CHICAGO — When bench coach Kai Correa walked through the Mets' clubhouse in his street clothes shortly after Sunday’s devastating walk-off loss to the Cubs, it was quiet.

The only noise emanating from the room was the splashing sound of running water coming from the bathroom with the occasional squeak from shower shoes. Some players sat in silence at their lockers.

The Mets lost their 11th straight loss in heartbreaking fashion at Wrigley Field. Everything they do seems to go against them. They now have one of the worst records in baseball.

Yet, Correa has been here before — and not long ago.

Just last summer, Correa made that same stroll through the visiting clubhouse in Chicago after the Guardians got swept by the Cubs en route to a 10-game losing streak of their own. He was Cleveland’s field coordinator at the time.

In the finale of that series, the Guardians also lost on a walk-off sacrifice fly with one out in the 10th inning.

“This is all oddly familiar for me,” Correa told NJ.com before loss No. 11 on Sunday.

All teams are different, but Correa’s experience with Cleveland is relevant to this year’s Mets because of what the Guardians did after they snapped their losing streak.

That team bounced back in a big way, washing away their losing streak to storm back into contention and make the playoffs. Cleveland is one of only four teams in MLB history to lose 10-plus games and still earn a trip to the postseason. That’s what the Mets are now setting out to accomplish in 2026 after this catastrophic start to the season — New York has the worst record in Major League Baseball over these first three weeks of games (7-15), tied with the lowly Royals.

“That was even more difficult with that team,” Correa said, “because it was a younger team in a lot of ways. We had guys who hadn’t experienced anything like that. And also we had some of the off-field things that are pretty well documented that went on that were going on simultaneously. That’s what makes this uniquely different, where we don’t have any of that.”

Correa was referring to the Guardians’ scandal that featured pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz rigging pitches as part of a sports betting scheme. Ortiz was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave on the same day of that series sweep in Chicago last July, the Guardians’ seventh loss in a row. Clase then joined him on the sidelines a few weeks later and both right-handers haven’t pitched in the big leagues ever since.

The fact that Cleveland was able to turn that disastrous summer with an inexperienced roster — that was in the national news for all the wrong reasons — into a division title is proof to Correa that nobody should be giving up on the Mets just yet. After all, that’s why teams play 162 games. A singular game or window of 10 losses isn’t representative of the level of preparation or a team’s culture behind closed doors, the bench coach explained.

“This is a clubhouse that has a ton of cohesion and there’s no wedge between this group,” Correa said. “If that young group with those substantive, off-the-field things could rise from that, it makes this group equally as adept to be able to do that too.”

Mets players and execs have insisted of late that the Mets are capable of breaking out of this rut and getting back on track because of the talent they have on this roster and the work ethic they’ve seen behind the scenes.

Correa agreed, reiterating that the Mets are seasoned across their roster, particularly with the new players who were acquired this past offseason. He also noted that this team is self aware when it comes to their play to this point. That accountability can go a long way as the losses continue to pile up as well.

“We have a variety of players here who have been in different organizations and had different low points in their career before,” Correa said. “They know how it feels to be in it and they know how it feels to get out of it. ... I think guys recognize that their performance needs to improve as well.”

What’s most important, from Correa’s standpoint, is that the Mets continue to show up to the ballpark without losing belief. Maintaining the same level of preparedness is pivotal.

“When you see teams deviate from their routine,” Correa said. “When they abandon ship and stop attending meetings, stop talking to each other, stop preparing. That’s when you see that holes become insurmountable. So, at this point with this team, I continue to see guys go about their business and prepare like professionals.”

Correa added: “I haven’t lost belief in the preparation these guys are going through. My hope is that we’ll continue and stick with those processes and the tide will change. Nothing is guaranteed in this game, but I can tell you that abandoning ship is what doesn’t work.”

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