3 NY Mets injuries we thought they would’ve been able to handle better than they have

Injuries are no excuse for the New York Mets being where they are. As large in number as they have become, the team’s inability to respond to some of those injuries is what will hold them back most.

We have seen them get more aggressive with the promotion of A.J. Ewing to replace Luis Robert Jr. This strategy doesn’t work for every injury because there simply aren’t enough soldiers to help out.

With the way the Mets were built this offseason, we could have guessed the Mets would have been able to overcome some specific injuries. Unfortunately, they haven’t. These three trips to the IL have cruelly exposed the ball club for thei rflaws.

The Mets haven't and won't be able to handle these injuries as well as we thought

1) Francisco Lindor’s injury should have been saved by Bo Bichette

Bo Bichette sliding from third base to shortstop should have been an easy solution to help the Mets power through the loss of Francisco Lindor. Due to Bichette’s underperformance as a hitter this year, the Lindor injury has been far more painful. Ronny Mauricio getting hurt eliminated one more opportunity although the biggest drop is how Bichette has somehow been able to get overtaken by even Brett Baty in multiple offensive categories.

On paper, the Mets look fine with Bichette at shortstop and Baty at third base. In reality, because of Bichette’s no-showing at the plate, they’re far worse. Lindor wasn’t having a huge year before landing on the IL, but it’s often in late April or early May when he does start to do well. The Mets shortstop was heating up just as he got hurt. Still uncertain about when he comes back, this is one of those hard-to-replace injuries the Mets should have conceivably been able to survive yet aren’t because of their $42 million free agent being one of the league’s worst hitters.

2) Losing Clay Holmes shouldn’t have hurt because of the expected pitching depth

We haven’t seen the Mets try to replace Clay Holmes yet, but it’s going to take some holy water and maybe a few magical spells to get the same kind of production. Regardless of what they do or how they handle it, the thought of overcoming any starting pitcher injury didn’t seem so daunting when the year began.

A starting staff six deep has turned into a whole lot of question marks. David Peterson and Sean Manaea aren’t big league starters. Christian Scott is trying to work through what are essentially rookie growing pains. Tobias Myers hasn’t been able to earn the trust of the Mets to get inserted in there either. Add in Jonah Tong’s struggles in the minors and we’re in a situation where it’ll take something like Jack Wenninger putting together a delayed Rookie of the Year run to make the Holmes loss sting less.

3) The Mets felt the pain while Juan Soto was out

Juan Soto is healthy and in the lineup despite scares along the way since his IL return. Losing him for any amount of time is always detrimental to the team’s success. It’s no coincidence the Mets’ 12-game losing streak occurred while he was on the IL in April and was snapped upon his return.

An injury of any magnitude should be sustainable for a team with the payroll the Mets have and the expectations of the lineup’s top hitters. Unfortunately, the Mets played badly without Soto in part because of other injuries but also due to underperformance. His calf injury quickly went from “better now than later” to complete dependence. Remove Soto from the Mets, everyone is affected. The lineup loses its best OBP guy and power hitter. Due to zero players stepping up during that stretch, we were reminded how crucial he is to the Mets winning or losing.

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