It's Monday morning and like many Mets fans I probably feel some slight, residual discomfort from over celebrating the vote on Friday which pushed the Wilpons out the door and opened up a new era of Mets ownership. There are tons of stories appearing about what Steve Cohen will and should do now that he's in charge, but there is nothing that will happen immediately that will extinguish the huge sigh of relief Mets fans worldwide feel now that there is a chance the club will be run with an eye towards winning instead of merely treading water.
The big news arriving Saturday evening is that the Mets are indeed making a qualifying offer of $18.9 million to retain the services of Marcus Stroman for one more year. That move is pretty much a no-lose maneuver. If he takes the offer (unlikely) then the Mets get a less expensive version of a number two starter with Noah Syndergaard on the shelf for at least half of 2021. If he turns it down, then they get a compensatory draft pick from the signing organization. At one time in the club's history that situation resulted in Mike Hampton packing his bags for the great school systems of the Denver area and the Mets using their compensatory pick on some unknown shlub named David Wright.
One of the things that truly annoys me is reading that the Mets are going into the new season with three proven starters in Jacob deGrom, David Peterson and Seth Lugo. We all know how good the dual Cy Young Award winning deGrom is, but after that it certainly gets murky.
I accept that Peterson is indeed going to be a named starter but a short 2020 trial hardly makes him proven. He actually pitched better in the majors than he had in the minors. In AA for Binghamton in 2019 he was a rather pedestrian 3-6 with a 4.19 ERA over 24 starts with a 3:1 striekout-to-walk ratio and more than one hit per inning pitched allowed. In his 9 starts this season he went 6-3 with a 3.44 ERA and more walks with fewer strikeouts. Maybe he's turned a corner or maybe scouting reports on him were just not very good. We won't know until we see more of him and I welcome the opportunity to do so.
The one that bothers me is the assumption of Seth Lugo remaining in the rotation. Please remember how awful he was as a starting pitcher and how excellent he is out of the bullpen. Yes, the Mets do need starting pitching desperately with only deGrom and Peterson pretty much guaranteed to be 40% of the rotation, but trotting out someone who has proven again and again how incapable he is as a starter while your bullpen is once again in chaos makes no sense whatsoever.
There are options for both the beginning and end of ballgames in the pitching market, starting with Trevor Bauer and Brad Hand, but many other hurlers are also available via free agency and via trade. Some are reclamation projects like Corey Kluber, some are older like Charlie Morton or Rich Hill, and some are young enough to be around for awhile like Taijuan Walker. During 2020 the Mets did what they usually do, sifting through the also-rans of the pitching market and after forking out over $12 million in starting pitching they were rewarded with some of the worst game openers in the majors. Here's hoping they chart a new direction.
For now, however, I'll still enjoy the end of the long weekend celebration during which Cohen confirmed paying Citifield employees a fair wage, kicking various players not in the core to the curb and taking a smart approach with Marcus Stroman. Yes, for once it is a time to feel almost like a proud Mets fan with a team dedicated to professionalism.
Pitching will take lots of moves and $$ to fix
ReplyDeleteWell, assuming Stroman departs, that leaves 2 starters and the good bullpen guy who cannot succeed as a starter in Seth Lugo. I hope this time the Mets realize the mistake now that they are stuck with both Brach and Betances to go along with Familia and Diaz in the pen. They need help out there, too.
ReplyDeleteFor a change, I agree with everything Reese says here. Real optimism is always welcome, especially in these trying times.
ReplyDeleteOne small disagreement here:
I don't think it's so unlikely that Stro turns down the offer. His market value, like those of other FAs while owners are tightening their belts, is not what it might be in "normal" times, especially after not throwing a pitch in a single game this year. Taking the offer would be in his best interest, allowing him to raise his value next Winter. I expect him to accept.
But even if he turns it down, we are still in the competition for his contract as a FA.
I know Reese loves Japanese imports, and I wonder how he and others here feel about the SP who is expected to be posted. We haven't been lucky with Japanese imports in the past, but if this guy lives up to his billing he could fill a big hole in our rotation.
Does anyone here have info about him?
Steve Cohan goes on twitter to ask Mets fans what they want to see from the new ownership...WHAT are you kidding me. When was the last time we ever saw that happen...NEVER. We love you already Steve and I have to keep pinching myself that this is really happening. LGM for real.
ReplyDeleteJapanese pitcher is projected to be SP3. We need one of those.
ReplyDeleteNY Post article about the pitcher:
ReplyDeletehttps://nypost.com/2020/10/31/tomoyuki-sugano-japans-top-pitcher-could-be-headed-to-mlb/
Control is excellent as is the ERA, but velocity is below what most major leaguers possess.
So he's not another Darvish or Tanaka?
DeleteI think Strohman accepts.
ReplyDeleteBut that's just an opinion. Lot of cost-cutting signs this offseason, for clear & well-established reasons.
It would be a huge gamble for him to reject the offer.
I'm good either way.
I don't think Mets are "stuck" with anyone. That's the old ownership model. The wealthy teams move on if a player doesn't perform. I don't hate that we have Betances back next season. It could work out. And if it doesn't . . . it doesn't.
My pal often reminds me that the Yankees signed Jacoby Ellsbury to a $153 million contract. He earned $20 million in 2020. You don't hear Yankee fans crying about it. If you play the free agent game, you are going to get half of them wrong.
Jimmy