MLB fails miserably to market the Mets for upcoming London Series

The 2024 MLB season began with a two-game series featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea. Sure, the wake-up time was unideal, but it was a fun and unique opportunity to see MLB games being played on another continent.

With that in mind, MLB has another international series planned, this one featuring the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies who are set to play in London, England on Saturday, June 8, and Sunday, June 9. It's MLB's third visit to London in the last five years as they have identified that market as one that is interested in the sport.

International exposure is a great thing for MLB, and having two marketable teams can only help. Sure, the Mets might not be having a great year, but they have marketable players like Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso that they can advertise ahead of the series and happen to be a New York team. Instead of choosing to market Lindor and Alonso, MLB chose to market players most casual fans have never heard of.

MLB could not have failed more to market the Mets ahead of London series

MLB decided to use three relievers on the Mets side. Marketing relievers doesn't make much sense, but the Mets do have Edwin Diaz, a player who is one of the more well-known closers in the game right now. Diaz was not used. Instead, they chose Adam Ottavino, Reed Garrett, and Jake Reed.

Ottavino is a 14-year veteran who has been a solid reliever for many of those seasons, but is in the twilight of his career and currently boasts a 5.96 ERA. Garrett has had an emergence of sorts this season as he has established himself as a legitimate MLB reliever, but he's not a player many casual fans know too well. As for Reed, that's where this really falls apart.

Reed did pitch for the Mets, but the last time he appeared in a game with them was back in 2022. Overall, he had an 8.18 ERA in nine appearances spanning over two seasons. Since his time with the Mets ended, he had two stints with the Dodgers and made eight appearances with the Orioles. He hasn't thrown a single professional pitch this season. Why in the world would MLB choose him to market the Mets?

If MLB wanted to use obscure players that'd make more sense, but the Phillies have Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber, two bonafide stars, on their side. It makes absolutely no sense.

MLB had so many options to go with for the Mets. They could've used stars like Lindor and Alonso. If they really wanted to use a reliever, they could've gone with Diaz. They could've used historic players like David Wright and Mike Piazza. Instead, they chose three random relievers, one of which hadn't even been in the organization in two years. Make it make sense.