Jesse Winker
Being a New York Mets fan isn’t what it always was. The 1969 and 1986 Mets defined the organization as a team of what can be. Even the disappointments like 1973 and 1999 showed us that even in losses, the Mets organization is known for the potential miracles that can occur.
Maybe it started with Dwight Gooden missing the championship parade while sitting in a crack house. Maybe it was Kenny Rogers walking Andruw Jones with the bases loaded, or it could have been Todd Zeile’s ball getting stuck on the wall.
Frankly, it was probably the Wilpons getting sole ownership of the Mets organization. At some point, this Mets team went from miracles to Carlos Beltran striking out looking, the two collapses to close out Shea Stadium, and sadly, so much more.
In that vein, let’s try to rank out the Mets collapses. Just a fun little exercise for us Mets fans.
5. 2025 Collapse
This is the freshest, and it probably seems worse that it was. Actually, it is worse than it was, but this is being viewed through the prism of Mets history,
Unlike some of the other collapses, this was a a slow moving train. We all watched on with horror for months as this happened. This was the man getting run over by the roller in Austin Powers.
This collapse started in June with Griffin Canning went down. For months, this team was David Peterson and just four other guys in the rotation, and then Peterson lost it.
Yes, there was so much enthusiasm entering the season with the 2024 shocking run to the NLCS, and the Juan Soto signing. That all said this team was just snakebitten.
This team lost AJ Minter and Jesse Winker for the season. Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga were trying to pitch through injuries. The additions at this year’s trade deadline didn’t have the magic touch. Ultimately, that was it – the magic was gone.
Still on the last day of the season, they had a chance, and they again blew it. This was as bad as it gets, but not the worst it gets for the Mets.
4. 2007 Mets
Unlike most Mets collapses, the 2007 Mets were a case of the Philadelphia Phillies just took it from them. No doubt the Mets fell apart, but the Phillies played baseball at an insane clip instead of the Reds 14-11 September.
The issue with the 2007 is they just ran out of starting pitching. That final week of the season was David Williams and Phillip Humber start games. Billy Wagner was hurt, and Aaron Hellman was on whatever comes after fumes.
We didn’t realize it at the time, but Tom Glavine was pitching with a fork in his back. He was just done, and we saw the Miami Marlins take full advantage.
In reality, this collapse was sown in 2005 with Jeff Wilpon forcing Pedro Martinez to pitch. Also, like we saw with the 2025 Mets, this was a slow moving train as well.
The 2007 Mets slide began in June. From June 1 to the end of the season, they were 54-56. They were just an average team. It was just hard to see at the time, but we know it now. And, we knew it from what we would see the next season.
3. 1998 Mets
The 1997 Mets shocked baseball by somehow finishing with an 88-74 record. They attacked the offseason adding Al Leiter and Dennis Cook in addition to re-signing John Olerud.
They then made the big move by trading for Mike Piazza after Todd Hundley suffered an elbow injury. After some early issues with Piazza adjusting to New York and the booing, the Mets vaulted to postseason contention.
On September 16, they had a big win against the Houston Astros and found themselves a half-game up in the Wild Card standings. From there, they would finish the season going 2-6, losing their last five games.
Making it all the worse is they just needed to win one more game over that stretch. of course, the Mets would completely blow two games over that stretch.
Keep in mind, the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs would play in a winner-take-all Wild Card play-in game. The Cubs finished the season on a 4-6 stretch, and the Giants finished the season losing their last two games.
The play-in game was Steve Trachsel against Mark Gardner. The Mets couldn’t even win to enter this fray. If they won two, they advance to the postseason. It was all for naught as they choked it all away.
2. 2022 Mets
As written about here, the 2022 collapse was worse than the 2007 collapse.
The Mets had Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Chris Bassitt lined up in a series where the Mets had to win one game to win the division. Instead, they were swept. At the time, their 10.5 game blown lead was the third largest division lead blown in Major League history. It’s now fourth thanks to the 2025 Detroit Tigers.
Because of the collapse, instead of having a first round bye giving Scherzer, deGrom, and Bassitt much needed rest, they hosted the Wild Card Series, again with their pitching lined up perfectly.
Keep in mind the hubris of Mets fans. At the time, they were actively debating lining up deGrom for Game 3 so he could start the NLDS after the Mets swept the Padres. This Mets team was that good.
Instead, Scherzer pulled a Glavine in Game 1. After deGrom won Game 2, Bassitt was not good in Game 3 with the Mets managing just one hit against Joe Musgrove and his glistening ears.
In many ways, this team unnecessarily panicked. They forced Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez into a pennant race after purposefully not giving them cups of coffee earlier in the year. To add insult to injury, Buck Showalter was named Manager of the Year for his guiding the Mets from an easy division title to a team who completely fell apart.
1. 2008 Mets
This is not a popular choice, but it is assuredly the worst of all the collapses. Everything from that season was disturbing.
Rumors still circle about Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes purposefully quitting on Willie Randolph. Jerry Manuel worked behind the scenes with Jeff Wilpon to force Randolph’s firing. To make it all worse, the Mets did it to Randolph after the first game of a west coast trip began.
Oh, by the way, Randolph was the rare manager fired after a win. Instead, we got Manuel and his clown show. He was at least aided by a rejuvenated Delgado.
On August 27, the Mets led the NL East. Ironically, they opened September by sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers. After that sweep, they were ahead of the Phillies by 3.0 games, and they were ahead of the Brewers by two games in the loss column.
From there, the Mets would go 10-12.
On September 19, they led the NL East by a half-game. Over the final nine games of the season, that became a three game deficit. No, it wasn’t seven in 17, but it was inexplicable.
This team lost six of their final nine games. They were tied for the Wild Card entering the final week of the season with the Marlins (again). They would lose two out of three.
Unlike the prior year where it was Glavine who just didn’t have it, Beltran had a big homer to tie the game against the Marlins. Just when you thought he was changing the narrative from 2006, Manuel decides to go with Scott Schoeneweis, a reliever with a 7.00 September ERA that month.
It was classic Manuel. He was a bad manager making indefensible decisions.
Oh, and keep in mind, the Mets went out and got Johan Santana in the offseason. He was the ace missing in 2006, and he was the starter who could’ve prevented 2007 from happening. Apparently, nothing could stop Manuel, Jeff, and company.
Even if you want to believe 2007 was worse, consider this was the second year in a row only exacerbating everything. To make it even worse, this is the way they closed out Shea Stadium, the same place that saw the 1969 Mets, the ball go through Bill Buckner’s legs, Robin Ventura’s Grand Slam Single, and Mike Piazza’s homer after 9/11.
This loss was the cumulation of everything that happened after Beltran’s strikeout. After this, we had an awkward ceremony, and the team falling apart with the Wilpons getting caught up with the Madoff scandal.
The 2008 collapse was as bad as it gets. Sadly, being Mets fans, we have plenty of years from which to debate.
Since being drafted, it was clear the New York Mets organization preferred Brett Baty over Mark Vientos as the third baseman of the future. There were very valid reasons for this, and the Mets organization was far from being alone in that opinion.
That opinion flipped last year. Baty struggled again. Vientos forced his way to the majors and then the starting lineup. He had 27 homers in just 111 games.
He followed that with a great postseason. He hit .327/.362/.636 with two doubles, five homers, and 14 RBI. By and large, it looked like Vientos was going to be the Mets next great power hitter.
Well, Vientos has always been a slow starter, and this year was no exception. Couple that with nagging injuries and a hamstring landing him on the IL, and the door was open for Baty to Wally Pipp him.
Baty had a strong spring, and he had a promising start to the year before an unfortunate demotion to Syracuse. That was a pure numbers game, but we’d see him called back up after the Jesse Winker injury.
In his first 15 games after the call up, Baty hit .326/.356/.698 with a double, five homers, and 13 RBI. He started to take over the third base job from Vientos. Again, with Vientos’ injury, Baty had a chance to claim the position for good.
Things haven’t quite worked out that way.
After that first 15 game stretch, Baty followed that with a 14 game stretch that saw him hit .170/.231/.277 with a triple, homer, and six RBI. Those numbers are worse when you consider that includes six games against the Colorado Rockies, who are making the 1962 Mets look like the 1927 Yankees.
We can argue those are just two different stretches – a hot streak and a cold steak. That’s a fair point. However, the broader picture isn’t promising for Baty.
On the season, Baty has a 97 wRC+. His career is a 77 wRC+. Even with that brutal error against the Dodgers, he’s been good defensively. However, to carry his bat, he needs to be Gold Glove caliber, and he’s certainly not that.
This isn’t to say he’s not a Major Leaguer. He is one. There’s a spot for his ability to play second and third and for him to hit against right-handed pitching. It seems his ceiling is the strong side platoon, and to reach his full potential, he will need to learn some outfield and possibly first base.
Complicating things for Baty is Ronny Mauricio. Mauricio was hitting .515 in Syracuse before he was recalled. After an initial 0-for-11, he’s red hot going five for his next eight with a double and homer. He also walked twice and stole two bases.
Notably, Mauricio was a shortstop in the minors, and the Mets still aren’t sure where he should play at the Major League level. At the moment, third base is the only open spot.
With Mauricio being a switch hitter, he doesn’t need a platoon partner. While he’s swinging a hot bat, he should be in the lineup.
With Jeff McNeil also swinging a hot bat, it looks like we will be seeing less and less of Baty. With the Mets getting good news on Vientos’ hamstring, it looks like Baty has missed his chance.
It’s now Mauricio’s turn. He has his own issues, but those can emerge and be discussed while we wait on Vientos.
We don’t know when Vientos will get healthy or get back to his 2024 form. What we can say is Baty hasn’t taken advantage of his opportunity and may never be the player we’d hope he’d be.
When looking at the New York Mets free agents, it’s obvious they need to push to keep Sean Manae. Of course, fans want to keep Pete Alonso.
However, when you break it all done, Jesse Winker might just be the most important free agent to re-sign this offseason.
Winker has had an interesting relationship with this franchise. First, he was an irritant. Then, he joined a Mets franchise he said he long wanted to play for. He following a massively disappointing post-trade deadline regular season with a great postseason.
With the postseason, we saw Winker slot nicely in as a platoon DH option. It was from that position, he did the most damage as a Met including his NLDS homer against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Looking at this Mets team, there isn’t a pure DH option available. Digging deeper into free agency, there isn’t a clear cut better option than Winker, and no, we’re not going to consider that horrendous human being, Marcell Ozuna, as an option.
Winker, 31, has been a solid hitter and on-base machine in his career. Over his eight year career, he has a 121 wRC+ and a .367 OBP. In many ways, you could describe him as Brandon Nimmo lite.
He’s at the tail end of his prime. After a troubling decline in his metrics the previous few seasons, he rebounded in 2024 showing an improved exit velocity, hard hit percentage, and barrel rate.
Mostly, with the Mets, he brings something different to the table. He brings an edge they haven’t had in years, and he has a way of getting under everyone’s skin the way he used to irritate Mets fans in previous seasons.
Going back to Nimmo for a moment, the Mets do need other everyday outfield options to help keep him healthy. For his part, Winker can play left field but can’t everyday. In all honesty, he’s one of the worst corner outfielders in the game as evidenced by the Mets keeping a hobbled Nimmo in left over him.
That said, it’s a 162 game season. The Mets can find spots for Winker to give Nimmo a day. There’s certainly value in that.
The other downside is he’s really just a platoon option at DH with a career 88 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. However, when looking at the Mets roster, that might be a benefit for them.
Starling Marte is 36, struggles against right-hand pitching, and might actually be a worse fielder than Winker. The Mets always need Mark Vientos in the lineup, but they don’t need his glove in the field. Francisco Álvarez can benefit from more days off behind the plate while getting consistent plate appearances.
All told, whether or not the Mets sign Juan Soto, Winker is a fit at DH. The team can use his bat from the left side at DH, his flair for the dramatic, and his edge. He’s the rare player built to thrive in New York, and the Mets should work quickly to keep him here.
The New York Mets catapulted themselves into postseason contention after a disastrous May. As the team clawed its way back Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo implored the front office to be buyers at the trade deadline.
Truth be told, this was easier said than done.
Kodai Senga was hurt most of the season, and worse yet, he suffered a season ending injury in his only start of the season. There went a much needed top of the rotation starter.
The bullpen has long been a problem all season. Just when they think they find something, it falls apart.
Reed Garrett was a revelation until he wasn’t, and now, he’s hurt. Adrian Houser was a revelation until he wasn’t, and now, he’s gone.
We’ve seen Dedniel Núñez and Sean Reid-Foley fulfill their promise. Both are on the IL. Everytime the Mets found something, it fell apart.
They could never build a bridge to Edwin Díaz, a closer who still isn’t the Díaz of 2022.
The prices at the trade deadline were astronomical. Case-in-point, the Mets overpaid to acquire Jesse Winker from the Washington Nationals. At least based on what we saw, it wasn’t quite the overpay it was because the market was that absurd.
Stearns effectively gave up nothing for Phil Maton, who had been great for the Mets this far. He gave up a lower tiered older prospect who struggled in Triple-A for Ryne Stanek. Stanek has struggled this year, but he has a good track record.
He obtained Paul Blackburn from the Oakland Athletics for a promising pitcher. Blackburn was a 2022 All-Star, and he’s under team control for another year.
The Blackburn acquisition gets a struggling Tylor Megill out of the rotation and could make him a bullpen option. It also keeps Jose Buttó, the only good remaining reliever in the pen, in the bullpen.
The Mets obtained Tyler Zuber from the Rays for a boom-or-bust minor league reliever. Zuber has options remaining and is not yet arbitration eligible.
Finally, the Mets got THE big piece by obtaining Huascar Brazobán. He’s having a terrific year for the Miami Marlins and will be under team control for four more seasons. All that for a utility player prospect.
Make no mistake losing Tyler Stuart and Kade Morris hurts. However, it doesn’t hurt nearly as much as watching Carlos Mendoza left with no good options in the bullpen leaving even the largest of Mets leads unsafe.
Suddenly, you can argue the Mets bullpen is one of the team’s strengths. It went from drowning to a sufficient bridge to Díaz.
Looking at the team, the lineup is better with Winker. The rotation is better with Blackburn. The bullpen was completely overhauled like it needed to be.
The Mets never got the ace. They didn’t get a top set-up man. You could argue they needed to do more, but you’ll notice Blake Snell and Tarik Skubal weren’t traded.
This team is significantly better, and they did it by minimizing the hit to the farm system. They turned their biggest weakness into a strength. They solidified themselves as a legit postseason caliber club.
David Stearns had a near flawless trade deadline. Between him and Steve Cohen, we see they will go for it, and the Mets are extraordinarily well run.
Call this a test balloon if you will, but Stearns showed his has what it takes to get the Mets to the 2024 postseason. He showed he has what it takes to get another World Series title to Queens.
The New York Mets have a lot of decisions to make at the trade deadline. With Kodai Senga out for the season and Christian Scott dealing with a UCL issue, they have to decide just how much they can go in on this season.
There are some big options available that could change the dynamics of the Mets this year and the ensuing years. We see former Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell on the market, and Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skrubal potentially available.
For players like Skrubal, you have to open the farm and make a trade that hurts. Looking at the Mets farm system, they do have one top prospect who can be dealt more than others.
That is Drew Gilbert.
Keep in mind what this is, and what this isn’t. Nowhere is this saying trade Gilbert, and this is not suggesting he’s a bust. Rather, looking at the Mets future plans, he may be an odd man out.
Brandon Nimmo will be in left (or right) field through the 2030 season. Center field and second will likely be split somehow between Luisangel Acuña and Jett Williams. That would leave right field for Gilbert.
Maybe.
The Mets are already rumored to be going hard after Juan Soto this coming offseason. If that doesn’t pan out, they could keep Jesse Winker for a few years while other top prospects in Ryan Clifford make their way to the majors.
There’s also the matter of what to do with Jeff McNeil and Ronny Mauricio. Each of them could be a stopgap to buy time for other prospects. For all we know, Mauricio can claim the right field job outright.
Again, this is not saying these are better options than what Gilbert could provide. Only Soto would definitively be better. Rather, this is saying the Mets could make him available in the right trade and be able to successfully pivot.
For Skrubal, the Mets should be comfortable giving Gilbert plus. For Snell, it’s an overpay the Mets probably don’t want to pay for an ace on a bad season. There may be other options.
The Mets can change the franchise for the better at this trade deadline. They did that in trading away their aces last year to get a crop of prospects like Gilbert. Now, the question is how does Gilbert now best help this franchise.
This will go down in the annals of trades I care about more than most, but Tyler Stuart was a high cost for Jesse Winker.
Now, to Mets fans Winker is Babe Ruth. This guy just wears out the New York Mets, and there is value in keeping him away from potential first round opponents. Still, a team building long and short term shouldn’t make a trade like this.
Winker is a platoon bat. Even if you want to say he isn’t, that’s likely his role on this team. He’s also on an expiring deal. Players like this are nice when they hit.
Remember back to Tyler Naquin. Mets fans were doing backflips over getting him. That was until he and his .203/.246/.390 batting line proved to be an abject disaster.
Notably, Jose Acuña has a 1.77 Double-A affiliate for the Cincinnati Reds. The 20 year old Hector Rodríguez has a .746 OPS in Single-A. We don’t know what they’ll become, but when Naquin gave the Mets nothing, these prospects were basically just thrown away.
Stuart, 24, had a pedestrian 3.76 for Double-A Binghamton. What you liked was the 2.1 BB/9 against the 9.6 K/9.
He’s predominantly a fastball-slider pitcher with a high swing and miss rate with his slider. Long term, he’s probably a reliever, and with his control, he could rotate between the rotation and bullpen. He’s probably poised to make his Major League Debut sometime in 2025.
To some extent, think José Buttó. Yes, the stuff is different and so is the control. However, Buttó flashed two good pitches in the minors. Now, he’s a solid pitcher in the Mets pen with a promise to become much more.
If we go back to 2022, you’d be tearing your hair out watching Buttó become a good reliever at a time where Carlos Mendoza has to sacrifice a chicken to get through a game where he needs to use more than one reliever, which is every game.
If we want, we can over focus on Winker not hitting in the postseason, but that was just four games. In the inverse, we can look at his good numbers against the Atlanta Braves this season.
The main thing to like about this deal is David Stearns is going for it. He’s not making the Josh Hader mistake with this team. So far, he hasn’t truly impacted the long-term outlook of the team.
That said, he paid a high price for a platoon bat. As we’ve seen time and again, unless you’re Steve Pearce on the 2018 Boston Red Sox, you typically come to regret these deals.
If Winker is Pearce, and the Mets win the World Series, who cares what Stuart does in his career. If the Mets don’t win, this trade was a mistake. Let’s hope this isn’t a mistake.