The Mets’ trip north ended the same way too many of their nights have lately: with stress, mistakes, and another loss. Monday’s 2-1 defeat to the Blue Jays had its own strange twist right from the start, when George Springer opened the game with a little-league home run after Juan Soto skipped a ball and A.J. Ewing then completely botched the pickup.
That ugly sequence ended up feeling like a snapshot of the whole night. And now, with the dust settling, the Mets are dealing with something else entirely: Eric Chávez has re-entered the conversation, and he didn’t come quietly.
Chávez showed up on his podcast, “EC3,” on Sunday night for what was labeled an “emergency” episode, and he unloaded on the Mets while laying out a series of claims about the organization. One of the biggest came when he described Soto’s first two months with the team, saying the slugger would stay out of the dugout and instead sit in the clubhouse on couches near the batting coaches. Chávez said David Stearns did nothing about it.
"This is a lack of leadership, a lack of accountability, from the top down,” Chávez said. “And we had an assistant GM who would sit there with (Soto)-the assistant GM would sit there with him-and kind of coddle him, tap him on the shoulder, without saying ‘hey dude, how about getting in the dugout with your teammates.’”
Chávez said he brought the issue to Stearns and was told, “Those players need to learn that they’re not Juan Soto.”
He also went after Stearns’ track record as a front office leader.
"Stearns was the wrong hire. He came from Milwaukee, built a great farm system, but didn't really accomplish anything," He said. "Who told Steve Cohen this is the next guy?"
The criticism kept rolling into Monday, when Chávez appeared on "Fair Territory" and kept pressing his case. Asked about the recent firing of Carlos Mendoza, Chávez turned his attention back to Stearns.
"How many good baseball people are going to lose their jobs while we're waiting for (David Stearns) to deliver what everybody said you could?" Chávez said.
"How many good baseball people are going to lose their jobs while we're waiting for you [David Stearns] to deliver what everybody said you could?"Former Mets coach Eric Chavez jumped on with us to defend Carlos Mendoza after the Mets fired him on Friday. pic.twitter.com/JYcZPk5r4e
Soto, meanwhile, was aware of the comments. Mike Puma of the New York Post reported that Soto told reporters, "I have no comment on that."
While the off-field chatter keeps building, there’s still the on-field picture to sort through, and a few Mets have very different stories to tell.
Soto is scorching at the plate. Over his last 10 games, he’s batting .375 with a .512 OBP and 1.200 OPS, with two home runs, five RBIs and nine walks. Even after missing almost 20 games, he still owns the best OPS in the NL this season and the sixth-best batting average in the NL.
A.J. Ewing has been one of the few consistent bright spots on the roster.
The rookie is hitting .333 with a .444 OBP and 1.011 OPS over his last 10 games, adding two home runs and seven RBIs. His latest homer came in a pinch-hit spot against the Phillies on Sunday, when he tied the game.
Luke Weaver has also stayed locked in. He has now gone 21 straight appearances without allowing a run, which only adds to his value as a potential trade option ahead of the trade deadline on Monday, Aug. 3.
Not everyone is trending up. Mark Vientos has been stuck in a rough stretch, batting .143 over his last 10 games with a .242 OBP and .600 OPS. He has struck out 11 times in that span and has two home runs.
Brett Baty’s numbers over the same stretch have been even tougher to look at. He’s 2-for-24 over his last 10 games, with a .083 batting average and a .350 OPS. He has 77 strikeouts on the season.
Brooks Raley has also hit a rough patch, posting a 5.49 ERA over his last 10 appearances while going 1-2 and striking out eight batters.
There was some roster news as well. Luis Robert, who has been sidelined since April, will begin a rehab assignment tomorrow for Triple-A Syracuse. Jorge Polanco has a rehab game tomorrow, and after that he’ll be evaluated day by day for his next steps, per Andy Green.
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