3 NY Mets players who've held the team back most through the first 81 games

With the conclusion of Wednesday night’s contest against its surging division foe in the Atlanta Braves, the New York Mets have trudged their way to the halfway mark of the 2025 campaign. 81 games complete, and another 81 expected to be filled with intriguing storylines, scintillating surprises, all encapsulated in a second-half sprint where every decision and strategic execution are examined with increased prejudice.

This latest juncture provides a magnified perspective of baseball reality in contrast to ever-evolving expectations, along with a whimsical wonder at how the rest of the season will play out. The performance by the Kings of Queens has provided a respectable sample size to reflect and analyze both triumph and pitfalls, but only a small taste of the untapped potential that could be unleashed…or may never come to fruition.

With the putrid stretch of baseball over the past couple of weeks, recency bias would incur many Mets fans to frantically dismiss the sterling play and effervescent vibes that once catapulted the team to a high watermark of 21 games above .500. Even as the different departments have not clicked in unison, and the “Mets’ June swoon” has reared its ugly head once again, certain players have consistently struggled to provide any tangible contributions, and at times, set the team back.  

1) Brett Baty

The Spring Training spectacular from Brett Baty before the start of the regular season almost feels like a lifetime ago, given the tumultuous tenure of not only this year’s campaign but the once-highly regarded prospect’s career as a whole. It almost seemed, given the emergence and restored swagger of Mark Vientos from last season, that somehow, the workings of fate and baseball’s will finally work in Baty’s favor, reinforcing the hype and pedigree that anointed him the 12th overall pick in the 2019 draft.

Once again, Baty’s underwhelming results have been a repeat of past campaigns, fueling the fire to a frequent conversation about the abundance of opportunities he has been given compared to the plethora of talent on the main roster and those surging through the minor league ranks. Streaky lapses at the plate make it incredibly difficult to gauge how prolonged a stretch Baty’s struggle or success will endure, and whether it will worsen an epidemic in the lineup that has battled its bouts of inconsistency as well.

With Vientos having been sidelined since early June due to a hamstring injury, one would have liked to see Baty jump to the forefront and convincingly fill the void at the hot corner. But over that stretch, his .157/.228/.275 slash line has only added more insult to injury to the lower part of the batting order that has put up no threat for opposing pitchers. Occasional defensive miscues, most notably his double-clutch hesitation on June 3rd against the Los Angeles Dodgers, have detracted from possibly a couple more decisions falling in the Amazins’ win column.

With no minor league options left, Baty possesses a unique leverage; as long as manager Carlos Mendoza slots him in the everyday starting lineup, all you can do is maintain hope and belief that the components will click. It certainly begs the question as to how much rope is left for Baty.