Reese Kaplan -- When Do You Look Towards the Future?

When spring cleaning time arrives, most folks are faced with a common decision point.  Do they stash away the things for which they have no immediate need “just in case”?  Do they try to sell them for pennies on the dollar to clear some space and acknowledge they no longer are a part of what’s needed in the future?  Or do they haul them off to the scrap heap in resignation that the money spent is gone forever and you might as well own up to that reality?

In 2019 the Mets started off fairly poorly but then things started to click in the second half and they finished strongly, though not quite at a level to make up for the cold weather catastrophe that eventually cost winning manager Mickey Callaway his job.  By the way, isn’t it ironic that the Mets were willing to take a chance on a totally unproven manager, watched him fail, and the only job he was able to land was his former role as a pitching coach.  You’d think the Mets would have been wiser the next time, but then came Carlos “Cheatin’” Beltran.  At least Luis Rojas knows the players’ names and has extensive experience at the helm in the minors.  Thank you, Houston Astros, for forcing the Mets to engage someone who knows how to manage.

The topic today is not the questionable managerial strategy, but rather the team for 2020 and beyond.  Some of the decisions are fairly easy with Pete Alonso entrenched at 1^st base, Jeff McNeil entrenched somewhere, Amed Rosario at shortstop, Michael Conforto in right field and hopefully JD Davis somewhere (if healthy).  Jacob deGrom is here for the duration.  Noah Syndergaard has one more year before free agency.  Ditto Steven Matz (who may not have a defined job anymore).  After that it gets quite a bit murkier.

Everyone’s least favorite player (and arguably the least tradeable) is Robinson Cano.  Yes, we understand that taking on his immense contract was the price to pay to get young, cheap and theoretically awesome closer Edwin Diaz.  It was the big splash BVW needed to make to establish that he was qualified for the job and we should just ignore the fact that he stacked the team with his former clients.  Come to think of it, there was another price paid named Jared Kelenic.  And Justin Dunn.  And Gerson Bautista.  And the salaries of Jay Bruce and Anthony Swarzak.  It is possible to parlay part of Cano’s salary obligation back to the AL where he can end his career as a DH.  It’s also possible your social companion will show up on time for an event.  I just wouldn’t bank on it. 

Next in line is Yoenis Cespedes.  Mack and some readers bandied about his future should he come back this year.  Going into an age 35 season, he’s not likely a good investment, particularly if you factor in the injury history.  The Mets need to have him play to establish any trade value at all, but then they need to palm him off to another club with a DH need who may be interested in retaining him for 2021 and beyond.  JD Davis appeared to show he could deliver an equivalent amount of offense (though far superior defense). 

I’ve already volunteered that Jed Lowrie’s leg brace resembles something from a ski injury, so perhaps his future is in Colorado, Seattle or somewhere else near the mountains where that type of activity is possible.  Everyone, please raise your hands if you think the $10 million CAA client salary of Lowrie makes him a more desirable player to see in the lineup every day than Jeff McNeil?  Anyone?  Bueller?  Just like Cespedes, this mistaken transaction comes to an end on September 30^th (or a little later if the Mets make it into the post-season).  If he’s basically just occupying a spot on the bench, let him do that somewhere else. 

Now come two tougher decisions.  Wilson Ramos was everything offensively and durability-wise the club could have hoped in 2019.  He’s started off spring training looking like he’s crushing the ball, but the fact is that the pitchers don’t like throwing to him behind the plate.  Unlike Mike Piazza who couldn’t throw anyone out but otherwise handled pitchers sufficiently, there is open hostility from Noah Syndergaard and others about Ramos.  Yes, you have an option for 2021 if you so choose, but he might also find himself more suited at this stage of his career to DH duty than wearing the tools of ignorance.  Since there is no DH in the NL (yet), it’s probably wise to consider moving him during the 2020 season while he still has value.  Then his 2021 option is someone else’s decision to make.  The problem is that the catching core behind him is not exactly full of Benches, Grotes or Molinas. 

The even tougher decision is about the diminutive third starter, Marcus Stroman.  Yes, you paid for him in prospect currency, so the price was not extraordinarily high, but after he got his feet wet he demonstrated what kind of pitching talent he has.  You can bet no matter how much he likes New York he saw what a mid-range starter like Zack Wheeler got from a desperate ballclub, so you’d figure Stroman is onto the land of the highest bidder.  Unless you want to use your exclusive negotiating period now to lock him up (something not traditionally in the Wilpon DNA), you might have to consider playing the role of the Blue Jays and seeing what he could net mid-season in trade.  Of course, if you are indeed contending for the post-season, you won’t do that, but understand he walks away for nothing at all (or a draft pick if you want to do the QO routine). 

Others whose future is less well defined – Brandon Nimmo, Jake Marisnick, Jeurys Familia and others – they’re on the bubble for the future.  A lot depends on how manager Rojas does in his first year at the helm, how the injuries impact the team, and whether or not they remain in limbo until a buyer is found.