Alvarez is the one who probably still holds the most value. But while he did show some good defense behind the plate, it was for a very short period of time last season. Other than that, his foot work is horrible, his decision making is less than stellar, and his power bat is really inconsistent and is rarely reliable with runners on base.
Baty has proven that he is NOT the next coming of Jeff McNeil. And that is probably what the Mets felt they had with him. If that was their thinking, they were wrong. Who exactly is evaluating this talent…or lack there of? Baty was advertised as a left handed bat with a sweet swing. He had shown signs of hitting to all fields…much like the early version of McNeil. But all of his successes are short-lived. He has never been able to sustain any positive streaks for extended periods of time. His ability to play other positions well, is a case of hopeful or wishful thinking, because he can’t. And while he was at least good at third base, he is no longer good there either.
Vientos is the most maligned of the four. I, for one, truly believed he would have the offensive success that Butch Huskey enjoyed a generation ago. But whether he is pressing too much to show his worth, or he just plain can’t hit on this level, at least with any consistency, has made him an easy target of ire. He had one good season to build on. A “breakout” season is one with success that in then built on. Joe Charboneau of the Cleveland Guardians (then Indians) had a “breakout” season. And then what happened. Vientos has suffered the same fate. And he is simply a butcher in the field. When he was having that good year, he was at least “capable” playing third base. Now he is not even capable.
Mauricio…ahhhhh…Ronny Mauricio. This is the guy…THE GUY…that every other organization wanted when talking trade with the Mets. I never understood the infatuation with him. He was talked about as an offensive machine who was absolutely going to be an impact player. There were rumblings about his attitude. There were even more rumblings about his inability to play the field. Combining the two, there were rumblings about his unwillingness to put in the work to learn a different position other than shortstop. And so he looks lost every position he is asked to play and, to be honest, he sucks at shortstop. He also sucks at hitting which was supposed to be his calling card.
These “kids” were supposed to be the Mets “Core Four.” They were supposed to be the ones who carried this organization to the next level. That ain’t happening.
When it comes to position players, the Mets have had very few “home grown” players who have made it to the big club and had sustained success over a significant period of time. There was Cleon Jones and Bud Harrelson in the 60’s; Darryl Strawberry in the 80’s, Edgardo Alfonzo in the 90’s/00’s; David Wright and Jose Reyes 00’s/10’s.
But think about how many others have been hyped as “can’t miss” prospects only to quickly fall out of favor and disappear like Fernando Martinez, Lastings MIlledge, and Roy Staiger.
Regardless of ownership, management, head of PR…the Mets as an organization have always had a tendency to overhype their players. I guess a lot of organizations do that to make it appear that they have more valuable chips in the pot. But the Mets seem to get it wrong more than they get it right.
At the halfway point of the 2026 season, with the Mets sitting in last place in the NL East with a record of 34-47, on pace for a record of 68-94, 13 games UNDER .500, 15 games out of first place, 9 ½ games out of the wild card, needing to leap frog over 7 teams, it really seems like the system, whatever that is, isn’t working, the “core” that management decided was valuable enough to place all faith in…all a huge failure.
It’s time to admit that failure and move on from it all. Because what is the definition of insanity? But you KNOW that lineup card will have those same names, won’t it?
