The Mets’ $400M Mess + What Happened to the Orioles?

What went wrong with the New York Mets in 2026? DVR, Eno and Britt Ghiroli close the tab on a massively disappointing Mets season and examine how a roster built around Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor fell out of contention — and what David Stearns needs to fix this offseason. Injuries certainly played a role, with Lindor and Soto both missing significant time, but the problems went much deeper. The crew examines Stearns’ difficult offseason, the Mets’ next managerial decision and why New York’s biggest question might not be resources — but how those resources are being allocated. Then, what happened to the Baltimore Orioles? A young core that once appeared capable of becoming one of baseball’s most dangerous offenses finished much closer to league average than expected. The numbers reveal a fascinating contradiction: Baltimore ranks first in MLB in bat speed and fourth in barrel rate, but 28th in strikeout rate and only 13th in wRC+. Britt breaks down the Orioles’ player-development philosophy, constant coaching changes and why several talented young hitters have struggled to make the adjustments necessary to consistently succeed in the majors. Plus, Baseball News You Should Know: the Red Sox remove the interim tag from Chad Tracy and give him a three-year contract, while Boston also exercises Craig Breslow’s options through 2030. River Ryan returns for Detroit, Dylan Cease avoids surgery, Trey Yesavage returns for Toronto and Andy Pages, Roki Sasaki and Robert Suarez are all on their way back. Finally, the crew looks at everything still up for grabs during the final week of the MLB regular season, including the AL Central battle between Cleveland and Chicago, the Rangers and Astros fighting for the AL West, Tampa Bay trying to clinch the AL East and the remaining National League playoff positioning. Like, Subscribe and drop us a comment! First Pitch Arizona: https://www.baseballhq.com/pricing/first-pitch-arizona-2026 Follow DVR on Bluesky: @DVR.bsky.social Follow Eno on Bluesky: @enosarris.bsky.social e-mail: [email protected] Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFe Subscribe to The Athletic: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels Rates & Barrels MERCH: https://rates-and-barrels.printify.me/ 00:00 Intro 00:34 Red Sox Remove Interim Tag From Chad Tracy 01:30 How Chad Tracy Turned Boston Around 03:17 Red Sox Commit to Craig Breslow 05:12 Why Boston Is Betting on Its Leadership 08:37 River Ryan Returns for Detroit 10:37 Tigers’ Young Rotation Has Huge Upside 12:28 Dylan Cease Avoids Surgery 15:28 Trey Yesavage Returns for Toronto 17:29 Andy Pages, Roki Sasaki & Robert Suarez Return 17:48 What’s Still Up for Grabs? 21:19 MLB’s Final-Week Playoff Races 23:09 Closing the Tab: New York Mets 45:10 Closing the Tab: Baltimore Orioles 45:56 What Happened to Baltimore’s Young Core? 48:46 Britt’s Orioles Rant 49:48 Baltimore’s Revolving Door of Hitting Coaches 50:12 Are the Orioles Too Young Everywhere? 51:13 Baltimore’s Problems Go Beyond the Manager 51:50 Did the Orioles Fall in Love With Tools? 52:07 Mike Elias Begins Making Changes 53:41 The Numbers Behind Baltimore’s Offensive Problems 54:07 No. 1 in Bat Speed, No. 28 in Strikeout Rate 55:16 Did Baltimore Sacrifice Too Much Contact? 58:29 What Does the Orioles’ Offense Need? 59:55 How Baltimore Can Fix Its Lineup 1:01:33 Is the Orioles’ Development System Too Demanding? 1:03:05 Baltimore’s Rotation Still Has Questions 1:03:44 Why Has the Orioles’ Defense Regressed? 1:04:22 Orioles Add Another New Voice to Baseball Ops 1:04:54 Can Baltimore Fix This in 2027? Hosts: Derek VanRiper, Eno Sarris Contributor: Britt Ghiroli Executive Producer: McEnroe Francis Editor: McEnroe Francis #MLB #Mets #Orioles #NewYorkMets #BaltimoreOrioles #RatesAndBarrels Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.