The Mets are finally stringing together wins, and that’s good news for a team that may soon be shopping pieces instead of chasing anything meaningful in 2024.
Thursday’s 7-3 win over the Royals gave New York a fourth victory in five games and, more importantly, its first series win in nearly a month, since June 12-14 against Atlanta. The offense has suddenly found some rhythm, scoring six or more runs in five straight games, and the reshuffled lineup is starting to look a little more like what the Mets hoped it would be.
A.J. Ewing has moved to the top, Jared Young is settling in at first base, and Francisco Lindor is back at shortstop.
Juan Soto kept the power surge going with another homer, his fourth in seven games, and Tyrone Taylor tied the game with a shot during a five-run fifth inning that broke things open. The Mets also took advantage of a Royals defense that kept handing out extra chances. New York finished with 10 hits, including two apiece from Benge, Young and Taylor.
Even Sean Manaea gave the Mets a reminder of a better version of himself, allowing two earned runs over seven innings. It was his longest outing since Game 3 of last year’s NLDS against the Phillies. The win still comes with an asterisk, though, because Kansas City entered Thursday night with 38 wins, tied for the second-fewest in the majors, and a minus-75 run differential.
The bigger issue for the Mets is what comes next. With the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaching, president of baseball operations David Stearns has to decide how much of this roster is worth keeping around as the club looks toward 2027 and beyond.
One player who may no longer be part of that picture is Mark Vientos. He left Thursday’s game after taking a pitch from Michael Wacha in the second inning, and manager Andy Green said Vientos suffered a fractured hand. The injury won’t end his season, but it does take him out of any chance to build trade value over the next few weeks.
The Mets had counted on Vientos to be part of their first base and DH mix after letting Pete Alonso walk in the winter. Instead, his follow-up to a huge 2024 has been a letdown. He’s batting .211 with 11 home runs and a .641 OPS, and Thursday marked just his second start at third base compared with 53 at first.
“I’m just disappointed for what he’s going through now today,” Green said afterward. “I don’t think today’s the day to do a full-season evaluation.
That guy turned around 98 from Chris Sale five days ago. Played a huge part in a big win.
So just disappointed for him today.”
There are still a few bright spots Stearns can use as he sorts out the roster. Ewing looks like a real answer in center field and at leadoff, while rookie Carson Benge keeps making things happen in right field, even when the Royals help him along.
On Monday, Benge’s soft comebacker turned into a three-run Little League homer after three Kansas City errors. Thursday, a pop-up to shallow center led to two more runs when Lane Thomas threw the ball away.
Francisco Alvarez added an RBI single from the DH spot, where he has hit .314 with three homers and an .869 OPS in 13 games this season. Young said the recent stretch has been about the group settling in together.
“I think it’s just good game planning,” Young said. “The guys kind of coming together, believing in each other and putting good at-bats up there. You have to realize what you’re doing right now is productive and keep doing the same things.”
Green is set to return to his front-office role at season’s end, according to Stearns, so the Mets have no reason to treat him as a long-term answer in the dugout. With the roster healthier and the offense waking up, the wins may keep coming. But the real payoff could be what those wins do for the players who stay hot enough to matter by Aug. 3 - and for the ones who don’t.
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