The Mets clinched last place in the NL East with a 7-6 loss to Washington on Friday. New York is 73-87 with two games left and can finish no better than 75-87, despite carrying MLB’s second-highest payroll at $357 million, according to FanGraphs.
New York went 7-19 in April and was 11.5 games out of first by May 1. A month later it was 14 games back and never got within 13 games of the division lead; manager Carlos Mendoza was fired at the end of June, when the Mets were 34-47. Several high-profile additions struggled: Bo Bichette batted .259, Marcus Semien .216 and Devin Williams had a 4.54 ERA.
Former Mets first baseman Pete Alonso signed a five-year, $130 million deal with Baltimore and led the AL in RBI. He drew a standing ovation on a late-season return to Citi Field, then hit his 300th career home run there the next night. Rookie outfielder Carson Benge became the first Mets rookie to reach 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases; pitcher Nolan McLean posted a 3.16 ERA with 194 strikeouts in 179⅔ innings.
