3 changes becoming necessary for the NY Mets to make sooner than later

Count it, 9 straight losses for the New York Mets and no answers. They’ve made roster moves. They’ve shaken up the lineup. No one seems to have answers postgame or pregame. What else is there to do?

The Mets will win another game (eventually). They just happened to run into the Los Angeles Dodgers and a pretty good Chicago Cubs team in the last 4 games to extend a rough road. Their previous losses were inexcusable, the Athletics sweep being at the pinnacle of awfulness.

The Mets have already called upon Tommy Pham (without much success), DFA’d Luis Garcia (good riddance), and asked Carson Benge what he could do in the leadoff spot. Attempts to spark something, 

Three drastic changes the Mets need to make

1) Demote Brett Baty and replace him with practically anyone else

It’s not working out for Brett Baty this year. Bad at-bats. Zero walks. No home runs. His crowning achievement of the year is Oneil Cruz misjudging a ball on Opening Day. Baty isn’t even playing great defense, committing an error on Friday at first base where the Mets could really use some stability right now.

One remaining minor league option left, the Mets have shown they aren’t above demoting anyone. They had the tough conversation with Kodai Senga last year about it and he accepted. Baty doesn’t have a choice. Who do they replace him with? It doesn’t matter much. Ronny Mauricio or Nick Morabito could squeeze in some playing time. With available room on the 40-man roster, some optimism in Jose Rojas or Christian Arroyo who have MLB experience and defensive versatility make some sense. Use the Baty demotion as a way to send a message.

2) Replace David Peterson in the rotation with any of these guys

As lousy as Kodai Senga has been over his last two starts, David Peterson has been pretty bad each time around in the rotation. Both starters probably need to be replaced. Neither can be sent to the minors without their approval so unless the Mets boldly shift each to the bullpen and shuffle the deck chairs on the Titanic with some other players, things can get complicated.

Obvious options for Peterson already on the major league roster are Sean Manaea (ew) and Tobias Myers (let’s give it a shot). Christian Scott has pitched well in Triple-A. Calling upon him for help is practical even if it crowds the bullpen with starters. An IL stint might be required. Frankly, a lot of these guys are pitching like they are hurt. Peterson or Senga, take your pick. They can't stick with the same starting five.

3) Bat Juan Soto leadoff when he returns from the IL

You gotta, right? Carson Benge got first ups on Friday. More importantly, Francisco Lindor dropped in the order back to third. Benge hitting leadoff doesn’t make much sense right now. Perhaps that was as much about getting Lindor used to the idea of hitting third. For him, it seemed to spark something.

The Mets have only batted Soto second or third since joining the ball club. Taking a page out of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ playbook, putting their OBP monster and best hitter first in the lineup doesn’t hurt.

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