Just Mets

The Mets offense has been much maligned throughout most of this 2015 season, but perhaps those days are behind them.

From July 25th, when the Mets added acquisitions Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson to the roster, to now where Travis d’Arnaud and Yoenis Cespedes have also joined the fun, this team’s offense has completely transformed itself.

In these last 10 games, the Mets are 8-2, averaging 5.9 runs per game and are hitting .270/.342/.497 with 94 hits, 23 doubles, 18 home runs, 34 walks and an .839 OPS.

While it’s a small sample size, it’s really not all that difficult to figure out why this team’s offense has improved so vastly over this current stretch–they’ve added talent.

For far too long this team was relying on players such as Danny Muno, John Mayberry Jr. or Eric Campbell to perform on a daily basis. Recently, however, there has been an influx of talent with this team, as they’ve added Uribe, Johnson and Cespedes via trade, d’Arnaud from the disabled list and outfield prospect Michael Conforto from the minor leagues. This has allowed the Mets to option Muno, release Mayberry and move Campbell to the back part of their bench as a result.

Not only has the starting lineup gotten better, but this team has become much more versatile and deeper in this last week and a half, all while strengthening a bench that was once a glaring weakness. Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson are experienced veterans who know how to win and can also play multiple positions or come off the bench and hit late in a game if needed. With the acquisition of Cespedes, the banged-up Juan Lagares now has the opportunity to rest more and isn’t relied upon to perform on a daily basis, but has shown that he can still get it done when he is called upon, as we saw with his two-run triple in the 8th inning of Tuesday night’s win.

Terry Collins also has the chance to play the matchup game if he wants to, as he can mix-and-match lefties and righties into games depending on the statistics and the opposing starting pitcher if he wants, a luxury he was not afforded earlier this season.

And with David Wright and Michael Cuddyer working their way back to full health, the offense could be even better sooner rather than later.