2026 offseason featured four key departures of long-time staples to the New York Met roster; Edwin Diaz, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil. The two departures which hurt me personally the most were Nimmo and Alonso - they were drafted by the team and made their rookie debuts with the team. Jeff McNeil also was drafted by the Mets, but the energy surrounding him was more in the likes of "His time with the Mets is up, time for him to venture elsewhere." In other words, it got stale. I don't think that ideal could be said about Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo. We'll get to Diaz a little later.
In the span of less than a year, Pete Alonso was coming off one of the most clutch moments in New York Met history. He was also coming off setting the all-time Mets' homerun record with 253 and him from a personal standpoint - one of the best seasons in his career. It seemed like a no brainer to keep Alonso in orange and blue and give him a contract he more than likely deserves.
Allowing Alonso to walk and seek other contracts places a large hole in the lineup, at least from a power bat perspective. What isn't measured on a stat sheet or something that can't be evaluated by some analytical baseball nerd is what exactly Alonso meant to the team off the field and in the locker room, a staple sort of player. Losing Alonso to another team, and in this case it's the Orioles, was a punch to the gut and I feel no matter who the Mets plugged in at 1st, it wasn't going to fill the void Pete Alonso was leaving when he signed elsewhere.
Unlike Alonso, Brandon Nimmo was traded, it was less of a personal choice for Nimmo and more of an organizational choice for the team. I understand the Nimmo to the Texas Rangers transaction more than I do letting Alonso walk "transaction." The Mets wanted an open outfield spot for Carson Benge to ease into and wanted to sure up the defense in the outfield - it's no secret Nimmo is (or was) a defensive liability. Still, Nimmo was part of the lineup and the team for a longtime and the feeling of connectiveness amongst the team was being lost as another lifelong Met was hitting the road.
Between McNeil, Alonso and Nimmo, Edwin Diaz's departure felt a little more "sinister."
Putting it simply, Diaz used the Mets. Edwin Diaz knows full well how deep Steve Cohen's pocket is and used him as a steppingstone to earn a better deal from the Los Angeles Dodgers. I can't hate Diaz too much, because he isn't the first athlete to pull off a trick like such, but it doesn't make him any less of a villain. As a personal note - I was annoyed Diaz took the less challenging route to championship, sort of similar Kevin Durant signing with the Golden State Warriors in 2016.
The question you're all asking yourselves, "how do all the above paragraphs relate to the Mets 2026 issues?" I'm getting there.
The team lost is cohesion - I personally think they lost their heart. When you eject three longtime players from the roster and plug in a bunch of strangers from all different teams, I believe it'll take a while to gel and mesh together, possibly explaining Lindor's early season miscues and errors. Aside from Francisco Lindor, the entire make-up of the infield is different.
From a hitting view, this isn't new from the team - they've always had consistent hitting issues, it's different now though because in my honest assumption - I don't think each player knows what the other player can provide from an offensive point-of-view.
Chemistry is so vital to a team's success - the chemistry on the 2024 team was insane. Let’s be honest, they had no business playing in the NLCS that year, but because players were winning not for themselves, but rather for their teammates, they got there anyway. They are lacking any sort of heart of team chemistry right now and I'm not quite sure what the answer is other than for letting this season play out, good or bad.
Death of a season is getting really close.
- Mottslayer
