3 changes the Mets should make after blowing the series against the Reds

New York Mets v Cincinnati Reds
New York Mets v Cincinnati Reds / Dylan Buell/GettyImages
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Remember the 2022 New York Mets and all of the consistent joy they brought us? It took them forever to lose a series. This hasn’t been the case in 2023.

We now have to go back to the San Francisco Giants series for the last time the Mets didn’t lose a series. That was a split in four. They did manage to take two out of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to playing the Giants. It was a high point of the season to beat Noah Syndergaard even if it was the same day Max Scherzer was ejected.

So much has happened since. In their last 9 games, the Mets have lost to three of MLB’s most miserable teams 7 times. Their lone wins were a 1-0 victory against the Colorado Rockies and a 2-1 win versus the Cincinnati Reds. It’s time for a change. Before opening up their series against the Washington Nationals on Friday, the Mets need to make these three changes.

1) The NY Mets need to promote Ronny Mauricio immediately

Heck, they can bring up Mark Vientos, too. Ronny Mauricio is just a slightly better fit with an obvious role he could have on the team. Sit Mark Canha and move Jeff McNeil to left field. Let Mauricio play second base as much as possible. With Vientos, he could be the right-handed DH and even get a couple of reps in as the left fielder simply to get his bat into the lineup.

The important thing is for the Mets to get a hot bat into the lineup. Calling up Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez has clearly been a good decision. It’s time to stop holding the kids back and make another wise choice.

To clear the roster spot, Luis Guillorme would be the unfortunate scapegoat. He hasn’t played all that well this year and because he is one of only a small number of players the team can demote, he’d have to lose his roster spot.

Something has to change. A spark in the lineup from one of the youngsters can do the trick.

2) The NY Mets need to completely shake up the lineup

We’re already seeing the Mets make some changes to the starting lineup. Baty is hitting higher, Starling Marte is hitting lower, and the top of the order has been put in a can then shaken. 

How about this; get as unorthodox as needed. Bat Pete Alonso second. Put Alvarez right in the center of the order. Place Brandon Nimmo third. Drop Francisco Lindor. Get whacky. Use a dartboard if you need.

Buck Showalter already put together a starting lineup in the spring that went alphabetically. Could something as preposterous as this actually get the Mets to start hitting better?

This isn’t a matter of players struggling to see the ball or everyone dealing with a nagging injury. They just aren’t showing off the talent we know they have in them.

Try it once. So far, all of the changes Showalter has made have failed to get the message across. At this point it couldn’t hurt to try anything. Put them in order by height. Have Buck actually rank which players he genuinely likes and which ones get on his nerves and assemble the batting order that way. Whatever it takes, try something different.

Oh, and of course, do it with Mauricio or Vientos in the lineup, too. That’s a given.

3) The NY Mets need to look for unorthodox answers to their starting pitcher woes

There isn’t much the Mets can do to get us all excited for the starting pitching staff right now. Chase Anderson is a free agent and as much as he brings our pulse rate down, it couldn’t hurt to see what he can offer them. There isn’t a Mets fan out there eagerly anticipating the return of Carlos Carrasco. He isn’t going to save this team.

The Mets have exhausted many of their reasonable starting pitcher options already with Joey Lucchesi already going on the decline. Should Jose Butto get another shot? Do they give Dylan Bundy the promotion despite him getting rocked around in Triple-A?

Maybe the answer isn’t one level below the majors and instead down in Double-A. Mike Vasil is off to a fine start for Binghamton. Through 22 innings he is 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA. He has struck out batters at a rate of 13.9 per 9 and has issued walks at a rate of 1.6 per 9. Sending one of the pitchers down and speeding up Vasil’s MLB debut is a huge leap but one to consider with no other obvious answers. Mid-May isn’t the time when you can typically acquire a starting pitcher upgrade in a trade without overpaying.

We can name a lot of things the Mets need to change but the most important is to do it differently. Stop defining insanity and waiting for the bruises to heal on their own.

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