The Mets' DNA is built around pitching and an elite development operation

Yahoo

a day ago

LOS ANGELES — The New York Mets came into this season as a postseason contender and a real threat in the NL East, a division they haven't won since they went to the World Series in 2015. And while the addition of $765 million man Juan Soto to a team that finished their season in the NLCS is a big reason behind the team's high expectations, what this team may end up being remembered for is the dominance of its pitching.
New York's pitching has been its biggest strength throughout the first half of the season and even without having left-hander Sean Manaea, who was the team's best starter in 2024, they've not only been able to manage, they've thrived.
Advertisement
The Mets currently lead all of MLB in team ERA this season and all five of the team's starters currently have a sub-4.00 ERA, with each having at least 11 starts.
But how has New York turned itself into a factory for pitching?
Mets' pitching coach Jeremy Hefner is considered one of the best in baseball and is a big part of the success of the staff. But if you ask any pitcher on the roster, they'd tell you it's not a one-man show. The Mets' pitching infrastructure, which includes the big-league coaching staff, player development and analytics department, have helped create an environment for the best pitching staff in baseball.
Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner (center) has played a big role in elevating the Mets to an elite pitching development operation. (Photo by)
(Sarah Stier via Getty Images)
What's impressive about the Mets' success this season it's not just been guys who have had time in the organization to absorb years of information, like David Petersen, Tylor Megill or even veteran Kodai Senga. It's also been arms who have recently come from other organizations, like Griffin Canning or Clay Holmes — which speaks to their talent, but also the consistent messaging players have been able to absorb.
Advertisement
'It's a group effort,' Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. "You got to give credit to the front office that is continuing to acquire these guys and identifying potential players that you could tinker with. And then the whole pitching group, from Hef to [assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel], Eric Jagers in player development, they work on being on the same page, identifying not only on how we can help guys, but just how we present the information to the players. Meeting players where they're at.'
The Mets aren't the first team in baseball to make adjustments to improve pitching. But what they have done is built a strong résumé of success stories. Manaea went from bouncing around with the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants on one-year deals with ERAs near 5, to an ERA in the mid-3s in New York. He signed a three-year, $75 million contract to stay in Queens.
By the same token, right-hander Luis Severino was coming off the worst season of his career in 2023 with the Yankees before joining the Mets. And after a year in the Mets' pitching lab, the Venezuela native not only stayed healthy for the first time since 2018, but maintained an ERA in the 3s and parlayed that into a three-year, $67 million deal with the Athletics, the largest contract in team history.
Advertisement
'During the [2023] offseason, I was just thinking, what could I do to be better?,' Severino said. '2018 was the last time I threw more than 100 innings. So I was just looking for a pitch to keep me in the games. So I think [us] adding that sinker, sweeper and cutter action, I was able to throw more innings. I wasn't focused on striking everybody out.'
Canning is the team's latest reclamation project where it's struck gold. The Mets' right-hander allowed an American-League leading 99 earned runs last year with the Angels before coming to New York. This season, Canning has a career-best 3.23 ERA in 11 starts and has increased his strikeout rate and ground-ball percentage.
'The staff has obviously done research on you before you get here, so they already have some things in mind that they want to try and work on,' Canning said. 'I think the big thing is that they have a plan and they're really good about how they communicate with guys. It's unique to each guy and they know how to work to guys' strengths.'
But it's not just success in their rotation, but also in their bullpen.
Advertisement
Reliever Ryne Stanek is no stranger to organizations that rely heavily on data, pitching two-plus seasons for the Tampa Bay Rays and three seasons for the Houston Astros. And when the reliever was traded to the Mets last season, it started an intricate process to get him back to being the best version of himself.
'They're just like, 'Hey man, this is what we want. This is what we think you can do. How can we help you get there? They're just really open and are willing to put in the work and the time to figure it out,' Stanek recalled. 'Communicating with all the different groups that we have, like the analytics group talks to the pitching groups, and pitching groups talk to the analytics, and they both talk to the athletic training to keep workloads manageable and keep performance at a level that's sustainable and gets the most out of you performance-wise.'
After a slow start with New York last season, Stanek has a 3.10 ERA in 24 appearances this season and is back to being one of the most reliable relievers in baseball. Stanek has seen firsthand what the Mets have been able to do and credits it not only to the team, but players who want to be better.
'A lot of it is buy-in,' Stanek said. 'When I was in Tampa, you'd have older guys come in, because Tampa has done really well at making guys better, I'm not gonna say resurrected guys, but like, making tweaks to get them back to where they had been in the past, or maybe a little bit better in some areas. And like Houston, kind of same boat. Whenever I came in last year and [Severino] and Sean [Manaea], it showed that they got better here. They made things a little bit more efficient, and just tweaked some things. And it's like, 'I believe that this is gonna work.' It says, 'I can see so much of it is, like, the ideas.'
Advertisement
'Think of it like Organization A vs. Organization B. Like, A has the right ideas, but they haven't implemented them enough to show that they're successful. Organization B, they've had a few guys that have come in and clearly have gotten better. They may be saying the same thing, but one can say, 'this is what we've done already. Trust us, we have a track record. You may take one step back, but you're gonna take three steps forward' versus 'Hey man, trust me, it's gonna work.'
The Mets have figured out how to get the most out of pitchers both in their rotation and in their bullpen. That's not to say it will always work, but being able to get the most out of their arms for an extended period is a luxury in this day and age in baseball. Pitching wins in October and the more quality pitching the Mets can attain, the more they increase their chances of success once they get there.