Jul 7, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets pitcher Matt Seelinger (73) delivers a pitch during the seventh inning against the Kansas City Royals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Matt Seelinger was finally getting his big break, and the stars could not have aligned in a more storybook manner.
The 31-year-old career minor leaguer, a Long Island native who attended Farmingdale State College, was picked up by the Mets from the Detroit Tigers for cash and was quickly called up for a big-league debut on Tuesday night against the Kansas City Royals. But a dream decades in the making quickly turned into an absolute nightmare.
Seelinger allowed seven earned runs in the seventh inning of what had been a 9-9 nauseating display of horrendous baseball from a pair of dysfunctional teams. The righty allowed a home run to Nick Loftin, a bases-loaded walk to Carter Jensen, and a pair of doubles in the frame.
Left out to dry by interim manager Andy Green, he went back out for the eighth inning and posted a scoreless frame.
“It obviously wasn’t the best way that I wanted to start my major league career,” Seelinger said. “But I was very proud to recollect myself in the dugout and get my bearings and get out there and compete, put up a zero in that inning and help the team out.”
This feels like a microcosm of everything that is wrong with David Stearns’ Mets. Desperate for pitching depth that he was unable to build yet again during the offseason, the president of baseball operations is resigned to digging through the collection bin once again. There is probably a reason Seelinger has not seen the majors after spending a decade in the farm systems of five different organizations before being picked up by New York.
He was not given any favors, though, by Green, who threw him into a 9-9 game and then left him to get out of his mess.
“You never really want to ask that of a guy,” Green said. “You care about those guys on the mound. You want to put them in positions to succeed. It was a tough ask.”
Making the fans watch this product is a tough ask, too. Following Tuesday night’s 16-12 loss, the Mets are 4-13 in their last 17 games and hurdling toward a fire sale before MLB’s Aug. 3 trade deadline.
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