How 2023 actually went.
The Mets entered with the highest payroll in baseball and World Series expectations. Injuries hit the rotation, Justin Verlander arrived late, Scherzer was uneven, and the offense spent too much of the first half waiting for a hot streak that never came. A poor June pushed the club far enough behind that the front office changed direction.
Kodai Senga became the season’s best new story, using the ghost fork to make the All-Star team and finish second in Rookie of the Year voting. Lindor completed a 30–30 season, Alonso again supplied power, and young players received more time after the deadline. Those achievements existed inside a team that never played with the depth its cost suggested.
Cohen approved trades of Scherzer, Verlander, and other veterans, using money to improve the prospect return and admitting the plan had failed. The Mets finished 75–87. The deadline reset was painful but clearer than pretending the roster remained close. David Stearns arrived afterward to lead a slower attempt at building a team that could last.
The payroll promised a superteam; Senga’s ghost fork became the one part that actually felt special.