Hey Steve.
First of all, (as I said on Twitter after the last game) congrats on a great 101 win building block in your five year plan.
None of us are happy that the team isn't playing anymore this year, but hats off to the Padres for what they did in three away games at Citi.
I assume you will take a few days to either buy all the stock from some company, or go short on another, but seriously, everyone needs to step back and first determine what this team has going forward.
As for the team you own, you are solid on 1B, 2B, SS. 3B (ESCOBAR), LF, RF, one SP, and a couple of relievers.
That totals to six ex-All Stars, a GG, and a CY winner.
That ain't bad Steve.
Once your baseball rest is over, you need to move on to the future.
I've written to you before (you never have acknowledged them on this platform) so excuse me if some of my suggestions sound repetitive.
1. You have to decide if your new President will be involved in the baseball side of this organization or just the business side. Steve, you can't have enough great baseball minds with great contacts (I assume you have the funds to create a new, lower level position.. say VP of Business Ops)
Only you know if you have enough baseball acumen in the office. I'm just saying...
2. The immediate future of the 2023 team will bring to the surface great young replacements for DH (Mark Vientos and Brett Baty) UT3B and UTOF (Vientos and Baty), catcher (Francisco Alvarez), SP (Jose Butto) and CF (Jake Mangum). All five of these studs have years of team control left and will take the place of departing players that would cost much more to, mostly, under-perform.
And please don't sell either Butto or Mangum short. Butto has pitched in 102 minor league games (89 starts) to a 3.44-ERA, which includes going 2.45/0-97 in 8G (7-ST) for AAA-Syracuse this past season. Brandon Nimmo hit .277 in 10 minor league seasons and .227 in his last extended minor league season, while Mangum hit .333 for Syracuse this past season. Oh yeah, he possesses lightning speed on the base paths, and has G Glove potential in center.
3. Let's face it. You inherited this mass exodus of free agents. Still, you need to begin to take the steps that this is not going to happen again. On the surface, 2022’s 101 wins looks like an impossible number to achieve for the next few years. Some may even say you are entering a short rebuilding stage. You need to continue to develop your young, chain talent, while extending the stars that are scheduled to hit free agency soon. Pete Alonso will be a free agent in 2025. So will Jeff McNeil. We could spend volumes talking about younger players that haven't even hit arbitration, but these three two would be a nice place to start with proper extensions.
4. Let's talk CL Edwin Diaz. He told reporters after the game that he want the Mets to approach him quickly. He want back. Also, he's the best reliever in baseball. This is a no brainer.
5. We have to talk pitching. Right now, you have one starter under an extended contract (Max Scherzer). Also returning are Joely Rodriguez, Joey Lucchese, Drew Smith, Tylor Megill, Stephen Nogosek, and David Peterson. You obviously need to build a rotation and, at the same time, stay away from trading your prospect chips to obtain one or more.
Judging from recent remarks by Chris Bassitt and Jake deGrom… well, I wouldn’t bet the house on either of them returning. There is help on the way in the chain, but not until 2024. Frankly, you’re on your own here, Steve. The free agent pitching market is basically weak and many of the best wore Mets uniforms this season. Hint hint.
I could go on, but these are the main subjects I wanted to throw in with my two cents.
Again, great season, thanks for the memories, and love to the family.
Mack
19 comments:
Lots to do this offseason. Steve and Billy have a lot on their plate. It is time to get creative with this roster and put another wining team on the field come 2023! I wonder who Sandy's replacement will be. The search is on, but the pressure is on Billy right now. LFGM!
2023 can be a rough adjustment after a surprisingly positive 2022. You hit the nail on the head about starting pitching. Trying to retain Bassitt is a no-brainer. Keeping deGrom makes sense if there is a clause in the contract about games missed due to injury. I don't want to see him spend all of his payroll on a guy unable in his latter years to take the mound every five days. I don't understand why they are not also making a move towards Taijuan Walker who is much better than many of the minor league and free agent options. If you retain Bassitt, Walker, Carrasco and Scherzer then you are at worst one pitcher away from a rotation if deGrom does a Reyes and finds money more appealing than anything else.
Word is they are.looking for someone to run the business side of the team.
Hope I'm wrong.
2023 pitching will determine this season.
Well said, Mack.
I hadn’t considered Mangum……..I mean, I know about him but after your comment, it got me thinking that he could be the starting CF’er in 2023. Cost controlled, better defensively/faster then Nimmo. Can he hit anywhere close to him? He certainly seems to hit for decent averages in minors (but a question mark until proven otherwise).
Just to cover ourselves, maybe add a low cost veteran OF’er as depth and a spot starter?
Bat Mangum lower in the order to take some pressure off.
It would free up 18-20 million for pitching needs.
Correctomondo
Thanks Mack for writing the open letter. Thanks Steve for building a team that gives us hope for the future. Thanks Billy for keeping our talent pipeline intact.
Thanks Paul for your thanks.
I want Swanson or Turner for 2nd base and Rodon while also keeping Walker and of course Diaz. We went for it all in 22' and came up short now is the time to recalcutate and as always Mack is right. I love the idea of Mangum PI in CF and to actually PLAY our top prospects and the $$$ saved by not signing Nimmo, DeGrom and Bassitt should also leave room for filling out the pitching staff. With the new PO system we should still have a good shot at the post season while we retool a bit and hope any additions at the trade deadline will be better than 21/22' as they almost can't be worse but knee jerk reactions will come back to bite us and they did. The move they didn't make and should have when building a win now team was not signing Schwarber or we'd be playing LA right now. Also will SC eat most of McCanns remaining contract to move him? Please Stevie pretty please. I can live with a lineup of Swanson or Turner Marte Lindor Alonso McNeil Baty EE split DH/3base Alvy/Nido and Mangum and see how it shakes out and then a great deadline deal right Billy.
Gary
Bats, bats, bats.
The Mets will not have a playoff team next year if they don't concentrate their $$$ allocation in the off-season on renewing contracts and signing new starters.
Jake is the face of the team. Offer him 3 yrs at 150. If he passes, use that money for pitchers, not more bats
150 million for3 years. No thanks. They won 101 games with de Grom only winning 5 . Time to move on.
I understand what you are saying but not trying to sign him sends wrong sign to your existing team
If.he passes, use.money on someone like Rodon, and extend Bassett and Diaz
2023 thoughts.
As we all know and have even felt as NYM fans, the 2022 NYM team basically lost out on a golden opportunity in the first round of the playoffs. It's sad that this even had to happen. At first, it felt like "choke city", which began with the horrendous Atlanta series actually. But the starting pitcher slump really had began a few weeks earlier and was obvious. It was a slow slide downward involving these Mets top three starters, which had carried this team to the playoffs. A slip slide down and out actually.
Max Scherzer with the side injury that he had not shaken clear of. Jake deGrom with the 100 mph fastball thing going on now for maybe too long for his "very human arm" to endure. And Carlos Carrasco with the oblique strain in late August. It changed the entire dynamic of this team. A remedy for all this, was not adequately forthcoming.
It was "the bad break" to the 2022 NYM season I felt. The 2023 NYM team has to better and more sufficiently re-design its starting pitching, as well as the depth so as to be able to more adequately handle these type of situations that unfortunately all sort of happened together at pennant race time.
The final factor here with this I think, was that there was zero help that could be called up from AAA Syracuse and the team had some injuries with its own backup pitchers.
Here's what I would like for 2023:
1B Alonso 2B McNeil SS Lindor 3B Baty LF Mangum CF Nimmo RF Marte C F. Alvarez / DH: Vogelbach SP: Scherzer, Rodon, Carrasco, M. Wacha, Peterson, and in the six spot Drew Smith. RP: Ottavino, Lugo, Megill, May, Joey Lucchesi, and Closer E. Diaz.
Backup Possibilities: INF: Mauricio SP: J. Butto
Mack:
When your team wins 101 regular season games in one season, it is a very, very good thing. This team held the second best regular season won/lost record for awhile and then it all disappeared. There has to be better depth and contingency planning at especially the starting pitching position, for any team to be able to hold through any setback/s like these.
BTW: This was manager Showalter's third trip in 20 years to the playoff rounds. All three were first round eliminations.
Brighter side: This team under Manager Showalter finally got its proverbial foot inside the good door it had been knocking on for way too long. This is not a rebuild here now, but rather a stay the course with an apparent tweak or two.
2023 looks very bright, with a long off season for management to make the final few acquisitions above.
So much love for Mangum! He has never been a highly touted prospect. One injury marred season doesn’t give him a ML job.
Woodrow,
Review Mangum's college career, he was a winner for Mississippi State.
He does what it takes to win.We need that "get it done drive"on our team. Give him a chance, you will not be disappointed. The same questions were voiced about McNeil and we see how he has worked out.
The Mets have their work cut out for him this offseason - and the $$ to fight fire with fire.
Mackk and this website was beating the drum about McNeil way before anyone else even mentioned him as a legitimately potential MLBer. I see Mangum as a 4th OFer at best but his popularity here as well as how right you were about Squirrel re-thinks that. He has some comps to both Nimmo and McNeil as a player.
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