Mets series preview: The most mediocre team money can buy

The Mets have been one of the more aggressive teams in acquiring players since hedge fund manager Steve Cohen purchased the team for $2.4 billion in 2020. They won 101 won games last year only to lose in the Wild Card round, so they doubled down and brought in stars like Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer to bring their player payroll to over $350 million. Despite that spending, the Mets were terrible in June and have been unable to dig out of that hole. Their hopes of being buyers at the trade deadline to push for a pennant have been replaced by a firesale that has already Scherzer traded, as well as starting left fielder Mark Canha and reliever David Robertson, with others potentially on the move, including Verlander.

New York Mets (50-55) vs. Kansas City Royals (32-75) at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Mets: 4.44 runs scored/game (18th in MLB), 4.53 runs allowed/game (17th)

Royals: 3.77 runs scored/game (29th in MLB), 5.35 runs allowed/game (28th)

It’s a bit difficult to pinpoint why the Mets are so utterly mediocre. Their lineup has performed largely as expected. Slugger Pete Alonso is second in the league with 30 home runs hit. Francisco Lindor is ninth in the league in rWAR with 3.9. Free agent outfielder Tommy Pham has revived his career with the Mets, which may cause him to be traded before this series. Catcher Francisco Alvarez has become a Rookie of the Year candidate, while fellow freshman Brett Baty has struggled a bit more.

The Mets walk at a good rate and have kept a fairly low strikeout rate this year. They can hit home runs and steal bases. They are in the middle of the league of most every important offensive category.

With Scherzer having been traded over the weekend and Verlander possibly on his way out, the Mets’ rotation is in flux. Lefty Jose Quintana will make just his third start of the season after missing the first three months with a rib injury. He was a 3.6 rWAR pitcher last year with the lowest home run rate in the league, which is why the Mets signed the 34-year-old to a two-year, $26 million deal last off-season.

Japanese rookie Kodai Senga has been as advertised, and is really coming into his own lately with a 2.53 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 57 innings over his last 10 starts. The 30-year-old right-hander brings a 95 mph fastball with a cutter and a devastating forkball that has generated a 58.6 whiff percentage.

Carlos Carrasco was an amazing story last year, bouncing back from a leukemia diagnosis to pitch effectively. But age is catching up to the 36-year-old and he has given up 17 runs in 9 ¹⁄₃ innings over his last three starts. His change up remains his best pitch, but hitters have been feasting on his 92 mph fastball, batting .366 against it.

Mets relievers have combined for a 4.11 ERA this year, although they have recently traded away their best reliever in Robertson. Adam Ottavino induces groundballs 57.9 percent of the time, one of the highest rates in the league. Lefty Brooks Raley has a reverse platoon split this year, with lefties actually hitting him much better than right-handed hitters. The Mets acquired Trevor Gott from the Mariners a few weeks ago to help with their bullpen depth but he has given up seven runs in 7 ²⁄₃ innings since being acquired.

The Mets certainly aren’t a bad team, but they definitely expected to be better than this. They haven’t played particularly well against bad teams, going 13-16 against the eight teams that currently have a worse record than them. The Royals may have a shot if the Mets continue to decimate their roster with trades today, especially if the Royals can continue the momentum of last weekend.