NY Mets News: Juan Soto update, Sean Manaea semi-resurgence, Zack Wheeler's thoughts

A 4-2 loss isn’t an ideal way to open up a return home. Who is paying attention to the score any longer? This holding period for the New York Mets, where the priority is clearly to increase the trade value of certain players, goes against everything we were taught about the game growing up. Winning doesn’t matter. In fact, if the Mets want to protect themselves from losing 10 spots in the 2027 MLB Draft, the more they lose the better.

The Los Angeles Dodgers smell blood in the water. Even if the Mets aren’t the same team they were when visiting Chavez Ravine back in April, the distance between the teams is obvious. The Mets have problems the Dodgers wouldn’t dream of allowing to happen. One game into the series, the Mets may be dealing with a big one pending results of Juan Soto’s MRI.

Juan Soto is going for an MRI again

Soto needs one of those punch cards for every MRI trip. He has been removing all metals from his body on a regular basis this season. Yet again, it’s the calf.

An early exit in Friday’s game in the DH role gave Jorge Polanco a chance to pop his head out. We’re at the point of the season where, other than Soto playing for MVP votes, there’s little reason to force him out there and risk further damage to any part of his body.

The latest update has him scheduled for an MRI on Saturday. He was able to fight off his most recent calf ailment. Something about getting fooled twice applies here.

Sean Manaea’s semi-resurgence has continued

The Mets can get fooled into believing Sean Manaea is back. In front of the three Mets lefty relievers, he went 6 innings and allowed only 1 run. With 6 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts, it was anything but ace-like and yet when we consider the opponent, it was impressive to go that deep and give the Mets a chance to win.

Now the owner of a 4.52 ERA, he has practically split the difference as a starter and reliever. In relief, he had a 5.02 ERA. When he starts, it’s at 4.01. The innings are essentially the same with 42.2 as a starter and 43 out of the bullpen.

The Mets’ handling of Manaea this year, putting him in relief rather than starting him, can end up as a topic of debate if this continues and gets better. His dip in velocity in the spring was what made him the odd man out of the rotation. Only because David Peterson and Kodai Senga weren’t cutting it as starters was he ever able to climb back in.

Zack Wheeler talked about the Mets to Yankees reporters

The New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0 and Zack Wheeler ended up getting thrown a few questions about his former team. One question he was asked had to do with the Mets’ inability to find stability.

"I feel like some years they've had the starting pitching, but not a full lineup,'' Wheeler said Friday at Citizens Bank Park. "Some years it's been a better lineup, but not a strong rotation. There's just a lot of inconsistency. It's tough to narrow it down to one thing."

Wheeler probably doesn’t think about the Mets as much as the New York beat believes he does. His assessment was a little too vague. What he was completely accurate about is the inconsistency but it does seem less so more inconsistent in a single year than year-to-year.

What hurt the 2025 Mets most? It was the pitching’s collapse late. The exact opposite is what benefitted them in 2024. The pitching was strong down the stretch while the offense wasn’t. Their clutch gene helped mask some of those issues.

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