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The New York Mets are in the thick of a tough playoff race. Starting pitcher Luis Severino is locked in on it, thinking diligently about how other teams' trends have implications for his squad.
The Mets' playoff hopes were recently bolstered by the misfortune of some of the other teams they're competing against. Arizona Diamondbacks MVP candidate Ketel Marte aggravated an ankle injury and Atlanta Braves star Austin Riley fractured his hand. The former is heading to the 10-day injured list and the latter will miss at least a month. New York, which faces Arizona next week and one more series against Atlanta closer to the end of the season, has a chance to make up some ground in the standings
When Severino learned of Marte's injury after previously learning about Riley's, he jokingly asked if the San Diego Padres, another Wild Card contender, had any major injury updates, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post.
I was talking to Luis Severino about Austin Riley's injury and what it means for the Braves and then mentioned Ketel Marte went on the IL for Arizona (Severino hadn't heard).
Said Severino: "How about San Diego? Nothing on San Diego?"
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) August 19, 2024
Luis Severino locked in on Mets' postseason race
Puma indicated that Severino's comment wasn’t made with any foul intent. When discussing Riley's injury, he made it clear he wasn’t happy to see an opponent get injured.
“That’s real bad news for the Braves,” Severino said, via the New York Post. “Thinking as a player I don’t want things like that. They have a good team and they had a good team last year, too. We are really close in the race with the Braves. Hopefully now we can get those two games they are in front of us and try to get that last spot for the wild card.”
The Padres, as a matter of fact, do have some key injuries to watch out for. Ha-Seong Kim is dealing with a shoulder injury and will join Fernando Tatis Jr. on the injured list. San Diego still has the lineup depth to be competitive but being without two key positon players does make them less likely to pull further ahead in the standings.
Heading into Tuesday’s games, the Mets are 1.5 games out of a playoff spot. They trail the Braves by that slim margin while the Padres and Diamondbacks are the first and second Wild Card teams, possessing a cushion of at least three games.
