3 things Mets need to do to fix disastrous start to 2026 season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The New York Mets are the storyline of the season so far, with their 12-game losing streak being an incomprehensible storyline.
With such a brutal losing streak, which has the once 7-4 Mets now at 7-16, their odds to make the postseason seem slim to none. But, is there a way to fix this team?
The Athletic's Jim Bowden highlighted three key things the Mets need to do to fix the struggles to begin the season. Those three revolve around Juan Soto, Carlos Mendoza, and Steve Cohen and David Stearns working out some trades.
"Manager Carlos Mendoza is not the problem here and should not take the fall," Bowden writes. "The roster has a lot of issues, and injuries have played a huge factor in their slow start."
While it's easy to pin the blame on Mendoza, the manager who's overseen the brutal start to the season and the late-season collapse in 2025, Bowden doesn't believe this is his fault.
Mendoza hasn't helped the Mets get out of the rut, but the reason for the struggles this season is the injuries and the poor play. It's not Mendoza's fault.
"Once the Mets get Soto, Lindor, Bichette, and Polanco on track, they'll start scoring runs and be more competitive," Bowden writes.
Francisco Lindor and Bo Bichette are off to very slow starts this season, while Jaun Soto and Jorge Polanco were both on the injured list.
Soto is back for the Mets as they try to cut the losing streak to just 12 games, but the Mets will need more than just Soto's return to spark the team moving forward.
They will need Lindor and Bichette to turn things around this season and get a healthy Polanco back in the lineup as well.
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"That said, there are moves they will need to make - whether internally or through trades - to address insufficiencies at the corner outfield spots, the back of their rotation, and their bullpen because those problems aren't going to fix themselves," Bowden writes.
Bowden believes the Mets should be swinging trades and making promotions to bolster the bullpen, rotation, and the corner outfield spots.
With Soto's return, one of the corner outfield spots should be getting a bit better. But the Mets might need to find an upgrade over Carson Benge, who's posted a .416 OPS this season. Tommy Pham has gone 0-for-8, so he's not the answer either.
The Mets could turn to Jonah Tong or one of their other prospects for a promotion instead of a trade to bolster the back-end of the rotation. But, when it comes to the bullpen, the Mets might need to swing a trade with Devin Williams being a disappointment.
Overall, Bowden called out the Mets' need for upgrades in the starting rotation, the bullpen, and the corner outfield spots as one of the ways to fix the Mets team.
He also believes Mendoza isn't at fault and shouldn't be fired. Along with the core four Mets (Polanco, Lindor, Bichette, and Soto), they need to start producing, and the Mets might be able to salvage a bit of the season.
Becoming a postseason contender might be a bit of a stretch, but it's not out of the realm of possibility if the Mets can start turning things around ASAP.
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