Mets' Biggest Red Flags Early in 2024 Season

It's shaping up to be another long year for the New York Mets, who went 22-33 through the season's first 55 games and sat fourth in the NL East standings behind the Washington Nationals entering play on Wednesday.

Red flags abound on the roster.

With the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves both looking like serious contenders, the road ahead is a tough one in the NL East and the Mets are already staring up at a huge deficit in the standings. The team's biggest stars are not hitting, and while the rotation has been better than expected, the bullpen is in a major state of flux.

Let's take a closer look at those notable red flags.

A Potentially Insurmountable Deficit in the NL East

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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 22: Pitcher Jose Quintana #62 of the New York Mets is taken out of the game by manager Carlos Mendoza #64 against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the sixth inning at Oracle Park on April 22, 2024 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Does this feel like a Mets team capable of making up 16 games in the standings?

Even before the calendar flips to June, it feels like they are staring up at an Insurmountable deficit in the standings, especially considering how good the Philadelphia Phillies have looked in building a comfortable 5.5-game lead over the Atlanta Braves.

Clawing back into the wild-card race is a different story, but chalking up the division title as a lost cause two months into the season is generally not the outlook of a team that is destined for a deep postseason run.

The Mets might be sunk before the first day of summer arrives.

A Bullpen in Flux

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 24: Edwin Díaz #39 of the New York Mets reacts after pitching d during the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field on May 24, 2024 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

The return of Edwin Díaz in the closer's role for the Mets has not gone as hoped.

The 30-year-old put together one of the best seasons in MLB history by a reliever in 2023 when he converted 32 of 35 save chances with a 1.31 ERA while striking out 118 of the 235 batters he faced.

That performance earned him a record-setting five-year, $102 million contract, but he spent the entire first season of that deal watching from the sidelines after suffering a knee injury celebrating a win in the World Baseball Classic.

So far this year, he has four blown saves in nine chances while struggling to a 5.40 ERA in 20 appearances, and he was removed from the closer's role shortly before going on the injured list with a shoulder impingement.

Breakout bullpen star Reed Garrett has been a nice surprise, but the relief corps as a whole is now in a state of flux and has suffered three losses and a blown save in the past week.

A Bad Offense

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CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 22: New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) doubles during the ninth inning of the Major League Baseball Interleague game between the New York Mets and Cleveland Guardians on May 22, 2024, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Hot take: The Mets are just not very good at hitting the baseball.

They rank 23rd in team batting average (.232), 22nd in team OPS (.622) and 20th in runs scored per game (4.15), leaving them as a bottom-third team offensively in almost every major category.

Second baseman Jeff McNeil (88 OPS+, .229 BA) and shortstop Francisco Lindor (92 OPS+, .210 BA) are both off to rough starts, and the trio of Starling Marte, Harrison Bader and J.D. Martinez are the only players on the roster with at least 40 plate appearances and a batting average above the .250 mark.

Newcomers Luis Severino and Sean Manaea have helped prop up the starting rotation along with rookie Christian Scott, and even the questionable bullpen has been a strength at times, but the offense has been flat-out bad.