Cedric Mullins is no longer the former NY Mets player having the worst 2026 season

One of David Stearns’ more unpopular moves at last year’s trade deadline was acquiring Cedric Mullins. Hitting just .182 with a .565 OPS during his time with the New York Mets, he played ineffective defense and seemed to represent the team’s fall off as well as anyone. There were multiple games in the final weeks when he sat because the performance simply wasn’t good enough.

It was looking like the Tampa Bay Rays were getting much of the same version. By the time April ended, Mullins was hitting only .126. He ranked at or near the bottom in just about every offensive category.

Things have steadily turned around. Mullins has homered in 4 of his last 5 games to give him 10 on the season. Still hitting only .217, Mullins has quietly been since escaping his early swoon.

Cedric Mullins is no longer the former Mets player having the most miserable season

A .260/.352/.325 slash line in May showed promise. Following it up with a .261/.350/.478 performance in June helped balance things out further. Well behind where he needs to be, he’s no longer the joke of the league hiding out in Tampa Bay.

So who is the ex-Mets player having the worst season now? Limiting this to 2025 Mets, the honor has to go onto Jeff McNeil.

Normally when your season is playing out similarly to Steven Kwan, that’s a good thing. Not in 2026. McNeil is one spot ahead of Kwan in OPS. A 10 point lead, a .602 OPS is nothing for McNeil to brag about.

The OPS ranks as the sixth worst among qualified hitters. Brett Baty, at .590, is the third worst. The irony of Baty replacing the McNeil role shouldn’t be lost on anyone. In many ways, they’re having identical, powerless seasons with little production at the plate.

Other Mets players from last year’s squad are having a bad year in other ways. Edwin Diaz has barely pitched and whenever he does return, there’s the cockfighting allegations that should reappear. No one should escape those.

Luisangel Acuna hasn’t been any better than McNeil with a .510 OPS. He doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify on the leaderboard. Based on all elements including expectations, experience, and salary, Acuna gets a pass.

McNeil is hitting only .229 and failing to take advantage of what is supposed to be a hitter’s paradise in Sacramento. David Stearns has gotten rightfully ripped plenty this year. Making the Athletics take most of McNeil’s salary was one of the better moves he did make. Coincidentally, it’s $10 million he saved Steve Cohen and that’s exactly what Stearns is getting paid per year.

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