3 ex-Mets having All-Star worthy seasons in 2023

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The 2023 New York Mets aren’t stacked with All-Star candidates. Pete Alonso’s power could get him there. In a season of lean production from shortstops, Francisco Lindor might get his chance. Then there’s David Robertson as a potential representative from the club’s bullpen.

This year’s All-Star Game won’t be flush with members of the Flushing ball club. However, it does look like at least three former Mets could land in Seattle to represent their ball clubs.

It’s these three former Mets who look most bound to become the subject of a Smashmouth song and become All-Stars.

1) Former Mets player who deserves an All-Star roster spot: Michael Wacha

Michael Wacha is a forgettable member of Mets history. Remember the 2020 season? Blink and you missed it.

Wacha was one of several bad additions to the Mets that season. The starting rotation struggled in a major way with Wacha as one of the big culprits.

Wacha made 7 starts and had a relief appearance in the shortened season. He went 1-4 with a 6.62 ERA. It was a grind to watch him pitch. The gamble by Brodie Van Wagenen couldn’t have been much worse.

After a disappointing 2021 season with the Tampa Bay Rays, Wacha rebounded with the Boston Red Sox in 2022. He was 11-2 with a 3.32 ERA last season. This year, now with the San Diego Padres, Wacha is doing even better.

Now 14 starts into his Padres’ tenure, Wacha is 7-2 with a 2.90 ERA. From a roster where it appeared they could have multiple All-Star candidates, Wacha is the lone starting pitcher of the bunch with numbers to justify an appearance. Closer Josh Hader as well as outfielders Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. have made a case. Wacha could end up as a snub.

If Wacha is selected as an All-Star this year it would be the second time of his career. The last time was in 2015 during a year where he won 17 games for the St. Louis Cardinals.

2) Former Mets player who deserves an All-Star roster spot: Marcus Stroman

Another member of the 2020 Mets, but in a different way because he opted out, Marcus Stroman is an even more obvious All-Star than Wacha. In fact, Stroman is an early Cy Young contender. At 9-4 with a 2.28 ERA after 16 starts, he is or has a place among the league leaders in baseball in several statistics.

Stroman’s time with the Mets was longer and more significant than Wacha’s. A member for the final months of the 2019 season through the end of the 2021 campaign, he has spent the last year and a half with the Chicago Cubs posting some pretty good numbers.

Stroman never did make it to the All-Star Game with the Mets but the only real shot he had was in 2021 when the club’s lone representative was Taijuan Walker. Stroman finished 10-13 with a 3.02 ERA that season. The one year he did get the honor was in 2019 during his final stretch with the Toronto Blue Jays prior to getting traded to the Mets.

Barring some kind of extreme slump, Stroman looks like an automatic choice to represent the Cubs this year. History may even repeat itself with Stroman getting traded away only a few weeks after the All-Star selection. The Cubs need to pull themselves together to avoid becoming sellers like the 2019 Blue Jays became.

3) Former Mets player who deserves an All-Star roster spot: Paul Sewald

A third member of the 2020 Mets who looks like he could make it to Seattle is a guy already representing the city. The most perplexing Mets pitcher in recent history, Paul Sewald, has been an entirely different reliever since leaving the Mets. The 1-14 record and 5.50 ERA out of the bullpen for them from 2017-2020 is a deep fake of nonsense when put up against what he has accomplished for the Seattle Mariners from 2021-present.

The Mariners have given Sewald big innings and an opportunity to close games regularly. He had a 3.06 ERA and 11 saves in 2021 to go along with 10 wins. In 2022, Sewald had a 2.67 ERA and 20 more saves for his resume. This season, Sewald is 2-0 with a 2.76 ERA with 13 saves for the Mariners.

Competition between closers to represent their ball clubs in the All-Star Game is only outmatched by the war between first basemen. Nearly every good team has a closer worthy of an All-Star selection. Several of the bad ones do, too.

The Mariners will have someone stick around and Sewald is definitely one of those candidates to do so. Yes, he’s a guy the Mets moved on from before he took off. At least it’s not Jarred Kelenic who they traded away, coincidentally enough, for the former Seattle closer, Edwin Diaz. He has cooled off dramatically. Unless they send starting pitchers George Kirby or Luis Castillo, Sewald could be the one player to remain in Seattle and represent the team in the All-Star festivities.

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