Anthony DiComo, MLB.com’s Mets beat reporter, held an “Ask Me Anything” this week on Reddit with Mets fans at r/NewYorkMets. This mailbag features excerpted questions and answers from that event (some lightly edited for clarity). The full AMA is available to read here.
Why was Juan Soto reported picking fights with the penguins in the Central Park Zoo? I’ll hang up and listen.
All right, I’ll give this an answer, since it’s certainly worth discussing The Juan Soto Thing. The short answer is that I don’t know how this contract will turn out. Have the first two months been ideal? No, of course not. But Soto has played out about 2% of his contract so far, the underlying offensive metrics are great and it seems inevitable that he’ll turn things around sooner rather than later. Good, good, good.
Regarding thoughts that Soto doesn’t want to be here, I can’t read the man’s mind. Maybe there’s some buyer’s remorse, which would be natural for anyone who has ever made a major decision in their life. But I’d really, truly hope people give this the perspective of time. Take Francisco Lindor, for example. Remember his first season as a Met? Lindor hit .230 in what was easily his worst full year as a professional to date. He injured his right oblique. He created an unnecessary firestorm with his “thumbs down” insult to fans and his “rat/raccoon” fiasco with Jeff McNeil. It was bad.
Since that time, Lindor has recognized his shortcomings and worked to fix them, both on and off the field. He's beloved now by the fan base, and if all keeps going at this rate, he will one day deservedly have his No. 12 hanging from the top of Citi Field.
This is just one example, but I think it’s an important one given both its recency and similarity to Soto’s situation. Give the man some time. If we’re still having this conversation a year from now, then you have my permission to worry.
Who do you think could get a callup soon? Hitting- and pitching-wise?
Hitting-wise, the obvious answer is Ronny Mauricio (Mets' No. 9 prospect). He has taken to Triple-A like a fish to water his first two games there, and he has already proven that he can hit in the Majors. As soon as Mauricio shows that his right knee can handle a full position-player workload (i.e. playing nine innings five to six times per week), I think he'll be up -- though understand that could be a while yet. He's going to continue to hit down at Syracuse in the interim.
Pitching-wise, it's entirely possible you won't see any top prospects reach the Majors for a while. With Paul Blackburn, Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea all due back over the next four to five weeks, the Mets are facing a significant rotation crunch. Add in the fact that Brandon Sproat (Mets' No. 2 prospect, No. 68 overall in MLB) has been quite inconsistent at Triple-A and Nolan McLean (Mets' No. 5 prospect) is brand new to the level, and I think it could be a bit before we see either in the Majors. (That said, both are reasonable candidates to be there at the end.)
Is there anything you can tell us about the internal discussion about the upcoming rotation crunch? Such as Tylor Megill’s place, whether it's the ’pen or Syracuse, or whether they even view Paul Blackburn as a relief option?
This truly is a "we'll worry about it when we get there” situation. That's not to say team officials aren't talking about it now and going over possibilities, but the Mets don't need to make any rotation decisions for a couple of weeks. So there's little point in doing so now, when a lot can happen in the interim.
Of course, the intriguing stuff begins Wednesday night, with Blackburn starting his final rehab game at Syracuse and Megill going at Fenway. If Megill has another clunker, might the Mets consider replacing him in the rotation? Maybe, but that's actually a bit shortsighted for multiple reasons. One, Megill's next start would come against the White Sox, which is obviously a soft landing spot for him. Two, Blackburn is the perfect candidate to make a spot start the first week of June, when New York will need to insert a sixth starter to keep Kodai Senga on his sixth day.
That situation won't come up again until the Mets' June 17-26 stretch of games, by which point Montas should be ready. So it behooves New York to keep Megill in the rotation for at least a while longer, regardless of how he pitches in Boston. And maybe he'll surprise you. It was just a few weeks ago, after all, that Megill was coming off a really strong April.
What are your thoughts on the Mets’ hitting coaches? The hitters’ approach with men on base and runners in scoring position under their watch has been atrocious.
I don't think that's a fair characterization. Were they awful last year when the Mets ranked seventh in the league in total offense? Were they awful when they helped engineer Mark Vientos' breakout and Lindor's MVP-caliber season, or only now that some players are scuffling a bit to start the year? Were they awful when Pete Alonso had a transcendent April, or only now that he has fallen back to earth a bit in May?
Look, these are tough jobs. And yes, there are no lifetime appointments here; if the offense continues to struggle, eventually, coaches will come under fire. But now is absolutely not that time, eight weeks into a season that has seen the Mets hold first place for most of it.
Last year, if you remember, people wanted Jeremy Hefner's head in the first half of the season. Now, he's beloved. In a rare bit of continuity, the Mets kept their entire coaching staff around over the offseason, and they did so for a reason. You may be sensing a theme with some of my answers here, but let's let things play out a bit more before calling for people's heads.
What is your favorite moment you personally have covered?
Wow, tough one. I'd probably say either the Wilmer Flores walk-off homer at the 2015 Trade Deadline, or David Wright's home run in his first game back in Philly later that year. Alonso's home run last Oct. 3 in the National League Wild Card Series in Milwaukee was up there as well. All three were games I won't forget anytime soon.