Mets entering final stretch of season with little room for error

Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News on Aug 18, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — It’s crunch time for the Mets.

If they’re going to show that they’re worthy of a playoff spot, they need to prove it over the next two weeks. Their schedule the rest of the way through is unforgiving, with the only soft spot coming this week with three games against the Washington Nationals on the road. But then they continue a period of division play by visiting the Atlanta Braves, and when they return home, they face the Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins.

No pressure.

Regardless of where these teams are in the standings, if the Mets keep playing like they have been since June, they’ll be in for a short summer and a long winter. However, there are signs of life.

They won a series for the first since late July, taking two of three from the Seattle Mariners over the weekend. A 3-3 week overall, the three wins were mostly the result of an offense that has woken up again. Francisco Lindor was named NL Player of the Week after hitting .560 (14-for-25) to lead the league, with three home runs, seven RBI, three doubles, three walks, seven runs and two stolen bases in six games. His 1.647 OPS also led all hitters.

Mark Vientos went 2 for 3 with a home run Sunday night in the Little League Classic, with a two-out, three-run, opposite-field home run in the fifth inning off George Kirby that put the Mets up 6-1. Brett Baty helped key a 3-1 win over Seattle on Saturday with production at the bottom of the bottom of the order.

The Mets have been averaging about 6.0 runs per game over their last nine. The way Lindor goes is typically how the rest of the lineup goes as well, so getting him out of his months-long slump is quite possibly the best sign for the Mets moving forward. However, even the All-Star shortstop couldn’t out-hit all of the bad pitching.

The rotation still isn’t getting length. It’s almost comical at this point, but the relievers probably aren’t laughing in the bullpen when they’re forced to get hot in the fourth or fifth innings night after night.

The relief corps is taxed, and manager Carlos Mendoza is doing what he can to plug the leaks. The Mets have stayed away from Ryne Stanek in recent games. Right-hander Ryan Helsley, quite possibly the splashiest trade deadline addition for the team, has a 7.11 ERA since being traded from the St. Louis Cardinals. Closer Edwin Diaz recorded a six-out save Saturday to secure a 3-1 win, the Mets’ first close win since July 27 in San Francisco.

Currently, the Mets hold the third wild-card playoff spot, and are 5.0 games behind the Phillies. There is still time to make up ground in the division, but they’ll need to overcome their own deficiencies to make a real run for the NL East title. Starting pitching, or maybe lack thereof, is the biggest storyline for the Mets as they head into the home stretch of the season.

On the offensive side, they’ve been rotating their young infielders between second and third bases. However, neither Baty, nor Vientos or even Ronny Mauricio have shown a good enough hit tool to be able to produce consistently off the bench, or in limited action. Vientos has started only eight of the Mets 15 games this month, with Baty and Mauricio getting the majority of the playing time at third base. He’s been playing better after slumping for most of the season, and yet getting less playing time.

Some of it is about the defense, since Baty and Mauricio are better defenders than Vientos. But it’s tough enough for a young player to produce at the plate without consistent at-bats. To do it in the middle of a playoff push when the Mets badly need run production, is even more difficult. The Mets have not made it clear whether or not they intend to let one of them take over the position the rest of the way through.

A few weeks ago, Mendoza said he wasn’t worried about an issue that was so far ahead into the future.

The future is now for the Mets. While it’s starting to look bright once again, there are still a few dim spots they’ll try to overcome this week as they start a six-game NL East road trip.

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