The Mets' Lack of Accountability Is Hurting Their Outlook

The Mets have dug themselves a deep hole in the standings. Continuing to give underperforming players consistent paths to playing time won't help dig them out of it.

The Mets need to own up to their shortcomings if they ever hope to improve their outlook. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Any positive momentum the Mets built after a solid split on their final West Coast trip of the season has completely evaporated over the past two days. Back-to-back blowout losses to the Cardinals, a team the Mets are chasing in the National League Wild Card standings, have raised further questions about the lack of accountability for players providing sub-optimal performance.

While the offense has been nothing to write home about over the past two days, one of the bigger culprits of Wednesday's defeat was lefty David Peterson. The Mets recently removed Peterson from their rotation after a string of poor performances, and he recently told the media that he still envisioned himself as a starter but was willing to work to help the team.

Peterson got some bulk relief work on Wednesday and was roughed up by the Cardinals, giving up six runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings to turn a 2-0 deficit into an 8-2 hole by the time he departed. That rough outing raised Peterson's season ERA to 5.75, an alarming development for a pitcher who was on his way to the MLB All-Star Game a year ago.

David Peterson's final line tonight as the bulk reliever vs. the Cardinals.

His season ERA is 5.75. pic.twitter.com/nNWY8aoe6w

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 11, 2026

Peterson left the clubhouse before speaking to the media on Wednesday, per NY Daily News' Abbey Mastracco, which is out of character for him and could be a sign of frustration with his current struggles. Although Peterson did speak to the press on Thursday prior to the matinee finale with the Cardinals, his no-show with the press the night before was what former Mets general manager Sandy Alderson best described as "bad optics".

"I think sometimes it's just part of baseball, you have some good ones, you have some bad ones. I think it takes a long time to have a good year... take it one day at a time"

David Peterson is asked why he thinks his struggles have lingered for so long: pic.twitter.com/xyz50p2o0H

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 11, 2026

The Mets are suffering from a lack of accountability

While injuries are a big part of the Mets' struggles this season, a lack of accountability towards the players in the locker room hasn't helped. A good example of this traces all the way back to April, when Mark Vientos ran through a stop sign and defended his decision after the game, citing his "baseball instincts".

Mark Vientos runs through the stop sign from Tim Leiper trying to score on Marcus Semien's double pic.twitter.com/A5T1cDO2zf

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 23, 2026

Manager Carlos Mendoza opted not to take any action to hold Vientos accountable for that poor decision at the time, either by pulling him from the game or sitting him the next day. Vientos has not helped his manager with his continually poor performances, to the point he has the worst WAR among active position players and is on the losing end of a first-base competition with Jared Young.

This is not new for the Mets, who have seen Mendoza stand up for his players at every turn. That held true for Peterson's performance last night, with Mendoza saying after the game that he believed Peterson is going to get big outs for the Mets in the coming weeks.

Carlos Mendoza on David Peterson's struggles:

"I look at him as a guy that we're going to need to get big outs for us. I'm confident in Peterson even though it's been hard for him. You continue to trust him and continue to work with him" pic.twitter.com/jv9i2v03nH

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 11, 2026

Belief in your players is a good thing for a manager to have, and it can work out in certain cases. The problem is that it is hard to continually empower players who haven't performed well in mid-June when the season is on the brink of slipping away.

SNY's Ron Darling recently made the point on a telecast that he has seen players on the team make consistent fundamental mistakes, raising questions about whether they are actually listening to the coaching staff. That kind of fundamental malaise won't work if the Mets are going to salvage their season, even if they get good results from Francisco Lindor upon his return.

That brings us back to the accountability question, and specifically whether Mendoza is demanding enough accountability from his players. No one is asking for Mendoza to come to a press conference and throw chairs around to demonstrate how upset he is, but he recently said himself he can only say so much if the players aren't performing.

There's so much I could sit here and say that we worry - we've got to go out and do it ourselves. We're not putting ourselves in good positions. It's not early anymore. Whatever I say here doesn't matter; we've got to go out there and do it.

Carlos Mendoza, Mets manager

The Mets' current strategy seems to be to try to survive until Lindor returns, and he appears close to coming back, with a full week of baseball activities on tap at Citi Field. The margin for error is extremely thin at 29-38, however, meaning the Mets can't afford to keep dropping games by making the same mistakes.

It is worth comparing the Mets' situation to that of the Phillies, who also got off to a slow start and fired a much more accomplished manager in Rob Thomson. The Phillies have been healthier than the Mets, but the firing lit a fire under their players, leading to a 28-12 record under interim manager Don Mattingly.

The Mets have been a thoroughly mediocre team for nearly a full calendar year, as we are almost one year from the infamous June 12 turning point to the 2025 season. Before Thursday's clash with St. Louis, New York has gone 66-94 since that point, good for a .412 winning percentage, and there are no signs of an imminent turnaround beyond a few-game stretch of what turns out to be false hope.

Restoring accountability would help, and the Mets have two ways to do that. One would be to remove several underperforming players, such as Vientos and Peterson, from the locker room to shake up the group. The other would be to move on from Mendoza, who appears to be a dead man walking and will almost certainly be let go if the team fades into oblivion.

The fact that Knicks' fever has taken over New York has spared the Mets from a lot of difficult conversations. Once the NBA Finals conclude and baseball is the only game in town, it will be a lot harder for the Mets to hide their lack of accountability any longer.