Billy Eppler indeed has a huge workload ahead of him as he takes the GM reins in the Mets front office. Many are aware of the obvious and expected decision making such as the Javy Baez negotiation and what to do about the empty outfield. More surprising was the already razor thin starting rotation which is now minus Noah Syndergaard who went off to play 2022 for Eppler's most recent baseball employer in California.
One of the topics that has been hot among the fans is the Mets' draft pick situation which is now a little stronger due to Thor's departure. It is entirely possible that they have the means to strengthen themselves in the future by preserving these picks but it's also believable that they will sacrifice one or more should they sign an outside free agent who turned down a qualifying offer and compensation must be given to the team that lost out.
There are a great many players in that pool who could potentially be of interest to the Mets including slugger Nick Castellanos, or pitchers Justin Verlander or Robbie Ray. The others in the top tier include first basemen, shortstops and the overpriced Chris Taylor. If the Mets secured one of the top three identified, then they would have to relinquish a draft pick.
There are plenty of high profile free agents who do not require the compensation, including Javy Baez, Kris Bryant, Max Scherzer, Kevin Gausman, Marcus Stroman, Carlos Rodon, Clayton Kershaw, Starling Marte, Kyle Schwarber and Anthony DeSclafani. One would think Eppler would first be looking deeply at the non-compensation pool of players as it helps the Mets get the best of both worlds by preserving their draft picks and getting high quality talent on their roster.
Of course, in addition to the roster Eppler must also get it in gear to hire a manager and coaches to lead the team on the field. We've all heard the usual managerial candidate names, including Buck Showalter, Brad Ausmus, Bruce Bochy and other veterans, as well as coaches like Joe Espada of Houston and former manager John Gibbons.
There's even a chorus of folks advocating time has passed and Carlos Beltran should be back in the mix of possibilities. How much the manager is allowed to do and how much is dictated by the analytics guys both before and during the games helps narrow that field considerably. I really can't picture Showalter, Ausmus or Bochy looking for permission to decide who plays, where they appear in the lineup and which pitchers should enter the game.
Perhaps Eppler's toughest call, however, is the future of players who underperformed or simply do not fit the long term future of the ballclub. Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis all appear to be on thin ice.
Brandon Nimmo did well, so the assumption is that he's safe. Francisco Lindor is economically untradable, so he's here for the next 9 years as well. The Mets do have some folks other clubs would desire like Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo and Pete Alonso, but it's highly unlikely the team wants to make the team weaker by jettisoning any of them.
Right now the Mets are not yet on the road to success but neither are they on the road to the cellar. What frustrates the fans and the media is the fact that the club hasn't shown a consistent direction in quite some time. They want changes made and the hope is that Eppler has the courage and authority to do so.
No one can forget how cringe-worthy the end of the 2021 season was for the fans. People want to see a plan. Then they want the plan executed.
Billy Eppler, you have a tough road ahead of you. Good luck with it.
10 comments:
EPPLER sure has his hands full…it would have been very beneficial if he’d been on board a month ago. So much to do. So little time.
Tom Lindor has TEN MORE YEARS as I understand it. Winning teams have solid organization's top to bottom and when could we last say that?
First order today is completing our 40 man roster. Who do we add;do we leave a spot open for a rule 5 draft choice?
According to many sources the Mets 40-man roster stands at 32 players. Here is ESPN's list:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/team/roster/_/name/nym/new-york-mets
We also post it here at Mack's Mets
http://macksmets.blogspot.com/p/mets-40-man-roster_29.html?m=1
You can also get the Syracuse, Binghamton, Brooklyn, and St. Lucie Roster
Mets have until 6 tonight to protect players. My guess is that they will protect Mauricio, Vientos, Cortes, Adam Oller, Jose Butto, Brian Metoyer and one of their good defensive catchers - either Hayden Senger or Nick Meyer.
I think Nogosek and Jake Reed will also be released and we will see some non-tenders as well in the weeks to come.
Remember Syracuse roster will need to be checked as well as those players are kept out of minor league portion of draft. Jose Peroza and Wilmer Reyes are my most likely picks there.
Good stuff Reese.
My comment on this article is why does anyone consider Castellanos when Conforto is available without the #14 pick (more like a #75 pick, but Conforto would be worth that). In my opinion, Conforto will have a better remainder of career than Castellanos. It was unfortunate he had a down year in his walk year. He is a better overall package when considering defensive play.
This article got my creative juices piqued a bit . . I might just have to come up with another article this weekend.
Reese's Peace
Good article (again). Please stop. (LOL)
To me, the only large "must do" in player personnel for this team, is in the rotation. I harp on this. Daily even. That is why.
Carlos Rodon, Clayton Kershaw, Starling Marte makes good sense to me too. Robbie Ray had a barking elbow 4/21. Elbows, knees, and hips bother me the most. He made $8.0 mill in 2021, but shows a 62/58 career won/lost and a 4.00 career ERA. What's so great with that?
You could say then why Clayton Kershaw here? How would Clayton make sense for the Mets in 2022.
Good question.
First of all, we never had any Mets player here with the first name of Clayton. (LOL) Right? Now if you take a second to think about it, how many outstanding fastball pitchers (or actually any really successful long term pitcher throwing anything for that matter) have not had elbow or rotor cuff issues at some point? I cannot think of one. Can you? Maybe Tom Seaver. But in those days a starting pitcher pitched through fairly serious arm injury stuff. It was expected from them. Bob Gibson's arm fell off twice in his career, and he never missed a start.
So.
You get me Carlos Rodon, Clayton Kershaw, and Starling Marte and I'll come out to the games all season long.
The outfield is nowhere near in any trouble with this team. But instead of another HR guy with a .264 BA, get me someone like Starling Marte for RF. He's a .289 BA guy who can net you 47 bags stolen in a season. This would give the NY Mets a very formidable two top of the order players. For once.
Kershaw and deGrom are friends. They can feed off each other, help each other be their best. They are basically the same age. Not too young, not too old. Kershaw would probably accept a 2-3 year for less than he was making to come here. I think anyway.
I don't want Steven Matz back under any condition even if free.
This is because he was absolutely horrible here for too long, and it took a relocation with a career ending black cloud hanging over his head for him to do well. I am glad that he did, I always felt that he had it in him. But it may have simply been that very few batters in the AL really had seen him much before while a NY Met.
Steven Matz and Marcus Stroman are simply not winning pitchers to me. And I personally don't care how wonderful they respectively look in their team's uni's. I am sorry. Together they have a below .500% won/lost to prove this point and it would tie up way over the $24,000,000 they together made last season. Good gosh! Pass the beer nuts!
Draft picks can be looked at in different ways.
If the Mets signed a QO guy, they would not lose "A" draft pick, they'd lose the #14 overall, a very significant #.
And if they re-signed 4to, they'd lose the pick that they'd get if he signed elsewhere.
So if they signed someone else's FA, but lost 4to, they would essentially be trading the #14 for a #50 or 60.
I'd focus on guys who are "free", especially Marte, and go into the draft (if there is one) with 5 picks in the 1st 3 rounds.
Then I'd look to trade for players under contract for 1-2 years that money - starved teams can't (or do not want to) afford.
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