Yesterday was a wild one in Metsville. The Mets got routed by the Nationals 11-6, despite the Mets hitting four homers in the game, and that’s not even the most memorable part of the day! Before the game was scheduled to start, it was reported that Max Scherzer was being traded to the Rangers. Then there was a period of a couple of hours where the details and the reality of if the trade would happen. This coincided with a rain delay at Citi Field, so everyone’s attention could be on Scherzer and the anniversary of Wilmer Flores getting traded/not traded.
Now the Mets have to pivot from last night’s game to today’s matinee where they can still take the series from the Nationals with a win. Justin Verlander is starting for the Mets today and we already know there are trade rumors around him swirling. Let’s jump into another crazy day of Mets baseball.
Justin Verlander has pitched 89 innings over 15 starts with a 3.24 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 1.146 WHIP and a 128 ERA+. He has been way more Scherzer like in his last six starts with a 1.46 ERA (3.37 FIP) from allowing eight runs, six earned, over 37 innings while striking out 32. In this stretch he has allowed only one homer, compared to eight homers in his previous nine starts. The Nationals have the following career numbers against him:
- Jeimer Candelario 1-7, HR, 4 K, BB
- Corey Dickerson 0-11, 2 K
- Dominic Smith 0-3, K
- Michael Chavis 0-3, 3 K
- Riley Adams 1-2, K
- Lane Thomas 0-2
The Mets bats face a familiar foe this afternoon in Trevor Williams. The former Met has started 21 games and pitched 104 2/3 innings this season for the Nationals putting up a 4.47 ERA, 5.45 FIP, 1.443 WHIP and a 94 ERA+. He’s coming off of a rough start against the Rockies where they were able to tag him for four runs from nine hits over six innings. He’s had some struggles in his last six starts allowing 17 runs over 28 2/3 innings (5.34 ERA), giving up seven homers in that stretch. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Tommy Pham 2-13, 2 2B, HR, 3 K, 2 BB
- Pete Alonso 2-11, 2B, HR, 2 K, BB
- Francisco Lindor 2-12, 2B, 2 K
- Jeff McNeil 3-11, 2B, 2 K, 2 BB
- Brandon Nimmo 1-8, 3 K
- Daniel Vogelbach 2-4, 2 K, BB
- Danny Mendick 2-3, HR, K
- Omar Narváez 2-5, 2B, K
- Brett Baty 3-4, HR, K
- Francisco Álvarez 1-2, K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Is this Verlander’s last start as a Met? On Friday night we wrote the same thing about Scherzer. Between Scherzer’s up and down year and his player option for next year, it just felt very unlikely that the Mets would trade Scherzer. There was much more of a feeling they would end up trading Verlander. Who knows about Verlander today. He definitely fits into what the Mets are looking for in 2024 and he’s playing a lot more like the Verlander we thought we would get lately. At the same time, that could return an amazing prospect or two and we’ve seen with Scherzer that the Mets are not afraid to take on money to get the player they want. Everything is a possibility right now. Verlander could stay with the Mets. He could pitch regularly and be traded on Tuesday. He could be pulled from this start early. He could be a late scratch. Just wild times right now.
- Checking in on our likely to be traded bats. Tommy Pham had a big night at the plate yesterday going 2-for-4 with a homer. Mark Canha went 2-for-3. Both scored a run. As of writing this (9:50 AM), the only notable bats that have been moved in the last week are Carlos Santana, Amed Rosario and Kiké Hernández. The market for bats has not been moving yet at the same speed as pitching. Both Canha and Pham remain on #HugWatch today and probably will get moved once the market gets going.
- Daniel Vogelbach. Are any baseball organizations looking for a DH paying attention to Vogelbach? Since July 6th Vogelbach has had 33 plate appearances and is slashing .333/.394/.567 (.961). He has 10 hits, including a double and two homers while striking out eight times. It’s a small sample size but he’s quietly putting together a nice little run. He’s eligible for arbitration next year and will be a free agent in 2025.
Let’s Go Mets!
