3 NY Mets players who took an unfortunate step back in 2023

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There wasn’t a whole lot to love about the 2023 New York Mets. One of those reasons was how much certain players declined. Several of those players are now gone or we’ve come to accept by a certain age that a player will begin to fade.

Then there is that other category of player. The ones who take a step back. The difference between declining and a step back is there’s always a chance to move forward again. Mets fans should have at least some belief that these three who did move in the wrong direction this past year can change momentum.

1) Jeff McNeil

Jeff McNeil didn’t have a bad year. His season was just nothing close to what he did one season prior. The reigning National League batting champion went from slashing .326/.382/.454 in 2022 to a much more basic .270/.333/.378. Because he is a player whose best attribute is putting the ball in play and stockpiling hits, the 56 point drop off in batting average was the most disappointing change.

McNeil was only 16 hits shy of matching the previous year’s total. Nearly all of those missing hits were doubles. He went from 39 down to 25.

As bumpy as the year was for McNeil, multiple statistics of his were a near match from the year prior or even better. He scored more runs albeit in 59 more plate appearances to do so. His walk and strikeout totals were almost identical with one fewer base on balls and only four additional strikeouts.

A couple of strange months for McNeil helped to drag him backward. He had 29 hits in May but his one home run was the lone extra base hit for the entire month. June was far worse, slashing .196/.267/.283.

McNeil’s unfortunate step back does raise some doubts because we’ve seen him struggle like this before. It was a near repeat of 2021 with the exception being a strong finish to dig him out of the hole he created. The one fear with McNeil is the possibility of an earlier than expected decline.

2) Drew Smith

Last year was supposed to be Drew Smith’s opportunity to get some big innings for the Mets. He had established himself as a favorite of Buck Showalter’s. Many fans were in agreement. He could be trusted.

A 2.40 ERA in 2021 and a 3.33 ERA performance in 2022 was good enough to give us faith Smith could remain one of the better Mets relievers. Not so fast.

Smith’s ERA bumped up to 4.15 this past year. It’s not an abominable number. Somehow he managed to escape without giving up a whole lot more. His 1.40 WHIP tells the story of a pitcher who was constantly working out of the stretch. Fortunately, a career-low of 1.1 home runs per 9 helped save some of the destruction.

Smith is now on the edge as someone the Mets could potentially non-tender or trade. He has only one more year of control remaining with a whole lot of questions about where he’d fit in next season.

Even if he does remain with the ball club, it’s going to be tough for Smith to have their trust. His step back in 2023 didn’t come without warning, though. Smith routinely had a FIP well above his ERA. Finally, this past year, it seemed to catch up with him.

3) David Peterson

It’s easy to already forget how excellent David Peterson was for the Mets in 2022. He bounced between the majors and minors for much of the year and from the rotation to the bullpen. The results were a 7-5 record and 3.83 ERA in 105.2 innings of work.

Peterson wasn’t nearly as masterful this year. On the contrary, he started off the year miserably.

Following a May 15 start and loss, Peterson’s record dropped to 1-6. His 8.08 ERA was awful enough to send him back to Syracuse.

Peterson did figure things out after getting recalled. He was significantly better and in doing so managed to end the year with a 5.03 ERA. This seemed impossible after how poorly he pitched to begin the year.

Some may question whether or not the past year was indeed a step back for Peterson or not. He did finish more strongly, however, the question of what role he’ll have remains.

It seems as if Peterson struggles whenever he doesn’t have to struggle. He was a surprise addition to the 2020 roster when Marcus Stroman opted out. Peterson pitched amazingly well and there was little doubt about him heading in 2021. Unfortunately, he pitched poorly and doubts were created.

Maybe Peterson is the kind of pitcher who needs to have his back against the ropes. It wasn’t until he had nothing to lose when he finally began to perform well this past year. If so, Peterson is running out of time before his minor league options are deleted and the Mets have no choice but to assign him a specific role or cut him loose.

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