BRONX, NY — The misery is over for the Mets and their fans, finishing last in the National League East division at 74-88. A team projected to play deep into October will now analyze what went wrong.
Across town the Yankees (93-68) again are in the postseason as the top American League Wild Card and await the Red Sox (87-75) Tuesday night in the Bronx.
For a second consecutive postseason, the Red Sox and Yankees will be meeting in the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium with last year’s matchup ending with the Yankees winning in three games – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
For the 12 teams left standing, it’s about playing deep into October, with the Dodgers (100-62) looking to three-peat, the NL’s best Brewers (103-58) chasing a World Series title and Rays who have defied the odds with the best record in the AL (98-64).
Now the real season begins, the postseason.
Anything is possible.
The Yankees won seven of their 13 games against the Red Sox this season, with New York going 4-2 at home and 3-4 on the road – Image Credit: Ernesto Diaz/Latino Sports
Momentum builds for Wild Card teams first while the top two teams in each league watch and gear up for the Division Series.
A long baseball season and rapid one it was. A year of baseball of unusual plays, record breakers, and perhaps too many pitch challenges with the ABS system. The emotional last pitches thrown in Detroit from former teammates Justin Verlander who is headed to the Hall of Fame and Max Scherzer in Toronto who is considering a return to the mound for one more year. Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor, also former teammates, each hitting their 300 milestone career home runs. All four were once Mets.
The emphasis here because I cover baseball in New York is a brief analysis of one team, the Mets, ending the season on a 6-4 loss to the Nationals Sunday, headed to the 2026-2027 offseason and looking into what went wrong.
And the other in the Bronx, the Yankees, failing in their quest to win the AL East.
The Yankees finished one game short of another 94 win season because rain forced postponement of their 2026 regular season finale Sunday with the Orioles.
What Went Wrong with Mets?
Everything that was projected because they were the best team on paper, with the second highest team payroll in the game, featuring a lineup of perennial All-Stars Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and new acquisition Bo Bichette. Other offseason moves put president of baseball operations David Stearns in the hot seat as nothing expected would transpire to a winner.
Multiple-time LatinoMVP Award winners Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto played in only 44 of the Mets’ 162 games together in 2026 due to multiple injury stints – Image Credit: Ernesto Diaz/Latino Sports
Injuries to Lindor and Soto impacted them with the LatinoMVP winning duo hardly playing half the season in the lineup together. And losing Pete Alonso to free agency had an impact at the plate and in the dugout for the Amazin’s.
A decline in home attendance too compared to 2025, a reminder to Stearns that the front office let Alonso walk was when the Orioles slugger hit his 300th career HR earlier this month at Citi Field.
And after a managerial change, the Mets showed some life but could not recover from their early funk. They were in the abyss from the onset. Manager Carlos Mendoza was the culprit and took the fall. Andy Green stepped in and the interim manager status was lifted.
Youngsters A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge with NL Rookie of the Year consideration were the bright spots in a losing season and so was Nolan McLean, Zac Thornton, and Christian Scott, the future of the Mets’ rotation.
Under new full-time manager to go 37-38 although there would be messes in the bullpen, Green got his players to respond. Through a revamped ‘pen with whatever it took after MLB’s trade deadline, Green guided the Mets to a nice 27-22 beginning after their disastrous first half.
Andy Green guided the Mets in a positive direction upon becoming the interim manager this season and later the full-time skipper – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
They were not consistent, last time they finished last in the division was 2023 at 74-88.
“It’s all a blur,” said Bichette about the lost season recently as Green stated, “It’s what you take away from it culturally and individually. You can’t play with the weight of unmet expectations on your back and expect good baseball to happen. I think you have to take that with you into next year. I think you have to take a resolve that we’re not going to be in this spot again.”
A blur it was. A baseball higher up said to me last week about Stearns and the Mets,“They had a lousy season but Stearns is a winner.”
On The Other Side of Town
Isn’t it appropriate for the Yankees to be in the postseason even though at times there were doubts?
The Yankees will be playing postseason baseball in the Bronx for the ninth time in the last 10 years with 2023 marking the organization’s only season without a postseason appearance – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
As an observer of this team up close since late March, I was one of those skeptics. Something did not seem as they say “Yankees Like.” Home run production was down, issues with hitting left-handed pitching, and a bullpen that gave away too many ballgames.
And the absence of three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge in the lineup, missing more than 90 games and questionable about his status for the postseason.
Besides Judge, an insurmountable contingent of injuries, including Giancarlo Stanton, who missed a majority of the season and is working his way back to the roster and possibly in the AL Wild Card Series vs. Boston.
Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton, teammates in pinstripes since 2018, have played in 24 games together in 2026 – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Each hitting the IL too at times this year were Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, Jazz Chisholm, Jr. José Caballero, Ryan McMahon, Carlos Rodón, Max Fried and Gerrit Cole. And that’s not the entire slate that went down. Manager Aaron Boone had to constantly maneuver the lineup. You needed a scorecard with constant transactions to determine the roster construction.
Boone should deserve more credit in the dugout, he went with the analytic plan and lefty-right mix in a Yankees lineup that finished second in home runs to the Cubs.
As always though, the Yankees handled adversity well. They won some of those tight ballgames, but did have difficulty scoring runs and were not consistent enough to build a winning streak as the Rays kept winning and captured the AL East. A division the Yankees were projected to win.
The Rays secure their first AL East title since 2021!
(MLB x @BudweiserUSA) pic.twitter.com/7idjLXC6wT
— MLB (@MLB) September 23, 2026
And their starting pitching was their strength, leading MLB in ERA. The bullpen also led MLB in ERA for a good part of their season with Paul Blackburn and Brent Headrick leading the backend to capable closer David Bednar.
Preventing runs, the Yankees also made costly errors. Anthony Volpe at shortstop was sent to Scranton Triple-A to refine his game, got the return call and showed improvement even playing a bit of second and third. Rookie and top prospect George Lombard Jr. secured the spot at short despite the 21-year-old youngster tying a franchise record in August with an error in six consecutive games.
Yankees rookie shortstop and top prospect George Lombard Jr., set to make his postseason debut Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, made headlines last month in his MLB debut last month – Image Credit: Francisco Rodriguez/Latino Sports
It didn’t matter though, as the Yankees clinched a postseason spot again, marking their ninth appearance in the dance in the last 10 years and 61st in franchise history. They never had doubt about their ability in a clubhouse and dugout of leaders.
And no longer a rookie, Cam Schlittler, starting Tuesday night, is the AL Cy Young Award favorite, going 14-6, with a 1.95 ERA and 239 strikeouts (fourth in AL) over 33 starts.
“He wants the ball and is ready to go,” said manager Aaron Boone. “He’s going to win the Cy Young Award and has been the best pitcher in the league”
With Schlittler, the Yankees are in good hands.
All eyes will be on Cam Schlittler Tuesday night as the AL Cy Young Award favorite takes the mound for the Yankees against the Red Sox in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
A Yankees team that knocked at the door of Tampa Bay. Winning the division, the Rays month by month have become the talk of baseball through every part of their game. Yet through a division title or Wild Card, the Yankees are where they always are—another postseason.
To them it’s not fulfillment until they win another World Series and from a statement they sent six months ago, which was running it back this season after a disappointing end to their run in the 2025 postseason.
And after 161 games, they fulfilled part of their mission.
Rich Mancuso is a senior writer and columnist at LatinoSports.com with coverage of MLB, boxing, and MLS – X:@Ring786, Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
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