Caylor Arnold – USATODAY Sports
Since rattling off 11 wins in a row to give them a comfortable lead atop the NL East, the New York Mets have struggled to find any semblance of consistency, going 7-12 since their winning streak came to an end. Of course, it’s no secret that the Mets have been victims of the dreaded injury bug early in the season, and on the heels of a four-game sweep at the hands of the upstart Chicago Cubs, it’s clear that the Mets don’t have enough offense or bullpen depth to pull out close games. These circumstances leave the Mets treading water for the time being, hoping they don’t fall out of first place or too far behind before they can start to get healthy.
Offensively, injuries to David Wright and Travis d’Arnaud took away two of the Mets’ most productive players, as well as the depth in New York’s lineup. It’s taken Wright far longer to come back from his hamstring injury, while d’Arnaud is only starting to workout in preparation for his return. Meanwhile, youngsters Dilson Herrera and Kevin Plawecki, who are filling the shoes of Wright and d’Arnaud, have failed to make much of an impact. Veterans Curtis Granderson and Michael Cuddyer also continue to underwhelm, leaving the Mets’ offense as inept as it’s been in recent years.
In the bullpen, the loss of Jerry Blevins has become magnified over the past couple of weeks, as Alex Torres has not been a viable lefty specialist. The recent injury to Buddy Carlyle has further diminished the Mets’ bullpen depth, forcing younger pitchers like Erik Goeddel and Hansel Robles, who both started the season in Triple-A, into prominent roles. Moreover, Bobby Parnell and Vic Black have both been slower than expected to return from injuries, Black from shoulder trouble and Parnell from Tommy John surgery. Both were expected to be key members of the bullpen this year, but neither has been of any use to the Mets’ bullpen this season.
If there’s a silver lining to the Mets’ recent struggles, it’s that midway through May they are five games over .500 thanks to their 11-game win streak in April. At least for the moment, New York is in first place, and all things considered, their record is more than satisfactory. Most importantly, there’s a reasonable chance that by the end of May the Mets will get Wright, d’Arnaud, Parnell and Black back from injury.
Getting those players back will give the Mets more or less the roster they envisioned heading into the season, a roster that should fair much better than New York has for the past three weeks. Of course, until then, the Mets have to hope that their veteran outfielders and young bullpen arms can step up enough to keep them either on top or close in the NL East. If the Mets can tread water until they start to get healthy, they’ll be in good shape.
Bryan Zarpentine is a New York Mets writer at www.RantSports.com. Like him on Facebook, follow him on twitter @BZarp and add him on Google.
