3 players to blame for a disappointing start to the 2023 season

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The New York Mets’ 2023 season is not going as the team had planned. With roughly 25% of the Mets season completed, New York has no winning record. For a team with the highest payroll and MLB championship aspirations, the Mets are off to a disappointing start, to say the least.

There’s a lot of blame to be had for the Mets’ 19-20 start. New York is struggling in all aspects of the game. The Mets rank 12th among 15 National League teams with a .706 OPS. A disappointing 4.63 ERA ranks 10th in the NL in 39 games.

It will take more than a few players to turn the tide for the Mets to finally meet expectations. That being said, let’s take a look at a few Mets who bear the most blame for teams’ poor start to the 2023 season.

Without a doubt, Max Scherzer was the most disappointing Mets player on the field in 2023. One of the greatest pitchers of his generation, Scherzer posted a 2.42 ERA with New York in 2022. Later, the 38-year-old could be heading for the highest ERA of his Hall of Fame career.

Scherzer is 2-2 with a 5.56 ERA in five starts. The veterans’ WHIP went from 0.91 last season to 1.41 this season. Scherzer has 20 strikeouts in 22.2 innings. He’s yet to top 6.0 innings in a single start. The Mets skipped Scherzers’ last start with a neck injury.

With Justin Verlander injured to start the season and Carlos Carrasco on the IL, the Mets needed Scherzer to be the ace he has been for the past decade. Instead, Scherzer pitched like an aging No. 5 starter. He also missed 10 games with a suspension for using an illegal sticky substance on the mound.

Francois Lindor

Maybe it’s unfair to put Francisco Lindor on this list. Brandon Nimmo is the only Mets position player with a higher war than Lindor. The shortstop even ranks ahead of Pete Alonso in this category. Alonso, on the other hand, has 13 home runs and an .855 OPS. Lindor hasn’t been consistent enough at the plate for New York to overcome its other shortcomings.

The Lindors .223/.314/.426 splits are all way down from where they were at the end of the 2022 season. He has just four stolen bases, despite MLB rule changes. It’s no coincidence that the Mets have gone into a tailspin while Lindor struggles at home plate. New York is 5-13 in its last 18 games. Lindor has a .214 batting average and two homers during that streak.

Lindor has an .819 OPS in Mets wins. His OPS drops to 0.652 in casualties. If Lindor can get back on track, the Mets record will follow.

Starling Marte

Starling Marte doesn’t have a Hall of Fame CV like Scherzer or Verlander. He doesn’t have the same responsibility in New York programming as Lindor or Alonso. But Marte is among the Mets’ highest-paid players, and his production hasn’t matched his salary.

Marte is signed to a contract that includes an average annual value of $19.5 million, making him the fourth highest-paid player on baseball’s most expensive team. In 34 games, the outfielder was New York’s least productive daily player. Marte is the only Mets roster stalwart to have a negative WAR. It hits .226/.294/.282. Marte has just one home run and eight RBIs in 124 at-bats.

Marte had to deal with a sprained neck earlier this season. Perhaps injuries played a part in his disappointing start. In 118 games with the Mets last season, Marte hit .292/.347/.468 with 16 homers.

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