Reese Kaplan -- Feckless or Reckless: You Decide

Despite the addition of a quality (though somewhat unknown to many) reliever in Anthony Swarzak, the fanbase is still readying its pitchforks and torches watching the rest of the baseball world aggressively trying to improve their teams while the Mets continue to wait out the market.  This waiting approach worked arguably twice. The first time was when the 11^th hour trade was consummated that sent Matt den Dekker to the nation’s capital in exchange for little known reliever Jerry Blevins.  The other time was when they signed Yoenis Cespedes for the 2016 season when his market failed to develop.  In now 8 seasons it's been an unmitigated disaster and it's time to try a new approach.

Now no one rightfully expected Giancarlo Stanton but sometimes an effort is worth a huge public relations boost.  To not even try only guarantees failure.  In the case of Shoei Ohtani at least they made the gesture and I defended the team here because they did not meet the conditions imposed by the player himself.  I can live with that.

However, my blood alternated between running cold and boiling on Wednesday when I read that the St. Louis Cardinals obtained Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner Marcell Ozuna from the Miami Marlins.  What is the excuse for the inertia this time?  It couldn’t be that he was too costly.  He’s still in arbitration years.  It couldn’t be that he doesn’t fulfill a need or play a position where the Mets most definitely have a vacancy.  As it is they’re going into the 2018 campaign with Yoenis Cespedes, Juan Lagares and Brandon Nimmo manning the outfield. 

Now it’s water under the bridge, spilled milk or closing the barn door after the cows have left to complain about it now.  There are other options out there such as Christian Yelich who is signed to an extremely reasonable contract yet there is no indication the club is making any gestures at all. 

In fact, with talent available on the market like Wade Davis, Greg Holland, Eric Hosmer and the like, we instead read the Mets are going hot and heavy after folks like Ryan Goins (and now Jose Lobaton) who were released by the Blue Jays and Nationals respectively after sporting career averages in the .220s.  It’s one thing to try spend money prudently, and it’s another altogether to pick from the scrap heap exclusively.

Even in the Rule V draft did they roll the dice on a $100K player to improve the club?  No, instead they used their high ranking slot to pick a player they could flip to Baltimore.  Unbelievable!  For the record, I was all in on lefty Nestor Cortes formerly of the Yankees organization who has a 2.08 ERA for his entire career with unbelievable peripheral numbers.  You want to know who took him?  Baltimore!  Then they got a second Rule V guy in the deal with the Mets.  One of these clubs wants to improve and another wants to turn the status quo into an art form.  

Now I can partially understand the lack of movement on the trade front.  After all, the same GM whose greatest attribute is sitting on his butt doing nothing has had a horrific track record of drafting future players leaving him precious little to barter.  Oh, he did stock the farm system with over a half dozen relief pitchers, but then goes on record saying his biggest need (and only major league action) is to bolster the bullpen.  How do you think that makes Mssrs. Callahan, Rhame, Bautista, Smith and others feel when your new boss tells you that despite declaring his relief pitching a disaster, YOU are not the answer?

So what about the free agent path?  After all, signing one does not require you to part with any of the chips you have that may or may not be desirable to opposing teams’ GMs.  What is the excuse for staying out of the bidding for an Eduardo Nunez or Lorenzo Cain or Mike Moustakas or Todd Frazier or J.D. Martinez?  Now if you TRY and they say no, that’s beyond your control.  However, to preemptively take yourself out of the running without even making an attempt smacks of gross incompetence and major cowardice.

The alternative viewpoint is that rather than betting on heads or tails, Alderson is instead betting on the coin landing on its edge, that confluence of rarities of health, productivity and bad luck for your opponents creating a rift in the competitive landscape.  That's recklessness of the highest order.  We've seen how well that "plan" has worked out the past several years.  (And don't give me the two consecutive post-season argument...they had NO offense either year until Yoenis Cespedes arrived along with a fortified bullpen with late season additions.  Planning to go into the year behind the eight ball and hoping everyone else is equally bad is not a strategy).

The truth many suspect is that despite assurances to the contrary, the Wilpons are still in deep financial doo-doo and simply cannot take the risk that accompanies spending to win.  If that is indeed the case, just as the Dodgers owner was forced to abandon ship, it’s time MLB Commissioner Manfred puts the same microscope on the club in Queens.  After seven years the fans are mighty itchy for a change.