All-Star Week gave Mets fans a little bit of everything: a right-field starter in the midsummer showcase, a shutout, a power surge against the Mets, and another strong Nolan McLean outing against Philadelphia.
Juan Soto’s All-Star appearance on Tuesday put him in a small Mets club. He became the third Met to start the All-Star Game in right field, joining Dave Kingman in 1976 and Darryl Strawberry from 1984-1988.
Soto also added his name to a short list in another way, becoming just the sixth Met since 2000 to get a hit in an All-Star Game. The others: Carlos Beltrán (2005-2007, 2011), David Wright (2006-2010, 2013), José Reyes (2007), Michael Conforto (2017), and Pete Alonso (2019, 2025).
That same All-Star Game ended in a shutout, the first since 2013. Back then, the American League beat the National League 3-0 at Citi Field.
By Thursday, Luke Weaver’s run of dominance finally snapped when Trea Turner connected for a solo homer. Weaver had gone 25 straight appearances without allowing an earned run, a stretch that ties him with A.J.
Minter for the second-longest such streak in Mets history. Only Mark Guthrie’s 33 straight in 2002 sits ahead of them.
Saturday brought another speed milestone. A.J.
Ewing became just the 10th Met to reach 10 stolen bases before his 60th career game. The list ahead of him includes Lee Mazzilli, Mookie Wilson, Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra, José Reyes, Carlos Gómez, Luisangel Acuña, Ronny Mauricio, and fellow 2026 rookie outfielder Carson Benge.
Kyle Schwarber also kept doing damage against the Mets. His 26th homer in the matchup is now the fourth-most by an active player against New York, trailing only Bryce Harper with 43, Giancarlo Stanton with 38, and Freddie Freeman with 31.
Sunday belonged to a few different storylines. Francisco Lindor reached base five times in a game for the fifth time in his career. He had done it twice with Cleveland, on September 3, 2016, against Miami and July 1, 2018, at Oakland, and twice with the Mets, on July 6, 2023, at Arizona and September 5, 2025, at Cincinnati - better remembered as the new-cleat game.
Nolan McLean kept stacking up strikeouts, too. He punched out 10 or more batters in a game for the second time this season and the third time in his career. No other Met has done that since David Peterson on August 19, 2025, in Washington.
McLean’s early work against the Phillies has been especially sharp. Through his first three career starts against Philadelphia, he owns a 0.47 ERA, the best mark for any Met through his first three outings against the rival Phillies, with a minimum of five innings per start. Frank Viola is next at 0.87, followed by Jon Matlack at 1.01.
And one more All-Star note tied back to Philadelphia: before 2026, the last time the All-Star Game was played there was 1996. Mets center fielder Lance Johnson started that game and went 3-for-4, one of only two three-hit performances by a Met in All-Star Game history. The other came from José Reyes in 2007 in San Francisco.
In Other News...
Mets Have A Chance To Undo One Brutal Billy Eppler Mistake
The Mets 2022 gamble on Tyler Naquin never really paid off, and the cost still lingers because Hector Rodriguez and Jose Acuna were part of the return package. Naquin never gave New York the kind of production it hoped for, which is why the front office could use a cleaner swing at the same kind of roster fix now that the club is looking for more reliable outfield help and a better use of its young talent.
A proposed deal with Milwaukee would give the Mets a chance to reset that mistake by targeting a veteran outfielder while sending back two prospects whose stock has risen in different ways. One has shown enough consistency in the Dominican Summer League to draw attention, and the other has turned in a breakout season that suggests real upside, leaving the Mets with a familiar question: whether this is the kind of move that finally balances present need against future value. [Read more 🡒]
The Athletic Just Floated A Mets Trade Idea Fans Will Hate
The Athletics latest trade-board exercise took an early look at the 2026 deadline and, unsurprisingly, put the Mets in the mix for a handful of names that would instantly spark debate in Queens. Luis Castillo, Matt Chapman, Austin Wells, Jeff Hoffman and Camilo Doval all made the list as possible fits, but the piece also made clear that none of them looks like a clean, immediate target. Most of the appeal is more theoretical than practical right now, with the article leaning toward the idea that any real movement around these players is more likely to come in the offseason.
Matt Chapman is the one name that stands out as the most plausible fit, largely because of the glove and the possibility he could help at third base if Toronto needs a Bo Bichette replacement there next season. Even so, the broader picture is not exactly encouraging for Mets fans hoping for a splashy deadline fix. The current performance levels on the board are uneven, and the Mets recent history under Steve Cohen suggests they are more likely to chase value and prospect return than to absorb a messy contract just to make a deal happen. [Read more 🡒]
A.J. Minter Sends Emotional Message Mets Fans Wont Want To Ignore
A.J. Minter has spent enough time around the Mets bullpen to know how much the room has leaned on each other through a difficult season, and he has not been shy about how much he wishes he could have given more. The left-hander said he regrets not being able to contribute fully because of injury, a sentiment that lands harder given how far the Mets have fallen short of expectations.
Minter also acknowledged the reality that comes with pitching well on a team that may need to reshuffle its roster, and he said his focus is on continuing to do his job in a way that helps the Mets bring back talent in return. Even with the uncertainty hanging over him, he pointed to the bullpens no-ego camaraderie as one of the few steady things in a season that has not offered many of them. [Read more 🡒]