Before spring training comes spring cleaning - fall and winter style.
When doing spring cleaning, purging what you don't want or need is essential.
Likewise, each player in 2021 has, by their 2021 and prior play, presented their case to be donated to Savers, held for the time being while you're trying to make up your mind, or definitely held for use in 2022. The Mets? They always purge a lot - and they make sure their revolving door is well greased. It revolves a lot, sometimes furiously.
Here is my three part keep-ponder-chuck list - it probably needs more paring down in the "Keepers" and "Undecided" categories, and a shopping list of new items not in the Mets shop in 2021 to replace them - but I'll start with this keep/ponder/discard list today.
OH - AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOUR LIST IS.
KEEPERS - 21 KILLER OUTFITS (CAN, OF COURSE, TRADE IN FOR SIMILAR OUTFITS)
Jake D - did you ever see that Mr. Bean movie where the Mona Lisa gets messed up? Is Jake now that Mona Lisa, or was the 2nd half of 2021 a mere speed bump.
Stroman (someone has to start for these Mets, why not Marcus?)
Walker - great first half, abysmal 2nd half. We need a double portion of the first half in 2022.
Megill - 2022 will be fascinating for him. Will he become a solid, respected MLB starter? Or will he remain HR-prone?
Carrasco - young, compared to the next guy, and thankfully, less chipper in his right arm hinge for 2022.
Hill - still not over the....
Peterson - stay healthy for Peterson's sake, and show us what ya got.
Pete - BOOM! AlonSO VERY FAR.
Lindor (too expensive to donate; pray that he plays like he's worth $34 million and not $3.4 million).
McCann (do we really have a choice? Were "caught" in a bind.).
Nimmo - his OBP is far higher than his Healthy-for-Games Rate.
McNeil - fluke down year. Squirrels - ya can't keep them down for long.
Davis - I still think this guy will hit a lot - he did OK in 2021 with a bum hand.
Villar - valuable and versatile. Keep if you can. Unless you can upgrade.
Khalil Lee - a season full of Savory Syracuse Seasoning should have him ready to be prime 2022 filet mignon in Queens.
Pen Keepers:
Diaz, May, Lugo, the great & mighty Loup, Drew Smith, Castro.
UNDECIDED - 12 ENSEMBLES TO HOLD OR TOSS
Thor - only keep the fragile norse god if convinced he is not damaged goods.
Baez - need to see the price tag vs. other available merchandise - far better than old jalopy Cano is likely to be.
Nido - could 2022 be the year he achieves a lofty .275 OBP?
Pillar - depends if a better upgrade is available. He would really benefit from closer Citi fences (this has been a commercial announcement), which fences depressed his 2021 #'s. Fan favorite, tough dude, so I lean towards keeping the Pill.
Dom Smith - if there is a DH, to help rescue him from the outfield. He actually wasn't bad in the outfield in 2021 - just 1 error, but no gazelle - but the OF seemed to really mess him up at the plate. Should the Mets, though, be concerned with the fact that Baseball Reference lists his nickname as (I kid you not) Sloth Bear?
Offensive Subs: Guillorme, Mazeika, Drury - all did OK, but too many of that sort on a team and you are sub-.500.
Pen Puzzlers: Gsellman, Hand, Familia. I'd retain at the right price on the latter two. And Gsellman would thrive in Seattle.
Szapucki - should we continue to drink the Kool Aid for a guy with a scant 190 innings from 2015-2021? 7 major leaguers in 2021 threw more innings than Szapucki has thrown in that 7 year span.
Probable rule of baseball thumb - do not hold onto too much marginal stuff for too long - so, let's say half of those 13 must go, just to bring in fresh blood and freshen up the closet.
DISCARDS - 12 - DO NOT KEEP, OR IF ALREADY GONE, DO NOT BRING BACK
Almora - hits like a pitcher, if that well. BB King sang, "The Skill is Gone." Of course, he will go to Seattle and make the All Star team in 2022.
Maybin - one whiff of the May Bin was enough. Phew!!
Conforto - I have a strong feeling he would be a free agent anvil for the Mets. Maybe a decent year or two, at great long term cost. Take the QO draft pick, and tell Boras no thank you.
Cano - Robbie must go, dontcha know. If for no other reason than he is 11 years older than JD Davis. Is there a way to let Robbie not Rob the Mets?
Peraza - getting older, and lesser, by the year, it seems.
Blankenhorn - meh.
Yennsy Diaz - one pen Diaz is enough. I prefer Sugar.
Betances - out of chances, dontcha know (another Yankee retread). The anti-Gehrig as a Met (no, wait, that title belongs to Jed Lowrie, who had 503 more plate appearances with Oakland than in his 2 prior years with the Mets.). I don't care about his contractual situation - upgrade please.
Nogosek - he is a AAAA spokesperson. No-Go gotta go.
Oswalt - could the recently departed be a 2022 version of Chris Flexen? And do it in Seattle? If I was Ozzie, first place I'd look.
Yamamoto - slo-mo Moto got tagged in AAA. AA may be his true level. I hear that he admired Randy Jones' fastball.
Eichhoff - doles out far too many souvenirs. Air sirens go off when he pitches. He gasses up at BP.
Others 2021 players not mentioned - well, you draw your own conclusions.
SUBMIT YOUR LISTS, PEOPLE.
18 comments:
Err...
Didn’t send this to Steve.
Sometimes I get a little mischievous.
I like upside more than nostalgia. Here we go:
Keep: JdG, Thor is healthy, Walker, Cookie, Megill, Stroman on a four year deal, Peterson, Williams, Stock, Diaz, Diaz, Lugo, May, Betances for a measly million, Castro, Nido, McCann, Alonso, McNeil, Davis, Lindor, Drew Smith, Dom Smith, Nimmo, QO Conforto and wait, Loup, Hand, Villar, Pillar, Lee, Vientos, Mauricio… that’s 32.
Maybes: Baez if he wants to play 3B and MAYBE switch over to second later, Guillorme cause he keeps his mouth shut, Senger (Mazeika sucks, let’s move on), Szapucki (did he get hurt again?), Josh Walker and Oller.
That’s 38 names. Then, there’s Carlos Rincon, who I’m on the fence about. Mazeika could be an option if you feel after you release him he can stay in the organization as a free agent.
Good list, Gus. You know, the Mets are looking for a good GM...
This is a wide ranging topic, to say the least!
Just cherry picking a few, but I think the Mets should offer Conforto the QO and then let him walk when he rejects the same (self proclaimed "Super Agent" Scott Boras is his agent, after all). I like MC overall, but he will not be worth the cash the team has to pay out to keep him around, IMO. I would rather use the money on a starting quality CF'er like Starling Marte, perhaps.
I also think Thor will get a QO and he is likely to take it.........close to 19 million for a year to rehabilitate his image prior to free agency in 2022 (without a QO to worry about, unless the CBA changes, of course). Not sure I am comfortable offering him more then that, with his injury history.
Javier Baez........I am literally on the fence with this dude. Much like Conforto, he will cost a bunch to retain and he may or may not be worth it. Strong defense up the middle and a power bat in the lineup are enticing, but he also K's a ton and has shown a bit of a disruptive side when things aren't going well. Plus, does he block someone like Mauricio? Should that cash be used on a different position (SP, OF) since we have two incumbents who can play 2B in McNeil and Cano?
Stroman just had the proverbial "contract year", IMO. He's a decent pitcher and would be an asset in the rotation, but much like Conforto and Baez, is he worth the cash? Something tells me we have seen his best and the rest of his career will be a slow decent into mediocrity.....if so, the contract will be an albatross. Or, I could be totally wrong and he will be another Wheeler. If they keep Thor as stated above, and if health allows, you have DeGrom, Thor and Carrasco to anchor the rotation, so maybe we can get by with cheaper alternatives?
Lots of decisions to make......if only we had a GM in place to figure things out?
Oh and it looks like we have a new reader! Nice of Faizan Ali to offer his assistance.........that AND I was also offered 8 million dollars this morning from an African Prince via my email! What a great day.....
My team eould not have JDD, Dom, Lee, or Villar.
Ray is DOWN in the fearsome foursome....and heck, he may turn out to be right.
Mike, I would also NOT do more than a QO for the chiseled but fragile Syndergaard. Conforto? Can't sign every super-expensive guy long term, he can ply his skills elsewhere. Baez and Stroman are dilemmas, but you have to sign SOME quality guys long term, or become the Orioles.
One thing is clear - this list of players needs everything to go right to compete with the likes of the Braves and Astros. And everything going right? Just never happens.
On Stroman
Good pitcher, just not a 1-3 starter that a team and its fans can absolutely count on game in and game out. Just isn't there yet. Too high a gamble perhaps.
Idea: 1. deGrom 2. Rodon 3. Syndergaard 4. Robbie Ray 5. Taijuan Walker 6. Tyler Megill
Go with a six-man. Jake and Noah could use this to happen in 2022.
Also: Have starters like Drew Smith and Adam Oller to consider as well. This has not only the depth issue covered, but also someone in the four slot who can become a top 1-3 starter in Ray.
Starting pitching is the issue here with this team.
There will be a DH. Robinson Cano or JD Davis will fill that role. Smith is back to the outfield if he's still in a Mets uniform. McNeil will be at 2B if they don't want another $341 million infielder signed.
Reese with a dose of fiscal reality!
This team has 5 key issues in 2022 - not necessarily in this order:
1) Starting pitching
2) Bullpen
3) Offense
4) Defense
5) Manager
Fix those 5 and win a World Series
What?
No fences?
TB:
Thanks for listing starting pitching as the No.1 off season address situation. Obviously, because I do write about this often here I know. I am trying to end another 2021 type season.
What scares me with this organization the most?
1. Management can miss things here, like any other sports organization else really. Like this fact that you cannot go with five recent arm injury starters and actually expect them all to "magically" somehow "hold up" over an entire season's scheduling. Won't happen. Quote me Howie.
2. Management's "fright night" at even just thinking of bringing up 3-4 rookies to start on the 2022 Mets team. OMG stuff! for them and this team's fans and sports writers as well. This is the NYY people. Yet we go the veteran acquisition route much more easily and have not won a WS in what 36 years?
I call this "No guts, no glory." It takes guts. It takes balls. And sometimes you have to try this route because what your alternative is has never worked out so well. Geriatrics in other words. Other teams' castoffs for second half acquisitions. Fred Sanford to the rescue I call it.
Yes, it sounds ludicrous, I agree.
But these 3-4 AAA players a knocking right now are way above average skilled ones. We have two "nice defensive catchers" here now, Tomas and James. Non-offensive guys overall, who once and awhile get a nice hit. The MLB catcher position has been sort of "dry" for the past ten years more. No Johnny Bench guys walking in, nor in the wings for most teams. No Mike Piazza or Gary Carter's either. It's a thin MLB position at best. Sort of like the NBA's center position lately. Thin.
So why not get Francisco Alvarez "all tutored up" this off season, maybe paired with a Mike Piazza experienced catcher. The Mets have absolutely "nothing to lose" by giving Francisco Alvarez a legit shot at the catcher position in 2022 ST. Nothing. Just washing another uniform really and a pair of spikes.
3. Budget monies being available at the ASB to make crucial corrective player personnel moves most needed, perhaps due to key player injury. No mo' retread deadbeat guys with toe tags already. But "difference maker" types, even just one for the second half. A gamer.
4. Mr. Met has to come in 2022 second half to start games because Dillon Gee absolutely refuses to sign here again.
Texas Gus
What about Peterson and Oswalt?
It kind of sounds like you liked the 2021 team. But expecting a different outcome may not happen I think.
Sometimes, a team has to change things up to win.
Oswalt is a free agent.
Anon, as Tom just wrote, the Mets designated Oswalt and he will be moving to Seattle. I do have Peterson.
I did like the 2021 team. It wasn’t perfect, but I feel the messing with the hitters by Alderson and his genius just ruined everything. I cannot dismiss three years of positive results from McNeil and two from Smith so easily. However, I do want to sign Cahna and I do think they need another top starter, preferably a southpaw. Also, if Conforto accepts the QO, I would move Smith. I don’t like both in the lineup, too redundant. One or the other, not both.
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