MIAMI — Marcus Semien’s season hasn’t had many highlights, and these days he stands among the symbols of the Mets lineup’s futility.
The veteran second baseman went 0-for-4 in the 4-0 loss to the Marlins on Sunday that completed Miami’s three-game sweep. Semien’s day was marked by the double play he grounded into in the sixth inning after Brett Baty drew a leadoff walk in a scoreless game.
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Semien owns a paltry .552 OPS in May.
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He isn’t alone among the Mets who have underperformed, but the team at least received a semblance of life from Bo Bichette earlier this road trip when he delivered three homers over two games.
From Mark Vientos to Baty, right down the line, the Mets aren’t receiving production, other than Juan Soto’s hot bat. And Soto was scratched from Sunday’s lineup because of illness.
Semien, 35, arrived in the November trade that sent Brandon Nimmo to Texas.
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The deal was orchestrated by president of baseball operations David Stearns largely to swap the five years and $102.5 million remaining on Nimmo’s contract for the three years and $72 million on Semien’s, but the Mets also expected some level of production from Semien.
They have not received it.
“What I am feeling is that I am putting the ball in play, but I am not driving the ball,” Semien said. “I am just trying to do everything I can to be on time, to be ready for high velocity and handle the off-speed they throw.”
Semien overall owns a .214/.263/.297 slash line with three homers.
“It’s been hard for him, but this is a guy that continues to show up and put the work in, day in and day out,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “You hope at some point that he’s going to come out of it. He’s been in this league a long time and there is a reason why we want to continue to run him out there.”
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Mendoza was asked for his concern level that Semien, at 35, simply doesn’t have it any longer.
“I am not worried, because I am watching him grinding behind the scenes,” Mendoza said. “How much he cares and he’s been a really good player, so we trust him. We have got to continue to keep going and support him.”
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