Mets May Preview: A tale of two schedules and predictions

Off-the-field fireworks will be on display on a seven-game homestand from May 13-19 against the Mariners and Cardinals

Mets fans always seem to gloat over the questionable trade made during Brodie Van Wagenen’s first season in his tumultuous reign as general manager. The Mets and Mariners made a blockbuster trade in 2018 that sent a five-player package headlined by 2018 first round pick Jarred Kelenic to the Mariners in exchange for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz. This is also the first time the two teams have met since the trade.

Cano has already been suspended for a full year due to a failed drug test and fans are on his case again this year with a poor start to 2022, while Diaz has given Mets fans a ton of heart attacks as the team’s closer. However, it appears as if Diaz endeared himself (finally I think) to much of the fan base when he completed the combined no-hitter against the Phillies.

Meanwhile, four of the five players the Mets dealt to Seattle are no longer in the Mariners’ organization. Kelenic, the lone holdover, has yet to pan out as a player, although is only 22 years old. The much-discussed prospect is batting just (BLANK) in (BLANK) career at-bats with the Mariners. Mets and Mariners fans must wonder aloud how much media coverage will be spent on the trade that defined the Brodie Van Wagenen era and the end of the Wilpon ownership era.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals four-game series in mid-May speaks for itself after the benches cleared twice in their series at Busch Stadium. And I’d bet after comments from both teams following the series that there is no love lost between the two clubs. This might be the most heated regular season series between the two teams since they perennially fought for National League East supremacy in the 1980s.