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2. The Mets will make the playoffs because they've pitched beyond anyone's wildest dreams
How can a team that no longer has the services of aces Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Justin Verlander have the fifth-best ERA in baseball since the All-Star Break? How can a team that missed out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto in free agency and has been without Kodai Senga for all but a single, solitary start have the pitching to go toe-to-toe with aces like Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, Zac Gallen, Dylan Cease, and Michael King (no, I will not include the shiny-eared one that they call Joe Musgrove on this list)?
David Stearns has already proven to be one of Steve Cohen's finest investments in his first year on the job, and while he's done well to bring Harrison Bader, J.D. Martinez, Jose Iglesias, and Jesse Winker aboard, he's really made his mark by what he's done for the pitching staff.
Luis Severino has regained his prime form after a nightmare 2023 season, improving his career ERA while eating up 166 innings, the ninth-most in all of baseball. Sean Manaea has been even better in holding opposing batters to a .202 average, the fifth-best number in the league. The Mets have only lost two of his past 12 starts, and he kept them in the series finale in Toronto by only allowing one run in 6.2 innings.
Stearns has also bolstered the bullpen. The Mets'd Up Podcast called the Mets' bullpen the worst in MLB on a July 9th episode, but since the All-Star Break, New York's relievers have turned it around, posting the eighth-best ERA in baseball. Phil Maton has been stellar in 25 appearances since coming over at the trade deadline, and Huascar Brazoban seems to be figuring it out, with only one earned run allowed in his last 5.1 innings across four appearances.
It's not just the new additions that are contributing. Pitchers like David Peterson and Tylor Megill have been revelations after being left for dead, with Peterson especially establishing himself as a consistently reliable starter throughout the summer. The Mets have gone 14-4 in his 18 starts this year and wouldn't be in the race without him.