For Mets, this is what tanking looks like

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New York Mets center fielder Rafael Ortega watches after failing to catch a two-run home run hit by Kansas City Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. during the third inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

The trade deadline was the obvious indicator that Steve Cohen and the Mets were waving the white flag on the 2023 season. 

Both veteran arms that were supposed to create one of baseball’s most dynamic pitching duos in Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer have been shipped down to Texas teams. Veteran reliever David Robertson was traded to the buying Marlins in a bizarre swap of NL East roles. The Marlins have made the playoffs in full seasons just twice in their franchise’s history dating back to 1993 (they made it a third time in the COVID-shortened 2020 season).

One of their most valuable bats of the season — which provided an indication of how bad the first four months of the season went — was sent to the Diamondbacks. Mark Canha packed his bags for Milwaukee and Dominic Leone now calls Orange County home. 

With it, the Mets have expedited their farm-system-building process. Picking up five new prospects ranked within the organization’s top 15, two of them (Luisange Acuna, Drew Gilbert), have joined Kevin Parada, Ronny Mauricio, and Jett Williams in MLB Pipeline’s top 100. 

It takes teams years to pick up as much young talent as the Mets did in a week. But it has understandably left the major-league squad woefully short-handed — and we’ve got our first glimpse of how bad things are for them over the last week. 

They were swept by the second-worst team in baseball, the Kansas City Royals, by getting outscored 20-8 in the three-game set and 13-2 over the final two. Heading to Baltimore to face the surprising and impressive AL East-leading Orioles, the Mets have been non-competitive as…