The New York Mets and New York Yankees went into the 2023 MLB season owning the top two payrolls in the league, Steve Cohen’s whopping $348 million outdoing Hal Steinbrenner’s $279 million.
The aggression on the free agent market by both teams, highlighted by Justin Verlander joining Max Scherzer in the Mets’ rotation while the Yankees signed AL MVP Aaron Judge long-term and brought in Carlos Rodon for their pitching staff, and results from the 2022 campaign led many to believe another round of the Subway Series was inbound.
Curtis Granderson, who played for both franchises in his career, thought so.
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"At the beginning this year, I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to see a Subway Series?’ We’ll see," Granderson told Fox News Digital at The Players’ Party hosted by the MLB Players' Association, Lids and Topps.
But heading into the All-Star break, both teams are on the outside of the postseason picture looking in. A situation no one thought would be the case after the Mets won 101 games last season, and the Yankees won 99.
Of course, there’s still the entire second half of the season left to play, enough time for both teams to make up games they lost and get into the postseason.
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But if Granderson had to guess which New York team won’t be representing their respective league in October, he knows his answer.
"If I’m picking right now, so you gotta timestamp it, you just got to look at the probability of where everybody’s at," Granderson prefaced. "I have to say the Mets just because, yes, you are close in the wild card, but you also have to look at how far out in the division standings. So I’m going to have to say that."
The Yankees just fell out of the third and final wild card spot before the break, as they sit one game behind the Toronto Blue Jays, their AL East rival, for that slot.
The Mets, on the other hand, have arguably been the first half’s biggest disappointment. Having the highest payroll in MLB means wins will be abundant.
Instead, they’re 42-48 and sitting seven games out of a wild card spot. Even worse, MLB’s best team by record, the Atlanta Braves at 60-29, are 18.5 games ahead of the Mets in the NL East.
Again, things can change over the course of an MLB 162-game marathon. But the Mets have struggled to close out games, mainly due to untimely bullpen blunders. The Mets have middle-of-the-pack hitting stats, including 405 total runs scored, which is 15th in MLB. However, a minus-3 run differential usually means games aren’t being won.
But this isn’t taking the Yankees off the hook.
They’re the exact opposite of the Mets: Great pitching (seventh in overall ERA at 3.80) but lackluster at the plate. The Bronx Bombers haven’t lived up to that moniker, as they’re 21st in OPS (.710), 28th in average (.231) and 19th in runs scored (400).
One of the main reasons that’s the case is Judge being sidelined since June 3 after injuring his toe during a highlight-reel catch that saw him bust through the Dodger Stadium fence. His .291/.404/.674 slash line with 19 homers and 40 RBI to that point was carrying the offense.
Since he’s been on the shelf, the Yankees have relied on their pitching staff to hold minimal leads.
But they’re better than the Mets right now with a 49-42 record, sitting eight games back of the Rays for the division lead.
As the saying goes: It’s not how you start, but how you finish. That needs to be the mindset of these two teams heading into Friday, when baseball returns for what will be a grind into October.
Because a Subway Series isn't out of the picture until the math adds up.
"It's still possible," Granderson said with a glimmer of hope.
