Mike's Mets - It's All About Balance

By Mike Steffanos December 8, 2020 

It doesn't seem like that long ago that the Mets were all about pitching. The Mets rode the back of terrific starting pitching all of the way to the 2015 World Series, despite featuring a relatively weak lineup even after the addition of Yoenis Céspedes. Michael Conforto was on that team despite being in only his second year of pro ball and, to his credit, performed well in the playoffs. Daniel Murphy was just coming into his late career power surge, and carried them through the early rounds, although he fell off badly in the Series. David Wright had less than 200 at bats left in his injury-shortened MLB career. Curtis Granderson ran endlessly hot and cold for the Mets, but was a decent player. Travis d'Arnaud was having his last good year as a Met, but wasn't the hitter he would become after departing. Michael Cuddyer was one of Sandy Alderson's biggest mistakes, and the rest of the roster was littered with filler such as as Lucas Duda, Wilmer Flores, Juan Lagares, etc. Their defense left something to be desired, too. It was only great pitching that got them to the brink of a championship before falling short.

That pitching was so young, it really seemed like the Mets rotation would dominate baseball for a few years. This, of course, despite the team's handicap of ownership that was broke, short-sighted and just plain cheap. But that dream fell apart so quickly, didn't it? Matt Harvey went from great to far below average in the blink of an eye. Noah Syndergaard tantalizes as a potential ace if he can come back all of the way from Tommy John, but the Mets are going to have to bid for his services on the open market beyond this season. Steven Matz probably needs a change of scenery to prove he's more than deep depth as a pitcher. Only Jacob de Grom fully fulfilled his promise but, with his 32nd birthday coming up next June, is probably at the tail end of his greatest years — although I believe he can be a very good pitcher into his mid-30s, as long as he stays healthy.

Everything in MLB is fleeting. Careers are short, and an unexpected injury can change the trajectory of a career fast. Just ask 2015 Mets Matt Harvey and David Wright. Nothing in baseball is more transitory and ethereal than a great young starting rotation, however. Mets fans know that only too well.

The Mets have many of the pieces in place for a really good starting rotation again, particularly if luck prevails and de Grom, Stroman and Peterson stay healthy and perform, and Noah Syndergaard bounces back well and gives the Mets a half season of his best stuff. Adding a Trevor Bauer gives them a chance to be really, really good. Even the admittedly lesser addition of Jake Odorizzi, along with some solid depth pieces, gives them a real shot at having starting pitching be a strength of the Mets again after a five year absence. Maybe even comparable to what they were in 2015.

Still, where things have undeniably changed over the Mets last World Series team is on the offensive side. Even if the Mets didn't sign a single significant position player as a free agent — and I think that would be an absolutely shocking development — they're miles ahead of the 2015 club on the offensive side of the ball. Add a Springer and/or Realmuto to that lineup and, again knock wood on injuries, they will go into battle with the kind of offense we could only dream about back in the fall of 2015. The defense is likely to be a lot better than it has been in years, too.

With luck and health and some well-chosen reinforcements, the 2021 Mets should be one of the better teams in baseball. They will also be a really legit playoff contender, albeit not without some weaknesses. Given all of the other changes Steve Cohen and Sandy Alderson look to be making to the organization, I also believe it's reasonable to expect the 2022 Mets to be even better, and likely that the 2023 Mets better still. Success has been a fragile, abruptly vanishing reality here in Queens since the end of the eighties, like the football that Lucy Van Pelt repeatedly pulled away from Charlie Brown just when he thought he had that kick lined up. It might take a long-time fan like me a while to acclimate to winning going on more than two or three seasons at a clip, but getting used to that is something I very much look forward to doing.

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