NY Mets: 3 September storylines to follow this month

The performance of each soon to be free agent and what it means for their future

Syndergaard isn’t the only Mets player about to hit free agency. There are others joining him.

Guys like Marcus Stroman, Michael Conforto, Aaron Loup, and newcomer Javier Baez all have an opportunity to re-sign with the Mets or find employment elsewhere. It’s a pretty big free agency class for the Mets and how each guy performs in September could factor into whether they return or not.

Easily the most important September among the free agents belongs to Baez. We haven’t seen enough of him to really know what he can offer the Mets. I’m getting the feeling that the front office would love to retain him and have the duo of Baez and Francisco Lindor up the middle. If he has a hot finish, this might be exactly what they do. Hopefully, his thumb doesn’t get in the way of their decision.

Non-free agents matter as well. If Jeff McNeil slumps through the final weeks, what happens with him? I think J.D. Davis has already been glued to the trade block. Have the Mets completely lost faith in Dominic Smith?

This month is the final chance for a guy like Conforto to show he is worth a multi-year deal; although you can’t convince me he is after his poor 2021 season.

Every game will matter this month until those same matches become garbage time. I think it’s important to differentiate between the two. If suddenly someone begins to replicate the back of his baseball card when the team has already dropped out of the playoff race, maybe they aren’t gutsy enough to perform on a winning ball club.

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Which September storylines will you be watching closely this month?