The New York Mets are in the National League East basement, and it may be time to pinpoint who is to blame for their shortcomings.
The New York Mets have not lived up to expectations.
Entering the 2026 season, hopes were high for the Mets as the team made what seemed to be the necessary improvements for success, adding right-handers Devin Williams and Freddy Peralta, infielder Bo Bichette and outfielder Luis Robert Jr., to name a few.
Despite these additions, and the expected output of stars like outfielder Juan Soto, shortstop Francisco Lindor and righty Nolan McLean, New York has been abysmal this season -- sitting at the bottom of both the National League East and the entirety of the NL.
Taking a look at what's gone wrong for the Mets thus far, Roundtable's Lucas and Bob dive into the injury-plagued roster, which currently sees Lindor and Robert Jr. missing time.
The former has been sidelined with a calf strain, and the latter has a lumbar spine disc herniation and both are expected to miss a significant amount of time due to the respective injuries.
Aside from the roster, many are quick to point to manager Carlos Mendoza for the Mets' struggles, so Bob and Lucas debate whether firing the skipper would even turn things around this season, or just paint him as a scapegoat for the team's shortcomings.
Looking at the bigger picture, Lucas' take on the situation is that the newcomers have not performed as expected, which in turn is the reason why New York is at the bottom of the league. Still, though, Lucas believes in this team and thinks they will turn things around. At the end of the day, the Mets are a good baseball team and can end the 2026 season in postseason contention.
On a positive note, the Mets' pitching staff has been a bright spot -- the bullpen has a combined 3.61 ERA, good enough for the eighth-best among MLB clubs. New York's starting pitchers have a combined 4.16 ERA, sitting at the 16th-best across MLB.
Rounding out this week's episode, Lucas poses the question of whether this is "early-season rust, or a genuine problem" and whether this could lead to Mendoza's termination.
Bob provides his answer to Lucas' question, and you'll need to listen to the full podcast to hear his explanation. Be sure to leave your answer in the comments as well, and let out any frustration that you have with the current state of Mets baseball.
As always, join Roundtable's Mets' site to ensure you don't miss anything with the team as New York looks to get back to the top of the standings.