Reese Kaplan -- It's Time to Be Thankful for the Mets

 

As we approach Christmas Eve, many of us reflect over the good things that have happened to us personally or to the team that we follow and root to make it into the post season.  Let’s take a few moments to consider the latter and some of the things for which we should be both grateful and appreciative, encompassing the abbreviated 2020 season and the off-season that follows in which we are seeing progress being made.

The 2020 Season

Dom Smith presented the fans with a great problem to enjoy.  His performance with the bat was amazing, finishing the 60-game season with a .316 batting average, 10 HRs, 27 RBIs, a .616 slugging percentage, an OPS of .993 and that ever present smile.  Of course, with the DH added to the National League temporarily, it provided Smith with ample opportunities to perform which otherwise might have been limited by fighting for outfield space.  Of course, the rapid departure of Yoenis Cespedes also opened up an on-the-field role as well.  His performance at a 1.9 WAR level for just about minimum wage has people scrambling to figure out how to get his bat into the lineup in 2021 when the DH will not exist.  It’s a very enjoyable challenge the club will have to tackle. 

Although he helped the club attain a World Series berth in his rookie year of 2015, and although he’s worn an All Star jersey, Michael Conforto has always seemed to somehow not quite measure up the grand vision people had for him.  Part of it was injuries that plagued him throughout his career.  That perception changed in 2020 when he was operating at an even higher WAR rating than his teammate Smith, recording a 2.3 WAR rating with a .322 average, 9 HRs and 31 RBIs.  The slugging and OPS numbers were slightly down from Smith’s performance, but he more than made up for it with vastly superior defense.

During the years of age 19 through 23, southpaw hurler David Peterson produced a solid but somewhat unremarkable minor league career as he worked his way up the Mets ladder.  Lefties sometimes take a little longer to produce effectively and they kind of rushed him into the majors, skipping over AAA entirely due to the poor efforts from the other starting pitchers.  Much to everyone’s surprise he did better in the majors than he had in the minors, finishing 6-2 with a 3.44 ERA and, in most folks’ minds, cemented a spot in the starting rotation for 2021.  His 1.5 WAR rating was pretty impressive for a somewhat unheralded rookie.  For comparison’s sake, former 22 game winner Rick Porcello was at 0.1 and former St. Louis Cardinal Michael Wacha was at -0.2.

Finally Mr. Edwin Diaz is starting to get some of the recognition he deserves for a remarkable 2020 season after a highly questionable one in 2019.  He finished the season with a 2-1 record, 6 saves, nearly two strikeouts per inning pitched and a tidy 1.75 ERA.  Per Tom Brennan’s recent analysis, he was the third best reliever in all of baseball last year.  You may hate the Seattle trade for having given up Jared Kelenic and taking on Mr. Steroid to play second base, but you can no longer complain about the level of quality Diaz provides. 

The Hot Stove Season

Steve Cohen’s initial attempt to purchase the Mets seemed for awhile that it was going to fall by the wayside, but he came roaring back with a plan and the money necessary to drive the Wilpon family out of the front office.  For many people, that move alone makes it the crown jewel of the off-season, but his presence with the media and his recognition of the many things that need to be done to convert the team into contending really make the change real. 

It seemed for awhile that the Mets were facing dead ends in terms of front office changes after clearing house, but eventually they brought on board 41 year old Jared Porter to serve with Sandy Alderson as his mentor.  Alderson likely only has a year or two left in his role with the club, so they needed to find someone who could grow into his level of responsibility.  The former Assistant GM for the Diamondbacks is still a bit of a mystery to the fans as he’s just settling in and has not yet made the personnel moves for which executives are either praised or vilified.  The media reports have been wholly positive about the move to secure Porter, so everyone is awaiting his first visible roster actions. 

Without a GM, the Mets seemed to focus on the supportive cast of characters for the upcoming season which were most certainly necessary.  No one is complaining at all about Trevor May joining the team to help buttress the poor bullpen, and the majority of folks who were not dead set on J.T. Realmuto understand the health, defensive ability, recent offensive productivity and significantly lower cost of James McCann.  While everyone was hoping for an overnight transformation with an All Star in every starting position, the fact is that the complementary players are often the difference between competitive teams and winning teams. 

The one big area that folks are anticipating concerns the best of the best in both free agency and on the trading block.  Very little action has taken place among the top stars who are available.  Some write it off to negotiations happening once the first big chip falls, others are calling it residue of the poor revenue generated in 2020.  Soon enough names like Trevor Bauer, George Springer, Brad Hand, Liam Hendriks and others will have new uniforms to wear.  The waiting game is very difficult but it’s not just the Mets fans experiencing this frustration. 

For what Mets developments are you most grateful and most excited for the upcoming season?