Mets: Three major weaknesses we should expect to improve

The New York Mets have shown signs early this year that they could be the team to beat. Sadly, this same team has also had nights where they remind us of the past two seasons.

New York Mets baseball has been back for a month now and we have gotten a pretty good look at the team in that time. They have shown a lot early on, both good and bad. Let’s take a look at 3 of the Mets weaknesses so far this season.

Starting Rotation

Going into the 2019 season the Mets were expected to have one of the top starting pitching rotations in the game. Unfortunately, the Mets rotation has not panned out like most have expected or hoped. The Mets rotation has been severely inconsistent and disappointing, to say the least.

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Outside of the starting pitching struggling, the team also lacks depth in the rotation.  The team does not have a strong enough fifth starter in Jason Vargas, or anybody else behind him to jump in if someone were to go down with an injury or struggling. The teams best option looks to be Seth Lugo, who is currently in the bullpen. Taking him out of the bullpen would strengthen the rotation, but then create a hole in the bullpen.

The starting rotation as a whole is in the bottom of the league in ERA, opponents batting average, and walks. It is hard to imagine the team continuing to struggle like they have, with guys like Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler, and even Steven Matz.

Everybody knows what deGrom is capable of when he’s on. Syndergaard is a top pitcher in the league when healthy. Wheeler has shown some good signs this year and had a strong finish last year. Matz when healthy has shown he can pitch well too, especially for a guy at the back end of the rotation. It’s not expected for the rotation to struggle for an extended period of time with the guys that the Mets have.

Bullpen

The Mets bullpen was awful in the 2018 season and it is no secret. They were at the bottom of the league in most statistics last year and didn’t have many bright spots. The team did a lot to revamp it in the offseason and make it one of the stronger points going into the season. Some big names were added by both free agency and trade, while also having a few solid guys to work with.

The first month of the season has resulted differently than most have expected. The bullpen has been one of the main weaknesses of the team instead of a strong point like it was expected. No matter who has come in the game and no matter the circumstances it has been an adventure.

Outside of Edwin Diaz, nobody in the Mets bullpen has had a good start. Diaz has been the only consistent performer out of the bullpen so far. The rest of the crew has shown signs of what everybody expected going into the season, but haven’t been able to put it all together just yet.

With the track records of Diaz, Lugo, Jeurys Familia, Justin Wilson, and even Robert Gsellman and Luis Avilan, it is hard to imagine the bullpen continuing to struggle as it has. It is only a matter of time before everyone puts it together and the Mets have the bullpen they dreamed about in the offseason.

Defense

The Mets have struggled in recent years to have an overall strong defensive team, and this year is no exception. The last 10 years the Mets have only had one person win a Gold Glove, which was Juan Lagares in 2014.

The first month of the 2019 season hasn’t been much different from previous seasons in the field. The team has struggled yet again to make plays in the field, they are in the bottom of the pack in errors made.

The Mets do have some solid defenders despite the number of errors they have made. Lagares and Keon Broxton are both known for playing great defense in the outfield, Robinson Cano has a couple of Gold Gloves in his career and has always been known as a slick fielder, and Amed Rosario has shown signs of being a potential Gold Glover in the past. This year, he has suffered through some growing pains.

The Mets aren’t expected to be a great defensive team, but it should turn around to a degree. It’s beginning to cost them runs and those runs are leading to losses.

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What are some other weaknesses the Mets have shown this year and how do you think they can improve upon them?