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4 Mets injuries that impacted the team's record most in 2024
These four Mets injuries have been the most impactful on the team's 2024 record.
It’s not always the best team that wins a championship in sports. Nobody has a better edge than the healthiest ball club. Many New York Mets seasons have been spoiled by injuries. Going without Edwin Diaz for all of 2023 is one of those examples.
In 2024, the Mets have been more fortunate than not when it comes to the health of their players. However, in these four cases, dodging the injury bug could have completely altered their season for the better.
1) Kodai Senga
Losing your best pitcher for all but one shortened start is sure to hold your team back. The Mets were without Kodai Senga for the entirety of spring training only for him to come back and win a game for them versus the Atlanta Braves on July 26. He exited early, with a brand new injury, and turned what looked like a good start to his sophomore season into a lost campaign.
Imagine a healthy Senga on the Mets this season. The presence itself completely shifts who they are. They’d need to have a six-man rotation throughout the year which impacts everyone involved. Does Jose Quintana benefit from the extra rest? Are we stuck with an inferior product in the rotation for the sake of giving Senga his needed bonus day off from the mound?
There remains a slim hope of Senga returning at the very end of the season or possibly the playoffs if the Mets are able to get there. Considering how long it took him to come back from his first IL stint, we shouldn’t expect him back at all in 2024. As a result, the Mets have had the big question mark in their rotation as to who the ace is. One candidate suffered a pretty big injury himself.
2) David Peterson
Offseason surgery for David Peterson took away nearly the first two months from him in 2024. He returned to the mound on time, if not sooner, than first projected. He is one of those pitchers contending for the now arbitrary title of number one starter in the rotation. His numbers back it up.
After 16 starts Peterson is 8-1 with a 2.83 ERA. The team has gone 13-3 in his appearances. Peterson has given the Mets a ton of length recently, going 7 or more innings against the Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, and Arizona Diamondbacks. This is the kind of thing we’d only expect from a true ace. At least of late, Peterson is getting those results.
Although Peterson hasn’t been racking up strikeouts and still tends to walk too many batters, it’s difficult to argue with the results. Run prevention has been key to his success. No Mets starting pitcher has prevented them better.
How many wins could Peterson have snagged in April or early May before his IL return? For sure someone who would have had opportunities because of the club’s need for a six-man rotation, a few of those early losses might’ve ended differently.
It’s a shame Peterson’s best season will be a shortened one. That seems to be the way these things go. Be happy we have him now.
3) Brooks Raley
A little more forgotten now is the absence of Brooks Raley. Losing him to Tommy John surgery meant more of Jake Diekman. Please excuse yourself to drink some club soda to clean the taste that just entered your mouth.
Raley delivered 7 shutout innings while allowing only 2 hits in his healthy time with the Mets. He made his last appearance on April 19 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ever since, the Mets haven’t had a clear answer as to who they’d turn to against lefties late in games.
Danny Young has stepped up nicely yet even he doesn’t seem trustworthy enough in the biggest of situations. Raley would have undoubtedly been the club’s go-to option. It’s easy to forget how well he did in the lost 2023 season for the Mets. Raley threw 54.2 innings and did it with a 2.80 ERA. Make a deal with the devil and bring him back and healthy on the 2024 Mets, a few of those blown leads are saved.
Raley would have been useful beyond just facing lefties. With the current state of the bullpen, he’d be an alternative to Edwin Diaz on some days and a definite set-up man on others. His loss was more impactful than teammate Drew Smith who suffered the same fate. We’d take both back in an instant over some of the other options.
4) Francisco Alvarez
As poorly as Francisco Alvarez has played at times lately, there was a period when he was the original Grimace. The team won a lot of games early in the season whenever he played. And when he returned from the IL, they began to win even more. He, like Raley, went on the IL after playing in a game against the Dodgers on April 19. He’d return on June 11 for a Mets loss against the Miami Marlins. Then the team rattled off 7 straight victories in his appearances.
Alvarez has a good reputation behind the plate and pitchers love throwing to him. His loss for nearly two full months led to a couple of changes with the roster. Tomas Nido replaced him and for a time we had him paired alongside Omar Narvaez. It was a black hole in the lineup offensively. Defensively, Nido did well to at least stop runners from stealing. We were eventually introduced to Luis Torrens who did a little of everything well.
Alvarez remains a work in progress in all aspects. However, the mystery of what he could have added to the team in the time he was on the IL had a large impact on the season. His tremendously productive month saw him slash .375/.456/.667 in what appeared to be a breakout month which has sadly faded since.
A slump for Alvarez might’ve been inevitable as he struggled for a long period in 2023 as well. How many games could he have helped the Mets win in the dark ages of late May when the season seemed over?
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