Mack – What Would A Full Rebuild Be Like?

Good morning.

I decided to have a little fun (in a non-fun season) and try to determine what players would be involved if the Mets went full tilt boogie Marlins style.

There is no way knowing what we would get for any of the players we DFA’d. It might be no one. But it would clear the roster for a completely new direction with a target around 2021-2022.

First, who do we keep either out of necessity or the fact that their current contract or injury status prevent them from moving:

SP   Jacob deGrom  - like it or not, we are building our team around this guy… at least until the end of the 2023 season.

2B – Robinson Cano – a real dead contract. $24mil through 2023. You might be able to find a team that would take on a share of this contract (because, as of today, he still has good legs), but (for now in this post), for now, on this team, Cano is a dead man walking.

C – Wilson Ramos - $9.5mil through 2020 – the thing that Ramos has going for him is the fact that the Mets have no one in the pipeline ready to step up behind the plate

Now… the ones exiting:

             OF Yoenes Cespedes  -  100% repayment to Mets from insurance company for his 'non-baseball related broken ankle'.

            IF Todd Frazier – remainder of 2019 $8.5mil contract

            SP Jason Vargas – remainder of 2019 $8mil contract.

            CF Juan Lagares – remainder of 2019 $9mil contract

IF Jed Lowrie  - $10mil through 2020… Jed, we hardly knew ye…

RP Jeurys Familia - $10mil/yr. through 2021

RP Justin Wilson – remainder of 2019 $5mil contract and 2020 second year ($5mil) as well.

SP Zack Wheeler – trade the remainder of his $5.975mil 2019 contract

RP Luis Avilan – remainder of his $1.6mil 2019 contract

I have no idea who the Mets would get in return for any of these players. Familia would probably bring you a chip while a Wheeler trade to a pennant contender could bring two.

Still, I can’t set up a re-boot based on players I don’t have under contract. I have to use those I listed above and fill in with, at least, 21 more players that could run on the field NOW.

So… who remains?

      SP Noah Syndergaard – FA in 2022

      SP Steven Matz – FA in 2022

      OF Michael Conforto – FA in 2022

      OF Brandon Nimmo – FA in 2023

      CL Edwin Diaz – FA in 2023

      RP Seth Lugo – FA in 2023

      RP Robert Gssellman – FA in 2023

      SS Amed Rosario – FA in 2024

      OF Jeff McNeil – FA beyond 2025

      3B J.D. Davis – FA beyond 2025

      1B Pete Alonso – FA beyond 2025

      1B/PH Dominic Smith – FA beyond 2025

We now have 15 quality capable players we can run out to the field, consisting of:

            3 starters (Jake, Thor, Matz)

            3 relievers (Lugo, Gsellman, Diaz)

            4 infielders (1B Alonso, 2B Cano, SS Rosario, 3B Davis)

            3 outfielders (Conforto, Nimmo, McNeil)

            1 catcher (Ramos)

            1 utility (Dom Smith – I want this guy but I need him to do more than PH and fill in at first. I’m going to come uo with some way to send him back to Extended Camp to get OJT on playing the corner outfield positions)

We still need:

      2 more starters

      4 more relievers

      1 backup catcher

      3 more IF/OF utility players (Smith already being one)

Now what? Well, I’m going to fill in with what is ready in AAA-Syracuse, but I’m going to rely heavily on the talent I am developing at AA-Binghamton. Other teams are doing this and, may I say, they are very successful at it.

So my choices, for the remainder of 2019 are:

      SP – Anthony Kay, David Peterson

      RP – Stephen Villines, Ryley Gilliam, Stephen Nogosek,

            Joseph Zanghi

      C -  I’ll stay with Tomas Nido through 2019

      UT-OF – I’ll stay with Carlos Gomez

      UT-IF – Luis Guillorme, Dilson Herrera

Sure, the ride would be bumpy for the rest of the season, but these kids would now know that they are the future of this team.

In the wings for 2020 –

      SP Tony Dibrell  RP Adonis Uceta  RP Andrew Mitchell

 RP Drew Smith  SS Andres Gimenez  C-1B Patrick Mazeika

This is with no new chips from the players DFA’s or anyone signed in the off season.

Not the best team… but if the Mets can redirect their emphasis on quality chips, both domestically through the draft, but internationally as well… this whole mess may have a way of working itself out.

The least… we should have a team that can prevent a sweep in Miami.