Mets: 3 overreactions to a rough weekend trip to Tampa Bay

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 11: Patrick Mazeika #76 of the New York Mets celebrates after the game winning run was scored on a fielder’s choice during his at bat against the Baltimore Orioles at Citi Field on May 11, 2021 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.The New York Mets defeated the Baltimore Orioles 3-2. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

The Mets front office got too comfortable and has no idea how to build a roster properly

Patrick Mazeika, as magical of a start as he had to the season with a pair of unorthodox walk-off plate appearances, didn’t need to stay with the team. He’s a catcher and occasional first baseman on a team with two catchers and more than enough options to play first base.

It was curious that the team decided to keep him around even at the risk of upsetting a few illogical fans who believed in the Mazeika magic.

Nevertheless, the decision to keep Mazeika around could have hurt the Mets on Sunday a lot more than it did. Considering he did get his first big league hit with a solo home run and it was the only run the team scored, I can only overreact in hindsight. Still, it felt very complacent to even have him with the team.

What made the decision to keep Mazeika around a troublesome one was how many injuries suddenly popped up in addition to the ones that already had the Mets working with a short freight. Michael Conforto left the game after his first at-bat and Jeff McNeil exited the game early, too. The club was already rolling with a shortened bench. After replacing this pair, the Mets were down to a bench consisting of Tomas Nido and a bunch of empty space.

The Mets bench players have been giving this team a lot of help over the last few weeks. Injuries to Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Davis gave them an opportunity to play more. As nice as it has been to see, the team needs their starters. Every time a second-string player moves up, the bench weakens.

Depending on the severity of injuries to Conforto and McNeil, we could see a few new faces on the 26-man roster this week. My overreaction to this: the front office will make the wrong decision anyway.