The MLB trade deadline can feel like a giant box of duct tape; you patch what you can and hope the whole thing holds until October. For the New York Mets, that tape has already started peeling. Their play since the deadline has flirted with a collapse, a stretch that’s made it clear this was never a one-deal-away team.
Even before August rolled in, the Mets were leaning on starters who couldn’t finish the job and a lineup that needed its top four hitters to carry it. David Stearns could’ve gone shopping for help in the infield, center field, and DH spot, but the market was thin, and the prices were padded for desperation.