The Boston Red Sox are reportedly firmly in the running for 26-year-old free agent Juan Soto, leaning heavily on their history and the city of Boston to lure the slugger away from larger markets. If the pitch gains traction, it would be a massive blow to the Yankees, who would have to play against him as a rival after failing to re-sign him. 

The New York Post‘s Jon Heyman reported Wednesday that the Red Sox have elected to lead their pitch with a focus on the team’s historical success, specifically with Dominican-born players. Soto would have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Red Sox legends like Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz. 

As an organization, Boston has plenty to boast about in recent years. It won’t take much to convince Soto that the team is a serious contender looking to build a new core around him. Boston is also a large city, one that would allowed Soto to receive nationwide attention for the rest of his career.

For all the trophies and history going into Boston’s pitch for the generational star, however, there will always be an inescapable bottom line to negotiations. Represented by agent Scott Boras and coming off a spectacular season with the Yankees, Soto is almost certain to demand the second-largest contract in the history of baseball, right behind the record-breaking $700 million contract Shohei Ohtani signed last season.

Though the Red Sox have been one of the league’s heaviest spenders in the past, the team has taken a step back in recent years. Boston’s front office infamously declined to extend Mookie Betts, allowing the All-Star outfielder to sign with the Dodgers in 2020. It will be a minor surprise if that same team is the one who goes on to sign Soto to a deal that could exceed $600 million.

While Boston does its best to make Soto feel at home, suitors remain lined up around the block. The Yankees are still looking to re-sign their right fielder, while the Mets and Dodgers both figure as interested buyers that will spare no expense. It will almost certainly take several rounds of negotiations before the picture begins to clear.

The final two games of a three-game series this week between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves have been postponed because of the anticipated effects of Hurricane Helene. The two teams will compete in a doubleheader in Atlanta on Monday – it will likely determine which team will go to the playoffs.

After winning the series’ first game and preparing Cy Young candidate Chris Sale to start Wednesday, the Braves definitely have some momentum that may have been enough to even the odds against the Mets. That being said, New York has been white-hot, and Francisco Lindor has been listed in the Wednesday lineup for the first time in two weeks, which could have also had an impact.

New York still has a one-game lead on Atlanta for the final Wild Card spot and will now play three games against the Milwaukee Brewers, who already clinched the N.L. Central, before returning to Atlanta. 

“We’ve got to move on to the next series now,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of the rain delay. “We’re facing another really good team in Milwaukee, and we’ve got to go out there and not only win a series but we’ve got to go out there and take care of business. That’s the only thing we can do: control the things we control.”

The Braves will stay home for a three-game set against the Royals, who are still fighting for a Wild Card spot in the American League. Braves manager Brian Snitker expressed concern that the hurricane could also affect that series. For now, further changes to the schedule have been made.

In a long-term sense, the postponement is unfavorable for both teams. The first round of the MLB Playoffs begins next Tuesday, and instead of a day of rest, New York and Atlanta will now have to play an extremely meaningful doubleheader the day before. This will wear on both team’s pitching staffs and could also take a psychological toll. Both teams have been wired in a battle against one another for months, making the doubleheader between bitter rivals more of a culmination than the actual postseason in many ways.

To complete a dominant three-game sweep, the New York Mets defeated the Washington Nationals 10-0 Wednesday night to maintain a two-game lead for the last Wild Card spot. With three competitive series to end the regular season, earning a sweep against Washington may make the difference going into October.

After a walkoff 2-1 victory in extra innings Monday, the Mets didn’t waste any more time competing with the Nationals. New York won the next two games over Washington by a 20-1 combined score.

In the win Wednesday, the team scored nine runs in the fourth inning alone, and young prospect Luisangel Acuña hit his second MLB home run later on to punctuate the blowout. Acuña has stepped in for star shortstop Francisco Lindor and performed extremely well, maintaining much-needed momentum for a Mets team missing its leader.

With an 84-68 record and 10 games remaining, the Mets technically hold the second Wild Card spot because of a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Diamondbacks. Both teams are two games ahead of the Braves, who sputtered this week in games against the Dodgers and Reds. The Padres currently hold the first Wild Card spot by another 2.5 games.

After months of clawing their way through the National League, the Mets are finally in a relatively comfortable position. The season is far from over, however. After a four-game series with the Phillies, current leaders in the N.L. East, they will take on the Braves head-to-head in a three-game set that will likely determine the season. Not only are the two teams currently neck-and-neck in the Wild Card race, but they have also split 10 games this season, meaning that the final series will determine a very valuable head-to-head tiebreaker.

After seven games against division rivals, the Mets play the Brewers, leaders in the N.L. Central, in three games to end the season. Milwaukee has already clinched its division but could still pose problems to a Mets team that may be desperately clinging to a postseason berth by then — or fighting for some way back in.

The Mets’ turnaround this season has been the subject of extensive media attention in recent months. While the team’s offensive exploits and Lindor’s MVP campaign have been centerfold stories, however, less has been made of dramatic improvements in their rotation. All five of the team’s starting pitchers have become lights-out hurlers out of nowhere.

New York acquired Sean Manaea in the hopes that he could be a serviceable starter behind ace Kodai Senga. With the Japanese All-Star sidelined, Manaea surprisingly took the ace role himself, adopting new throwing mechanics and finding consistent success. Right behind him, one-year signee Luis Severino has revived his career after a dreadful 2023 season with the Yankees, improving his ERA from 6.65 to 3.77.

For most of this season, Manaea and Severino have been the only reliable arms, but that has changed recently. In Jose Quintana’s last five starts, he has earned a mind-boggling 0.28 ERA, throwing at least six scoreless innings in four of those outings.

David Peterson, notorious for injuries and rocky performances, has been phenomenal since early August, allowing two or less runs in eight of his last nine starts. Against all reason, he has a 9-2 record and 2.85 ERA this year. Even Tylor Megill, New York’s erratic fifth starter, has been steady since returning from injury in last August.

The Mets played the Phillies in Philadelphia last week, and though they competed well, they dropped the last two games by blowing early leads. With the Braves playing the Marlins this weekend, New York will almost certainly have to take a few games from Philadelphia to stay ahead. The more games the team wins now, the more they can afford to give as the series with Atlanta approaches.

Francisco Lindor isn’t stat-padding in his underdog quest to earn National League MVP consideration. With the New York Mets locked in a deadly standoff with the Braves for the last Wild Card spot, Lindor has come through in clutch moments time and again, kickstarting the team to another torrid stretch in September. He delivered again Wednesday night.

With the Mets trailing 1-0 and facing a no-hit bid from Blue Jays pitcher Bowden Francis into the ninth inning, Lindor hit a game-tying, no-hitter-busting solo home run. The Mets, typically lethargic in day games, went on to rally for six runs in the ninth, putting Toronto away and reassuming a one-game lead on Atlanta in the standings.

“It felt really good,” Lindor said after the game. “It was one of those hits that I could tell the vibes in the dugout were lifted.”

Lindor’s case to earn MVP honors in 2024 over Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani can be defended from a statistical standpoint. With a .268 average, 31 home runs and a 6.4 WAR, he has fully recovered from a disastrous start to the season to become the league’s best shortstop.

Ohtani, who is on pace to become the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases, has an obvious, perhaps overwhelming, case as well. But Lindor’s Gold-Glove caliber play at shortstop is also a mark in his favor against Ohtani, who hasn’t played a single inning in the field this year.

Getting away from the statistics, however, fans defending Lindor in this debate have argued that the “valuable” aspect of the MVP award is being overlooked. Ohtani has provided a great deal to the Dodgers in his first season with the team, providing outstanding production at the plate while the team has struggled through a slate of injuries. Without Lindor, however, the argument can be made that the Mets wouldn’t be .500, let alone in playoff contention. His performance in recent months has propelled the team back from obscurity.

At the end of May, the Mets were 11 games under .500. The season was all but over for most fans. Lindor’s struggles were a drop in the ocean of a wholly unproductive New York roster. As leaders for the team’s young hitters, he and J.D. Martinez can likely be credited with saving the season. When they improved, the lineup transformed.

In the month of June, New York went 16-8, getting back to .500 out of nowhere through explosive hitting. As a team that month, the Mets earned a .507 slugging percentage and .865 OPS, both franchise records. Meanwhile, after hitting .210 in April, Lindor batted .290 to kick off the summer. With the help of Grimace, a new hit song from Jose Iglesias and sudden production up and down the lineup, the Mets went from a National League sad sack to an extremely noisy outsider.

At the time, Lindor didn’t receive a single MVP chant. He wasn’t even selected for the All-Star Game, with some claiming that he was snubbed despite his ice-cold spring. In order to seriously enter a race with Ohtani, a generational superstar, Lindor maintained his elite output at the plate and in the field throughout the summer.

The Mets cooled off at times in July and August, but Lindor didn’t. In August, he hit .325 with six home runs and 16 RBIs, many of them coming in close games. All the while, New York continued to make up ground in the Wild Card race.

At the very end of August into September, the Mets made their final breakthrough, winning nine straight games to truly challenge the Braves for the last playoff spot. The two teams have traded wins for the better part of two weeks now, but Lindor’s blast Wednesday night, the same night the Braves dropped a 5-1 game to the Nationals, is yet another crowning moment in his best season since his days in Cleveland.

In all likelihood, Ohtani will make history at the plate and on the base paths this season, and that will be enough for voters to give him his third MVP award. It won’t be undeserved. The fact that it’s even a discussion, however, is a testament to what Lindor has done in a season that once seemed lost, for him as well as his team. The Mets still have a ways to go to improbably land in the playoffs, but they’ve gotten this far and Lindor shows no signs of slowing down. Maybe, just maybe, this sort of value will make a difference.

The Chicago White Sox won a baseball game Wednesday night. With just 32 victories this season, that is certainly news for the franchise in cataclysm, though it may not be enough to keep the team from its historically tragic fate.

While nearly half the league is vying for playoff contention with a month to go in a uniquely competitive season, the White Sox are competing with ancient foes. With a 32-109 record through 141 games, they are trying to avoid becoming the worst MLB team to ever exist. It may come down to the wire.

Let’s meet the competition. Their fates were sealed a long time ago, but with history unfolding in real time, they have risen again. They mark the thresholds that the White Sox cannot cross.

In 1962, their first season as an MLB franchise, the New York Mets earned every bit of their nickname, “The Lovable Losers,” charming baseball-hungry fans in Queens while bumbling their way to a 40-120 record. In doing so, they set the record for most losses in an MLB season.

Forty-six years earlier, in 1916, the Philadelphia Athletics attempted to bounce back from a dreadful 1915 season in which they lost 109 games. They failed in that effort. In Hall-of-Famer Nap Lajoie’s final season, the A’s somehow regressed to earn a 36-117 record. Their .235 winning percentage is still the lowest in league history.

The 1962 Mets and 1916 Athletics often share the dishonor of the worst MLB team ever, as the former has the most losses while the latter has the worst winning percentage. Other historically bad teams, like the 1935 Braves and 2003 Tigers, can claim the worst for coming close in one of the two stats.

With 21 games remaining in the 2024 MLB season, the White Sox are on pace to break both records. In fact, they’re on pace to shatter them.

With 109 losses and a .227 winning percentage, they’re currently projected to end the year with an approximate record of 37-125.

If this comes to pass, there will no longer be a debate. The 2024 White Sox will indisputably be the worst team in 123 years of baseball.

The finer points of the team’s season do not need mentioning. In broad strokes, Garrett Crochet has proven to be a rising star on the mound and everything else has been terrible. The team sold everything that wasn’t nailed down at the trade deadline. No one in the current starting lineup is batting above .250.

The team has had three separate losing streaks of 21, 14 and 12 games, the last of which finally ended this week. An 8-1 win for the team over the Orioles, current A.L. East leaders, on Wednesday, is a much-needed jolt out of the record books. It’s time to make it happen on the field. Unlike their long-gone rivals, the White Sox still have time.

In the grand scheme of things, none of Chicago’s misadventures this season will matter if the team can put a run together to finish the season. If the White Sox can get to 39 wins, they will surpass the all-time low winning percentage. If they can get to 43 wins, which will require an 11-10 record from here on out, they will avoid the losses record. If they can finish strong and accomplish these things, they will simply be remembered as another terrible roster.

Bad teams get forgotten in time; the 2023 Athletics drew historically bad comparisons for a time, but they finished 50-112 and everyone moved on. Being bad in baseball isn’t acceptable, but it is forgettable. Being the worst, on the other hand, is so unimaginable that it must be remembered. These are the stakes for the 2024 White Sox as the record keepers ready their chisels.

The New York Mets defeated the Washington Nationals 7-0 Thursday, completing a three-game sweep at home. With a 47-45 record, New York is now in the final Wild Card spot, the first time the team has been in playoff position since early May.

After a disastrous 0-5 start and a cataclysmically bad month of May, the Mets went on a wildly unexpected run in June, winning 16 of 24 games to catapult themselves back into playoff contention with the best offense in baseball. After a frustrating stretch in early July, the team is back to its winning ways and took care of business against a weaker Nationals team in three games this week.

Outfielder Brandon Nimmo continued his torrid hot streak Thursday, hitting a three-RBI double in the fifth inning to kickstart a five-run rally. Slugger J.D. Martinez had a great day as well, going 3-for-3 with one RBI, two runs and a walk.

On the mound, shaky Mets starter David Peterson escaped a first-inning jam but eventually settled down and threw six scoreless innings. The bullpen, which has been wildly erratic since Edwin Diaz’ 10-game suspension last month, survived a few scares but kept the Nationals in check through the final three frames. It was the Mets’ first shutout victory of the season. They were the last team in MLB to earn one.

After years of elite pitching and mediocre offense, the Mets have completely flipped the script in the 2024 season. Nimmo and Martinez, along with the likes of Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez and Mark Vientos, have formed one of the most potent lineups in the game. Jose Iglesias and Luis Torrens have been revelatory additions to the roster and a credit to the team’s new front office leaders. Slugger Pete Alonso, ironically the team’s only All-Star, has not quite kept pace with many of his teammates but remains a centerpiece.

On the mound, however, New York’s pitching staff has not yet earned anyone’s trust. Reliever Adam Ottavino is a walking heart attack and hot hands Reed Garrett and Jake Diekman have lost form since encouraging starts to the season. Peterson is one of several spot starters that struggle to consistently go beyond five innings. Ace pitcher Kodai Senga has not yet returned from injury.

All is not lost, however. Luis Severino and Sean Manaea have both been consistent starters all season, and Jose Quintana has caught fire in recent starts as well. In the bullpen, Diaz has bounced back from a tough start, injury and suspension to regain some confidence as the team’s closer. Adrian Houser and Jose Butto, who both had failed stints as starters earlier in the season, have found new roles as long relievers.

After cutting bait on several massive contracts last season, New York was always going to be an imperfect team in 2024. That being said, with a tense Wild Card fight on their hands with the Padres and Cardinals, the Mets will likely be surprise buyers at the trade deadline. Importing pitching of any sort could transform this squad from a ‘team of the moment’ to a legitimate playoff contender if the bats can stay hot.

Following a series loss to the Astros and a blown five-run lead to the Nationals Wednesday night, mainstream baseball fans are readily prepared to dismiss the Mets’ June resurgence as a brief respite from mediocrity. These fans may end up being correct, but at the moment, they’re missing what’s right in front of them.

If not for an illogical rule, the Mets would currently be a Wild Card team.

In order to keep things moving, we will have to skip a considerable amount of the discourse surrounding Mets closer Edwin Diaz, who was suspended for 10 games for using an illegal substance on the mound on June 24.

For the sake of argument, let’s assume that he was extremely guilty. He has repeatedly denied this, arguing that he only used rosin. Umpires also didn’t give him the opportunity to wash his hands, as they often do for pitchers with overly sticky hands. But all of that is irrelevant to the real problem here.

If a team loses its best starting pitcher for 10 games, someone would simply have to fill in for a spot start. The pitcher would return after another week and hardly be missed, regardless of his ability. If a team loses its best relief pitcher for 10 games, however, the bullpen implodes.

There are at least three Mets losses in the last week where Diaz would have likely made a difference if he was available. He might have been able to pitch in at least two of those games. Instead, an exhausted bullpen had to carry on without him and struggled.

On June 29, New York allowed five runs in the last two innings against Houston and lost 9-6. The following day, the two teams went to extra innings and the Mets simply ran out of pitching, sending journeyman minor leaguer Matt Festa out to give up five runs in the 11th inning.

On July 1, the team took a 9-2 lead in the top of the 10th inning but still had to have all hands on deck as another minor leaguer, Tyler Jay, nearly blew it as Festa did. New York hung on to win 9-7. On Wednesday night, the team took a 5-0 lead but allowed seven unanswered runs late in the game. Most of these runs were allowed by young starter Christian Scott, who the team left on the mound for the sixth in order to buy the bullpen an additional inning.

All of this led to Thursday when Mets starter Jose Quintana pitched seven innings of shutout baseball before Adrian Houser gave up a solo home run in the eighth and the team lost 1-0.

Even with the wheels falling off late in games, the Mets are still red hot at the plate and firmly in the Wild Card hunt with a 42-43 record. They scored five or more runs for nine straight games between June 23 and July 3. They’re still playing good baseball.

Because Diaz is being treated like a starting pitcher for his offense, however, the team’s remaining relief pitchers are simply being stretched too thin to compete. Diaz will return to the team on July 6, but the damage may already be done. No bullpen in the league needs the All-Star Break more.

Despite elite play from Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, the Yankees have completely stalled in June. After a torrid start to the season, the team’s skid continued Wednesday when the Mets capped off a Subway Series sweep with a dominant 12-2 victory.

There’s always silver linings. Judge hit his 30th home run of the season Wednesday, accounting for both of the Yankees’ runs in the 12-2 loss. The night before, he hit a grand slam to tighten the score to two, though the Mets held on to win 9-7. Soto also hit a home run in the Tuesday game and is currently batting .305.

“It’s baseball,” Judge said after the loss Wednesday. “We play 162 of these things. You are going to have, throughout the season, good times, bad times. But we just have to keep showing up, keep working and we will be where we want to be.”

Judge, the team’s superstar in the midst of another historic season, may be patient as the Yankees struggle. Beyond their top pair, however, the Yankees are failing on a categorical level, proving inept at the plate and extremely shaky on the mound. They are 3-8 in their last 11 games and only a game ahead of the Orioles in the A.L. East division.

Two losses to the Mets would have been tougher to take a month ago, before the Yanks’ crosstown rivals rallied around the power of McDonald’s mascot Grimace and exploded back into playoff contention. Still, with Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil on the mound for two nights at Citi Field, a pair of crushing defeats was not an acceptable result.

In two starts since returning from injury, Cole has contributed to two Yankees losses and earned a 9.00 ERA. Gil, the rising star who took the league by storm through early June, has allowed 12 earned runs in his last two starts, a 17-5 Orioles victory and 12-2 Mets victory. His ERA has ballooned from 2.03 to 3.15 since June 20.

Key contributors around Judge and Soto in the lineup are also coming up woefully short. Third baseman D.J. LeMahieu is batting .172 in June and has proven highly inconsistent in the field. Gleyber Torres, who is playing for his spot on the team in many ways, is batting .176 in the same span. Sluggers Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton are both out with injuries.

The only reason New York still has control of the A.L. East is because Baltimore has also lost momentum in recent weeks. The team will be looking at a Wild Card spot within a week if it can’t turn things around.

SNY broadcaster and former MLB star Keith Hernandez was visually emotional Tuesday night after the news broke that Giants legend Willie Mays passed away at 93. Hernandez grew up in the Bay Area and watched Mays as a child.

“The best player I’ve ever seen. The greatest player,” Hernandez said, his voice cracking several times as he continued. “An extraordinarily good five-tool player. You’d go to a game, he’d do something. A great catch, a great throw, a stolen base, hit a home run, or he’d do it all. He was just that kind of player.” 

The news of Mays’ passing affected many fans the same way, but few of these reactions were captured in real time over the air. Hernandez’s touching tribute to a player he idolized as a child reached hundreds of thousands of viewers and reflected Mays’ meaning to the game.

When Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons in the Negro Leagues in 1948, he was still in high school and already earning attention from several major league teams. He joined the Giants in 1951, earning the N.L. Rookie of the Year award, but left the team in 1952 to serve in the Korean War. Upon his return in 1954, he was named the N.L. MVP and led the Giants to a World Series victory. He didn’t miss another All-Star Game until his retirement in 1973.

Mays remained with the Giants when they relocated from New York to San Francisco in 1958. There, he spent most of his career playing on the West Coast in front of Hernandez and millions of new California baseball fans.

As Hernandez and others noted during SNY’s broadcast, Mays also had a special connection to the Mets, as the all-time great spent the end of his career in Queens. As part of the agreement to acquire Mays in 1972, Mets owner Joan Whitney Payson promised to retire his number. She died soon after, however, leaving the promise unfulfilled for 50 years. In 2022, current owner Steve Cohen made good on the deal, finally retiring No. 24.

“Willie Mays was one of the greatest to ever play the game,” the Cohen family said in a statement Tuesday. “Willie ended his Hall of Fame career in Queens and was a key piece to the 1973 N.L. championship team. Mays played with a style and grace like no one else. Alex and I were thrilled to honor a previous promise from Joan Payson to retire his iconic #24 as a member of the Mets in 2022. On behalf of our entire organization, we send our thoughts and prayers to Willie’s family and friends.”

Mays ended his professional career with 660 home runs, and many speculate that he could have hit many more in modern-day ballparks. As long as baseball remains a cultural institution, the “Say Hey Kid” will be remembered as an icon.

With the New York Mets’ season teetering and their postseason hopes diminishing, president of baseball operations David Stearns emphasized patience as the team navigates its early-season woes. Stearns indicated that he is still weighing whether to push for a playoff spot with the current roster or to trade veterans as the July 30 deadline approaches.

“Generally, the trade deadline becomes an inflection point in the season,” Stearns said to ESPN, “And we’ve got plenty of time before that.”

The Mets, who entered Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 22-30 record, find themselves 14.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East and 4.5 games from the third NL wild-card spot. Their recent performance has been dismal, losing 10 of their last 13 games and 11-22 since catcher Francisco Álvarez suffered a thumb ligament tear the previous month.

This downturn comes despite the Mets boasting MLB’s most expensive payroll, exceeding $300 million. Stearns acknowledged the team’s underperformance: “We haven’t played like a playoff team. And I think that’s the reality of how we’ve played here through the first 50 games. That doesn’t mean we won’t, but we’ve got to show it and I think we have a group of players that is very committed to that goal.”

Stearns, who was hired last September, inherited a high-cost roster that was wrapping up a disappointing season, which included trading star pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at the deadline.

The 2024 season has seen significant struggles from key players. Right-hander Kodai Senga, last season’s NL Rookie of the Year runner-up, was shut down with a shoulder injury during spring training and hasn’t pitched this year. His return is not expected before the All-Star break due to a recent setback. Francisco Álvarez, one of the league’s top young catchers, has been limited to 16 games.

In the third year of a ten-year, $341 million contract, Francisco Lindor is batting .210 with seven home runs and a .646 OPS. In the third year of an eight-year, $162 million deal, Brandon Nimmo is hitting .217 with a .760 OPS. First baseman Pete Alonso, a free agent after this season, leads the team with 12 home runs and a .768 OPS but is batting just .230.

Alonso is a potential trade candidate without a long-term deal, especially as he remains a fan favorite and a three-time All-Star. Stearns could also move other veterans for prospects if the team doesn’t improve. Potential trade candidates include starting pitchers Luis Severino, Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana; outfielders Starling Marte and Harrison Bader; relievers Jorge Lopez, Jake Diekman, Adam Ottavino and Reed Garrett; and designated hitter J.D. Martinez.

“Nothing’s changed with Pete’s situation,” Stearns said. “Our goal is, daily, to help this team succeed as much as possible so we can win as many games as possible. And that’s where I expect we’ll continue to be.”

The Mets have two months to alter their trajectory and avoid a second consecutive year of midseason sell-offs.

The New York Mets announced Thursday that relief pitcher Jorge Lopez will be designated for assignment after getting ejected, throwing his glove into the stands and delivering a bizarre outburst to reporters after the game. Lopez was one of several Mets relievers that turned a 3-3 ball game against the Dodgers into a 10-3 blowout loss Wednesday.

When Lopez was asked after the game if he regretted throwing his glove into the stands on his way to the dugout, the intention behind his answer is still partially unclear. At the very least, he didn’t regret throwing the glove.

“I don’t regret it. I think I’ve been looking [like] the worst teammate probably in the whole MLB,” Lopez said, according to the Associated Press.

The reporter’s interpretation of Lopez’s quote is forgiving of the reliever, removing an expletive and trusting Lopez’s clarification after the fact. SNY’s Steve Gelbs initially reported that Lopez said something very different.

“I don’t regret it. I think I’ve been on the worst f***ing team probably in the whole MLB,” Lopez said, according to Gelbs. During that interview, Gelbs asked him for clarification and he affirmed what Gelbs had heard. On Thursday morning, however, Lopez went on social media and claimed that he said “teammate,” which the Associated Press reported instead.

Regardless of what Lopez meant in his expletive-laced rant, the Mets deemed his behavior unacceptable and claimed that they took the entire incident into account when cutting him. In addition to possibly insulting the team, he also got ejected for arguing a check swing call and threw his glove into the stands. He seemed to understand his fate after the game.

“Whatever happened, happened. Whatever they want to do,” Lopez said. “I’ll be here tomorrow if they want me, whatever they want me to do. I’m going to keep doing this thing. I’m healthy and whatever they want to do.”

The 10-3 loss, including seven unanswered Dodgers runs, completed a three-game Dodgers sweep. New York was within striking range often in the series but allowed 12 combined runs beyond the eighth inning across the three games. The team fell to 22-33 on the season, continuing a horrendous skid in which they’ve gone 4-15 since May 10.

The New York Mets completed a three-game sweep against the Pittsburgh Pirates Wednesday, winning 9-1 in yet another impressive offensive showing. After starting the season 0-5, New York is now two games above .500 and vying for second in the NL East.

Following an underwhelming off-season in which the team missed out on big names like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani, the Mets began the 2024 MLB season with five straight losses. Between poor hitting and average pitching, made worse by the absence of injured ace Kodai Senga, it seemed like the team was planning to limp its way to 2025.

In 13 games since, however, New York has gone 10-3, winning four straight series against the Reds, Braves, Royals and Pirates. The team’s offense has picked up considerably and pitchers have held opposing teams to three runs or less in seven games since April 5.

In the Mets’ latest victory over the Pirates, completing the sweep, all of the team’s improvements were on full display. All but one of New York’s batters recorded a hit, and outfielders Starling Marte and Harrison Bader both hit home runs to put Pittsburgh away. Both players were major question marks entering the season, as Marte was coming off a nagging injury last year and Bader was a speculative off-season acquisition.

Meanwhile, the Mets’ pitching staff kept the Pirates in check all day. Starter Luis Severino allowed a single unearned run in six innings of work. Star closer Edwin Diaz was not required, nor were many of New York’s premier relievers, as Jorge Lopez, Jake Diekman and Grant Hartwig shut down the Pirates late to preserve the blowout win.

The Mets are still not a perfect team by any means. They still appear lightweights in a stacked National League in many respects. Star shortstop Francisco Lindor has improved slightly in recent weeks, but he is still hitting just .151 in 85 plate appearances.

However, the Mets have mostly completely rebounded from their early-season slump, proving that they can compete with some of MLB’s best teams. Starting Friday, the Mets will play a series on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which may put the resurgent NL East team to the test.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred expressed confidence Thursday that an investigation would not reveal collusion between the New York Mets and Yankees. His comments came after a report Wednesday that the MLBPA believed the teams’ tacit agreement around free agent Aaron Judge violated the league’s collective bargaining agreement.

The MLBPA’s original claim involved a report from SNY which stated that owners Hal Steinbrenner and Steve Cohen would not engage in a bidding war for Judge because of a mutual respect for one another. If true, the MLBPA believes that this could violate a statute in the CBA which states, “Clubs shall not act in concert with other Clubs.”

Despite concerning the MLBPA, Manfred said that he did not suspect that the investigation into communications between Steinbrenner and Cohen would reveal any wrongdoing on either side.

“I was a labor [lawyer] first and labor rule one is you want to make sure when you make an agreement, you live up to the agreement,” Manfred said. “I’m absolutely confident that the clubs behaved in a way that was consistent with the agreement. This was based on [an internet] report.”

Reports about the Mets pursuing Judge after seven seasons in the Bronx have been circulating for months but have also consistently clarified that Cohen and the Mets had no intention of actually making a move to sign him. The usual reason given was that Cohen did not want to interfere with a crosstown rival over their franchise player.

Communications between Cohen and Steinbrenner that will be investigated by MLB will likely include emails, phone records and text messages. The league’s investigation is supposed to determine the Mets’ motivation for not pursuing Judge and whether those motivations constitute collusion.

“We will put ourselves in a position to demonstrate credibly to the MLBPA that this is not an issue,” Manfred said. “I’m sure that’s gonna be the outcome. But obviously we understand the emotion that surrounds that word [collusion] and we’ll proceed accordingly.”

Max Scherzer regularly delivers blistering performances on the mound.

But PitchCom has him bothered. It is a piece of technology that features a keypad that catchers use to request pitches without using hand signals. It was introduced this season to lessen signs-stealing and speed up the game, but it is an extension of the league’s wariness after the 2017 Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.

PitchCom has many favorable reviews from players around the league. Yankees pitcher Michael King said earlier this year, “We all love it. We actually want the catchers to give us signs faster. We’re thinking about it, like after he throws the ball back to me, I’d rather know it right then. It gives you time to think about the pitch and throw it with conviction. I come set knowing that I have no doubt in my mind that the catcher is thinking something different than me.”

Scherzer on the other hand is not a fan of the new tech. “For me, I’ve always taken pride in having a complex system of signs and having that advantage over other pitchers,” Scherzer said. “The fact that we’re taking this out of the game and we’re just putting in technology, now everybody — you can’t steal signs on second, the pitcher can’t have an advantage of having a complex system. It’s part of baseball trying to crack someone’s signs. Does it have its desired intent that it cleans up the game a little bit? Yes, but I also feel like it takes away part of the game,” the 38-year-old said.

While Sherzer’s comments may seem outright dismissive of the new technology, he did provide some insight on whether he would be using PitchCom in the future, “I don’t know. I’ll think about it. I might.”

On Wednesday evening, Marcus Stroman broke the news himself via Twitter that he signed a three-year, $71 million deal with the Chicago Cubs. Stroman, 30, will make $25 million in 2022, $25 million in 2023 and $21 million in 2024. The deal also included $2 million escalators for 160 innings pitched in 2022 and 2023 and an opt-out after the 2023 season.

During the 2021 season with the New York Mets, Marcus Stroman posted a 3.02 ERA across 179 innings and 33 starts. Throughout his career with both the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets, Stroman accumulated a career 3.63 ERA. In 2017, Stroman won a Gold Glove in 2017 and was an All-Star in 2019.

Stroman was one of the top starters available in free agency this past winter. However, the market picked up this past week ahead of baseball’s work stoppage, which will freeze all things baseball until further notice. As a result, many pitchers flew off the free-agent market, especially starters.

In addition to Stroman, Robbie Ray, Kevin Gausman, southpaw Steven Matz, superstar Max Scherzer and Jon Gray are among the starting pitchers that reached deals before the lockout began.

Stroman will be joining a Chicago Cubs team that, back in July, seemed to have been heading towards a rebuild. After trading their superstars Javier Baez, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, it was hard to see the Cubs going in any other direction. However, the moves they have made so far this winter, including the signings of Marcus Stroman and the addition of starter Wade Miley off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds, have proven otherwise.

Both Stroman and Miley help the north side of Chicago address their most significant offseason need: starting pitching. These moves and the signings of outfielder Clint Frazier and veteran catcher Yan Gomes give off the sense that the Chicago Cubs are looking to be a competitive ball club in 2022.

Mets power pitcher Noah Syndergaard made his season debut on Tuesday against the Miami Marlins, his first start since undergoing Tommy John surgery on March 26, 2020. Thor pitched one inning, striking out two batters without allowing a baserunner, his fastball topping out at 96 mph.

Syndergaard received a standing ovation before taking the mound and another one after retiring all three batters.

The 2016 All-Star acknowledged how moved he was by the support displayed by the Mets faithful. Syndergaard’s start came with one day short of his previous appearance with the Mets. He was initially expected to return to the mound in June, however, his recovery was derailed by a sore elbow in May and then a positive COVID-19 test in August despite being vaccinated.

“When I was walking out of the dugout, hearing the fans, I almost had to shed a little tear,” he stated. “I’m not really an emotional guy, but it definitely got to me.”

Syndergaard will be an unrestricted free agent after the end of this year. Fortunately for Mets fans, the 29-year-old has expressed his desire to continue competing in the Big Apple.

“I’m fairly confident we’ll reach an agreement and I’ll be pitching here next year,” he said.

On September 13, ESPN premiered the highly anticipated four-part 30 for 30 documentary about the iconic 1986 New York Mets. Directed by Nick Davis and executive produced by Jimmy Kimmel, Once Upon a Time in Queens takes Mets fans on a thrilling trip down memory lane, interweaving the key developments that set the foundation for the team’s eventual 1986 World Series title with the socio-economic and cultural transformations simultaneously occurring in New York.

Once Upon a Time in Queens shows incredible archival footage of the ’86 season, particularly a never-before-seen shot of Mookie Wilson that tracks the outfielder from the batter’s box to the clubhouse after hitting the famous Game 6 groundball. It also includes entertaining unfiltered interviews featuring the Miracle Mets’ most colorful personalities. Keith Hernandez recounting tales of Gary Carter‘s bravado, all the while petting his cat Hadji, and Lenny Dykstra giving his take on anything are well worth the watch.

However, the film doesn’t shy away from capturing the more troubling themes that partly contributed to the Mets’ decline, such as players’ drug usage and the unfettered pursuit of hedonism.

I was fortunate enough to get to speak with Mookie Wilson and get his opinion on the documentary. When asked about how this project differs from other ones made about the ’86 Mets, Wilson said, “It is different because there’ve been like millions of articles and books about that team, but it was from a literal perspective. This was actually visual, and I think people get a better understanding of the characters and what made that team special … We don’t have to interpret what the words mean, the context and the atmosphere in which the words were written … It was much more interesting because that’s the first time I’ve ever seen it like that, and the guys themselves actually talk about the situations.”

Given that Wilson played for the Mets from 1980 until 1989, there weren’t any details presented in Once Upon a Time in Queens that surprised him. However, he acknowledged that the accounts of some of the players’ paternal issues, namely regarding Hernandez and Strawberry, were insightful.

“I met Keith’s brother —I’ve never met his father —so I got a little bit more information about how that relationship was,” he said. “And Straw, I never met his father, I met his mother and his brother, heard about him but that was it.”

As to what fans and young players should take away from the documentary, Wilson reasoned, “I feel simply, if you don’t pay attention to your history, it’s destined to repeat itself. Hopefully, young players, and fans as well, will not make the same mistakes. I think anyone will tell you that the biggest question is — as great as that team was — why didn’t we win more? Why didn’t we win another World Series? And basically, we kind of self-destructed…. “Don’t let success be the main obstacles, you can be a victim of your own success and I think that’s what the Mets were.”

Wilson explained that the film also provides a lesson in team management, a nod to then-general manager Frank Cashen’s decision to release Kevin Mitchell amid his purported negative influence on Strawberry and Gooden.

“Where the club did get kind of sidetracked with a lot of different things was that management overreacted. ‘We may not be able to fix this so let’s just get rid of em.’ Which was the wrong thing instead of trying to work within internally. So there’s a lesson there for everybody, players, management.”

“I think everyone had the same impression that I had about Mitchell and how he was actually misunderstood by management,” he said. “That’s something I already knew but to see the other players felt the same way, that was good because we never really talked about it.”

Once Upon a Time in Queens can be streamed on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

On Monday in front of reporters Mets’ pitcher, Marcus Stroman announced that he would be opting out of the 2020 season after reaching the required number of service hours to be eligible for free agency. Stroman primarily cited coronavirus concerns as his reason for opting out, “There’s just too many uncertainties, too many unknowns right now to go out there, and truly just put the health for my family and myself first and foremost,” he said.

While Stroman had yet to reach his true star potential, he was a first-time all-star in 2019 and even received Cy Young votes in 2017. This comes a week after another Mets player Yoenis Cespedes opted out without telling the team that he planned to do so. This is a big blow for the Mets who have not made the playoffs since 2016 and have their best chance this season with the larger playoff format with the number of teams qualifying going up from 10 to 16.

In what would usually be a case of classic Mets bad luck and ineptitude is now just another entry in what has been a disastrous restart by the MLB. When the New York Mets played the Atlanta Braves on Sunday outfielder Yoenis Cespedes failed to show up, and the team reported that they had not been able to get in contact with him. After the game finished with the Braves winning 4-0, the team reportedly sent a security team to Cespedes’ hotel room to check on him. Cespedes’ manager informed the team that he is opting out of the season.

While this is clearly the least professional way to go about this with Cespedes treating the team like a seventh-grade girlfriend that he doesn’t have the emotional maturity to break up with, it still reflects poorly on the Mets and the league as a whole which is currently hanging by a thread after outbreaks in Marlins and Cardinals clubhouses.

I can’t fault the two-time All-Stars’ decision but this was about the worst way that he could have gone about it. With the way that things are going for the MLB, I can’t see them pushing forward for that much longer unless they blatantly do not care how many people get infected or choose to leave.

The New York Mets have been on the market for over half a year now. Team owner Jeff Wilpon has made it clear that there will be some sort of transaction upcoming. Since the deal made between the Mets and Long Island billionaire Steve Cohen fell through, there have been many rumors about potential buyers. From celebrities to owners of other sports teams, let’s take a look at some of the rumored buyers of the New York Mets.

Alex Rodriguez & Jennifer Lopez

Was Hollywood’s power couple about to become the power couple of Queens? The couple has been in the mix of buying the team for a couple months now but their interest has gone ‘on and off.’ Together their net worth is $700 million. It would seem like a great fit knowing that Rodriguez is still very much involved in baseball after retiring from playing in 2016. It seems ideal for a guy who had such a great career and re-shaped his image in recent years to be a great owner and be very much involved with the team. As of this moment sources claim that the couple known as ‘J-Rod’ are currently uninterested after negotiations did not go their way. Even though it may seem unlikely right now, the two could still be in the mix to buy the team.

Josh Harris & David Blitzer

An under the radar group that has popped up this week is Josh Harris and David Blitzer of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. Harris has a net worth of $4.9 billion and Blitzer’s is about $1.3 billion. The group currently owns the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. It was reported last week that Harris and Blitzer have been thinking about buying the Mets but talks have intensified over the last week. This seems like the most logical fit to buy the team as Harris and Blitzer already own two other major sports franchises. There are also very hands on with both teams they own which is what Mets fans want and are not getting with their current ownership.

Steve Cohen

Mets fans were excited when billionaire Steve Cohen and the Mets were working on a $2.6 billion transaction. But fans were later disappointed when it fell through in February due to Wilpon’s reluctance to sell the rights to the Mets television network SNY. Even though Cohen backed out for this reason he is still considered a dark horse to buy the Mets. After all he is still the guy Mets fans want to own the team. Cohen would be the richest of these options with a net worth of $14 billion. He even has a little history with the Mets. He invested $20 million in 2012 which grew to a $90 million value in 2017. He is also a life-long Mets fan who was born on Long Island. Who knows whether Cohen is still interested but he is the favorite among the fans.

Will A Deal Get Done Soon?

At this point, Wilpon is desperate and fans want him out. But who will buy the team? Many suitors have been interested for months now but due to reluctance by Wilpon a deal is yet to be reached. Right now it’s anyone’s game to buy the team and Mets fans should see a new owner very soon.