Ex-Mets Slugger Blasts Club For Effort In Disappointing 2023 Season

What will the Mets do to get back on track in 2024?

The New York Mets certainly haven't had the season many expected them to have.

New York at one point was expected to compete for the 2023 World Series title but instead, the club will be at home in November preparing for free agency. The Mets are significantly closer to last place in the National League East than first place and will have a lot of difficult decisions to make. 

It's unclear exactly what went wrong this year, but plenty likely will come out over the next few months. Former Mets slugger Tommy Pham was traded ahead of the 2023 Major League Baseball Trade Deadline but spent 79 games with the club and took a shot at the team's effort, according to The Athletic's Tim Britton and Will Sammon.

"As The Athletic reported earlier this month, the conversation started with Pham explaining that he wanted New York to roll out more than one batting practice group because he used the time to work on live reads in the outfield," Britton and Sammon said. "With (Francisco Lindor), Pham felt comfortable sharing something that roamed in his mind after observing how often some players in the clubhouse played games like pool.

"Pham says he told Lindor, 'Out of all the teams I played on, this is the least-hardest working group of position players I've ever played with.' Opinions varied on the subject. Per Pham's recollection, the players at the restaurant seemed receptive to what he had to say."

The 35-year-old has spent time with seven different clubs throughout his big league career so if he has an opinion on an organization, it certainly should be taken into account. On the outside looking in there's no way for us to know what goes on between closed doors but Pham seemed to think more should have been done. 

New York will have to make some changes heading into 2024 if the club wants to get back to the postseason.