Matthew Nethercott

New York Mets Weekly Overview Record Last Week: 1-5 Runs Scored Last Week: 12 Runs Surrendered Last Week: 33 Standings: 5th in NL East 2.5 GB of 1st Place Transactions: 4/6 New York Mets placed RF Juan Soto on the 10-day injured list retroactive to April 4, 2026. Right calf strain. 4/6 New York Mets recalled 3B Ronny Mauricio from Syracuse Mets. 4/9 New York Mets sent LHP A.J. Minter on a rehab assignment to St. Lucie Mets. 4/11 New York Mets designated LHP Richard Lovelady for assignment. 4/11 New York Mets selected the contract of RHP Craig Kimbrel from St. Lucie Mets. 4/12 New York Mets designated RHP Luis García for assignment. 4/12 New York Mets recalled RHP Joey Gerber from Syracuse Mets Scores: Game 10 (4/07): NYM 4, ARI 3 Game 11 (4/08): NYM 2, ARI 7 Game 12 (4/09): NYM 1, ARI 7 Game 13 (4/10): NYM 0, ATH 4 Game 14 (4/11): NYM 6, ATH 11 Game 15 (4/12): NYM 0, ATH 1 TL;DR Breakdown/Highlights Diamondbacks Series: The Mets offense struggled in their three-game series against the D-backs. In game one, they took Arizona to extra innings, and thanks to Ronny Mauricio walk-off RBI single, they got their lone win of the series, 4-3. In game two, the offensive struggles showed. David Peterson struggled for the second straight outing, giving up five runs in five innings. The Mets lineup scored just two runs late in the game to avoid the shutout. In the rubber match, the Mets took an early 1-0 lead on a Luis Robert Jr. home run into the atmosphere. The Mets rode that 1-0 lead into the sixth inning with Nolan McLean dealing. He was pulled from the game with two on and one out in favor of Luke Weaver. Weaver surrendered four runs and the lead. The Mets bullpen allowed seven runs in the 7-1 loss on Thursday. Athletics Series: After losing the last two to the Diamondbacks, the Athletics came to town for a three-game series at Citi Field. Clay Holmes got the start in the first game of the series and gave up just one run in 5.1 innings. Holmes was pulled with an apparent injury, but is scheduled to make his next start against the Dodgers, according to the Mets game notes Sunday. That one run was all the Athletics needed as they shut the Mets out on six hits. The A’s added some insurance runs in the ninth inning against Tobias Myers and Richard Lovelady. Saturday was no better for the Mets, as Kodai Senga struggled in his outing, giving up seven runs in 2.1 innings of work, including two home runs in the third inning alone. The Mets would fight to come back, including Bo Bichette hitting his first home run as a Met, before Weaver allowed four runs in the top of the eighth inning. Sunday was the most embarrassing game of the series. With Freddy Peralta on the mound for the Mets they needed a win. Peralta held up his end of the bargain, giving up one run over 6.0 innings of work. Yet the Mets' offense was unable to score for the second time in three games of the series, and they lost 1-0. Website Highlights Tobias Myers Is Walking Nobody While Throwing Fewer Strikes. How? (By Brandon Glick) Mets Should Have An Action Plan To Help Alleviate Carson Benge's Slow MLB Start (By Andres Chavez) There's No Replacing Juan Soto, But The Mets Will Do Their Best ((By Andres Chavez) Looking Ahead April 13th (at LAD, 10:10pm EST): LHP David Peterson (0-2, 6.14) vs. LHP Justin Wrobleski (1-0, 4.00) April 14th (at LAD, 10:10pm EST): RHP Nolan McLean (1-1, 2.70) vs. RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-1, 2.50) April 15th (at LAD, 10:10pm EST): RHP Clay Holmes (2-1, 1.50) vs. RHP Shohei Ohtani (1-0, 0.00) April 16th: OFF April 17th (at CHC): 2:20pm EST April 18th (at CHC): 2:20pm EST April 19th (at CHC): 2:20pm EST

The New York Mets are in the midst of a seven-game road trip that opened with them dropping two games to the St. Louis Cardinals. Now, they head to San Francisco for four games against the Giants. The Mets' offense has not been great in the early going outside of Opening Day, but one of the biggest takeaways from the Cardinals series was how good Kodai Senga was in the second contest. Last season did not end well for Senga, with the Mets having to send him to AAA to end the season. Now, Senga looks like a new man. While it was just one start during what is now coined as overreaction week, the veteran right-hander looked really good in his outing against the Redbirds. He pitched six innings, giving up just two runs -- which you can argue would not have scored if Luis Robert Jr. did not misplay two balls in center field -- while striking out nine. He used his fastball and cutter more than any pitch, which set up the forkball as a true out-pitch. His velocity topped out at 99.2 on his fastball, which is a strong explanation for how he generated a 30.4% whiff rate on the pitch. But velocity only gets you so far; perhaps the most impressive statistic from his start was the average launch angle against his fastball, which sat at -4° during the outing. By consistently attacking the upper third of the zone with that upper-90s heat, Senga forced hitters into weak, rolled-over contact, preventing them from squaring up the barrel. This vertical approach created the perfect tunneling effect for his fork ball which naturally drops out of the same plane. Because hitters were so focused on catching up to the increased velocity of the heater and the horizontal movement of his cutter, the forkball's 38 inches of vertical drop became nearly impossible to track, leading to a chase rate well above his career average. Senga's performance was good to see for a Mets team that needs him as much as anybody. For New York to be successful in 2026, they are going to need all their starters behind Freddy Peralta and Nolan McLean to do their part. In his first start, Senga did; it was the first time he went six innings in an outing since June 6 last year. Availability is the best ability, and Senga being able to give innings on a consistent basis will be a big deal for the Mets, trickling down to their bullpen which got worn down in 2025 because of starters not going deep into games. It's one game, but the data supports the impressive results. Now, he'll have to prove capable of replicating this performance over the course of a full season again.

At long last, Opening Day is right around the corner. However, one of the New York Mets' biggest question marks coming into spring training remains unanswered at the dawn of the season, and that is Sean Manaea. Manaea signed with the Mets ahead of the 2024 season and immediately transformed his profile by adopting a lower arm slot and a cross-body delivery inspired by Chris Sale. This mechanical overhaul led to a career-best 3.47 ERA over 181.2 innings, fueled by a sinker that jumped to 92.4 mph on average. According to Baseball Savant, his primary four-seamer posted a .218 xBA, while his sweeper became a legitimate put-away pitch with a 33% whiff rate. By the end of 2024, his Pitching Run Value sat in the 88th percentile, making him the undisputed anchor of the Mets' rotation during their postseason push. Sean Manaea's 2025 and 2026 Spring Struggles However, the 2025 season saw those gains evaporate, as Manaea regressed to a 5.64 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP across just 60.2 innings. The decline was largely attributed to a right oblique strain suffered early in camp, followed by the discovery of a loose body in his left elbow that sidelined him until July. The advanced metrics highlighted a thinning arsenal. His fastball velocity dipped to 91.7 mph, and his hard-hit rate ballooned to 42.6%. Though he avoided surgery in the offseason, his xERA finished at a middling 4.02, suggesting his poor results weren't merely a mirage or sign of bad luck. Entering 2026 spring training, the alarm bells have shifted from his health to his radar gun readings. In his most recent Grapefruit League outings, Manaea has averaged a meager 88.3 mph on his four-seamer -- a significant 4 mph drop from his 2024 peak -- and has yet to touch 90 mph this spring. While he and manager Carlos Mendoza have publicly downplayed the dip, citing a transition to a new cutter and mechanical tweaks to his arm slot, the lack of zip on his pitches is undeniable. In a recent four-inning perfect performance against the Marlins, the southpaw generated only one swing-and-miss, raising serious questions about whether he can survive the regular season with a heater that currently sits in the high-80s. Manaea's Future In the Mets' Rotation This weekend, Mendoza announced that Manaea will not start the season in the rotation. As it sits now, the starting five is comprised of: RHP Freddy Peralta LHP David Peterson RHP Nolan McLean RHP Clay Holmes RHP Kodai Senga Manaea will begin the season in a piggyback role in the bullpen. This is most likely not permanent and only through the first two rotation turns, but it should be noted that the Mets have some concern with how Manaea has performed this spring. "I'm not concerned, as long as he keeps telling us that he's healthy," Mendoza said earlier in camp. "That's what he keeps telling us: 'I feel great.' Look, it might take a while for the velocity to come back. That's why he's tinkering with the cutter, the changeup is good, the sweeper." "I feel healthy, I feel good. To me, I'm not concerned about anything." Manaea said after his outing against the Cardinals on March 12. He added that adrenaline will become a factor during regular-season games and might boost his velocity. Mendoza did claim that Manaea will make starts for the 2026 Mets, but how many remains to be seen. At 34 years old, his margin for error has evaporated; without tangible improvements to his health and stuff, Manaea could become dead weight on an already-bloated payroll.