Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The New York Mets fell to 22-33 after Tuesday's loss to the Reds, tying for the NL's second-worst record.
- Star outfielder Luis Robert Jr. was placed on the 60-day injured list with a lumbar spine disc herniation and hasn't played since April 26.
- The Mets' $1 billion investment in Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto hasn't worked and the team shows no signs of turning things around under current leadership.
If or when you find something positive to say about the 2026 New York Mets, make sure to share it with the rest of the class.
Put simply, these Mets are awful. Tuesday night’s loss to the Reds dropped them to 22-33, and they’re tied for the National League’s second-worst record. Injuries have ravaged the Mets, with star shortstop Francisco Lindor, veteran outfielder Luis Robert Jr., and starting pitcher Clay Holmes all out indefinitely.
The Mets moved Robert, an offseason addition, to the 60-day injured list on Tuesday. He hasn’t played since April 26 because of lumbar spine disc herniation, an unsurprising development considering his history with the injury.
When it rains, it pours, and in the Mets’ case, the conditions above Citi Field have long since transitioned into outright acid rain.
Luis Robert Jr. is already another failed Mets move
Forget the memes, Grimace, or Frank the Tank. The story of the 2020s New York Mets comes down to one theme: Be careful what you wish for.
Steve Cohen arrived in 2020 as the potential savior. The Knicks’ recent Eastern Conference title — their first since 1999 — has possibly pushed Cohen above James Dolan as the most despised New York sports owner.
Mets fans wanted Lindor, and he’s subsequently become a universally loathed figure in New York.Bo Bichette has already received his share of boos. Lindor and Javier Báez once took on the Citi Field crowd with a downward-pointed thumb. And the less said about the David Stearns hire, the better.
Robert is just the latest in a long line of Mets moves that sounded great on paper and have failed spectacularly.
As was the case throughout his White Sox career, Robert can’t stay healthy, and there’s no reason to realistically believe he’ll be back before the trade deadline. Sure, you can try to think optimistically, but Robert’s injury history absolutely works against him here.
Robert only played at least 110 games in a season twice in five full years with the White Sox. He’s hit just .223 with a .659 OPS since the start of 2024. Perhaps the most concerning part is that neither Cohen nor Stearns seems to care.
Respectfully, Mendoza should have been gone before he even entered the locker room following the Game 162 loss to the Marlins last year. Last year’s collapse was just as bad, if not worse, than those in 2007 and 2008. Neither of those teams had Juan Soto and Lindor, whose combined contracts are worth over $1 billion. Yet, the Mets elected to keep Mendoza, and the results speak for themselves nearly a year later.
Perhaps the most egregious incident involved Lindor, who showed up to a Knicks game while injured and the Mets were on the road. That’s the same Lindor, mind you, who publicly pleaded his case to be the Mets’ next captain.
If you have to ask to be the captain, then you’re not deserving of the title.
But that’s the story of the modern-day Mets, isn’t it?
The Dodgers don’t win championships solely because money isn’t an issue. They’ve captured three titles in six years because of competent leadership, whether it’s in the clubhouse or in the front office. As for the Mets, they adopted the philosophy that the more money they spend, the better their chance of ending a 40-year title drought.
When you’re on the verge of owning the sport’s worst record, maybe it’s time to rethink that mindset. Not that we expect the Mets to change, mind you. Why would they?
Cohen and Stearns have convinced themselves that they know best and that things will inevitably work out.
Good luck with that one.
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