Coming into the 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, the expectations for the National League (NL) East’s New York Mets were relatively high. The Mets had a historical collapse to end the 2025 MLB season, which saw them fail to reach the postseason after once being 20 games over the .500 mark. But this team was a big bounce back candidate going into the second year of the Juan Soto era after acquiring stars like Bo Bichette, Freddy Peralta and Devin Williams. FanGraphs gave New York about an 80 percent chance to make the postseason before the start of the season. But as of April 22, they hold a 8-16 record, the worst in MLB. How did we get here?

To start, while the Mets did make huge acquisitions this offseason with Bichette and Peralta, they lost some of their core players from the past couple seasons. Mets franchise home run leader, Pete Alonso, departed for Baltimore and the homegrown outfielder (OF), Brandon Nimmo, was controversially traded to Texas in exchange for second basement (2B) Marcus Semien. So far into the season, all of these moves have not played out as the Mets hoped. 

Brandon Nimmo is crushing to start the season. The left fielder (LF) is slashing .293/.364/.495 with four home runs and 11 runs batted in (RBI) in 99 at bats, this kind of production from the outfield is what the Mets desperately need right now. While Pete Alonso has not been his usual self to begin his 2026 campaign, he has started to heat up in his last seven games following his slow start. 

The new faces in Queens have had a rough introduction. The team signed free agent Bo Bichette to a huge three-year, 126 million dollar contract this offseason, and he has not produced. Bichette is slashing .220/.255/.290 with a single home run in 100 at bats to start his Mets tenure. The 28-year old’s struggles may partially be due to the fact of having to learn a new position at third base (3B). 

They also traded two of their top prospects in January in exchange for right-handed pitcher (RHP) Freddy Peralta from the Milwaukee Brewers. Peralta was expected to come into Queens and slot in as their ace pitcher, but he has failed to live up to expectations. Through his five starts, Peralta has a 4.05 earned run average (ERA) in 26.2 innings and has not had the ability to pitch deep into games. New closing pitcher Devin Williams has a 9.95 ERA along with a blown save in 6.1 innings. While veteran 2B Marcus Semien continues his three season slump with a .233 batting average (BA). 

Three of the Mets young core players in Carson Benge, Mark Vientos and Brett Baty are still looking for consistency. The three are hitting a combined 39-for-195 this year, a .200 BA.

Unofficial captain, SS Francisco Lindor has also not settled in at the plate yet. Lindor is slashing .226/.314/.355 with only two home runs and five RBI in 93 at bats. He is struggling to set the tone and lead his team to start the season. 

As a team, the Mets have the worst on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) and fourth worst BA in MLB. Outside of rookie RHP Nolan McLean, their pitching has been towards the bottom half of the league, with a 4.04 team ERA.

New York started the season 7-4 before entering an intense downward spiral. Between April 8 and 22, the Mets went winless, dropping 12 straight games, their longest losing streak since 2002. 

During this stretch, the Mets 765 million dollar OF Juan Soto was on the injured list with a right calf strain sustained on April 3. Soto was activated on April 22 and immediately brought a spark back to the lineup, as they won their first game in two weeks. However, there continues to be some uncertainty with how healthy the relationships in the Mets club house are. Prior to the win on Wednesday, Soto told the media that he had not spoken to his teammates during the tough stretch. The issues the team is facing on the field may be somewhat rooted from what’s happening off of it. Many also wonder how many games Manager Carlos Mendoza has left with the team if this slump continues.  

Unfortunately, the Mets sustained another loss as Francisco Lindor was removed from the April 22 game with a left calf strain, and he is expected to miss significant time.  

No team in MLB history has ever made the playoffs after losing 12 consecutive games, so while it is only April, the Mets will need to defy long odds to avoid missing the postseason for the second consecutive year.   

However, all hope for the Mets is not lost, as what was believed to be their toughest competition for the NL East this year, the back-to-back division champion Philadelphia Phillies, have had a tough stretch of their own. They are currently riding a nine-game losing streak and sit at the bottom of the division, right next to the Mets. If New York can take advantage of this slump and string together a few wins, they could climb back into the race sooner than expected. 

(All statistics and records updated as of 4/23/26 at 8:00 p.m.)