The New York Mets had the chance of bringing in several top players near the deadline, and they were clearly willing to surrender top-end talent.
This was on display when they traded Pete Crow-Armstrong, the team’s top draft pick in 2020, to the Chicago Cubs.
However, they had to settle for Javier Baez after Chicago didn’t want to surrender Kris Bryant to them.
Baez is certainly a dynamic player, but he has several flaws that make him an odd fit with the Mets, like his lack of plate discipline.
In the end, the club decided to make the move because he could add power, speed, defense, and has a friendship with Francisco Lindor.
The Mets started to slide, even before they got Baez, but things got so bad that they lost first place of the National League East and are now far behind, 7.5 games out of first place as of Tuesday afternoon.
Tension Got The Best Of Some Players
Tensions are boiling, players are frustrated, and fans are certainly not happy.
Since fans have been booing Mets players for a while, some of the latter have decided to fight back.
On Sunday, Lindor, Baez, and Kevin Pillar decided to make a thumbs down sign to fans in protest to their constant booing.
Baez confirmed after the game that the sign was directed at fans and was made as a protest.
Mets president Sandy Alderson and owner Steve Cohen let people know, through an official statement and the media, respectively, that the thumbs down sign toward fans by the players was “unacceptable.”
Well that ends Báez's future Mets career! https://t.co/wnhD8yoNEa
— Kate Feldman (@kateefeldman) August 30, 2021
For Baez, who is hitting .242/.286/.479 with 26 home runs, it could mean that his future with the Mets is in jeopardy.
He has already apologized for the incident, as was expected, but it’s possible, even likely, that the team decides to look elsewhere for infield improvements in the offseason.
Javy Baez apologizes for the thumbs down incident. 👎
(🎥: @SNYtv) pic.twitter.com/gqqEvpFv8Z
— theScore (@theScore) August 31, 2021
The fit in the diamond was already questionable, but the latest incident with the fans and the image he leaves as an instigator, along with Lindor, probably means the Mets won’t pursue him when he hits free agency after the 2021 World Series.
Baez Likely Does Not Have A Future In New York
For the look of things, many things could potentially change in the offseason, and the Mets could have some new faces.
Not only considering Cohen and Alderson must be pretty upset with Baez for ‘booing’ fans the way he did, but one has to think the episode wasn’t well received by some of the veterans in the organization.
Right now, the Mets’ clubhouse appears fractured, divided at the very least in the ones that went along with and liked the thumbs down gesture to fans and the ones who didn’t like it.
Baez will, most likely, play elsewhere from 2022 on, and it’s likely that other teams are wary about his potential impact in a clubhouse.
However, the Mets also now have a Lindor problem.
He has apologized, as well, but unlike Baez, the next time he will be a free agent is in 10 years from now.
He is the Mets’ franchise player, and he certainly didn’t project a good image toward fans by taking part on the movement.
We will see if time lets the wounds heal between Lindor and Mets fans.
Baez, though, will likely be wearing another uniform in 2022.
NEXT: Should Mets Even Bother Having Noah Syndergaard Join The Bullpen?
