Archive.fm

Locked On Mets - Daily Podcast On The New York Mets

New York Mets Throttle the New York Yankees in Subway Sweep

Duration:
34m
Broadcast on:
27 Jun 2024
Audio Format:
mp3

The New York Mets are finally back to .500, doing so in emphatic fashion, completing a Subway Series sweep of the New York Yankees and winning by double-digits.

Host Ryan Finkelstein breaks down the game and the continued emergence of Francisco Alvarez into becoming a star player.  

Also, are the Mets sticking with their same five-man rotation through the All-Star break?  

 

JOIN THE LOCKED ON METS INSIDER COMMUNITY: https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonmets 

 

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

Tax Network USA
Reduce your tax debt and get help from a team of licensed tax professionals call 1-800-549-1000 or visit TNUSA.com/lockedon.

Booking.com
The right stay can make you a fan of any US city - even your rival’s. Book today on Booking.com on the site or in the Booking.com app! Booking.com, Booking dot YEAH!

 

LinkedIn
Right now, you can try LinkedIn Sales Navigator and get a sixty-day free trial at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDON.

PrizePicks
Go to https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONMLB and use code lockedonmlb for a first deposit match up to $100!

SupplyHouse
SupplyHouse.com is the reliable way to get parts fast. Shop for your next plumbing, h-vac, or electrical job and get fast shipping from coast to coast.

eBay Motors
From brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.

FanDuel
FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY!That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDONand add a big win to your summer bucket list!

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

[MUSIC PLAYING] It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. A subway series sweep in the Mets are back to 500. Let's talk about it on today's show. [MUSIC PLAYING] You are locked on Mets. You're daily New York Mets podcast. Part of the Lofton Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all you amazing Mets fans. You're listening to Lockdown. That's part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. You're team every day. They even make it like to all Mets your first listen every day. Lockdown Mets is available on all platforms, including YouTube. How about your New York Mets back to 500 and doing it in convincing fashion against the New York Yankees of all teams? Let's talk about the blowout in the first segment. Second segment, let's talk about the superstar catcher the Mets seem to have, as Francisco Alvarez looks to be as good as any one of the game right now. So we'll go through what he's done lately. Then in the final segment, what's up with the pitching? What are the Mets trying to do here? Who's going to be in the bullpen? Who's staying in the rotation? We'll talk about all the latest on that front. Before we get to any of it, though, I'm your host Ryan Ficklestein. If you want to find any of my work, follow me on exit Ficklestein. Ryan can also find some of my writing at justbassable.com, where I work as the managing editor. This episode of Lockdown Mets is brought to you by booking.com. Booking. Yeah. The right stay can make you a fan of any city, even your rivals. Check out booking.com for your stay today. Wow. The New York Mets from 11 games under 500 took back to even with an unbelievable month of June where this team has become the best offense in all of baseball, and they just beat the pants off the New York Yankees. Sure. Does that look like the Yankees team that was for a long time this year, the best team in the game? No. That is a lineup that is down to two really great players and a lot of bad ones beyond that. It is not the team. I don't believe that was reeling off victories. But for the one that we got to see, man, there's no competition. The Mets are just better than the Yankees. Yeah, sure, you look at the records. You can tell me all you want about why the Yankees are a better team, Yankees fans. But Sterling did look like it for a two game series because, man, the New York Mets just took it to the Yankees. And to two really good starting pitchers, maybe Luis Hill is coming down to Earth. The Orioles beat him up good. Now the Mets did, but you have to credit this team when you go up against the Padres with Dylan C's. I keep talking about this, but it's worth mentioning. The Rangers with John Gray in great all year. The Cubs with Shota and Menaga have been great all year. Garrett Cole, Luis Hill. When you just keep on checking off boxes at a certain point, you could no longer make excuses for the pitcher and use it to tip your cap to a Mets lineup. That's absolutely rolling. And that's what we saw again. We could talk about Sean Menaya with an uneven, but good start and everything else, the defense that was great behind him. But it's the bats. This team right now is predicated on the bats. If they're going to do anything this year, it is because of that. It's because this lineup, all of a sudden, looks so deep, so talented. The top four has clicked in, and it's just amazing to watch them go to work, game in, game out between Lindor, Nemo, J.D. Martinez and Pinalonzo all looking comfortable, all giving you good at bats. They don't always have it each game, each individual guy, but the collective of the four of them, they're getting something from those guys every single game. And then now you have these spark plugs, these kids in Francisco Alvarez and Marc Vientos, who just keep coming through and are looking like future stars in this league. So when you add that to the mix, now six of your nine hitters are dangerous. And Harrison Bader has been awesome for the Mets this year. His defense and center field is great, and he's had so many big games. He looked at the overall stats, and he's not going to blow you away, but he's certainly swinging a hot bat right now. He had a home run of this game. It was just top to bottom, domination for you New York Mets, and to go through how it all went down, Francisco Lindor had his patented lead off double to start the game. The Mets actually load the bases in the first, were unable to score. Lindor said, you know what? Let's try that thing again in the third inning, another lead off double. And this one actually started a rally that had more legs to it. Brendan Imo drew a walk, J.D. Martinez singled in Lindor. Pinalonzo hit into a double play. So it seemed like only one run would come across. And Francisco Alvarez hit a two run homer. Guys, unbelievable. Opposite field homerun too for Alvarez. You don't see a lot of that. Typically his power comes pulsed side. Well, when you're feeling good as Alvarez is in the box, all of a sudden everything opens up to you. He also had an opposite field double in the fifth inning to drive in. Brendan Nemo, who drew a walk to lead off the inning. Pinalonzo had walked as well before Alvarez's double. He was standing on third after Alvarez hit that double. Then Tyrone Taylor drew a walk to load the bases. Mark Fiento's bases loaded. Walk to score another. Jeff McNeil, sack fly. Harrison Bader, RBI double. Then that's up seven nothing in the fifth inning. And Sean Maniah was good. I mean, we will acknowledge it was a typical Maniah star where he makes you want to pull your hair out at certain points. Maybe that's why he cut all his off before the season. I don't know. But man, it can be frustrating. In the first inning, as the Mets had not come up to bat yet, and he's pitching us the Yankees and he walks the bases loaded, I was thinking, man, I want the Mets to trade this guy to deadline because I just don't want to watch a pitching anymore. And there's been a lot of talk of that. The buyers and sellers of the Mets could be at this deadline. How they could trade from their surplus to starting pitching to either do other things or to get some prospects. And Maniah is a guy that I had circled and say, I want to see him dealt because he has a player option for next year. And he could be frustrating. And then also, he can get some really big outs. And you have to give him a lot of credit because by the end of the game, I was like, man, I love Sean Maniah in this rotation. I get a huge double play to get out of that inning in the first. It was five innings, a lot of two hits, walked five, but a lot of them in the first inning there had double plays in the, what was it? The second and the, so the second and 33 double plays that were huge for him, just sort of killing rallies from the Yankees. So it was, again, five innings, two hits, no runs, five walks, three strikeouts. And he was five and dive, but a part of that was the fact that he had a lopsided game. And you end up going to Danny Young, thinking you might have a better chance getting that one, Soto, Aaron Judge. Danny Young in that spot there. I'm trying to actually remember now, was that before or after the rain delay? I felt the rain delay was when the Mets was hitting, no? There's a lengthy rain delay in this one. I'm sure some people could come back at me and tell me I'm wrong about this one. My memory's getting fuzzy because I'm sort of thinking back, like, why executive and I only go five, and I think he was at like 77 pitches. Regardless, it doesn't matter. It was a 12 to two game when it's all said and done. Danny Young goes up against Soto and Judge. He fails. No shame in that. He walks Soto, gives up a two run homer to Judge, and that was it. That was all the day I was eating, 'cause it against the Mets in this game. I will shout out Adam Avino on the pitching side, 'cause he did a really nice job after Young. I think he got a strikeout and a give a base hit, and then they go to Avino, and he looked very sharp, which is good to see, 'cause the Mets are gonna need him. We'll talk about this in the final segment. Drew Smith, heading to the aisle now, or went to the aisle today with an elbow injury. So, you're gonna need Avino at least for the next couple of weeks here. So, good to see him having a nice day. There was the rain delay, like I mentioned. I believe it was in the bottom of the six. Tyrone Taylor coming out of the delay, hit a three run homer. So, it was just more Mets dominance. Bottom of the seventh, Harrison Bader hit a lead off homer. Eighth inning, you had singles by Peter Lanzo, Luis Torens, who gave Francisco Alvarez a much needed couple innings off at the end of that game. And then Mark Vientos, RBI situation, huge hole on the right side to the second baseman, the first baseman, they were playing on pole side. Went the other way, shot a single through, got another RBI, and that was the 12th run of the game. And also, Adrian Houser gets a saving this one for covering the final three innings, and they were all scoreless by Houser. So, unbelievable team, when you're back to 500, you are one and a half games out of the wildcard because the Padres and the Cardinals have been doing a lot of winning lately as well. But you look at this NL wildcard race, and not a lot of teams that look quite as dominant as this Mets team does right now. They're just rolling, get a day off here, and they're now about to hit a stretch of their schedule, where it's 17 games, 17 days, the Astros probably the toughest matchup during that stretch. They'll play a lot of these teams during the fringe of this wildcard race, the Nationals, the Pirates, wanna beat up on those teams. They have a series against the Rockies in there. They come out of the all-star break to face the Marlins. This is the point where the New York Mets can establish themselves not just as in the mix and no longer even considering selling, but a team that even motivates the front office and Steve Cohen to buy a little bit, and a team you started dreaming about making a run this year, are they the Phillies? No, because the New York Mets make noise in the playoffs with this lineup and a couple of good starting pitchers. The Arizona Diamonds could do it last year. And you look at the team that went to the World Series and that roster and compare some of the guys that Mets have in this lineup. There's no reason to think that this team can't make the playoffs and make a little bit of noise once they're there. If you're not fired up, you're not a Mets fan. And one of the reasons you should be jacked up right now is because they have a future superstar in Francisco Alvarez. I wanna talk about him, what he's meant coming off the IEL in just a minute. First though, a word from our sponsors. Today's episode is brought to you by Tax Network USA. You're with lockdown Mets. We pride ourselves on getting you the latest news for your team, whether it's the off season, the draft, spring training playoffs, whatever it is, it's year round. And you know what else is year round, collection season. Just because tax season is over doesn't mean the IRS will stop coming after you for unfiled taxes. The IRS can garnish your wages, levy your bank accounts and even can seize your property. Don't let the IRS target you, let the licensed professionals and tax experts at Tax Network USA go to bat for you with over 14 years of experience and an A plus rating by the Better Business Bureau, Tax Network USA has saved their clients over $1 billion in tax debt. Whether you know taxes have complicated matters that require tax planning or finally hit that parlay this season and need help correctly filing, call 1-800-549-1000 or visit tnusa.com/locked on. You can also just see the link in this episode description below. Today's episode is also brought to you by eBay Motors. Passion drive and patience or it brings on the winning trophy. It's also what keeps your ride or die alive. eBay Motors is everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance from superchargers to roof racks, exhaust kits, LED headlights and more. Whether you're into speed, power or style, eBay Motors has got you covered over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die. You always find exactly what you're looking for. If eBay is guaranteed fit, your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back. Because if eBay Motors, you're burning rubber, not cash. All the parts you need at the prices you want, it's easy to bring home that big win and turn your car into the MVP. Keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com. Eligible items only exclusions apply. You guys guaranteed fit is only available to you as customers. (upbeat music) If you're not ready to listen to the show, make sure you become a locked on meds insider. This is our text and service where I can give you updates. Anytime some news breaks on the meds, you can ask me questions any time. You can also take part in our locked on meds sign photo giveaways. You're gonna be locked on meds insider. Find the link in the episode description. We're gonna subtext.com/lockedonmeds. Now since Francisco Alvarez came off the IEL, he is hitting 415. He's got a 500 on base percentage. He's got a 732 slug percentage. This is in 48 plate appearances now. He has gotten on base 24 times. 14 games, he's 11 RBIs, three home runs and four doubles. He is ridiculously hot right now. And I think we'll have to see how consistent it can be throughout his career. No one can maintain what he's doing. Alvarez does seem like a feast or famine guy, a guy that can be very streaky. He saw it a lot last year. And I think those extremes were a little bit greater, particularly the slums because he was learning a lot. Okay, you don't just have what it takes to face big league pitching as a hitter, but you also got to face big league hitting as a catcher, figure out that mental side of the game, learn your pitching stuff, all these things. And he got rave reviews for his defense and first leadership last year with the pitchers. Now we are seeing the value that he brings. And call me crazy. But I think right now, if you had to ask me, who are the most important players in the New York Amets? The two Francisco's are neck and neck. Francisco Lindor is the leader. Okay, he has shown that with starting the players, only meaning the way he's led by example during this stretch. He's been unbelievable. The defense at shortstop, you know, being in on every play and then some of the things that he can do, the turn double plays or field balls in the hole or we saw him make a leap in. I mean, he's just a human high that reel over there. So Lindor is great and he's the best player on this team. I'm not going to take anything away from him, but there's something about the catcher position. And having a star at catcher position, it's different. Okay, we, you know, myself, I was pretty young when Mike Piazza was at his heyday, but Mike Piazza brought me into being a Mets fan. And I say, Piazza, you know, made me a Mets fan and my dad. And David Wright made sure I'd be a lifelong Mets fan and a complete die heart, someone who was nuts about this stuff. But what Mike Piazza did for your team offensively as being the best hitter. And then I think after his career, people shined a little bit brighter on his defense when he came to his leadership of a pitching staff and everything else. But having your best player be your catcher, it can mean a lot of winning. You know, Gary Carter in the past, of course, was huge. And you just look around the league. Some of the better teams have great catchers. Baltimore Orioles, Adley Rushman. You want to see where that franchise went from taking to, you know, a contender? It's when Adley Rushman came up in 2022 and yeah, they finished fourth that year, but they were a really good team by the end of that season. And particularly once Rushman came up in May and then last year, they won 100 plus games. They win the division and now they are neck and neck with the Yankees yet again. And they are looking like a juggernaut. And yes, Gunnar Henderson's probably their MVP, but Adley Rushman's right there. What he does for that pitching staff, what he does offensively. Look at the Brewers right now. What has kept them in the position to be a top the NL Central? William Contreras, another great catcher. The Dodgers have gone through a ton this year. They had a lot of pitching injuries. They've had, you know, guys coming in out of the line. They've had guys underperform expectations. Mookie Betz is out right now. They're going through it. And it was been their all year. Will Smith, another one of the best catchers in baseball on a really good team. And the Phillies got off to a great star with JT Ruyamuto. So a catcher who can do it both ways is so invaluable to your team. And Alvarez has a chance to be the very best. And I think it was, it must have been 2022. The 2022 at the end of the season when Alvarez came up or early 2023. And I saw a picture from Cisco Alvarez and I zoomed in. I said, does this dude have the best tattooed on his neck? And sure enough, in Red Ink, right, his neck has the best. And he was joking about that with Eduardo Perez for the ESPN broadcast. It's a great interview that he did that he can watch. If you look up Alvarez interview, you can find it on YouTube. And he, you know, points it out. I think he was doing word association. So he was, okay, give me one word that you associate with Francisco Lindor. He said leader, one word that you associate with, you know, JT Martinez, best hitter ever. One word with that one D as sugar. Nimmo, the best guy, all these different things. And then when he said Francisco Alvarez, he said the best. And that's the way he carries himself. That's the way he works. And I think this is going to be Francisco Alvarez's team. You could talk about signing one soda or who's the next big guy to come. Look, a home growth star just brings more value to the franchise. They do. There's, there's the fact that we were looking at Francisco Alvarez box scores when he was 19 years old, right? And seeing the way he was progressing. Oh my God, here's Alvarez tearing the cover off the ball. He just got promoted again. Man, this guy could be so good. And then it comes up and that sensation is realized to have hit 30 home runs at 158 games of his career so far. And he's just scratching the surface of what he can be, which is the best catcher in baseball. That's the ceiling for Francisco Alvarez, the best catcher in baseball and a guy that can hold that title for years. He's got competition. OK, this position, as I've already alluded to, has gotten a lot better over recent years. There's some really good catchers right now. But Alvarez checks all the boxes from his leadership, his framing, and then you see the potential with the bat. The bats that he's having right now, and again, the hot streak is not going to continue forever. He's going to go cold at some point. He's going to look bad in the box. That's just the reality of baseball. Otherwise, the best hitters would hit 415 with a 500 on base percentage. But you're seeing him mature in front of our eyes as a hitter. And to do all of this coming off the injury that he had and with minimal time on rehab and to shake off the rust that quickly and help his team win, it's special. It is really special to see what Alvarez has done so far. And again, the future is only brighter. He can take this and really continue to drive the team. And look, if this Mets team ends up being a threat this year, if they end up going through this season and they're a wild card team and they make some noise in the playoffs, they win a series or two. Francisco Alvarez, by the end of this year, is going to be bona fide. I mean, there's already pretty much they're going to the season of just baseball. We ranked our top 10 catchers. And the way we did our rankings for all the positions, there was a panel of us. I think we had six or seven of us that all made our rankings. So it wasn't just me juicing the rankings for Alvarez. He was a consensus top 10 catcher in baseball, going into this year, before really getting going to what we've seen him now, put it together. Is he a top five catcher in baseball? Is he a top three catcher in baseball? We're going to find that out by the end of the season. But I wouldn't be surprised that we're looking up at 2025 at the end of the season. And Alvarez has monster offensive numbers, a crazy war. And we're saying, you know what? He might be better than Rochman. He might be better than Contreras. He might be better than Smith. He might just be the best in the game. You can dream with Francisco Alvarez. You really can. And maybe it is just the Francisco's team. The door in Alvarez, going into the future where this Mets club can do a lot of winning with those guys leading the charge. I want to talk about the roster a little bit here to close the show, though, because Drew Smith hit the IL. The Mets have not done anything with Tyler McGill and David Peterson at a talking point. We've had on this show for days. What's going on with the pitching? I'll talk about that in just a minute first, though. Another word from our sponsors. This episode of Lockdown Mets is brought to you by booking.com. Booking.ya. With summer travel heating up, especially travel for baseball games, it's time to explore those US cities. You've always secretly wanted to learn more about, yes. We're talking about the arrival cities that the Mets are going to travel to. This is a team that you want to watch. And with hotels, bed and breakfasts, vacation rentals, resorts, and so much more on booking.com, you might just find your perfect stay, even in your baseball rival city. Maybe we're going to go to Philadelphia this year. Maybe you want to go down to Atlanta. I know in September, if the Mets are on the mix, which it seems like they will be. There is a series that my dad and I are planning to go to. And we're going to use booking.com because we already did. We went out to Washington, DC. It was the place for us to find the perfect hotel for us to stay at. My parents were traveling up to Chicago after DC for the summer and they had their dog with them. So being able to find the best pet friendly hotel that we were able to stay at, that was comfortable, that was close enough to the ballpark, it was really so much easier with booking.com. The right stay can make you a fan of any US city, even your rivals. So book today on booking.com on the site or in the booking.com app. Today's episode is also brought to you by LinkedIn. Are you struggling to close deals? BDB selling is tougher than ever and that's why I want to tell you about LinkedIn Sales Navigator. LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a sales intelligence platform that helps professionals effectively prospect and engage high value customers, drive higher revenue, and increase sales performance. Sales Navigator helps you target the right buyers, surface key signals, and shows you hidden analogs so you can find those buyers that are most likely to convert. Fueled by LinkedIn's one billion member platform, Sales Navigator gives you the most up-to-date first-party data, enable you to unlock conversations with the people that matter. Right now you can try LinkedIn Sales Navigator and get a 60-day free trial at linkedin.com/lockedon. That is linkedin.com/lockedon for a 60-day free trial. LinkedIn Sales Navigator will help you sell like a superstar today. Just go to linkedin.com/lockedon and get started. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) The NBA draft was Wednesday night. If you want to be up to date on all the latest for your favorite NBA team, make sure you check out Lacton Sports Today, which is covering everything in the world of sports. If I Lacton Sports Today is streaming 24/7 on YouTube and Amazon Fire TV. Before we talk about the pitching, I just want to touch on the right field situation because Tyrone Taylor has gotten the first two starts since Charlie Martin went down. I'd be pretty curious if that continues a little bit, not that he's gonna be an everyday guy. The Mets are gonna play matchups. I'm sure Ben Gamble gets out there at some point. I'm sure DJ Stewart will get back out there. But Tyrone Taylor gives you something that those two guys do not. That's a really good defender in right field. And when you have a lot of clicking the way the Mets are, maybe you don't need to put the bat out there. Maybe you should put the guy that has the strong arm that could run down all the balls in the gap. The guy that could actually ignite and get hot, which he has in these two games. He has come through some pretty clutch RBIs such a place in Charlie Martin, and he does have power. I mean, you could say our DJ Stewart's the power guy, but I mean, Tyrone Taylor has multiple big league seasons with double digit home runs. DJ Stewart, not really the case. So I could see Tyrone Taylor sort of grabbing that starting right field job and holding onto it a little bit. He's got to keep hitting and it's hard to when you're in a limited role. Now that he's getting some regular playing time, maybe he does run with it. And I'm okay with it because I talked about it before the season when we were previewing everything for the 2024 Mets. And I alluded to the defense the Mets could have in the outfield when they went to Brandon Nimmo and left, Harrison Bader and center, and Tyrone Taylor and right. If you're going to do that right now, the way that the rest of the guys are hidden, I think it might be the move. So I liked the two starts in a row for Taylor. I'll be curious if he's right back out there on Friday when the Mets take on the Astros. The bigger question is going to be, what's the pitching staff looking like then? Because the Mets have not taken my advice. I've been banging my fist on the table for Tyler McGill to get options since his start last Saturday. Well, they now announced him as the starting pitcher for this Saturday against the Astros. So McGill's going to get another start. David Peterson could have been optioned. He was not, and there was a world where this really bit the Mets in this game because they would have been really short-handed or they were short-handed. I don't know if Danielle Nunez was available after pitching two and two thirds. I don't know if Gary was available if they're getting four high-stress outs. And yet, the Mets just rolled what they had and it worked out for them. It was a blowout, Azure and Houser covered three innings. All ended up being fine. But moving forward, you look at your bullpen and you got Garrett Nunez, Jake Deakman, Adam Montevino, Danny Young, Adrian Houser, who's probably not going to pitch in this series or at least not until Sunday. And then you got the new guy, Ty Adcock. So the Mets made a move. Drew Smith was put on the IL on Wednesday with a sprained elbow. Sprained elbow can mean a lot of things. It can mean just that. Sprained elbow, he rests for a couple of weeks, gets back out there. It can mean a partially torn UCL or completely torn UCL. And he can be heading towards Tommy John. We do not know what's going to happen here with Drew Smith. We do not know the severity of it. And the fact that they were really sort of tight-lipped about what happened here, they should be concerned for Drew Smith. But I wouldn't count him coming back before Edwin Diaz, for sure, I mean, that's not even possible. It's got to be on the aisle for 15 days. But I wouldn't even count Drew Smith being back by the all-star break, by the deadline. I don't know. To me, Drew Smith, he's out of sight out of mind. Sean Reed Foley, I think you have a better chance of getting them back because we saw him deal with the shoulder injury and come back without missing too much time at the start of the season. So the point is the Mets bullpen depth is starting to get tested. Adcock is a guy that they picked up who was DFA twice this year by the Mariners and the Tigers. Last year, he was in the Mariners bullpen for 12 games at a 3, 4, 5 ERA. They did not pitch well in the minor leagues for either of those two teams. Ends up getting picked up by the Mets, has pitched well. Eight games in Syracuse, 3, 1, 2 ERA. They're looking at a fastball slider guy through his slider more than his fastball last year. It was like a 55, 45 split. Fastball averaged 96.6 miles per hour. So he can get it up there beyond that 97, maybe touching 98. Slider, good pitch for him. We'll see how this translates. He's 27 years old. Maybe the Mets found another gem. Maybe he's only here for an appearance at some point and then he gets optioned down. But that's where the Mets are at. They have seven guys in their bullpen. And for the first two games of this series, you could sort of expect that only six of them are available until Hauser can come back. That's what has me wondering what the deal is with hanging on to McGill and Peterson. The only thing I can think of is the Mets don't want to use the ability to option these guys to cycle arms and to try to get another reliever into that bullpen instead. I think they maybe plan to just cycle that ad-cock spot of the bullpen, right? He's the first one to get a crack at it. You might see Cole Solcer. You might see Josh Walker. You might see some of these other guys come in if they need him to mop up some innings at some point. But I think the Mets are just gonna roll at this stage. It seems like with a seven man pen until Diaz comes back. And it might work, but you're starting a stretch with 17 games in 17 days. So it was just a little bit surprising to me. And it also leaves you to wonder when, are you gonna see Christian Scott back? Are you? Are the Mets just comfortable with this rotation and granted? It's worked. And maybe that's the front office is opinion right now. It's fame broke, don't fix it. So yeah, Huzebuto might be a better pitcher than Tyler McGill. Christian Scott, I think is a better pitcher than Tyler McGill and David Peterson. But he's also a prospect that has to be put in bubble wrap a little bit that they're not really comfortable having them go out there every fifth day. And he's probably on an innings limit. So maybe for them, it's just when you need them, you'll go to them, but for now you have five starters that are, you know, what they deem big league caliber. And maybe they just wanna roll what they got for a little bit. And it's maybe try to get to the also brick with this group. Knowing that you have a lighter schedule coming up, knowing that maybe this next series against the Astros is the last super tough lineup that you're gonna face. We watched the nationals. I know they've had a lot of success this year, but it doesn't feel like a team that Tyler McGill or David Peterson shouldn't be pitching to. Sandy can be said about the pirates. Sandy can be said about the Rockies. So maybe you're just looking at this stretch and saying our best bet to maintain all of our flexibility, to, you know, preserve options even, like option years on Peterson and McGill. They haven't used an option yet. They can hang on to those. They can put those in their back pocket if they don't have to use them this year. Maybe that's the thought process. Maybe they're also thinking, I'd love to trade a David Peterson or a Tyler McGill to deadline. I don't really know exactly where the front office is with these guys, but maybe they wanna showcase them a little bit. I just, by not optioning McGill on Monday or Tuesday, it was a little bit curious. God, all right, maybe they wanted to see Peterson pitch first. Still no option. They could have option Peterson. Maybe that was the hang up. Didn't option him. Now they've announced McGill. And to me that indicates, they're gonna keep this five minute rotation, as is, and maybe by me saying that into a microphone, David Stearns, maybe he's listening and saying, I got Ryan, I had him on the, I was hearing what he was saying. I didn't want him to keep on getting things, right? He got that line of prediction, right? When we changed up the line up a couple of weeks ago, can't have that happen. Let's wait till he's off of this train of optioning these guys. And then maybe now, all of a sudden, David Peterson gets optioned tomorrow. And I look like a fool. But the way that they have set this up, it feels like they're just gonna pitch a man down in the bullpen, which is in the worst thing in the world. If you cycle those guys, if you get some length from your starters, it could be fine, an Adrian Houser, as this, you know, reliever who's been unbelievable, as a bulk guy has really worked, maybe they can navigate these waters, get Diaz back, not miss a beat, get through this stretch, keep the rotation as this. We'll see. The one thing I didn't like about this originally, well, I guess there's a lot of this and like about it. I've just been griping about it for 10 minutes here, but one other part of it, I did not like, is the fact that Severino's not pitching until Sunday, because I wanna see Louis Severino on the mound as much as possible. To me, I was thinking, man, what's up with that? Why not, if you're gonna keep McGill in the rotation fine, why not pitch Severino on Saturday? And maybe you can squeeze one more start out of him by the end of the all-star break. So then I did some math on that one. I counted out the starts. If the Mets do stick with this five-minute rotation until the break. So they don't add Christian Scott, they never need a spot starter. They don't go to a six-man at all for this upcoming period. Louis Severino would start the final game before the all-star break, which means he would get four more turns in the rotation as would Quintana and McGill and Manai and Peterson would each get three. So it makes sense if you're gonna stick with this rotation, which is another reason why I believe that they're going to, because if they were gonna go to a six-man, you might as well start Sevi on Saturday or Friday. So you make sure he gets that one more start. But for now, it seems like the Mets are rolling what they got and it's hard to really complain about it. But what they got has been the best team of baseball throughout the month of June. We'll be back with another show tomorrow. It'll be a Friday farm report as well as a preview of the upcoming series against the Houston Astros. So make sure you check that out. If you're listening on the audio side, follow rate review wherever you get your podcasts. If you're watching on YouTube, hit that subscribe button. We're very close to 8,000, excuse me, to 9,000 subs, which is our latest goal here. So I appreciate all of you who continue to subscribe. You follow me on X, Finklstein Ryan, follow the show at locked on Metz. If you wanna be locked on Metz Insider, find the link in the episode description or go to subtext.com/lockedonmetz. Thank you for making "Locked on Metz" your first listener, first watch every day, now for your second watch. Head over to "Locked on Sports" today, which is the place to go for all the latest on the NBA draft. So make sure you check out "Locked on Sports" today, streaming 24/7 on YouTube. (upbeat music) - A prime member, you can listen to this "Locked on" podcast ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. (upbeat music)