Even with nearly one-quarter of a season of additional information, I feel like I have no grasp on who the 2024 Mets are.
I left spring training believing they could win 78 games or 88, and nothing really has changed five-plus weeks into the season. You can convince me they are strong contenders for a wild card and you can convince me they have to consider being July sellers for a second straight year.
For example, what do we make of the fact Francisco Lindor is fourth on the Mets in Baseball Reference Wins Above Replacement, thanks to an 11-game surge through Sunday that saw him hit .279 with a .962 OPS, four homers and three steals in three tries, but the five players surrounding him are José Buttó, Reed Garrett, Brett Baty, Luis Severino and Tyrone Taylor?
No one had that on their bingo card at the outset of the season, so is this actually a positive sign that David Stearns’ fixation on improving depth has helped? Or is the downturn of stars way more important? Lindor has stirred. But there has still not been enough from Brandon Nimmo while Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil have been anchors pulling the offense down.
