How 2024 Mets remind us of team on cusp of breakthrough

With young stars coming into their own and some talented veterans joining the team, the team fell short of the postseason but gave fans hope for the future. It was a big offseason of preparation followed by a breakout year.

This was the Mets in 2005. This might be the Mets in 2024 too.

Mets fans fondly remember the 2005 season because it led to them being the National League East champion team in 2006 and coming very close to winning the World Series.

This team seems to be similar.

The Mets (66-61) are all but certain to win the World Series. They’re two games behind the Braves in losses for the third and final NL wild card spot. They have a tough 10-game road trip ahead of them, with stops in San Diego, Arizona and Chicago, after which their playoff hopes will be all but dashed.

But even if the Mets don’t make the playoffs, there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic, just like in 2005, when David Wright and Jose Reyes were making names for themselves and Carlos Beltran was a big offseason addition who was finding his way in his first year with the Mets.

Younger players like Mark Vientos, Francisco Alvarez, Jose Butto and David Peterson, while not on the same level as Wright and Reyes, show the Mets have reason to be excited for the future for a variety of reasons. Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo have established themselves as cornerstones of the team. Pete Alonso’s future is unclear, one of many questions hanging over the offseason.

Similar to what happened after the Mets traded for Carlos Delgado in 2005, this team will need to strengthen if it is to become a legitimate championship contender next year.

Juan Soto and Corbin Burns are expected to be big targets in free agency, Brandon Sproat is a top prospect in a much-improved farm system that could potentially move into the starting rotation, and Kodai Senga could return to the mound after making just one start this year.

The Mets have already delivered and exceeded fans’ expectations, especially after a terrible start at 22-33.

The Mets are pretty much flat out this month, going 9-10 after two months as one of the best teams in baseball. But they’ve shown the tenacity and grit that was lacking during last year’s flop to win 75 games. They won two of three games at home against the playoff-bound Orioles, giving them some much-needed momentum heading into a dangerous seven-game series against the steamrolling Padres and Diamondbacks.

Some Mets fans believe that this team is not a true championship contender and should have been sold at the trade deadline. I totally disagree.

Being in the postseason race is important for the overall health of the team. It’s certainly good for the young players to experience that. It lays a foundation for the future, where winning is expected and losing is unacceptable. I felt that David Stearns was on the right path, finding an upgrade without sacrificing too much in return.

Reliever Phil Mutton and starter Paul Blackburn are mostly doing well, and outfielder Jesse Winker got his first hit, a walk-off homer on Wednesday, that might motivate him.

The 2005 Mets finished third and won 83 games. The current Mets could suffer a similar fate, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Today’s back cover

Yankees Catcher Conundrum

If Jose Trevino starts Thursday, as expected, the Yankees will begin the game with their third-best offensive player on the bench for four of six games.

Austin Wells was never an everyday player, which isn’t normal for a catcher, but the young catcher’s playing time has been cut significantly since Trevino came off the disabled list.

That’s partly due to a small sample size and the fact that Gerrit Cole, who reportedly prefers throwing passes to Trevino, made two starts in that span, but the trend shouldn’t continue.

The Yankees can’t afford to keep Wells’s power hit on the bench given how little they’re getting out of their lineup outside of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, but it was enough on Wednesday night as Judge hit two home runs (his 47th career) and Soto had five RBIs in an 8-1 win over the Guardians.

Wells, 25, has been in good form this season. .After going one hit in four at-bats on Wednesday, he is batting .254 with a .343 on-base percentage, .419 slugging percentage and a .762 OPS. In 260 at-bats, he has 24 extra-base hits and nine home runs.

But those numbers don’t accurately depict Wells’ recent impact: In 57 games and 45 starts since May 24, he has a .842 OPS, a .281 batting average and eight home runs.

Meanwhile, Trevino has an OPS of .725 and a slugging percentage of 13 in 173 at-bats.

Wells is also good at shutting down the baserunners, getting out 25% of his would-be stealers compared to Trevino’s 22%. Wells has a 3.0 WAR (wins above replacement) per Fangraphs, fourth among Yankees regulars behind Judge, Soto and Anthony Volpe; Trevino’s is at 2.1.

Manager Aaron Boone said he’s “fully comfortable” starting Wells against left-handed pitchers, but added that he might use a looser platoon later in the game.

It’s worth noting that Wells only has a .529 OPS against lefties, but he only has 50 at-bats against them, and Trevino is not a hard hitter against lefties, posting a .712 OPS against them.

It was one thing to bench Wells on Sunday night against Tigers ace left-hander Tarik Skubal, but it made no sense to not use him on Tuesday against Guardians left-hander Matthew Boyd.

With every game being so important, the Yankees need the most productive players on the field, and Wells is clearly one of them.

Empty Calories

The third preseason game was meaningful here.

Once upon a time, the annual Jets-Giants matchup meant a lot. There were bragging rights. The starters played at least half the time. It was a dress rehearsal for the real game.

Now it’s almost irrelevant, like the entire preseason game. The starters rarely play in the games, but most fans still have to shell out big bucks for them as part of their season-ticket package. You can’t buy Jets season tickets without the increasingly meaningless exhibition games.

The joint practices have encouraged coaches to avoid using starters in games, and it’s hard to argue with the logic of allowing players to practice in a controlled, less risky environment and letting non-essential players take the field in less important games.

If that’s the case, the league should really cut down on the preseason. It’s never been less important.

Today’s Outlook

Drew Gilbert displayed all the tools on Wednesday.

The Mets’ promising outfielder, who was sidelined for more than three months earlier this season, hit his second home run of the year off former major league relief pitcher Erasmo Ramirez in a two-hit night for Triple-A Syracuse.