The Mets Playing Winning Baseball is a Good Thing, for Everyone

Following one of their worst months in recent memory (rivaled only by the dreaded June of 2019) The New York Mets look like a completely different baseball team having won 7 straight and 12 of their last 16. The top 4 of Lindor, Nimmo, Martinez and Alonso are starting to all click together, Jose Iglesias and Luis Torrens have been surprise heroes out of seemingly nowhere, and maybe most important of all, closer Edwin Diaz is starting to look a lot more like the man we saw in 2022. Still there’s a lot up in the air for this Mets team with several players on one year deals, a record that’s still bellow .500 and a lot of baseball left to play, and with many people already committed to the idea of selling and loading the farm, the question has been asked:

“Is winning right now bad?”

I cannot believe that I have to say this, but no in fact, winning is not a bad thing, crazy thought isn’t it? I’ll be transparent right off the bat but I hate the idea of tanking or wanting your team to lose in general. I celebrated back when the Jets beat the Rams in 2020 and it’s something I stand by. For one because Trevor Lawrence isn’t a particularly noteworthy quarterback, and two because as much of a disaster as the Zach Wilson experiment was, it is not why the Jets franchise has been in a continuous failing state. But this is a Mets article, and believe it or not Mets fans, this team is a lot easier to stomach even at its worst than the Jetropolitans.

There’s been a looming dark cloud over this Mets team before the season even started, almost this sense of “This year doesn’t really count, we’re just waiting for 2025”. David Stearns and Steve Cohen have been clear they intend to compete this year and while it’s certainly been hard to envision at points, the pieces certainly look nice don’t they? Harrison Bader has been consistently clutch with a steady glove in center, Luis Severino was a deal I loved in the offseason and even in spite of a rough start last night in Texas, he’s been at a career best when it comes to limiting the long ball, and Jose Iglesias is so hot right now he got intentionally walked in the 8th (Ok, maybe I’m leaving details of that situation out but let me tell it my way I like Jose Iglesias).

The question marks for this Mets team were slow starts from, well just about every key hitter, Lindor, Nimmo, Pete, McNeil. And there’s only so long DJ Stewart and Tyrone Taylor can propel you to wins, eventually your leaders need to step up. And apart from McNeil, they have, Lindor has been one of the best players in the National League since May, Nimmo seems to be adjusting to hitting in the 2 hole, and following the go ahead hit last night paired with his homerun against San Diego this past weekend, Pete is starting to look a lot more like himself at the dish. You take into account the staggering leap forward being taken by Mark Vientos, Francisco Alvarez just being a joy to watch behind the dish, and JD Martinez being about as professional of a hitter as it gets, this team is…good? 8 players currently carry an OPS+ above 100, 10 if you include the small sample sizes given by Torrens and Iglesias. Combine that with fairly consistent starting pitching and a bullpen starting to regain it’s confidence, yeah this is a quality ballclub.

So everything is great right? The team is winning, the players look like they’re having fun (something we definitely didn’t see last year), Grimace has somehow become their new mascot, and they’re playing phenomenal baseball in June!! The Mets are allergic to playing good baseball in June, it never happens. So what’s the problem? For any normal individual the answer is “None, this team is fucking awesome let’s keep it going” But if you happen to be a deeply unhappy pinhead who wants to wallow in misery when they lose, and throw a fit when they win, you could say “But the future, they’re messing up the future”. No, just gonna say it flat out, no, wrong, false. The Mets performing this way is in fact, a very good sign for their future. Whether you’re one of the normal people or one of the individuals that still finds any issue possible with Lindor, he’s gonna be here for a while, same goes with Nimmo. Alvarez and Vientos could both be key pieces of the upcoming years and whether you’re team #TradePete or #KeepPete, him playing at a high level benefits your cause. The argument is that this team should be sellers no matter what, that they’re in a position to have a top farm system in baseball and they need to get younger and sell high on guys like JD Martinez, Luis Severino and see what offers may be on the table for Alonso.

My counter argument, prospects are prospects. As talented as they may be, a team still needs to be able to develop them in order to have them succeed at the major league level. While I trust the organization being built by Stearns and Cohen, the Mets have not always been able to do this well in the past. Combine that with the name nobody can stop talking about, Juan Soto, currently playing for the best team in baseball. Sure Steve Cohen can offer him the most money, but what else is on the table? What can you possibly show Soto that instills confidence that this will be a winning franchise if they sell at all costs this trade deadline? To be very clear, Juan Soto is an unbelievable talent who is still only 25 years old, he is the guy you give Steve Cohen type money to, but you can only sell Soto so much on “We have a vision for the future”. So why not let this group play the season out, show the front office that they deserve to stick together, and show Soto the future is coming now for this Mets franchise.

It’s not like the Mets currently have a depleted farm system either, Jett Williams, Luisangel Acuna, Christian Scott, Drew Gilbert, combined with the return of Ronny Mauricio and hopefully some more development for Brett Baty, this team is already full of young talent. You need to make the Mets a Franchise that guys want to sign with, and not just for the Steve Cohen checks. Juan Soto is a certified star who’s the same age as many prospects and would infuse young talent and energy with the leadership of Lindor and Nimmo. The Met’s are playing fun baseball, they’re playing winning baseball, and if you’re a fan you should allow yourself to enjoy that, the future only gets brighter from here.

Make no mistake, the Mets still have a lot of work to do to prove they’re a serious contender, I’m not opposed to selling at the deadline, and you can’t be a team as streaky up and down as Lucas Duda and try to bank on that, it’s just too risky. But the talent is there folks, there’s good guys up and down this roster, the farm is starting to bulk, Mendoza is a really solid manager. I for one will be rooting for my favorite team to keep winning games, and I think you should too.