Don’t blame NY Mets hitting or pitching for 2026 shortcomings, condemn them both

Was it the hitting or the pitching that doomed the 2026 New York Mets? Why limit ourselves to picking one? With all of these fingers, an approximate average of 9.9 per fan, there are enough to assign blame on both halves.

The Mets scored 699 runs this season while allowing 731. Only 16 more than they gave up in 2025 yet 67 fewer runs scored, there was a clear distinction between where the Mets got worse.

This doesn’t get the Mets completely off the hook at preventing runs. They were ranked 17th in the league at runs allowed. They were 20th in runs scored. A break-even point of 18.5, it puts them at a well-balanced place of futility not close enough toward being a worthy playoff contender.

Mets pitching and hitting were equally responsible for their downfall

It was certainly a tale of two halves or as close as it can get. The Mets were ranked 23rd in runs scored in the first half and 10th in the second half of the season. They were 21st in the first half in runs allowed and 12th in the second half. The biggest jump in comparison to the rest of the league came from the bats. Having Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Bo Bichette all together helped. So did the strong finish from Carson Benge as well as contributions from others.

At no point, however, were the Mets elite in either aspect. There were groupings of excellence. The bullpen was sharp for much of the year with different pitchers playing well at the start of the season versus post-deadline. As hitters will do, there were months-long slumps as well as hot streaks that lasted a full page of the calendar.

The drastic improvement from one half to the other wasn’t nearly enough for it to make a difference. At 40-57 in the first half, they managed to gain only 3 games with a 34-31 record after the All-Star Break. It was good to rank as a tie for 10th in MLB. Well below what was needed, we at least saw a competitive team take the field on both sides of the ball.

Does the lineup or the pitching staff need the greater overhaul?

It might be simple. What if all the Mets need is one ace and one big right-handed stick in the middle of the order? A bullpen piece or two as well, it does seem like the Mets are set up well for next year.

There are questions out of their control. Namely, Bichette opting in or out will direct them what to do next. They can ill-afford to not replace him in some capacity. Some type of middle of the order bat is needed.

The pitching staff is the most debated with one of the current ongoing ones being whether it should be Tarik Skubal or something more along the lines of bringing in Clay Holmes and Michael King. Is one elite arm better than two who could be really good?

The lineup may remain relatively the same next year with the saving grace being they’ll get healthier years out of Lindor and Soto. Lindor, in addition to staying on the field, probably needs to do better. A .225 batting average and .733 OPS doesn’t cut it.

Run prevention was practically on-par with 2025 while the scoring took a major fall. The Mets need better offense and the bats, as a whole, deserve a wag of the finger. The pitching won’t get off scot free, but not too many other than Freddy Peralta severely underperformed to expectations. Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, David Peterson, etc. all having rough seasons was more about the front office having too much belief in them. A guy like Bichette, who took forever to look like himself, was a larger explanation as were the lengthy absences from the key hitters.

The first move by the Mets to rectify the issue was to move on from hitting coach Jeff Albert. Acknowledging they need a change of perspective of some kind on offense, this is hopefully a step toward different results and having the offense moving forward feel more like the way we're confident the pitching will figure it out. This is especially helpful considering all of the young hitters expected to rise up to the majors in the coming year or two.

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