General Manager David Stearns finally called up Nolan McLean to make his debut Saturday afternoon. This is a move that should have been made weeks ago and which paid immediate dividends. McLean excelled in his Big Apple introduction, leading the New York Mets to a desperately needed 3-1 win.
New York maintained the best record in baseball on June 13th at 45-24. Starting pitching excelled with the game’s lowest earned run average and looked like it could get even better with the impending returns of Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas.
Since then, all that could go wrong has. The Mets have a recent history of horrific collapses, 2007, 2008, and 2022 will live in infamy for New York fans. 2025 is threatening to top them all.
Kodai Senga strained his hamstring on June 13th and missed five weeks. Since that injury, the Mets are 19-34, a pathetic record only topped in ineptitude by the Washington Nationals.
New York had a five-game lead over their rival, the Philadelphia Phillies, on June 13th. They entered Saturday afternoon six games back, an 11-game swing.
The Mets, right before the Senga injury, had a 10.5-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds for playoff positioning. As Saturday’s contest began, New York maintained only a half-game edge over the Reds, a 10-game turnaround.
On all levels, the Mets have been dreadful for the last two months. They have tortured their fans by finding new ways to blow games daily.
Carlos Mendoza likely would have won NL Manager of the Year if the vote had been taken in mid-June. Since then, he has cost the team games seemingly every night with mindboggling moves that instantly blow up.
Many insiders thought New York would have one of the top lineups, especially after the record contract that was handed out to Juan Soto. Instead, the Mets have been one of the worst clutch-hitting teams and have only gotten worse as the summer has progressed.
Stearns made several well-acclaimed moves at the trade deadline to upgrade the bullpen. He dealt for Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers, and Gregory Soto without dealing any of the team’s top prospects. On paper, New York looked to have one of the top relief corps. Unfortunately for the Mets, they play the games on the field. All the acquisitions, especially Helsley, have bombed.
Many issues have sunk New York over the summer, but the biggest unquestionably has been the rotation. Injuries ravaged the starting corps. Along with Senga, Tylor Megill missed two months with a strained elbow. Griffin Canning, who excelled as one of Major League Baseball’s most pleasant surprises, tore his Achilles tendon and was lost for the season. A loose bone chip in his elbow delayed Manaea’s return.
Suddenly, a rotation that dominated with four pitchers with sub-3.00 earned run averages struggled to make it into the sixth inning daily. Throughout July, the starting corps only made it into the sixth inning a total of nine times. Two, sometimes three starters, couldn’t make their starts, necessitating excessive bullpen games. The Mets waived the white flag on those days, falling well behind early.
Stearns, who built a stellar reputation in Milwaukee, did nothing to correct the sinking rotation. He did not add a starter at the trade deadline, despite a clear need for help. He chose to hold onto Mark Vientos, whom other teams asked for. Mendoza has barely played Vientos since. Stearns rolled with Montas, who imploded every appearance. If he made it into the fifth without allowing more than five runs, that counted as a good start.
The asking price for rotational arms may have been too high, but options to adjust the course of the starting corps existed. Stearns and owner Steve Cohen emphasized upgrading the farm system, an essential course of action. New York has gone from one of the worst prospect collections to the top ten. Their pitching is ranked even higher.
McLean immediately adjusted to the call-up to Syracuse and became the team’s ace. He consistently provided quality starts, only allowing more than two earned runs twice in sixteen appearances. Over his last 22 2/3 innings pitched, he allowed 10 hits and five runs while walking nine and striking out 26. He proved he was ready to move up to the majors for months. Yet, Stearns refused to make the call until just this week.
McLean faced a tremendous challenge in his Big Apple introduction, opposing a loaded Seattle Mariners lineup, enhanced by the deadline deal for Eugenio Suarez. He inherited high expectations from the fan base, desperate for a starter who could provide a quality start.
McLean, instead of looking like a rookie making his debut, pitched like a ten-year pro. He threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight. His walks were a bit high, four, but he worked around them efficiently. The Mariners, red-hot coming in, never got anything going.
Mendoza chose to remove McLean in the sixth despite the excellence and trust in his struggling bullpen. Fans let Mendoza know what they felt with a chorus of boos, but for the first time in weeks, the relief corps held up. The Mets held on to a desperately needed victory. Can they do anything with it moving forward?
New York, since foolishly firing Davey Johnson in 1990, has become one of the most conservative franchises in how it handles its prospects. The Mets take their time moving young players to the next level. Jonah Tong is a great example. Despite making Double-A hitters look like the equivalent of overmatched Little Leaguers for months, Stearns kept Tong in Binghamton.
The agonizingly snail-like approach has cost New York over the years, and it is killing them this season. McLean should have been called up by mid-July; the need was present. Montas proved he was not the answer and needed to be moved to the bullpen. Once the deadline passed with no starting acquisitions, there should have been no delay moving McLean up to the Big Apple. Instead, two weeks passed during which the Mets went 2-14.
McLean proved yesterday that he would have likely given New York a couple of decent starts during that period. The Mets lost several close games in which the terrible starting pitching played a critical role in the defeats. A few of those defeats, if McLean had pitched, could have become wins. A tight race with the Reds might have some breathing room.
Stearns should learn from his failures and be prepared to call up other top pitching prospects like Brandon Sproat and Tong. Reward excellence instead of making excuses for why they need more time for a change. Clay Holmes is gassed and should be switched back to his old relief role. Senga looks like he could use a skipped start or two.
Stearns’ delay most likely will mean New York will fall short at the end. McLean, in one start, already looks like the ace. It is asking much, though, for him to stop the bleeding. The Mets have ample holes, and Stearns should get the brunt of the blame. He built this highly flawed team.
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