Mets Get Sobering Grade From ESPN After Brutal 2026 Campaign

The New York Mets came into the 2026 MLB season with hopes of making a playoff run. 

Now, they did suffer a lot of losses, with Pete Alonso signing with the Baltimore Orioles in free agency and Edwin Diaz dashing for a new deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Bo Bichette signed with the Mets late in free agency, Luis Robert Jr. and Freddy Peralta were acquired via trades, and Jorge Polanco also signed in free agency. 

Still, nobody expected the Mets to be this bad. Manager Carlos Mendoza was fired in June, and some players said they had failed Mendoza. 

That led to former San Diego Padres manager Andy Green being named the interim manager, and he just accepted a three-year deal to be the full-time manager beginning in the 2027 season. 

Still, the Mets are last in the National League East, and simply put, one of the biggest disappointments in the entire MLB this season. 

ESPN's David Schoenfield had grades for every team, and the Mets earned a D-, although it very well could have been an F. 

ESPN had the Mets at No. 6 in their preseason power rankings, and the projections had them finishing with a 92-70 record and 78% playoff odds.

FanGraphs even had New York expected to compete, with a 38% chance of winning the division. 

Yet, here we are. 

Peralta was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline after a rough year, and that trade will look like a huge miss on David Stearns' part. 

Here is a silver lining: Nolan McLean, Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing have played well and have shown promise in a youthful movement for the Mets. 

They traded Clay Holmes at the deadline, and it sure looks like Bichette will leave and find another deal in free agency, although nobody really knows what will happen with the looming MLB lockout and questions about whether or not the season will take place. 

Why didn't the Mets receive an F? Here's why, according to Schoenfield. 

"What keeps the Mets from receiving a failing grade, however, is they at least have been respectable under interim manager Andy Green." 

Other than that, it's been a horrible season for the Mets, and the only reason there was any excitement recently was because Pete Alonso came back to Citi Field when the Orioles came to town. 

The Mets, once again, had another disappointing season, although this one certainly was from the entire season, and maybe Andy Green can turn things around going forward.