The NL East was supposed to be MLB’s best division, but things have been ugly. What happened?
Trea Turner has been perhaps the best shortstop in baseball and Soto’s presence everyday will make up for a lot of the team’s shortcomings.
Mets
What’s wrong? The offense has been anemic, resulting in the Mets firing hitting coach Chili Davis after their loss Monday. Entering Wednesday, the Mets were last in the league in runs (76) and home runs (18) and were batting just .208 with runners in scoring position, worst in the NL. Francisco Lindor has struggled mightily in his first month-plus with the team, batting. 163 with a .494 OPS, just one home run and 3 RBI.
largely to Huascar Ynoa) and stars like Freeman (a free agent after 2021) and Ozzie Albies are likely to get back to where you’d expect them to be. Ronald Acuña Jr. looks like an MVP favorite so far.
Marlins
What’s wrong? Even after the postseason trip last year, the Marlins were picked last in the division and they were expected to be the punching bag for the four other contenders. They’ve missed young starter Sixto Sanchez (shoulder) and are in fifth place entering Wednesday.
Can they fix it? There’s no reason this team can’t hang around in the wild-card picture, but the Marlins just don’t have the depth to compete for the division crown. Keep an eye on second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (926 OPS, seven steals) and lefty starter Trevor Rogers (1.91 ERA, 44 K in 33 innings) who have both dazzled in the early going.