NY Mets: 6 people to have doubts about going into 2022

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Apr 14, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher David Peterson (23) reacts after allowing a solo home run to Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Jean Segura (2) during the fifth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

The New York Mets have plenty of people who give me doubts. Throughout the 2021 season, we saw players underperform, have issues with the media, suffer repetitive injuries, and so much more. The organization as a whole could be on this list.

Athletes can give fans doubts for a lot of reasons. Some have trouble staying on the field. Others have off-the-field issues. Some have drop offs in their performance. Others have poor attitudes.

Let’s take a look at six Mets giving me doubts for 2022.

David Peterson’s spot in the Mets rotation is in jeopardy.

The southpaw tossed 66.2 innings in 2021 before he suffered a foot injury that ended his season. He allowed 64 hits, 41 runs, walked 29 batters, and struck out 69. His ERA was 5.54, but some bad luck was involved, since his FIP was 4.78.

Peterson’s big problem is his control, or more accurately, lack thereof. He averaged almost four walks per nine innings and his WHIP was 1.395. He walks 10% of batters he faces, which is in the 25th percentile on Baseball Savant. Factor in that he allows basically a hit per innings, and that’s just way too many baserunners.

There are some games where he just completely loses the zone. On April 21st at the Cubs, he went 3.1 innings, gave up four hits, two walks and six runs (only three earned). It took him 62 pitches, but only 36 of those were strikes. He had a worse outing on May 7th at home vs. Arizona. He went 1.2 innings, giving up three hits, three walks, and three runs, all earned. Of his 55 pitches, only 31 were strikes. His worst outing was on June 2nd at Arizona. It took him 35 pitches to get just one out. He gave up three hits, three walks, and five earned runs. He threw just 16 strikes.

What makes this so frustrating is that every once in a while, he’ll have a great start that shows you how good he can be. On April 14th vs. Philly, he went six innings, giving up only three hits, no walks, just one run, and he struck out 10. On May 14th vs. Tampa, he went 7.1 innings, gave up four hits, two walks, two runs, and struck out nine. What did he do differently in these games? He had command of all his pitches.

Will he be in the 2022 rotation? That remains to be seen. Assuming deGrom is healthy, he’s number one, no questions asked. Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker will take up two other spots. If Noah Syndergaard accepts a qualifying offer or signs an extension, he’ll be in there, albeit on an innings limit. If the Mets decide to re-sign Marcus Stroman or go after another free agent, that would be the fifth spot, leaving Peterson and Tylor Megill as AAA depth, or as long relievers.

May 1, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets third baseman J.D. Davis (28) catches a fly ball against the Philadelphia Phillies in the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kam Nedd-USA TODAY Sports /

How many Mets fans cringe when a ball gets hit to J.D. Davis?

The one-handed All-Star, as Keith Hernandez likes to say, dealt with a nagging hand injury for most of the season. He was still able to produce offensively, putting up an .820 OPS and 126 OPS+ and a 130 wRC+. His offensive isn’t the problem here. In three seasons with the Mets, he has slashed .288/.354/.446/.845. He set his career-high in homers (22), doubles (22), RBI (57) and OPS+ (137) in 2019.

His problem is his defense. In 382 innings at third base, he had a -7 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and a -3 Outs Above Average (OAA). All three of those came to his left. He does have a very strong arm, but he gets gun-shy about using it. He’s played left field in the past too, but he hasn’t been any better there. He put up a -8 DRS and -7 OAA there in 585 innings. Needless to say, that doesn’t work.

Obviously, when you have a player who can swing the bat like Davis does, but can’t play the field, the first thought is “put him at DH.” If the universal DH is finally implemented in the new CBA for the 2022 season and beyond, he is a candidate to get some time there. That solves the he-can’t-play-defense issue, while getting his powerful, on-base approach into the lineup. However, there are other, better candidates the Mets could put at DH.

Jun 25, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets left fielder Dominic Smith (2) hits a single in the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports /

Dom Smith had an awesome 2020 for the Mets.

He slashed .316/.377/.616/.993. He hit 10 homers, 21 doubles, drove in 42 runs, and scored 27. His OPS+ was 168, his wRC+ was 166, and he tallied 1.8 WAR in the shortened season. He was blossoming into the player the Mets hoped he would, and he finished 13th in MVP voting.

Mets fans were excited to see what he would do over a full season in 2021. Unfortunately, he struggled mightily.

He slashed .244/./304/.363/.667. He hit 11 homers, 20 doubles, drove in 58 runs, and scored 43. His OPS+ was 84, his wRC+ was 86, and his WAR was -0.5. It was a disappointing season.

So what changed?

He really, really struggled against breaking balls and offspeed pitches this year. In 2020, he hit .388 against breaking balls and .351 against offspeed pitches. This season, he hit .208 and .215, respectively. His slugging percentage was way down too. In 2020 he slugged .653 against breaking balls and .622 against offspeed pitches. This season, he slugged .331 and .385, respectively. Pitchers picked up on this and started throwing him more breaking balls, they threw him about 25% breaking balls in 2020 and that rose to about 31% this year.

He also posted the worst defensive numbers of his career so far. He spent most of his time (about 859 innings) playing out of position in left field, he had a -5 DRS and -9 OAA. He didn’t get much time at his natural position of first base (only about 70 innings) with Pete Alonso playing there, but Smith put up +2 DRS and 0 OAA.

In 2022, Smith needs to make the adjustment to hit breaking balls and offspeed pitches better. If he can do that, he is capable of being an everyday player for this team. If he can make the adjustment, and if the universal DH is implemented, I would put Smith at first since he’s the better defender, and have Alonso DH.

MIAMI, FLORIDA – JULY 13: Jeff McNeil #6 of the New York Mets reacts after being thrown out in the seventh inning against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park on July 13, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

[Expletive, expletive, expletive]

Take a wild guess who just struck out, or grounded out, or flew out, lined out, got thrown out, or made an error.

Even coming off a down year, Jeff McNeil’s problem is not his ability or his injury history. It’s his attitude. In a sport where the most successful athletes fail 70% of the time, McNeil needs to learn how to chill out.

Spiking his helmet into the ground in foul territory behind first base after grounding out is childish. Throwing his bat and stomping after striking out is pathetic. Screaming expletives while walking back to the dugout isn’t professional.

It would help if his numbers went back up to his normal level of production. Every year prior to 2021, he had a batting average of .311 or higher, an on-base percentage of .381 or higher, a slugging percentage of .454 or higher, and an OPS of .836 or higher. This year he slashed .249/.317/.358/.674. He also set career lows in OPS+ (86), wRC+ (91), and WAR (0.5)

So how can McNeil overcome my doubts? By growing up. Everybody gets out. Everybody swings and misses at hittable pitches. Everybody rolls over and hits ground balls to first. The vast majority of people don’t handle it as childishly as him. Broadcasters shouldn’t have to apologize to families watching at home because he can’t behave like an adult. The middle school kids I coached didn’t throw their bats and scream after striking out. There’s no reason for it.

If he needs to vent sometimes, fine. Go down the tunnel or into the clubhouse and do what you have to do. I’m just tired of seeing his childish behavior on full display day after day.

Jul 27, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets injured starting pitcher Jacob deGrom (48) watches from the dugout during the third inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Let’s get this out of the way right now. My doubts about Jacob deGrom have nothing to do with his attitude or ability.

The best pitcher on the planet posted a 1.08 ERA, 1.24 FIP, a 0.554 WHIP, a WAR of 4.9 and a ridiculous ERA+ of 373. He only allowed 40 hits, 11 earned runs, 11 walks, and he struck out 146 batters. He averaged about four hits, one walk, and 14 strikeouts per nine innings.

If only he could have kept that up for a full season. He would’ve captured his third Cy Young in four seasons and some MVP votes had he pitched enough innings to qualify. deGrom only pitched 92 innings in 2021 due to various injuries.

First, in early May, he was day-to-day with a side injury that eventually led to him being placed on the 10-day injured list. After coming back from that, he was day-to-day with an elbow issue. The next week, he left a start after three innings and was day-to-day with a shoulder injury. He made his last start on July 7th, but was placed on the 60-day injured list on the 15th with the forearm injury that would end his season.

It came out later that the side, elbow, and shoulder injuries were all from batting. Hopefully, the universal DH will be implemented in the new CBA so that’s not a concern anymore. However, the forearm injury came from pitching. Since he was close to returning in September, hopefully, he’s ready for a healthy 2022 after a full offseason of recovery and normal workouts.

Sep 29, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets team president Sandy Alderson speaks to the media before a game against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Sandy Alderson had a rough first year as President of the Mets.

It started with then-general-manager Jared Porter getting fired for harassing a female journalist during his time working for the Cubs. This didn’t come up during his time with Arizona or in the Mets’ original job search because the woman asked reporters not to publish the story in fear that it would impact her career. She decided to come forward and have this story published after Porter got hired as the GM because she wanted to prevent him from harassing someone else.

Then, early in the season, Francisco Lindor struggled. Being the premiere move the Mets made last offseason, it would have been nice for him to get off to a hot start.

In May, injuries, underperformance, and frustration started to pile up. The Bench Mob performed, but there were a lot of moves that had to be made in a small period of time.

Then, around the All-Star break, the whole team started to collapse. deGrom suffered his season-ending injury, and it became clear that the Mets needed to make moves at the deadline to stay in it.

Even with the Javy Baez trade, the collapse continued and the team fell from first place to third and finished the season there.

But not before interim GM Zack Scott got caught driving while intoxicated on his way home from a team fundraiser at Steve Cohen’s house. He was placed on administrative leave on September 1st.

So the doubt here is broad: Can he do this job? He has to find a new president of baseball operations, general manager, manager, and basically a full coaching staff. Will he – and whoever helps him – be thorough enough to avoid more PR disasters? Until those front office personnel are in place, he has to manage player moves too. Will they acquire enough depth to keep this team afloat if the injury bug bites the Mets again next season? Will he make the big moves necessary to put this team over the top? Will he get the most out of those players? It’s a lot to ask, but I hope so.

Next. Under the radar free agents the Mets should target

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