These 4 Mets simply can't be on the June 1 roster after another devastating defeat

The New York Mets' cycle of one step forward, two steps back continued on Sunday afternoon as the Miami Marlins completed a series sweep in grand fashion, with a walk-off grand slam from outfielder Heriberto Hernández.

The Mets are now 22-31, which is dead last in the NL East and 7.0 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot. Something has to change. This roster is a complete disaster as is. David Stearns can start by cutting ties with these struggling Mets:

OF Tyrone Taylor

Tyrone Taylor is going on his third season with the Mets, but the results just aren't there. He has subpar defensive metrics in center field and he's a complete nonfactor at the plate, with a .550 OPS and 53 wRC+, which bears out with -0.3 fWAR (Wins Above Replacement).

Taylor can fly around the bases and he's an electric athlete at a premium position, but he's sitting below the Mendoza line with a .196 average and his 'expected' metrics (.213 xBA) aren't much better. The complete power void of Taylor's bat, combined with an uncharacteristic inconsistently in the field this season, means New York ought to look elsewhere.

OF MJ Melendez

MJ Melendez has been a pleasant surprise in an otherwise dour Mets season, generating significant pop off the bat and coming through with a handful of clutch hits so far. The Mets' mounting injury list has cleared a path for semi-regular appearances for Melendez, but the 27-year-old, unfortunately, is due for substantial regression in the near future.

Always a power-over-hit kind of guy, Melendez is living on the extremes this season. He has a gaudy 35.0 percent strikeout rate, hitting .214 with a .708 OPS. The hard-hit rate (58.5 percent) seems genuinely unbelieveable, but unfortunately, Melendez simply does not get the bat on the ball frequently enough for it to translate. He's actually a lucky .214 hitter, with his expected average (.156) sitting much lower.

Since Melendez offers minimal value in the field or on the base paths, finding himself a regular in the DH spot as a result, the Mets need to prepare for a breakup. It might be best to pull the plug early, as New York needs to prioritize consistency at the plate right now, rather than tethering themselves to volatile, inherently unreliable bats.

2B Marcus Semien

Marcus Semien has straight-up been one of the worst regular position players in MLB this season. To be frank, the Mets probably can't (or won't) cut ties before June 1, as Semien is still due $26 million in 2027 and $20 million in 2028. The Mets also gave up on a very productive fan favorite in Brandon Nimmo to acquire Semien, so there are optics at play.

That said, if New York is willing to flaunt its endless resources and waive Semien (or more realistically, to eat a significant portion of his contract to ditch him via trade), Mets fans would probably celebrate. We know New York won't pinch pennies in the future based on one spoiled contract. And Semien, now 35 years old, is plainly on the decline. This is not a brief slump. This is who Semien is.

Somehow even worse than Semien's offensive decline, illuminated by his career-worst .562 OPS, in his defensive regression. A two-time Gold Glove winner in the middle infield, Semien has been responsible for -3 outs above average (OAA) this season, in MLB's 12th percentile. He's still fairly quick on the bases, but Semien is a drag offensively and defensively, which the Mets simply cannot abide for an entire season — much less the next two seasons.

RHP Devin Williams

Somebody needs to get Devin Williams out of New York City.

The uber-talented closer is basically authoring a repeat of his 2025 campaign with the Yankees. Williams' numbers under the hood are sparkling (2.61 xERA), much like they were last season. He's putting up monster strikeout numbers, with a nasty changeup that still plays very, very well off his heater.

And yet, Williams surrended the game-winning grand slam to the Marlins on Sunday afternoon, which bumps his actual ERA up to 6.35 on the season, with a similarly inflated 1.65 WHIP. He has allowed 18 hits, 10 walks and 12 earned runs in 17.0 innings. He has given up two grand slams, which is not necessarily going to continue. But also, at a certain point it's hard to rely on the "bad luck" excuse.

For whatever reasons, the results just don't match the process. It feels reductive to say Williams is "scared of the lights" or whatever, but his stint in New York — across two different organizations now — feels cursed. The Mets should probably bite the bullet and see what Williams can fetch on the trade front, as there will definitely be interested contenders hoping his long-overdue good fortune finally kicks in. Keeping Williams in a lost season, when the vibes are this bad, feels pointless.

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