{"id":61764,"date":"2025-05-16T07:21:43","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T07:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=61764"},"modified":"2025-05-16T07:21:54","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T07:21:54","slug":"mets-david-stearns-identifies-area-for-improvement-weve-made-some-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=61764","title":{"rendered":"Mets\u2019 David Stearns identifies area for improvement: We\u2019ve \u2018made some mistakes\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"David<\/b><\/p>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 <\/b>It\u2019s difficult to identify a possible area of weakness on a team that has the best record (28-15) and run differential (69) in the National League.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns praised his team for being \u201cpretty balanced.\u201d He also admitted that there\u2019s one area they can certainly improve.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we can play better defense … that\u2019s an area we can get better,\u201d Stearns told reporters. \u201cI think the players that we have are capable of playing better defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of May 14, a little over the quarter mark of the season, the Mets\u2019 defense has been average at best. Their collective 13 defensive runs saved ranks 13 of 30 teams, while their -6 outs above average ranks 23. Their 20 errors rank 18, and their .987 team fielding percentage ranks 12.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think right now we\u2019ve had some very strong defensive performances. Brandon Nimmo has played a very solid left field,\u201d Stearns added. \u201cI think there are also areas where we have some guys who are skilled defenders, and we\u2019ve just made some mistakes at some points.\u201d<\/p>\n

The main \u201cskilled\u201d culprit who\u2019s taken a steep dip has been shortstop Francisco Lindor. Traditionally, one of the best shortstops in the game, this season, Lindor\u2019s -4 defensive runs saved and 1 outs above average are the lowest of his career.<\/p>\n

Lindor is on pace for 22 errors, which would represent the most of his career by a long shot. The most errors he\u2019s committed are 14 as a member of the then-Cleveland Indians in 2018.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not for lack of trying. Lindor is constantly working on his defense, taking grounders before games and during batting practice.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s an area where the Mets have shown great improvement \u2014 controlling the running game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s certainly been one of the highlights of our defense so far this year,\u201d Stearns said. \u201cThat\u2019s a testament, not only to the three catchers we\u2019ve had up here, all of them have thrown really well, but also to our pitching group as a whole. They made this a priority, keeping runners close.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn certain cases, getting a little quicker to the plate. All of that has turned into a team that controls the running game very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mets have improved their caught stealing percentage from 20% last season, 20th of 30 teams, to 42.4% this year, the best in MLB. They\u2019ve also gone from allowing the fifth-most stolen bases in the game last year to allowing the second-fewest.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Controlling the running game) did become a priority, especially with our coaching staff,\u201d Stearns said. \u201c(Mets manager Carlos Mendoza) did a great job of prioritizing that with our group, not only in the offseason but in spring training. And the guys have reacted, and we\u2019re in a pretty good spot there right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns spoke with reporters on Wednesday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":61768,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nMets\u2019 David Stearns identifies area for improvement: We\u2019ve \u2018made some mistakes\u2019 - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=61764\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mets\u2019 David Stearns identifies area for improvement: We\u2019ve \u2018made some mistakes\u2019 - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns spoke with reporters on Wednesday\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=61764\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-16T07:21:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-16T07:21:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/newspress-collage-nxz4vkksv-1725421895517.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"799\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=61764\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=61764\",\"name\":\"Mets\u2019 David Stearns identifies area for improvement: We\u2019ve \u2018made some mistakes\u2019 - 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