The New York Mets completed a series sweep of their hated division rival Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday, though some big roster questions loom ahead.
The team enjoyed strong starts from a trio of hurlers in Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea and Nolan McLean in the series, though their relievers were a different story. In particular, the Mets saw struggles grow for reigning National League Reliever of the Year Ryan Helsley, who joined the team in a blockbuster trade just before the midseason deadline.
On Tuesday, Helsley gave up a game-tying home run to Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader in the eighth inning, the tenth earned run he has given up in 11 appearances with the Mets. The blemish saw Helsley’s ERA rise to 10.38 in his brief Mets tenure and elicited a strong warning from manager Carlos Mendoza.
“People got to step up,” Mendoza said after the game, according to ESPN’s Jorge Castillo. “We just got to get (Helsley) right. Too good of stuff for them to be taking really good swings on fastballs, really good takes on the sliders. So we got to look back and see what we’re missing here because for teams to have comfortable at-bats like that, something’s going on here that we have to figure out.”
In addition to Helsley, the Mets traded for Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto as reinforcements for closer Edwin Diaz. So Helsley likely won’t have a long leash for high-leverage innings if he cannot demonstrate a return to his award-winning form soon.
He had exhibited some struggles for the St. Louis Cardinals earlier this season before the Mets acquired him, though he maintained a 3.00 ERA across 36 innings for his former team and his meltdown with the Mets was a harsh new turn.
Whatever might have been ailing him seems to have gotten much worse since he landed in Queens and, even after an encouraging sweep, the Mets can’t afford many more late-inning implosions moving forward.
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