5 reasons the Mets have underachieved under Steve Cohen’s watch

3) NY Mets have put a lot of faith in older players and it hasn’t worked

It’s not the actual age of the players that’s the problem as much as the age of a player can hint at some destruction. By the time most athletes reach their mid-30s, they tend to tick downward. We’re seeing it often in 2023 with Starling Marte and even older players such as Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and Adam Ottavino.

What’s strange is the core of the Mets isn’t all that ancient. The 27-32 range is all over this roster. Their trouble has been going after the short-term, high money contracts a little too consistently.

It’s in the starting rotation where this is most prevalent. They already had Scherzer (39) and Carlos Carrasco (36) on the roster. They added Justin Verlander (40), Jose Quintana (34), and Kodai Senga (30). Only Senga has been consistently reliable this year.

Where age isn’t always such a factor for ball players is in the bullpen. David Robertson (38) and Brooks Raley (35) have been two of their better pitchers. If you had to pick the perfect age for a relief pitcher, you probably would pick a guy in his 30s. They have enough experience by then. The workload isn’t excessive either.

The timing just hasn’t worked for the Mets who have seen too much of the twilight of Scherzer, Verlander, and Marte all pop up at once. They put a lot of faith in those guys to be excellent this season. Only Verlander is getting close and yet he feels so far from his best years. Scherzer is already gone. Marte is an unknown.