Let's say, for the sake of a new thought, that the Mets do not make a near miracle run, a la 1973 and 2015, in late summer as we continue to fall out of contention.
What good may we consider moving forward for the Flushing Faithful?
There are some bright spots to look forward to.
Consider:
Zack Wheeler has come back from surgery and is regaining his form. If healthy, we could have a 2018 rotation of:
Noah Syndergaard
Zach Wheeler
Jake DeGrom
Steve Matz
Barring injury, I'll match these four with any other team.
We could see some nice changes in the infield too, with
Amed Rosario at Short stop and
Dominic Smith at First Base.
An outfield of
Cespedes and Conforto could provide 60 to even 70 home runs, .290 average and 190 ribbies.
Not too shabby.
What could a healthy Brandon Nimmo offer? As even fourth outfielder, he could be solid.
Then we have decisions and more decisions.
Matt Harvey could come back and possibly eat up innings in middle relief, as he would not likely bring much in trade value.
Holes
Catcher
Second Base
Third Base
Second Base is a concern. Right now, no one in the farm is looking to own second and we need a natural third basemen.
I would not mind seeing the Mets sign Jay Bruce, but given ownership's strictness of budget, I don't have much faith in this.
2017 Mets may provide some trade opportunities for the bull pen.
Ownership may have to consider opening their purse strings to land a natural 3rd basemen. 2nd base can be filled with utility players, of whom we seem to have plenty of, but not for the hot corner. We need to land David Wright an heir.
Consider too that we should have a managerial change. The 2018 Mets will need strong leadership and they will need it this winter. We cannot have rogue workouts, ego driven weight lifting and imbalanced bodies, with to each his own, rather than team.
We need to consider a bit of a hard-nosed intellect.
The Gil Hodges are not readily available, but the search must begin in earnest.
Terry Collins has been a very good support for veterans, but not kids. His loyalty to his veterans has come at the expense of both discipline and actual ball games.
We have a core to work from, and if healthy, our pitching could and should return to form.
Travis D'Arnaud will never likely play anywhere near a full season; he is just too brittle. (He is also not anywhere near the size officially listed). Once a bright prospect, he has shown flashes of a solid bat, and even some improvement from throwing behind the plate, but we are only waiting until his next trip to the DL.
I am puzzled as to what the future Zach Wheeler will be - maybe we won't really know until 2018.
ReplyDeleteNimmo to me is also a big puzzle - will he be a legit major league outfielder or the next matt den Dekker?
I hope management can shrewdly deal this summer, as the likelihood of the Mets even vying for a playoff spot, much less secure one, seems to have taken a major hit the last 10 days.
I wish we could just ask for Daniel Murphy and Justin Turner back - but that only happens in fantasy baseball.
My hope is we reset and have a playoff-competitive team in 2018.
Hmmn...are Wilmer Flores and T.J. Rivera chopped liver? Both seem to know how to wield a bat (if not a glove).
ReplyDeleteI'd be fine bringing Walker back for 2b. I know he's had two big injuries now in successive years with us but he's solid and i bet his price has dropped a bit with these injuries. Also, if Flores continues to hit all year, i'm fine with him at 3B. I know his defense, particularly his throwing accuracy isn't the best but the kid can hit. Any chance of TJ Rivera getting the starting 2b gig if we don't retain walker? I think he is a young Murphy.
ReplyDeleteAll that said, i can no longer have any faith in our starting pitchers. They all get injured every year. It's Generation K 2.0
For me, we have 2 decent starters right now for the future... Syndergaard and deGrom...
ReplyDeletepossibly a 3rd would be Matz
past that... steak knives