Mets Morning News: Bring on the Phillies

Meet the Mets

Francisco Lindor is having an excellent season, which prompted Mike Petriello to ponder whether he might be an underrated player now because of his slow start to the 2021 season.

The Athletic has the full story behind “Narco,” Edwin Díaz’s famous entrance song.

The Mets activated Dom Smith from the injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse. Anthony DiComo wrote about how the first baseman has been dealing with a disappointing season.

Asked how the Mets might use their pair of highly-touted catching prospects, Jim Callis noted the differences in their likely timelines to reaching the big leagues.

There’s a good story from Tim Healey about how David Peterson wound up getting the lineup card from his major league debut two years after it happened.

The Mets announced their roster for Old Timers Day.

John Harper wrote about five things to watch for in the Mets’ series against the Phillies this weekend.

The Mets are taking over New York, writes David Lennon.

If you’re concerned about what keeping the 2022 Mets together might cost billionaire owner Steve Cohen in 2023, Mike Puma has you covered.

Around the National League East

The Braves placed Max Fried on the 7-day concussion injured list. Fried hit his head on the ground as he tried to make a play against the Mets on Saturday but was left in the game for three more innings despite the head injury.

While the Mets were off last night ahead of their three-game series with the Phillies this weekend, the Phillies were shut out by the Marlins.

Around Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball hosted its second Field of Dreams game last night, and it was opened by Ken Griffey Jr. and Ken Griffey Sr. emerging from the cornfield and having a catch. The Cubs won the game, which also featured a Harry Caray hologram that creeped everyone out.

Even after trading for Juan Soto, when you’re the Padres, the Dodgers loom large.

The Angels missed their best chance to get a haul of prospects for Shohei Ohtani, writes Jon Heyman. He also provides some details on which prospect the Yankees did and didn’t offer for Luis Castillo, who was ultimately traded from the Reds to the Mariners at the deadline. And last but not least, Heyman writes about the disappointing deadline performance of the Brewers’ David Stearns, someone who’s long been rumored to be of interest to the Mets.

The Yankees are trying to make the best of a modified number retirement ceremony for Paul O’Neill because the former outfielder and current broadcaster is unvaccinated against COVID.

Baseball Prospectus wrote a piece about the @would_it_dong account on Twitter.

Jed Lowried was released by the A’s.

The Giants acknowledged the passing of Tim Lincecum’s wife.

This Date in Mets History

Today marks the anniversary of the 1994 players’ strike and that time that Benny Agbayani forgot how many outs there were and gave the ball to a kid with runners on base and the inning not over.