It will take some time for the Mets to remake themselves into a great organization. However, there are things they can do right now to help themselves bridge that gap.
The New York Mets have a ton of free agent decisions to make this winter. I took a preliminary look at starting pitching, the bullpen, and position players earlier in the summer. I recently gave them a quick read, thinking perhaps I would update my thinking. But nothing really has changed. It seems likely that the Mets will take a go at re-signing Jacob deGrom, Edwin Díaz, and Brandon Nimmo. Those three will be, by far, the most expensive to retain of all their current free agents. Other decisions as to who to attempt to keep and which other players to pursue will branch off the success or failure of retaining the top 3. And that will greatly depend upon other teams seeking these players and what sort of contracts get tossed around.
So I'm going to hold off for now, at least until we see how things begin to develop. It makes sense for the Mets to move quickly on their top free agents to get some clarity for the remainder of the offseason. Of course, it takes two to tango. It remains to be seen how fast any of these guys are willing to sign. Nimmo and Díaz seem inclined to stay, all things being equal. But I'm sure that the Mets have some limits as to where they're willing to go in both dollars and years, and you just never know who will show up with an offer that seems a bit crazy and lure them away.
As for deGrom, I've noticed that a surprising number of fans — at least the ones inclined to voice their opinions on places like Twitter — are ready to move on from Jake. I think some of that has to do with a summer of reading and hearing media speculation that deGrom wants out of New York. Personally, I don't engage with this stuff anymore, not even the recent reporting that deGrom actually likes New York. If, indeed, Jake wants to stay, it's up to the Mets to correctly evaluate what might be left in deGrom's right arm and what dollar value to place on that evaluation. However it goes, I just won't take the decision by Jacob deGrom or the Mets personally. Life's too short.
My real concern about the Mets goes beyond any free agent decisions. I understand it will take a huge payroll to field a winning team in 2023, whoever the Mets decide to keep or add. That's mainly because there's so little in the farm system ready to help immediately. With few young, cheap players to plug into the major league roster, the Mets will have to overpay to keep up with teams like Atlanta and Houston that have already reaped the rewards of fertile player development. The only answer is for the Mets to do better in this area themselves. That will take time to accomplish.
While owner Steve Cohen may indeed choose to allow for a payroll significantly higher than any other team to compete in 2023, it's clear that he won't continue to do that indefinitely. From the first, he's talked about winning the right way and building a great franchise here. Cohen has invested considerably into building the club's infrastructure, and surely will continue to do so. Those investments should pay off in a manner that negates the need to purchase so many veteran free agents going forward.
9 comments:
They need a power bat behind Big Pete. HRs are important in the 2020s.
Question is, will Vientos and Alvarez be new, reliable power bats in 2023? My vote on that is yes. I am thinking those two will add at least 30 more HRs than their 2022 counterparts.
In my opinion, whatever they do they need to target being a great team in 2024
Spend big in 2023 and 2024, hope that by 205, the influx of minor league talent will drive down the team payroll.
Fixings
I have followed this NYM team for a long while. However, I have become sick and tired of waiting for this franchise to put the whole team and its fan base ahead of signing some too often injured type player as Jake deGrom has now become.
Jake's being a NYM in both 2021 and 2022 (1 year of injury plus) had a lot to do with this team going basically nowhere in these seasons, while in fact it could have been going somewhere instead. Like to the WS dance for instance.
It's time for NYM ownership and management to wake up and smell the coffee. Certainly, we all enjoyed watching Jake deGrom improve and grow out his talent here. But I do think that it would be most wise now to let him opt out of his contract with the Mets (as he has clearly stated more than once that he would like to do) and then maybe go pitch in somewhere like "La La Land" with the Kershaw and the Smurfs.
A continuation of this 2021 and 2022 seasonal debacle here for the 2023 season (once again) is unacceptable to many NYM fans such as myself, and I think totally predictable if Jake deGrom remains staying here a NY Met.
Instead, save some money for "other things' needed and the lefty strong arm Carlos Rodon (2022: 14-8, 2.88 ERA, 237 SO in 178 IP, 1.03 WHIP) to be the number two starter behind Max Scherzer. Then try to re-sign Noah Syndergaard as the number three, with T. Walker in the four slot, Carrasco in the five, and David Peterson in the sixth.
Is this plan not just totally plain obvious a thing or what?
Is this still planet earth or have we entered some kind of a stupid make believe metaverse? Get it? MET-averse!
Excellent piece, Mike.
I am "old school" in that I emphasize fundamentals. Yes, sometimes sheer athletic ability and/or strength can overcome shaky fundamentals, but on average, the team that can catch the ball effectively, throw accurately and score consistently will win more then they don't.
As a kid growing up, I was lucky to have a coach who stressed this very thing (along with discipline and running us to death). We weren't the most talented kids in our area, but we won A LOT and it was due to the "little things" being done consistently.
The Mets' organization seems to be on this path (now) and as you said, it takes time, which is usually in short supply.
I am encouraged and I also hope that management/ownership stay the course.
Forget Boston's JD Martinez and 38 year old Jake Turner (one of this organization's absolute worst player "let goes" after our Tom Seaver went to Cincy and played eight more seasons) as possibilities for the Mets 2023 DH.
Forget too the .240 hitting soon backup infielder Ed Escobar for this role, and send Danny Vogelbach back home to Jenny Craig.
The solution here is so completely obvious. The solution is actually one from within.
A more slender DH at 6'2"/230 pounder and a lefty bat...Daniel Palka!
Daniel's Syracuse Mets numbers were AB 395, 104 hits, 26 HR's, .263 BA, and a .344 OBP.
Think about Steve.
I also like that fact that Daniel Palka seldom smiles in any of his Mets photos. Sort of has that terroristic look about him one could say. Which by the way is precisely what this team actually needs as its DH instead of just another Dom Deluise look alike type guy.
And this too Steve...
Daniel Palka's Citi Field lead in song when he comes up could be the "Beer Barrel Polka" and have Mets fans dancing in the aisles. It could become contagious I tell ya' Steve! Contagious!
Anyway. At the very least here, please do go check out Daniel Palka's youtube and Syracuse videos. The guy really in truly is a baseball smasher muscle man. And we need that for 2023.
Great, thoughtful article. Patience is tough when it has been so long since the last championship, but this is a build-up that's worth waiting for. I hope the fans don't over-react if the Mets don't win 100 in 2023, because there will be a lot of change going on.
Two years in a row the Mets gave up promising youngsters at the deadline for crap. Oth of these years were under Cohen’s ownership. They need to: 1) Be patient, even a whole year and 2) Make sure their manager is willing to be the teaching type he always was. I will bring up what he said about Vientos one more time, then drop it. It bothered me to hear him say “He’s good at what”. That was bush league from the big league manager. If that’s how he feels about kids, he may be the wrong person to cultivate new talent.
Also, I don’t have a problem starting all three in the minors, but by May 1st, I want to see all three up. Don’t forget, there are extra draft picks for Rookie of the Year placing, and these guys have the tools. Let’s see how Vogelbach and McCann start the year. Let’s see if there are injuries. Don’t throw away talent like the previous administration used to do and stop shipping off kids for crap because your owner can’t chill out.
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