The New York Mets went out and bought themselves one of the better teams in baseball during the offseason. The additions include Juan Soto and important re-signings like Sean Manaea and Pete Alonso.
Early in the year, the Mets are playing even better than anybody expected, and Soto hasn't even fully found his stride yet. Alonso has been one of the better hitters in baseball, too.
Because of players like Alonso and Soto, the Mets are 25-14 through 39 games, good for first place in the National League East. New York finds itself ahead of the loaded Philadelphia Phillies and the streaky Atlanta Braves.
Even with all the success the Mets have seen this season, there are still doubters. Some in the media have severely overreacted, both in a positive and negative way, for the Mets this season.
What are some of the worst overreactions revolving around the Mets this season?
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Overreaction: The Mets overpaid Juan Soto
The first major overreaction to come out of Queens revolves around the team's biggest superstar: Juan Soto. Soto was acquired on the biggest contract in baseball history worth well over $700 million. At the time, this seemed like quite a doozy of a deal to many, but Soto is one of the best hitters the game has ever seen, and the Mets have locked him up for the next 15 years. That's a monumental move to make and it shouldn't be taken lightly.
But since Soto hasn't been the best hitter in baseball this season, some fans have gone back to calling it a drastic overpay. But that's far from the case.
Soto isn't having a bad year, by any means. He's slashing .259/.380/.483 with eight home runs and nine doubles, but because his average is below .300 and his on base percentage is below .400, everybody is overreacting. Soto's OPS+ is still near 150, like it's been every year of his career and he's still one of the best hitters in baseball.
This wasn't a one-year deal worth $60 million. The Mets have Soto for most of the rest, if not the rest, of his career. Soto is going to bring a lot of value to the team over the next decade and a half.
Overreaction: The Mets need to add a starting pitcher
There's a lot of drama surrounding the New York Mets' starting pitching rotation. Going into the season, a lot of analysts expected New York to add a high-level starting pitcher with somebody like Corbin Burnes fitting the bill. Instead, the Mets opted to sign Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes while re-signing Sean Manaea.
That left a lot of people questioning the Mets' rotation this season. A lot of the media didn't believe in them to begin the year, but they've played very well. In fact, they've been one of the better units in baseball with Manaea and Montas still on the sideline. Once these two return, the Mets will have one of the deeper rotations in baseball despite not having the name value.
There are people saying the Mets need to add to their rotation ahead of the trade deadline, but that feels like an overreaction. When Manaea returns, the Mets could have four or five top of the rotation caliber pitchers. Kodai Senga is an ace while Holmes has been one of the better stories of the season. David Peterson, Griffin Canning, and Tylor Megill have been great, too. The Mets have enough pitching to compete in October.
Overreaction: Pete Alonso can win the NL MVP
The last overreaction has a lot to do with the extreme media. A few in New York have seen Pete Alonso's incredible start and begun questioning whether he could go on a hot enough stretch to win the National League MVP. While this would be quite exciting to see for the Mets, it's far from realistic, and that's no shot at Alonso.
The Mets' first baseman is off to one of the best starts imaginable. Despite hitting well below .300 for most of his career, Alonso is slashing .320/.434/.613, good for an OPS over 1.000 at this point in the season. He ranks among the league's best in home runs and RBIs.
Despite all this, Alonso still won't finish in the top three in NL MVP voting, let alone win the award unless he finds a way to hit .300 and slug 60 home runs this season, both of which are long shots.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is the favorite for the award, followed by San Diego Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. and Chicago Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker. In all honesty, the award will likely go to Ohtani, who's probably going to return to the mound this season, too. That's no shot at Alonso, but he doesn't steal bases or pitch like the Dodgers' star.