The Marlins, 15 games below .500 in early May, jumped the market and sold leading hitter Luis Arraez to the Padres.
Don’t expect the Mets to follow suit: Manager David Stearns wants to give his team at least a few more months to prove itself.
The Mets entered Tuesday’s play eight games below .500, the third-worst record in the National League but just 4.5 games out of a wild-card spot. The team president indicated that no major changes would be made to the Mets until around the trade deadline on July 30.
“We’ve got plenty of time before that happens,” Stearns said before the Mets began a doubleheader against the Dodgers at Citi Field.
“Throughout the month of July, we’ll be preparing for deadlines and having conversations. I think every year is a little bit different. … But throughout the month of July, we’ll be busy preparing. We don’t have to make a decision until the end of the month. So, we’ll continue to evaluate where we are.”
The Mets have lost 12 of their last 16 games, some of them in heartbreaking fashion, and are already 14.5 games behind in the National League East.
Stearns told the media in Philadelphia on May 16 that he believes in what he has accomplished in the clubhouse and that this team can still win a championship.
The Mets have lost seven of 10 games since making that announcement.
A week and a half later, Stearns reiterated that he still has confidence in the talent surrounding his team, but acknowledged that the team’s play doesn’t reflect that talent level.
“We haven’t played like a playoff team, and I think that’s the reality of how we’ve played through the first 50 games,” Stearns said, adding that trade talk had been typically quiet for late May despite the Marlins’ decision.
“That doesn’t mean we can’t win, but we have to show it. I think we have guys who are very committed to that goal and determined to play better, but until we show it, it’s a legitimate question.”
Some of Stearns’ offseason moves, particularly the acquisitions of Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, Harrison Bader and J.D. Martinez, have proven to be solid over the first few months of the season. The setbacks have been holdovers like Jeff McNeil, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz.
“I think they have high expectations for themselves,” Stearns said. “They’re really quality, elite-caliber players in this league at times. And some guys struggle at times of the year. And the great players, the top players, fight through it, and I think our guys will.”
“I think they’ll have expectations and I expect them to look back at the end of the year and have a season that more closely resembles the type of player they’ve been throughout their careers.”
