Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and White Sox play a three-game series in Chicago starting on Friday night…
Preview
The White Sox are the worst team in MLB history
This is not an exaggeration.
The 31-104 White Sox aren’t just the worst team in baseball this season, with the worst run differential and fewest runs scored to match. They are on pace to be the worst team in the history of Major League Baseball.
Barring a hot (for them) stretch over the last month of the season, the White Sox will finish with a worse record than the 1962 Mets, who went 40-120. Those Mets had an excuse, of course, since they were an expansion team in their first season of existence.
In the midst of their historically bad season, the Sox — with a lineup littered with players whose OPS is around .550 — have a 21-game losing streak on their ledger. And they have been an abomination since the All-Star break, winning just four games.
However, it is possible for good teams to lose to the 2024 White Sox — proven by the fact that they’ve beaten the Yankees (a 12-2 drubbing) and the Astros in recent weeks. They also took a game from the Giants.
The wins for Chicago are few and far between, but the Mets need to have their guard up.
Can the Mets get to Garrett Crochet?
One of the only good things the White Sox have going for them is Crochet, an at-times dominant force whose name was bandied about in advance of the trade deadline.
Crochet, who is under team control through 2026, wanted an extension to be a part of any trade, which made it close to impossible to execute. He could be dangled again this offseason, but he remains in Chicago for now.
And Crochet, who has 180 strikeouts in 128.2 innings this season, will get the start on Sunday.
Crochet has cooled off lately, including a start where he allowed seven runs in 2.1 innings against the Cubs.
His starts have also been short, with him up against a potential innings limit. Crochet hasn’t pitched more than 4.0 innings in any start since June 30.
Can Jose Quintana keep trending up?
Following a string of poor starts, which included a clunker against the Athletics and a really rough outing against the Orioles, Quintana was terrific his last time out.
Against the potent Padres in San Diego, Quintana twirled 6.1 innings of shutout ball, allowing just four hits and walking two.
One possible warning sign amid Quintana’s strong start was that he didn’t strike out any batters.
He’s far from a strikeout machine, fanning just 6.8 batters per nine this year, but the start against the Padres was the only one this season where Quintana failed to strike anyone out.
Who will come up when rosters expand?
Before Brett Baty suffered a potentially season-ending finger injury, it was all but certain that he would be one of the players the Mets called up when rosters expand from 26 to 28 on Sept. 1.
Now, the Mets will have to go in a different direction.
Teams are only allowed to have 14 pitchers on the active roster, so if the Mets utilize both of the extra spots, there will very likely be one pitcher and one position player coming up.
On the pitching side, options on the 40-man roster include Alex Young and Tyler Zuber.
As far as position players on the 40-man roster, there aren’t any intriguing ones — unless the Mets promote Luisangel Acuña — something they hinted could be coming. If not Acuña, it’s possible DJ Stewart comes back up.
The Mets have 39 players counting against the 40-man roster right now, so they could also choose to promote someone who isn’t currently on the 40-man.
The end of the 10-game road trip
The series with the White Sox marks the end of the Mets’ 10-game road trip, which was preceded by a three-game series against the Orioles at Citi Field.
The Mets will look to end the trip on a high note against the Sox.
After that, they’ll return to Citi Field to for a six-game homestand against the Red Sox (who are still in the American League Wild Card race) and struggling Reds.
Following their brief time at home, the Mets will go back on the road to play three games against the Blue Jays in Toronto before facing the Phillies for three games at Citizens Bank Park.
Predictions
Who will the MVP of the series be?
Alonso has had a very good month power-wise, but he hasn’t had a true hot streak yet.
Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?
Manaea has found another gear, and his dominant performances lately haven’t been a fluke.
Which White Sox player will be a thorn in Mets’ side?
Vaughn has been heating up, including back-to-back-to-back two-RBI games against the Tigers earlier this week.
