What a disaster this 2025 New York Mets team was. If you’re a fan, you probably wish they would’ve just ripped the Band-Aid off and not waited until the last day of the season to show exactly why they never had it in them. However, the world is not so kind, and the Mets were not that consistent. It took being shutout by a perennially poor team in Game 162 to seal it. It stings more because the Reds, who the Mets were contending for the last playoff spot with, had lost their game and given the Mets a fighting chance to control their destiny. However, as was the theme of the majority of the season, the team could not come through when it mattered most. Let’s dive into the numbers on a season that Mets fans will scratch their heads about for years to come.
The Up & Down Nature of Mets Pitching in 2025
On June 12, the Mets held the best record in the MLB at 45-24, a half-game better than the 45-25 Detroit Tigers.
They had just won their 6th in a row and held a run differential of +95, meaning they had scored 95 more runs than they had allowed (319 runs scored, 224 runs allowed). It was the third-best mark in the majors, behind only the Yankees and the Cubs. They had scored significantly less runs than those teams (Yankees had 366 runs scored, Cubs had 379), but it was their pitching that shined bright. They had the fewest runs allowed in the MLB (per MLB website).
Per Fangraphs (Starters and Relievers):
March/April (21-10 record): 2.64 ERA (65 ERA-), 2.88 FIP (70 FIP-)
May (15-12 record): 3.15 ERA (77 ERA-), 4.12 FIP (100 FIP-)
June 1-12 (9-2 record): 2.60 ERA (64 ERA-), 3.43 FIP (84 FIP-)
*(FIP- is FIP relative to league average with league average = 100)*
Per FanGraphs (Starters Only):
March/April (21-10 record): 2.24 ERA (55 ERA-), 2.77 FIP (68 FIP-)
May (15-12 record): 3.60 ERA (88 ERA-), 4.43 FIP (107 FIP-)
June 1-12 (9-2 record): 2.38 ERA (59 ERA-), 3.43 FIP (84 FIP-)
Mets pitchers were very good early in 2025, as these numbers reinforce. What’s most important is the length their starters contributed. In the first 69 games of the season (45-24 record), Mets starters averaged 5.3 innings per game, roughly 16 outs of 27 in a 9-inning game. Keep that in mind as we head to the second half.
Per Fangraphs (Starters and Relievers):
June 13-30 (3-13 record): 6.41 ERA (157 ERA-), 4.60 FIP (111 FIP-)
July (14-10 record): 3.99 ERA (98 ERA-), 4.63 FIP (112 FIP-)
August (11-17 record): 4.97 ERA (122 ERA-), 3.81 FIP (93 FIP-)
September (10-15 record): 4.95 ERA (122 ERA-), 4.02 FIP (98 FIP-)
Per FanGraphs (Starters Only):
June 13-30 (3-13 record): 6.22 ERA (153 ERA-), 5.11 FIP (124 FIP-)
July (14-10 record): 3.86 ERA (95 ERA-), 4.70 FIP (114 FIP-)
August (11-17 record): 5.41 ERA (133 ERA-), 3.59 FIP (87 FIP-)
September (10-15 record): 5.94 ERA (146 ERA-), 4.34 FIP (105 FIP-)
The post-June-12th pitching staff was a tough watch. From 45-24 on June 12, the Mets went 38-55 for the rest of the season, finishing 83-79 and missing out on the playoffs. A large amount of blame can be attributed to the pitching.
Outside of a sub-4 ERA in July, can we really say anything positive about these numbers? August’s 3.59 FIP suggests they should’ve been better? Is that positive? Anyways, if you watched the team play, this isn’t news, but the Mets dealt with a huge length issue. Their starters couldn’t stay in the game long enough to keep the bullpen relatively fresh. They also dealt with injuries to some key guys. I mentioned how pre-June-12th the Mets starters averaged 5.3 innings. Well, the post-June-12th starters averaged 4.6 innings per game–about 2 full outs less than earlier in the season. That may not sound like a huge difference, but we must keep in mind how fragile arms can be and the downsides of having a fatigued bullpen. The Mets were forced to go to their relief arms early, which can end in disaster just as easily as it can end positively. Moreover, the average would likely be less had it not been for the length David Peterson provided the team every 5 days (although he eventually fell off a cliff himself).
Overall, the Mets had the third-highest number of innings thrown by relievers with 636.0 IP. After June 12, they were second with 387.0 IP, trailing only the 60-102 White Sox. By the way, they were dead last in innings pitched by starting pitchers following June 12, beating the Sox in that category by 1 out.
What I want you to take away from this is that the Mets had a glaring pitching issue this season, and they must address it in the offseason if they want to be a better team.
Mets Hitting in 2025 Not All That Bad?
The Mets made the biggest splash in free agency after their 2024 NLCS run by signing Juan Soto to a massive 15-year contract. This agreement confirmed Soto’s place in the top of the lineup for the next decade-plus and signaled the Mets desire to win for a long time.
In the first year of a batting order featuring Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and 2024 breakout star Mark Vientos, did the lineup live up to the hype? Let’s take a look at the numbers.
Per FanGraphs:
2025 Total (83-79 record): 224 HR, 766 R, 9.1 BB%, 21.5 K%, .326 wOBA, 112 wRC+
March/April (21-10 record): 9.3 BB%, 19.3 K%, .321 wOBA, 109 wRC+
May (15-12 record): 10.0 BB%, 21.4 K%, .324 wOBA, 111 wRC+
June (12-15 record): 8.1 BB%, 22.0 K%, .319 wOBA, 108 wRC+
July (14-10 record): 9.2 BB%, 23.1 K%, .297 wOBA, 92 wRC+
August (11-17 record): 9.6 BB%, 19.8 K%, .371 wOBA, 143 wRC+
September (10-15 record): 8.4 BB%, 24.0 K%, .317 wOBA, 106 wRC+
Yes?
The Mets ranked 5th in the MLB in HR and 10th in Runs Scored (R). They were tied for 4th-highest wRC+ and placed 6th in wOBA. Their 9.1 BB% was 5th in the league, largely helped by the selective eye of the league’s walk leader Soto, and their 21.5 K% was slightly better than league average.
What was the issue here?
The first thing to note was the lack of help the pitchers gave them. The pitching got considerably worse since the high point of the season on June 12. However, we can’t chalk the Mets’ woes up to that. In wins, the Mets held an .837 OPS, while they held just a .596 OPS in losses. There’s an expected discrepancy when it comes to performance in wins and losses, but this feels like a ravine between the two numbers. Another huge issue the team faced was inability to fight back. The Mets put up their worst OPS when they were behind in games, no matter the deficit. Their .704 OPS when behind in games was significantly poorer than their .799 OPS when tied and their .767 OPS when ahead. They were the only team in the MLB this season that didn’t come back to win a game they were losing going into the 9th inning. Without getting into specific hitters, it was quite obvious this was a team-wide issue late in games.
The team’s bats streaked at similar times in similar fashions. Unfortunately, baseball can be cruel like that. I do wonder which directions the Mets go offensively in the offseason. That all starts with Pete Alonso’s testing of free agency, of course, but I wonder if they make trades no one sees coming to bolster the lineup with more consistency.
Conclusion
This post is simply a quick analysis of the Mets’ 2025 pitching and batting results. The Mets benefited from tremendous production in both stealing bases, as well as throwing out would-be base stealers. Luis Torrens, the Mets’ backup catcher, totaled 11 defensive runs saved above average (DRS), throwing out 41% of baserunners trying to steal another bag. On the offensive side, Juan Soto nearly stole 40 bases, Lindor stole 31 bases, and the whole team held an 89% success rate, the next best team being the Cubs at 82%!
In short, there were a lot of factors that went into the rollercoaster of a season the Mets fell short in. Perhaps I can get into that in another post, but to keep this one simple: pitching must be addressed first and foremost, while hitting needs to find a formula of consistency.
Inner Half 