Three Mets Trending Upward As Mets Look To Avoid Being Sellers At Trade Deadline

Though the New York Mets are no longer in contention for the worst record in the MLB, they still find themselves at the bottom of the National League East division with a 34-41 record. Winning five of their last ten, New York goes into Saturday night with big stakes on the line against a Philadelphia Phillies team that has cooled down a bit in the recent couple of weeks.

The Mets took game one of the three-game series on Thursday in Philadelphia thanks to a three-run seventh inning, but they’ll have to be at their best to clinch the series against the division’s second-place club.

Heading into the year with lofty expectations, the Mets found themselves at the bottom of the league standings early on. They’ve been better as of late, but they remain seven games under .500. If there was a time for a final push before completely giving up hope, it needs to be now before the trade deadline in early August.

Luckily for the Mets, some of their players who were struggling the most are finding their rhythm three months into the campaign. It’s better late than never, but they need to continue their upward trend to propel the Mets past seller status before the deadline. Here are three of those players who have been pulling their weight as of late.

Star infielder Bo Bichette signed with New York on a $126 million deal over three years with options after each season, but the start of his Mets tenure didn't live up to expectations in the slightest.

At the end of May, Bichette’s OPS had only been .583 – far from the production that New York thought they’d be getting from one of baseball’s greatest offensive stars. He’s been much better in June, however, slashing .358/.366/.597 with a .963 OPS in 16 games. Bichette’s season totals may still look bad, but he came up huge for the Mets this month as they’ve gotten huge wins against playoff-level clubs.

Fellow infield acquisition Marcus Semien also found himself struggling to start his time in Queens, but he’s been looking more comfortable as the months have gone on. After posting a .566 at the end of March, Semien has brought that number to .644 on the year thanks to steady improvements in each of the last couple of months.

The former All-Star has posted a .750 OPS in 16 games this month, making up for the somewhat disappointing production he’s put up on the defensive side of things. At 35-years-old, the Mets hope to see more of the recent version of Semien after they traded outfielder Brandon Nimmo for him in the offseason.

Right-hander Nolan McLean didn’t start the year poorly, but he went through a tough stretch in May that saw him post a 6.10 ERA in six starts. Since then, he’s been able to bring his season ERA back under 4.00 with his first three starts in June.

Posting a 1.59 ERA in his first three starts of the month has resulted in the Mets winning two of those three games. While the rookie may have finally shown some struggle after dominating early in his career, he looks to be back on track just as the Mets are ready to make their final push before the deadline.