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3 Mets discussions fans should put on hold and enjoy the present
Hit the pause button on these discussion points until they're relevant.
Stop and smell the roses. The New York Mets are playing meaningful baseball. Whether those roses we’re sniffing end up with a fresh spring scent or a damp autumn one has yet to be determined. That’s up to them to decide.
Augusts like this aren’t common for the Mets. In the thick of a Wild Card race, let’s do all of the scoreboard watching we can and live day-to-day. Cry when they lose. Gloat when they are victorious.
Let’s enjoy what is going on right now and save these three discussion points for later on when they’re more relevant.
1) Let’s put a pause on the dream of the Mets signing Juan Soto
Last year was different. When the Mets decided they weren’t going to attempt to win in 2023, our focus did rightfully speed up in looking at the offseason. Thoughts of signing Shohei Ohtani. Dreams of trading for Corbin Burnes. It was all on the docket.
We’ll have many months of offseason talk. We should all agree that right now isn’t the time to think about Juan Soto coming to Queens.
Instead of discussing Soto, shift your attention to what the current Mets are up to. Has Jesse Winker been the right trade deadline addition? Will Starling Marte return and blaze a trail to the postseason? How about a monstrous finish from Pete Alonso?
Until the season is actually over for the Mets, the name Juan Soto doesn’t need to be mentioned. The Mets are done playing the New York Yankees. He’s irrelevant at the moment to what’s going on now.
2) Next year’s Mets roster projections should wait
When is the best time to talk about roster projections? It’s probably best saved for when the season is over with. It’s fair to wonder if certain players are a match for next year. Where someone like Jose Butto fits into the future or whether we want Harrison Bader back is okay. But let’s stop it there. Let’s pretend there is a rule against tampering.
Spend enough time on social media and you’ll already find fans putting together roster projections for next year. Why? Many of their best prospects have slogged through the season. We don’t even know what the free agent status of many will be. Opt-outs and potential non-tenders will give us a whole different class of choices for the Mets to add.
What’s more, we should happily take on the task of figuring out the best roster the Mets can piece together right now instead of half-heartedly creating a platoon in 2025 in right field. This topic to put on hold is similar to that of a request to hit the pause button on Soto discussions.
Living in the moment isn’t always the easiest. Roster projections for the coming year should be saved for when we’re actually in the year and not close to 8 months before the next Opening Day.
3) The NL East standings are irrelevant to the Mets right now
When the Mets were cooking and the Philadelphia Phillies were slumping, some wondered if the impossible could happen. Was an epic collapse on the way for Philadelphia? They aren’t playing great baseball but neither are the Mets.
The MLB season is a long one. With it come lengthy periods of success and failure. Many of the same people who were suggesting the Mets season was over back in May have shifted toward NL East standings watch.
Let’s save the NL East watch for when the Mets are actually a little closer. The Mets would have to go on a prolonged winning streak (again) with the Phillies dropping a whole lot more games (again) to make themselves relevant in what has been a long-dead divisional chase.
At what point is it fair to consider the Mets true NL East challengers? Let’s put it at 5 games out. A full business week of winning with the Phillies losing can turn the tide of their season.
Catching the Atlanta Braves was a big enough accomplishment for the Mets although one could argue they fell down more than we moved up. Let’s save the September schedule watching for when the distance is a little shorter or the Mets are at least back to playing consistent winning baseball.
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