THE MID-TERM GRADES ARE IN
THE METS are last in the National League East and threatening the Padres for the league’s worst record. It’s been a disaster. The first-half report card shows too much dead wood on the Mets roster. Did we mention it’s been a disaster?
Here are the first-half grades:
Brandon Nimmo: B+
The Mets’ largely unwatchable lineup has an emerging star in Nimmo, who is making the best of an opportunity to play every day for the first time. The 25-year-old outfielder has an .863 OPS and brings a needed presence to the leadoff spot. Nimmo’s energy has transformed him into a fan favorite. The next step is improvement against left-handed pitching, but Nimmo’s emergence has been among the highlights of an otherwise lost season.
Asdrubal Cabrera: B
The Mets’ leader in homers (17) at the All-Star break, the 32-year-old Cabrera has been the team’s most consistent offensive player. Now the Mets will look to trade the veteran infielder, who is a free agent after the season. Cabrera’s stock couldn’t have been much lower last year at this time, after he complained about moving from shortstop, but that is long forgotten. Cabrera has been a steady presence in the Mets clubhouse since.
Seth Lugo: B
The right-hander desperately wants a spot in the starting rotation, but he’s become too valuable to the Mets in the bullpen. Overall, he is pitching to a 2.61 ERA and 1.101 WHIP, big-time numbers the Mets believe Lugo can maintain. If a starting pitcher is traded Lugo could slide into the rotation, but the Mets have a multiple-inning bullpen weapon in him and are hesitant to forfeit that.
Steven Matz: B
After three straight seasons of assorted injuries sabotaged his career, the lefty Matz is finally healthy and performing at a steady level. Matz has pitched to a 3.38 ERA overall and helped carry the rotation with deGrom while Noah Syndergaard was on the disabled list. The biggest factor other than health for Matz might be his renewed mental approach: He isn’t cracking following a bad inning or play.
Noah Syndergaard: B
A strained ligament in his index finger that was only supposed to cost him one start became seven weeks removed from action for the right-hander. It follows a lost season in which Syndergaard barely pitched after he tore a lat muscle. Syndergaard’s stuff is still filthy, and the Mets will certainly take his 2.97 ERA and 1.220 WHIP, but if healthy the expectation is he will improve in the second half.
Zack Wheeler: C+
The right-hander was demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas to begin the season and then slogged through his first two months after getting recalled to the majors. But over the last six weeks, Wheeler has consistently worked deep into games and emerged as a solid middle of the rotation pitcher, with a 3.61 ERA over that stretch. Among the Mets players under club control for at least another year, Wheeler is probably the most likely to be traded.
Jose Bautista: C+
Grabbed from the scrap heap after his May release from the Braves, the veteran outfielder has performed at a respectable level for the Mets. Even so, Bautista’s numbers have nosedived in July after he posted a .970 OPS in the previous month.
Jeurys Familia: C+
The veteran closer finished strong in the first half after a jittery stretch that followed his stint on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation. Familia has pitched mostly the ninth inning, but manager Mickey Callaway occasionally has utilized him in the eighth, in high-leverage situations. The expectation is Familia, a free agent after the season, will be traded before the July 31 non-waiver deadline.
Amed Rosario: C
It’s been a roller-coaster ride for the second-year shortstop, but the Mets are generally pleased with what they have seen. Rosario has improved the infield defense and is displaying more patience at the plate. Even if he’s not the next Francisco Lindor, the 22-year-old Rosario is showing signs he can be a solid major league shortstop. Patience is key.
Wilmer Flores: C
Adrian Gonzalez’s release in early June was supposed to clear a path for Dominic Smith at first base, but it’s Flores who has seized the opportunity. “Walk-off Wilmer” leads the Mets in late-inning heroics and his overall offensive production has been a pleasant surprise for the Mets in recent weeks.
Kevin Plawecki: C
The season began with him sharing catching duties with Travis d’Arnaud, but two weeks into the season both were sidelined with long-term injuries. Plawecki missed six weeks with a broken left hand, but has shown respectability since returning, highlighted by a .361 on-base percentage.
Robert Gsellman: C-
After a strong start to the season in which he was thriving in a multiple-inning relief role, the right-hander has battled stretches of inconsistency. Gsellman has pitched to a 1.33 ERA in 17 appearances during the day. At night he has pitched to a 6.09 ERA in 26 appearances. Maybe the Mets just need more day games.
Devin Mesoraco: C-
The return in the Matt Harvey trade brought pop to the Mets lineup in May, but he’s largely disappeared since. Mesoraco is well-liked by the Mets pitchers and it might not be a coincidence that Wheeler and Matz started thriving after his arrival.
Yoenis Cespedes: D
Fair or not, his grade is based largely on the fact he couldn’t get on the field for the final two months of the first half. It marks a second straight season in which Cespedes has missed significant action, and the Mets lineup has suffered in his absence. The Mets, who will be halfway through Cespedes’ fouryear, $110 million contract after this season, should be rooting like heck for the implementation of the DH in the National League.
Michael Conforto: D
The Mets can only hope it’s a hangover from the left shoulder surgery recovery that cost him most of his offseason workout routine that is affecting Conforto. Last year’s lone All-Star representative for the Mets has been a major disappointment this season, posting a pedestrian .710 OPS.
Todd Frazier: D
The veteran infielder had never spent a day on the disabled list before arriving to the Mets, but has already incurred two DL stints this season. When healthy he has hardly flourished, posting a .685 OPS but at least bringing a respectable glove to third base.
Dominic Smith: D
It’s been a rough year for the second-year first baseman, who never got a chance to compete for a starting job in spring training because of a quadriceps injury. Smith then spent two months at Triple-A Las Vegas, but never produced big numbers and his playing time has been sporadic over his last six weeks with the Mets.
Jay Bruce: F
For three years and $39 million the Mets thought they had a fair deal for a veteran bat with power, but Bruce never got started offensively before hitting the disabled list last month with back and hip soreness. Three homers at the All-Star break doesn’t cut it for a player brought in to hit the long ball.
Jason Vargas: F
Maybe it’s a good thing Vargas (8.60 ERA) has been on the disabled list for the last three weeks. The Mets have to regret the $16 million they spent on the left-hander over two years.
Jerry Blevins: F
The lefty specialist has lost the bite on his breaking ball and become batting practice, especially for lefthanded batters.
Anthony Swarzak: F
Two months sidelined with a strained oblique, almost from the start of the season, set the tone for Swarzak’s first half. The righty reliever has struggled to throw strikes and is starting to resemble a $14 million waste.
Paul Sewald: F
The Mets thought they had a third multi-inning bullpen weapon early in the season, but Sewald has flopped.
Mickey Callaway: D
The first-year manager has accomplished what would have seemed impossible last fall: He has fans clamoring for Terry Collins’ return. Callaway was a genius when the Mets were 11-1, but not so much since then.
Front Office: F
Sandy Alderson stepped aside last month for health reasons, at which point the season was already in chaos. John Ricco, Omar Minaya and J.P. Ricciardi are all somewhat complicit in this mess.