Are the Mets already toast? Reasons for hope despite an 11-game losing streak

With the grim particulars laid out, it's time to pivot toward some reasons for the Mets to believe better days are ahead. Contrary to the current stench, there are indeed such reasons. First and most obviously, it's still early. The Mets have played 22 games thus far, and that amounts to a mere 13.6% of the regular-season schedule. Stated another way, the 2026 season isn't even a month old. At a more Mets-specific level, there are other reasons for hope -- or at least less despair -- looking forward. Let's explore.

Juan Soto will be back soon

Soto is of course one of the best pure hitters in baseball, and this season he's produced in customary fashion with a slash line of .355/.412/.516 and an OPS+ of 164. The problem is that he's been limited to just eight games and 34 plate appearances because of a calf strain suffered on April 3. The Mets in the 14 games since Soto went down have batted .223/.263/.312 with more double plays (11) than home runs (eight). Remove an MVP-caliber bat from an otherwise struggling lineup and that absence will be keenly felt. That's the case in Queens right now.

Juan Soto

NYM • LF • #22

BA0.355

R3

HR1

RBI5

SB0

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The good news is that Soto is working his way back. Soto, according to MLB.com, resumed running on April 14 and did some drills in the outfield on April 17, which puts him on target to return at some point during the upcoming homestand that starts Tuesday. Given how troublesome calf injuries can be, that's an encouraging timeline. The Mets, suffice it to say, need their lineup fulcrum back to the extent that he might as well be oxygen and water made human.

Francisco Lindor and Bo Bichette are better than this

The Mets expected to get strong production from the left side of the infield this season, but thus far that hasn't been the case. At this writing, the shortstop Lindor and the third baseman Bichette have combined to hit just .211/.274/.294 with two home runs in 180 at-bats. That's roundly out of step with their respective bodies of work. Consider:

Spot the outlier. In Lindor's case, he's historically a slow starter, and in past seasons he's started finding his level around the time the calendar flips to May. As well, he suffered a hamate bone injury that required surgery early in spring training, and wrist problems can of course negatively affect hitters at the plate. The further he gets from that procedure, the more likely he is to produce at an accustomed level.

As for Bichette, the erstwhile Blue Jays shortstop is adjusting to both a new city and team and a new position. He's also got an expected batting average this season of .291 based on quality of contact. That's compared to his actual batting average of .217, and it's an indicator that Bichette may have deserved a better fate with the bat so far. While it's possible for hitters to endure slumps that last a full season, the more reasonable expectation is that Bichette will find his way to more customary production at some point.

Elsewhere in the lineup, offseason addition Jorge Polanco is on the injured list with a wrist contusion, and he's also been dealing with Achilles soreness for much of the season to date. Perhaps that IL stint will give his Achilles time to settle down, which in turn may help Polanco find a higher gear at the plate.

There's a theoretically softer stretch of schedule coming up

The Mets are about to play a three-game home set against the Twins, who presently are .500 and have lost four in a row. Then comes a 12-game stretch in which the Mets will play six games against the Colorado Rockies and three apiece against the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels. In theory, that's an accommodating docket, especially if Soto is back for most of it. No, you're not going to erase all of this current deficit, but it can be the foundation for the longer-haul comeback in the standings. It's a long season, after all.

The bar may be low for playoff contention

There's a third wild-card spot in each league these days, and that means it's easier than ever to make the playoffs. Yes, the Mets missed out last year, but their 83 wins were good enough to force a tiebreaker scenario with the Cincinnati Reds for that final spot. To get to 83 wins in 2026, the Mets will need to go 76-64 (.543) the rest of the way. Would it truly shock anyone if the Mets managed such a clip over the remainder of the season? It shouldn't. Maybe it'll take more than 83 wins this year, but the point remains that the Mets still have plenty of time to enter the playoff discussion with even a somewhat modest reversal of fortunes.

Heck, the NL East other than the Braves is looking broadly non-competitive thus far, and the Braves may yet run into rotation depth issues over what is, to repeat, a long season.

For the Mets, the 2026 season has been a calamity to date, but it's still very early, and there are reasons to think they'll soon start scoring runs at a greater clip while also perhaps enjoying better results in the rotation now that the struggling David Peterson has, at the very least, been stapled to an opener. The work of climbing out of the crater starts now.