Marcus Semien had not made the situation easy for New York Mets fans. Heading into Saturday’s game against the Angels, his defense had settled in closer to average, and his bat had not given anyone much relief.
Semien entered the game with a -1 DRS and 0 OAA, a sharp step down from the +5 DRS and +7 OAA he posted in 2025. At the plate, he was hitting.220/.273/.288 with one home run and 11 RBIs, numbers that have done little to quiet the questions around his swings.
There was one place where Semien had been producing. He was hitting.343 in 35 at-bats with runners in scoring position, and 12 of his 26 hits had come in those moments. But even that came with a catch: his at-bats had often been quick and produced soft contact, leaving the overall line far short of the standard he set in 2024.
Last season, Semien hit.237/.308/.391 with 23 home runs and 74 RBIs, a far more complete offensive line than the one he carried into Saturday. The contrast is also part of the concern for Mets fans, who have watched the defense drift from Gold Glove-level work to something much closer to average while the offense has come up light.
That is why the next stretch matters. Semien’s recent numbers leave little margin for error, and the split between situational production and the rest of his game is now the central fact surrounding him.
