Written by Adam Rubin at ESPN.com
Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon believes the team might not be able to afford to wait until the trading deadline to add a bat and jump-start its struggling offense.
“I think we might need to do something before that, because the deadline is still four to six weeks away,” Wilpon said Monday. “We’ve got to start playing better baseball now.”
The Mets are at least considering a reunion with Jose Reyes once he becomes a free agent, a source said. The thinking certainly has evolved since before a weekend sweep by the lowly Atlanta Braves at Citi Field. Last week, a team official said there was “virtually no chance” of a Reyes reunion.
After the series finale with the Braves, manager Terry Collins suggested the Mets might need to do some sort of shakeup beyond just juggling the lineup. Collins acknowledged internal discussions about demoting 23-year-old left fielder Michael Conforto, who is hitting .231 with a .297 on-base percentage and .447 slugging percentage.
On the merits of demoting Conforto, Wilpon said: “That’s not for me to opine on. I think [general manager] Sandy [Alderson] and Terry are talking about everything that might or might not be able to happen. He did hit a home run and swung the bat well two or three days ago. We’ve just got to see more consistency with that.”
The Mets completed the weekend with a 36-32 record. They dropped to third place, six games behind the division-leading Washington Nationals.
The Mets ranked 29th in the majors in batting average (.234) and 25th in on-base percentage (.307) entering play Monday.
“Of course we’re concerned,” Wilpon said. “Nobody is happy with the way we’re playing. I meet with Sandy, Terry, [assistant GM] John Ricco all the time. They’re working on things to try to get us where we need to go and start playing a little bit better. … We started off fine. It’s been the last week. But what you don’t want is the week to run into two weeks that runs into a month and hurts you very badly. I think we’re addressing it. I know Sandy and the guys are working hard on what the next step should be.”
To continue reading, click here.
