As the Mets launch out on their playoff quest in the second half, here's our best guess for some of the monumental moments.
If the Mets' 2024 season told us anything, it was to expect the unexpected down the stretch in the Major League Baseball season.
The final months are destined to provide plenty of twist and turns, and one big win can completely change the trajectory of a team's season.
With 65 games remaining, the Mets are in a position to push for a second straight postseason berth and get there for the third time in four seasons for the first time ever.
Will that happen? We'll have to wait and see.
As the Mets launch out on that quest in the second half, we'll give our best guess for some of the monumental moments over the final three months:
Mets front office adds a pair of relievers at the deadline
The biggest area of need for the Mets with two weeks to go until the trade deadline comes in the bullpen.
The reliever unit's ERA, which was once best in MLB, has slipped to 14th at 3.83 following a miserable stretch in June. The depth has been compromised following a season-ending injury to Dedniel Nuñez and the potential for a similar fate with Max Kranick.
There have been hiccups from Reed Garrett, Huascar Brazoban and Ryne Stanek that indicate they could use some reinforcements to tamp down their workload. The return of Brooks Raley should help to fill a need, as should Jose Butto's arrival back from an illness, but the Mets bullpen could stand to add some firepower.
At the deadline, as David Stearns did one season ago, he adds a lefty and a righty in Reid Detmers and David Bednar to fill the cupboard.
Pete Alonso sets the Mets home run record in an iconic spot
Pete Alonso hit another iconic Mets home run at the All-Star Game on Tuesday night. Alonso's three-run home run was only the franchise's third long ball in the Midsummer Classic, adding to ones hit by David Wright and Lee Mazzilli.
Now in the second half, Alonso's attention turns toward setting the club's home run record. He is five away from matching Darryl Strawberry. With 21 home runs in 97 games, Alonso is averaging a home run every 4.6 days.
With some time to heat back up after the break, it takes seven more series before Alonso breaks the record. In the series opener against the Brewers in Milwaukee, where he dashed their playoff hopes with one of the most legendary home runs in Mets history, he breaks Strawberry's record with a home run deep into the left-field seats.
The Mets first baseman adds 13 more home runs to finish with exactly 40 on the season and set the new mark at 266 after 2025.
Debuts for Brandon Sproat, Noah McLean down the stretch
The Mets front office has consistently touted the need for development for their top pitching prospects and a solid runway to perform in the major leagues.
That has delayed the debuts of Noah McLean and Brandon Sproat. Both are beginning to achieve rampant success at Triple-A Syracuse .
McLean has excelled, with a 3-4 record, 2.52 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 60⅔ innings in Syracuse, vaulting him up the Mets' prospect rankings to No. 4, according to MLB Pipeline. Brandon Sproat, the Mets' No. 5 prospect, has begun to get more settled in recent weeks, with a 2.67 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 33⅔ innings in Syracuse since June.
As the rosters expand in September, both pitching prospects get a chance to provide a lift with a few starts apiece.
Juan Soto sets new career high in home runs
Juan Soto finally looks comfortable in a Mets uniform.
Soto's tenure began with a few shaky months. Soto was walking a ton and scoring a bunch, but he was not driving in runs or leaving the park at the clip that many had been expected.
That's changed since the temperature began to warm and 96 games under his belt. With 14 home runs since the calendar turned to June, Soto leads the Mets with 23 home runs.
Sprinkle in a little added motivation after Soto missed the All-Star Game for the first time in his career, and the Mets superstar is poised for a massive second half. He finishes the season with a team-high 44 home runs, eclipsing his career high of 41 from last year with the Yankees.
Mets drop the division in penultimate series
The Mets are neck and neck with the Phillies in the National League East, where the lead has changed hands six times since June began.
The Phillies hold the slight half-game edge heading into the second half, but the Mets have the current advantage with a 4-2 series record for the tiebreaker.
However, the Mets schedule is loaded in the second half. With a .511 opponent winning percentage, the Mets have the seventh-hardest slate the rest of the way, including two series against both the Padres and Giants and one apiece with the Tigers, Cubs and Brewers.
That schedule costs the Mets a crack at the division, as the Phillies clinch the title with a Mets loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field with four games left to be played. The Mets lock up a postseason berth in Miami in their final series.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets: 5 bold predictions for the second half of the 2025 season
Category: Baseball