While everyone is probably glad this unique and convoluted season has come to an embarrassing end for the Mets, there is still optimism in Mets fans' hearts knowing that Steve Cohen is highly likely to be approved as the new controlling owner of the team. No one expected the all-hit/no-pitch team to make the World Series, few hoped for a post-season appearance, but most are just happy to be moving onward (and hopefully upward).
While everyone is waiting with bated breath for the housecleaning to begin, the fact is that Cohen does not assume control (assuming he wins the vote) until November. Until then fully expect the familiar cast of characters (both good and bad) to still be in the conversation for 2021 with the exception of the free agents who do not have buy-down options before testing the open market. The likelihood of folks like Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Wacha or Rick Porcello being lured back are highly unlikely.
The bigger question has to do with the optional free agents who the Mets must evaluate to decide whether or not they are worth being part of the future. Dellin Betances is a classic example of a player who can walk away or insist that the Mets keep him around. Others like Todd Frazier have multiyear options which anyone with a brain would avoid like a plague.
There are an awful lot of holes in the team, mostly on the mound. There are decisions to be made like Steven Matz' future. Noah Syndergaard won't be ready until after the All Star break. That leaves Jacob deGrom and Seth Lugo as the starting rotation. That's pretty barren.
In the bullpen the reborn Edwin Diaz is definitely a keeper, but Jeurys Familia has been straight out awful as a setup guy. Many of the warm bodies brought in for this season are not written in ink anywhere. The club needs a major overhaul here and there's no guarantee that guys like Brad Brach, Miguel Castro or Paul Sewald are reliable enough to preserve a lead or at least not let things get worse. The first two starting pitchers are strong (one more so than the other). The bullpen is a mess of worse dimension than the club has seen in many years.
For offensive players, the club is in good shape but the defense and position battles suggest changes need to be made. Unless the team is hellbent on buying every free agent on the market or gutting the minor leagues in Brodie Van Wagenen style, there is going to be a need to make some trades of solid offensive players. No one is going to want to see Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto or Jeff McNeil go, but you have to give to get and the Mets most definitely need ways to reinforce the pitching.
I'm ready to see the club go into a new direction. How they get there is what's unclear. No one knows how much Cohen intends to invest in payroll. No one knows which of the broken pieces are worth salvaging. Whether it's BVW and Luis Rojas working on the front end of deals or other personnel is anyone's guess.
8 comments:
I focus on 3 areas:
Pitching, pitching, and pitching, since that was the season killer for the Mets in those season.
Yo must go, Jed must go, Matz needs a shrink - for his ERA, at least. No, no, no on Porcello. Maybe Wacha for cheap, but I would prefer better quality.
I'm just really tired of the Yanks, 8 times and Braves 6 times since 2010 making the playoffs and even the cost efficient Rays made it 5 times for crying out load and us just once and that was pure luck as the baseball Gods must have felt sorry for us and had Yo fall in our lap instead of getting Gomez. I also don't count 2016 because if you can't win at least 1 game you didn't make the post season. At least with new ownership the light at the end of this tunnel will be sunshine and not an oncoming train. Dare I say it can only get better or at the very least a much more interesting winter ahead.
This would be the perfect year to go all in on free agency. Go after as many as you can of Realmuto, Springer, Bauer, Hendricks, Walker Tanaka....
The reasons why would be
1) this years draft will be fully stocked up and even though you will lose multiple picks early, you’ll surely be able to find some diamonds in the rough with later picks with good scouting.
2) we have so much payroll coming off the books
3) Cohen can make a big splash right away and maybe do the same every 6 years or so.
4) plus this year free agents may not cost as much as a normal year because of the shortened season and not much money to spend because of covid
My optimism about the 2021 season is limited to thinking some aspects may change -- better scouting of minor and major league players, open bidding on top free agents, executing trades that use players on the current major league roster as the price tag, and scouting internationally for real assets instead of the typical Wilpon era xenophobia. Of course, I don't expect all of this to happen. The early returns may be changes in the front office and the dugout. Everything else is possible but unlikely. Rome wasn't built in a day, nor was it burned down in a day. It takes time.
Mini-Camps?
Like for three pitchers here now. Drew Smith, Franklyn Kilome, and Daniel Zamora.
Why?
To me, they all three have something good about their games. Maybe just a little more tutoring and discussion with a top-notch veteran starter could push them over the hump. Worth a try.
Just a thought.
Mets need good young arms.
We cannot keep going with the way we are doing things here with the rotation each season (bringing in bandaid veteran arms) and expecting different results then we get.
Zozo
I concur that the Mets should go after top-level players from other teams to fill critical holes. The old strategy of getting three mid-level veterans seldom if ever worked here.
Trevor Bauer had a good season in 2020. But go look again as his statsheet from seasons prior. It's not stellar and he's be asking for Wheeler money too.
On the Catcher spot
I just watched some video on Alvarez. He is a compact 5'11" catcher with a decent arms and a compact hitting mechanics.
He uses what I have been seeing a lot of lately watching the younger kids bat. I call it a "shorter step-in-approach combined with a shorter hip swivel than usual as well. It's like two different batting mechanic approaches in one, but abbreviated.
But for Alvarez it appears to work.
He is strong and makes good contact on the ball. I think as he ages some more, he could develop into a 20 HR a season good defensive catcher.
Q: How far off would I project him from what I watched on video?
A: 2023. Still needs to add age and experience playing.
Q: Will he be a major league decent catcher?
A: Yes. Two more years worth would be ideal I think for him.
Reese
Your formula is sound. But the key to me is the scouting and development. The reason is that with both be very good, a team won't need seven players to fill their 25 man roster each season. Those openings can then be filled from within.
This leaves the door open financially to acquiring maybe two top veterans instead.
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