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The New York Yankees and New York Mets will meet for the first Subway Series of the season this weekend in Queens having taken very different routes to the clash.
The Mets, ravaged by injuries and underperformance, sit in last place in the National League East. The Yankees have the second-best record in the American League thanks to dominant starting pitching and a potent offense.
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The results come after the organizations took opposite approaches to their respective offseasons. The Mets overhauled their coaching staff and roster, blowing up their core of veterans after a monumental collapse last season. The Yankees brought back nearly their entire roster and coaching staff after winning 94 games before losing to the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL Division Series.
The run-it-back Yanks are 10 games over .500 with a 97.6% chance of reaching the postseason, according to FanGraphs. The Mets are seven games under .500 with a 28.6% chance of punching a ticket to the playoffs.
There’s plenty of time for either club to head in the other direction. But here’s a look at how the two distinct offseason approaches have fared thus far.
Mets’ value and MLB ranking by position unit, based on FanGraphs WAR
2025Position2026*3.4 (6th)1B-1.9 (30th)2.2 (12th)2B-0.8 (29th)6.2 (5th)SS0.4 (24th)2.7 (11th)3B0.8 (22nd)3.5 (9th)C3.1 (13th)3.9 (2nd)LF1.9 (13th)0.7 (26th)CF1.2 (19th)5.6 (5th)RF-0.8 (22nd)0.7 (19th)DH-0.8 (18th)11.4 (13th)SP15 (9th)5.6 (6th)RP7.3 (4th)* per 162 games (through Wednesday)Where it has worked so farCenter field (up 0.5 WAR): The Mets took a risk acquiring Luis Robert Jr., a toolsy center fielder with an extensive injury history, from the Chicago White Sox after dreadful production at the position last season. Unsurprisingly, he landed on the injured list April 30 with a herniated disk. And yet the Mets have still seen dramatic improvement from center field. Mets center fielders have combined for 98 weighted runs created plus, 12th best in the majors, after six different players started there in 2025 and combined for an abysmal 71 wRC+ in 2025. Tyrone Taylor and Carson Benge split the starts in center field in the two weeks after Robert was sidelined, but 21-year-old A.J. Ewing was called up from Triple-A on Tuesday to play there every day.
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Starting pitching (up 3.6 WAR): Starting pitching was the death knell for the 2025 Mets, anchoring their 3½-month, slow-motion collapse. Though the Mets shopped a few of their starting pitchers on the trade market, their priority was to land a front-line starter. They made it happen by acquiring Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers for touted prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat. Peralta, Clay Holmes and rookie Nolan McLean have given the Mets one of the best trios in the majors. The rest of the starters have been dreadful, but the group is still an upgrade over last season.
Bullpen (up 1.7 WAR): The Mets signed Devin Williams believing he would slot into a setup role when they re-signed closer Edwin Díaz. But Díaz chose the Los Angeles Dodgers, forcing the Mets to pivot to Luke Weaver, another former Yankee, for the eighth inning and make Williams the closer. Williams and Weaver have had their struggles, though neither has been charged with a run in May. Left-hander A.J. Minter remains on the injured list and Luis Garcia was released two weeks into the season. But Myers, Huascar Brazoban, Brooks Raley and Austin Warren have excelled. It’s too early to say this is a clear upgrade. Bullpens are fickle. But the relief corps has been one of the Mets’ brighter spots.
First base (down 5.3 WAR): For seven seasons, the Mets knew what they had at first base. Pete Alonso was not a strong defender or a threat on the bases, but he slugged and he played every day. Alonso finished his tenure in Queens as the franchise’s all-time home run leader. He clubbed 38 home runs in 2025 with 126 RBIs and an .871 on-base plus slugging percentage. He played in all 162 games in consecutive seasons and missed just 24 games in his seven years with the Mets. The Mets opted to not offer Alonso a contract in free agency. Instead, 10 days later, they signed Jorge Polanco to a two-year, $40 million deal to play first base — a position he had barely played as a professional — and assumed a significant injury risk that has cost them so far. Polanco started just two games at first base before Achilles bursitis limited him to designated hitter. That lasted 12 games before he went on the injured list with a wrist issue on top of the Achilles discomfort. He landed on the IL batting .179 with one home run and a 53 OPS+ in the 14 games. Jared Young assumed some of the playing time at first base before tearing a meniscus in mid-April. That has left Mark Vientos and Brett Baty to split time there.
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Second base (down 3 WAR): The Mets and Texas Rangers completed a surprising veteran-for-veteran trade in November when Brandon Nimmo, after waiving his no-trade clause, went to Texas for Marcus Semien. The move improved the Mets’ defense up the middle; Nimmo is the better hitter, but Semien had remained a plus defender at second base. His offensive production, however, had plummeted — and he has been even worse this season. The 14-year veteran is slashing .224/.281/.306 with two home runs and a 69 OPS+. Jeff McNeil, who led New York with 69 starts at second base, was traded to the Athletics a month later after batting .243 with 12 home runs and a 110 OPS+ in 2025.
Third base (down 1.9 WAR): The day after Kyle Tucker rejected them, the Mets signed Bo Bichette to a three-year, $126 million contract to play third base — a position he hadn’t played since high school. The experiment is on hold. With Francisco Lindor already on the injured list, Bichette became the Mets’ primary shortstop when Ronny Mauricio broke his left thumb May 2. Baty has assumed the bulk of the playing time at third base since. Everyone there has struggled; Mets third basemen have combined for a 69 wRC+, good for 24th in the majors.
The Mets replaced one weakness (run prevention) with another (run production). Injuries have stoked the five-alarm blaze, but underperformance across the board is a problem. The Mets rank at or near the bottom in most statistical categories. Second-to-last in runs scored. Last in wRC+ and OPS. Juan Soto and Francisco Alvarez are the only players in the projected starting lineup with an above-average OPS+. Six players, including Semien and Polanco, have a negative fWAR. Bichette is at 0.0. That’s not good enough, and the Mets are paying the price.
Yankees’ fWAR by position unit
2025Position2026*1.4 (16th)1B8.1 (2nd)3.6 (4th)2B1.8 (16th)1.2 (25th)SS4.4 (9th)2.7 (11th)3B1.1 (17th)4.6 (4th)C1.8 (19th)3.6 (4th)LF5.9 (2nd)3.8 (9th)CF1.1 (19th)9.3 (1st)RF8.8 (2nd)5.3 (2nd)DH0.7 (13th)13.5 (8th)SP21 (1st)2.8 (21st)RP5.2 (10th)* per 162 gamesWhere it has worked so farFirst base (up 6.7 WAR): The Yankees re-signed Paul Goldschmidt to continue platooning with Ben Rice. Like last season, Goldschmidt, a 38-year-old former MVP, was slated to start against left-handed pitchers, and Rice against righties. But Rice seized a greater share of the playing time with a torrid April. The roles were adjusted again when designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton landed on the injured list with a strained groin, opening a spot for both of them to start more often. Both are thriving. Rice has compiled 13 home runs and 25 walks. He leads the majors with a .667 slugging percentage, a 1.079 OPS and a 197 OPS+. Goldschmidt is hitting both lefties and righties with a .262 batting average, four home runs and a .915 OPS in 70 plate appearances. Losing a slugger of Stanton’s caliber hurts, but these two first basemen have softened the blow.
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Shortstop (up 3.2 WAR): The initial plan was for Anthony Volpe, the Yankees’ shortstop the past three seasons, to retake his job when he was deemed ready to return from shoulder surgery. That changed when Jose Caballero exceeded expectations as his replacement, playing an elite shortstop and giving the Yankees a dynamic presence on the bases. After a slow start, Caballero slashed .305/.365/.495 with four home runs and eight steals in 13 attempts in 29 games. Then he broke his right middle finger last weekend, opening the door for Volpe. Manager Aaron Boone has already stated that Caballero will return as the starting shortstop. With good reason: He has been significantly better than Volpe was last season, when Volpe batted .212 with a .663 OPS and below-average defense. Volpe finished the year with 1.0 fWAR in 153 games. Caballero has accumulated 1.1 fWAR in 41 games this season.
Starting pitching (up 7.5 WAR): Starting pitching was far from a weakness for the Yankees last season when Max Fried and Carlos Rodón were All-Stars and Cam Schlittler emerged as one of baseball’s best pitchers in the second half. But the Yankees’ rotation has been the best in the majors in 2026 with just one start from Rodón and nothing from Gerrit Cole, who is expected to make his season debut later this month. Schlittler is second in the majors with a 1.35 ERA. Will Warren is tied for sixth in strikeouts with Schlitter and Shota Imanaga. Ryan Weathers, acquired over the offseason, has a 3.00 ERA through eight starts. Fried’s exit from Wednesday’s game with elbow soreness is concerning, but he insisted he’s “not too worried” about the setback. If Fried avoids a long stint on the injured list and Cole returns as planned, the Yankees’ rotation will be the deepest in the majors going into June.
Second base (down 1.8 WAR): Jazz Chisholm Jr. entered his walk year with a lofty goal: the second 50/50 season in major league history. He set those high expectations after clubbing 31 home runs and stealing 31 bases as an All-Star in 2025. So far, his 2026 has been a letdown. Chisholm has 11 steals, but he’s batting .203 with just four home runs and a .607 OPS in 171 plate appearances. His underlying numbers are not encouraging either: His average barrel rate, weighted on-base average and expected slugging percentage have plummeted from last season. Boone suggested this week that Chisholm is pressing, and the manager did not start him Tuesday against left-hander Trevor Rogers. But the Yankees will continue riding with Chisholm most days, hoping he can rediscover his 2025 form as the weather warms up.
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Catcher (down 2.8 WAR): Austin Wells followed up his strong rookie season with slight offensive regression in 2025. He has been worse this year. Wells is slashing .180/.308/.280 with three home runs. That .280 slugging percentage is 190th out of 199 batters with at least 120 plate appearances. Wells remains one of the best framers in baseball, ranking in the 98th percentile, but the Yankees believed he would blossom into one of the game’s better offensive catchers, and that hasn’t happened. J.C. Escarra, a bat-first backup, is hitting .182 with a .529 OPS in his little playing time. Wells, Escarra and Rice, theoretically the Yankees’ third catcher, are all left-handed batters. Acquiring a right-handed hitting catcher before the trade deadline could make sense.
Designated hitter (down 4.6 WAR): Giancarlo Stanton belted 24 home runs with a .944 OPS in 77 games last season after making his 2025 debut in mid-June. He’s a respected clubhouse presence with a potential path to Cooperstown. The Yankees moving on from him was never going to happen. Even if the Yankees wanted to, moving on from a full-time designated hitter with limited mobility and $54 million over two years remaining on his contract is virtually impossible. So Stanton returned and, after posting a .724 OPS in 24 games, landed on the injured list April 28 with a calf strain that has lingered. His setback unlocked a regular role for Jasson Dominguez, but he, too, went on the IL last week with a shoulder injury after crashing into a wall to make a catch in his second appearance in the outfield. Since then, Judge, Rice and Spencer Jones have cycled through DH. Between Rice and Judge, the Yankees should get better production from the spot.
The Yankees ran it back because they believed the roster was really good. Point proven so far. The starting pitching is elite. The top half of the lineup can mash. They’re clear contenders in a mediocre American League. There are areas that need improvement, though. Chisholm and Wells regressing has lowered the offense’s floor. The bullpen has been shaky in spots, but the Yankees will bolster the group internally between Cole’s return likely pushing Weathers or Warren out of the rotation and the hard-throwing Carlos Lagrange looming in Triple-A. They could also dip into the trade market to upgrade the roster across the board as general manager Brian Cashman did last summer when he acquired seven players before the deadline. The Yankees are on a path to October. How deep into October is the question.
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