Monday, April 27

Welcome back to the Mets Beat newsletter! Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2007, including the past 17 seasons full-time on the beat.

NEW YORK -- Those wishing to put an optimistic spin on what’s befallen the Mets need only look to the 2019 Nationals, who were famously 19-31 in late May before rallying to play .661 ball the rest of the way, earning a National League Wild Card berth and ultimately winning the World Series.

The most obvious commonality between that team and this one? Juan Soto.

Back then, Soto was a 20-year-old wunderkind who produced a .980 OPS over the team's final 112 games of that season to lift the Nationals.

“I was really young,” Soto said. “Definitely, I learned most of the things that I know right now from that team, in that clubhouse. It was really cool to play with so many veteran players and everything. There were things that we can use in here, things that I can bring to the table and see if the guys like it so we can do it, too.”

Before the Mets activated Soto from the injured list Wednesday amidst a 12-game losing streak, manager Carlos Mendoza and others cautioned against anointing him their savior. Yes, Soto is clearly the Mets’ best hitter -- “one of the top three hitters in the league,” as teammate Francisco Lindor put it. Yes, the bulk of their losing streak -- now over after beating the Twins on Wednesday, 3-2 -- coincided with his absence. But Soto is also just one player in a team game, and in a cruel coincidence, the club lost Lindor to a left calf injury barely an hour after welcoming back Soto.

Injuries aside, it’s entirely possible that the Mets are beyond saving anyway; no team has lost 12 consecutive games and made the playoffs.

But if the Mets do plan to defy history and make a run, they’re going to need Soto at his MVP-caliber best. In his first plate appearance back on Wednesday, Soto parked a pitch just shy of the warning track in center, plenty deep enough to advance a runner that eventually came around to score. In his second, he socked a 104.3 mph lineout. In his third, Soto walked, and in the eighth, he singled.

“I’m just going to bring my 100 percent,” Soto said when asked how much his presence can impact the club. “I don’t know what’s going to be the difference, but I’m going to be out there trying my best to help the team in any kind of way.”

It will take the next five-plus months for the Mets to know if Soto’s return will be enough to save them. So far, they’re 1-0 with him back in the lineup.

In the meantime, Soto will draw upon the lessons of the 2019 Nationals. Asked what specifically he plans to bring from that clubhouse into this one, Soto grinned.

“Those are my secrets,” he said. “I can’t share it."

Who was the winning pitcher when the Mets snapped their franchise-record 17-game losing streak in 1962?

A) Craig Anderson

B) Roger Craig

C) Jay Hook

D) Al Jackson

If you’ve trekked to Citi Field this season, you’ve probably noticed that some of the areas around the ballpark look unrecognizable, in large part due to the NYCFC soccer stadium and affordable housing complex taking shape across Seaver Way.

That development, which is not owned by the Mets, is just the beginning of a full-scale area renovation. Construction preparation is underway on a privately funded $8 billion complex anchored by a casino gaming facility, 25 acres of new public parkland, a food hall highlighting Queens small businesses and a hatch shell for outdoor live music, among other goodies. The development will also include infrastructure improvements to the Mets-Willets Point 7 Line station and the access roads surrounding Citi Field. Car and bike/pedestrian traffic will be segregated to allow for better access.

So which changes will be visible first? According to people familiar with the project, the goal is for everything to be done by 2030 or 2031. The initial development pieces will be a group of multilevel parking garages and other infrastructure elements, followed by things like the food hall and, finally, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, which Steve Cohen himself is helping to design. Renderings of the entire development are available here.

Citi Field needed some comic relief by the ninth inning Tuesday, as the Mets were doddering their way to a 12th consecutive loss. Fans found it in the form of Austin Warren, a seldom-used reliever who entered after closer Devin Williams failed to retire any of the five batters he faced.

While warming in the bullpen, Warren heard the boos raining down on Williams. He was expecting more of the same once he entered. What Warren didn’t anticipate was the hearty cheer he received after throwing a first-pitch strike, nor the even louder reaction to his strikeout of Royce Lewis. Fans continued to roar and gesticulate as Warren fanned each of the next two batters he faced. He walked off the mound to a standing ovation.

“I usually don't hear the fans,” Warren said. “But it was hard to block that out.”

A 30-year-old reliever who’s spent parts of the past two seasons in Queens, the soft-spoken Warren marveled at his reception, along with the myriad of text messages and social media posts fired his way during the game. While it may not have been a spot he or the Mets wanted for themselves, Warren made the most of a bad situation, stranding the three inherited runners Williams left on base.

“I’m glad I was able to do that for Devin,” Warren said.

• Amid their losing streak, the Mets decided earlier this week to shake up their rotation. That meant a callup for former top pitching prospect Christian Scott, who will start Thursday night in his first appearance since 2024 Tommy John surgery. David Peterson has moved to the bullpen, with Kodai Senga remaining in the starting five (for now). Longer-term, much will depend upon the health and effectiveness of all those pitchers.

C) Hook

Hook held the Cubs to three runs over eight innings in the first game of a doubleheader on June 8, 1962, snapping New York’s 17-game losing streak. (The Mets promptly lost the nightcap.) A professional slump-buster, Hook also earned the first win in franchise history to snap a nine-game losing streak.

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