SAN FRANCISCO — This time of year, nearly all Major League Baseball discourse revolves around the Trade Deadline. For contenders like the Mets, most of that discussion is about the areas they can improve.
But in beating the Giants, 5-3, on Sunday to secure a three-game series sweep and a season-high-tying seven-game winning streak, the Mets continued to highlight places they don’t necessarily need to upgrade.
The closest thing to a certainty is that this Mets team will acquire another reliever before Thursday’s deadline. Beyond that, the Mets keep demonstrating aptitude across the diamond. On Sunday, Ronny Mauricio hit a game-tying homer, Francisco Alvarez scored two runs, and Juan Soto hit a go-ahead solo shot at Oracle Park to cap the win.
“We’re a good team,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.
The Mets were trailing by a run in the seventh inning when Mauricio splashed his solo homer into McCovey Cove off All-Star reliever Randy Rodríguez. Three batters later, Soto put New York ahead for good with an opposite-field shot.
That was all part of a trend. While the Mets reserve the right to upgrade any corner of their roster, they look better in the following areas than they did six weeks ago:
The Mets are (definitely) just fine at … catcher
When the Mets sent Alvarez to Triple-A Syracuse at the end of June, team officials were prepared to leave him there for a significant period of time — as long as it took for Alvarez to begin resembling a Major League hitter again. At the time of his demotion, Alvarez was slashing .236/.319/.333 with a 27.5 percent strikeout rate and six extra-base hits in 138 plate appearances.
Within days of going to the Minors, Alvarez began cranking out video-game numbers, which earned him a quick promotion back. His two-hit game Sunday was one of his best offensive performances yet, but hardly his only high point.
Since returning from the Minors, Alvarez is slashing .353/.450/.765 with at least one hit in all five games he’s played. His presence has not only lengthened the lineup, but vindicated president of baseball operations David Stearns’ notion that the team doesn’t need to trade for a bat. If Alvarez can maintain this sort of production down the stretch, he’ll be as impactful as anyone the Mets could acquire.
The Mets are (probably) just fine at … third base
The club’s hot-corner combination of Brett Baty and Mauricio — and sometimes Mark Vientos against lefties — has borne as much fruit as anyone could have envisioned early this year, when Baty was struggling to prove himself as a bona fide big leaguer and Mauricio was confined to the Minors.
Earlier this month, the Mets made it known to rival clubs that those two and Luisangel Acuña could be available in trades, according to sources. Since that time, Baty has proven borderline irreplaceable to the Mets’ lineup. While Mauricio hasn’t been nearly as consistent, his raw tools remain apparent. The rookie’s game-tying homer off Rodríguez traveled 398 feet and was just the fourth long ball to splash down there this season.
“It felt really, really good, because I saw a couple of home runs from Barry Bonds hit to the ocean,” Mauricio said. “So that’s pretty good.”
Stearns has often espoused the benefits of giving opportunities to young players. His insistence on it has allowed both Baty and Mauricio to grow into roles that don’t need replacing.
The Mets are (likely) just fine in … center field
This is the lone offensive area Stearns has publicly identified as a place he’d like to upgrade. Tyrone Taylor, while a superlative defender, ranks 224th out of 230 MLB hitters in wRC+ (min. 250 PA). Jose Siri has been on the injured list since mid-April and isn’t close to a return.
But Jeff McNeil has performed admirably as a center field fill-in against right-handed pitchers. Since May 27, McNeil ranks third among qualified Mets regulars in batting average and OPS, behind only Soto and Brandon Nimmo. More than that, McNeil has continued to improve in center field — a position that, before this season, he had never played regularly as a professional.
“I’m comfortable with him,” Mendoza said.
There’s still a chance the Mets make a late Deadline play for Luis Robert Jr., who profiles as the clearest upgrade likely to be available in the coming days. But McNeil’s performance has ensured that Stearns won’t be desperate. His skillset is also a complement to Taylor, who at least provides elite defense on the days he plays. If no center-field trade materializes by Thursday, Mets officials are happy to stick with those two (and potentially Siri late in the season).
The Mets are (maybe) just fine at … starting pitcher
Kodai Senga remained his usual baffling self on Sunday, at times flashing ace-like ability while also proving both wild and inconsistent. Over five innings, he walked five batters, threw 92 pitches and served up a pair of Matt Chapman homers.
That’s the bad news. The good is that Senga still holds a 2.00 ERA, which ranks third among pitchers with at least 80 innings. And the rotation around him is at its healthiest point of the season, with Sean Manaea, David Peterson, Clay Holmes and Frankie Montas all making regular turns.
“Given this is my third game back from [the IL], it is about time that I get in a groove,” Senga said through an interpreter.
If the Mets can acquire another relief upgrade before Thursday, it will further fortify the pitching staff, ensuring that quality will continue to matter more than quantity for Senga down the stretch.
Of course, the possibility of a high-profile rotation addition still exists. If the deal is right, few around Flushing would say no to that.
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