The Mets currently rank 25th in the majors with -13 Defensive Runs Saved. They haven’t gotten positive value at any defensive position over the entire season.

But to leave it at that would be incredibly misleading because they’re currently on an amazing run. It’s one in which their defense has played a huge part.

As bad as their -13 looks right now, that’s nothing compared to how entering June they were at -34 Runs Saved, which ranked next-to-last in MLB. After a dreadful start to the season, the Mets are 32-15 in their last 47 games. Since June 1 they’ve totaled 21 Runs Saved, 4th-most in MLB in that time.

Of the top 10 teams in Runs Saved since June 1, the Mets and Astros are the only ones who still have a negative Runs Saved for the season. In other words, most of the teams that were good before continued to be good. The Mets were an anomaly.

So what happened here?

Early-season injuries to right fielder Starling Marte and catcher Francisco Alvarez, and a rough start for their other catcher, Omar Narvaez, forced the Mets to make some adjustments and acquire Luis Torrens.

Tyrone Taylor has rotated between the three outfield spots but has been particularly good in place of Marte in right field. Marte had -9 Runs Saved in right field prior to his injury. For the season, Taylor has 6 Runs Saved there, 4 since June 1.

Alvarez and Narvaez went through a stretch in which they couldn’t throw any would-be basestealer out. Torrens has caught only 18 games but he’s made a world of difference, throwing out 8-of-12 would-be basestealers and picking off another. He has 3 Runs Saved.

Meanwhile, shortstop Francisco Lindor got off to a dreadful start to the season but now looks like an MVP candidate. He entered June with -3 Runs Saved but has flipped that around and has 3 Runs Saved since the start of that month.

Lindor’s positive play has impacted the entire infield. The Mets ranked last in the majors in how frequently they turned a ground ball or bunt into an out through the end of May. They rank 8th since the start of June.

There are other things going right too. First baseman Pete Alonso has played better defense in this stretch. Harrison Bader replacing Brandon Nimmo in center field improved their defense there from last season, even though it still rates below average in 2024. Nimmo has been alright in left field and avoided major mistakes.

We’d also be remiss if we didn’t point out how the overall play of Jose Iglesias has sparked the team. Three years ago, Iglesias was the worst defensive shortstop in the majors. Now, he’s a utility player and team sparkplug. Though he has -3 Runs Saved at second base, when he’s filled in at third base (a position he last played in 2013), the ball has found him in important spots.

Iglesias also has a hit song, ‘OMG,’ that has become the Mets’ anthem as they’ve surged into playoff position. The song title is an apt way to describe how their defense has played too.