For years, the Mets had to overpay or settle for lesser free agents. Those days are mercifully over.
As I noted in my previous post, baseball media pundits have shifted from a speculative consensus that Jacob deGrom would sign with another team this winter to a much more optimistic narrative (outside of ESPN) that the New York Mets could actually retain their ace. My personal preference has always been for the Mets to retain one of their all-time great pitchers. Not at all costs, however, but rather after making a proper assessment of Jake's future value. After all, no other team in baseball should have a better idea of where deGrom stands medically and how much it is reasonable to expect from him going forward. As long as another team doesn't go way out on a limb with their offer, I hope the Mets re-sign him.
I understand there is disagreement on this, and I'm not trying to convert those of you who would rather see the club spend owner Steve Cohen's money elsewhere. Wherever you stand on that issue, I think it's pretty amazing how differently the Mets organization is perceived by their own players and those outside the organization. I think this note from Mike Puma's piece in the New York Post last week offers Mets fans a reason to smile whether or not Jacob deGrom is on their wish list:
A source said deGrom places a high value on winning and believes the Mets have reached a place at which they can compete for the World Series regularly. DeGrom has also told teammates past and present — as The Post has reported — that he is happy playing for the Mets.
Think about it. We're almost exactly two years out from Steve Cohen buying the club from Fred and Jeff Wilpon. Had deGrom's opt-out happened when the Wilpons still signed the checks, Jake would not have seen the Mets as a club that would "compete for the World Series regularly." Beyond that, there is a vast difference in the perception of how the organization is run from top to bottom all around baseball.
It feels like a distant memory now, but Steve Cohen took quite a bit of criticism for the rough start to his regime. The club couldn't entice a big name to be their President of Baseball Operations. Then they had to fire GM Jared Porter a month after hiring him. His replacement Zack Scott didn't make it all the way through his first season without being sacked for a bizarre incident after the Mets limped home to a 77-85 record despite a significantly upgraded payroll. As the season was winding down to a disappointing conclusion that September, Mike Puma in the New York Post had a quote from an (of course) unnamed "former MLB executive" that the first year of Cohen owning the team, "the value of the team has gone backward significantly."
The article was full of negative, reactionary quotes from this "former MLB executive," who, if nothing else, provided ample evidence of why his job title was prefaced with the word "former." The tone and quality of his analysis made me wonder if it was someone formerly affiliated with the Mets — perhaps Steve Phillips — or worse, maybe Jeff Wilpon? But I digress...
Things were indeed looking a bit grim as Cohen's regime staggered toward the first anniversary of his purchase. And the idea that the Mets were building something was greatly obscured by the stumbles of an organization still laboring to find its footing. But the following spring, before the 2022 season got underway, it was becoming clear that all the doomsaying and handwringing from the previous year was premature and, frankly, more than a little ridiculous. Putting the worst possible spin on events was an unfortunate holdover from the Wilpon years.
If Fred and Jeff were still running the show, I doubt Jake would even consider staying with the Mets. Nor do I believe Max Scherzer would have signed with the Mets last winter. Whether or not deGrom and Brandon Nimmo join Edwin Díaz back with the Mets next season, it's pretty remarkable that these guys expressed that they would like to be back with the Mets. It wasn't all that long ago that players seemed to be jumping at the chance to jump on the next lifeboat off the foundering ship. I've been a Mets fan for so long, and I'm still not quite used to the idea that MLB players can actually see the Mets as a preferred landing place. I vastly prefer this new reality, however, and hope I get the chance to get used to it.
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5 comments:
Mark Healy (the first person to ever pay me for a Mets post) said this morning that a former Mets exec said that the Mets will not sign big names and will just fill the roster with org. pieces.
Mark doesn't usually open his mouth unless he hears good stuff that is accurate.
McLean Steve is a fan and is very rich? Expect Mets to have a huge payroll.
Here's a point to maybe understand. I think so anyway.
Historically after a pretty darn good season, like 2022 was, Mets brass generally tend to think that if we keep whole the majority of the teams' instrumental and good players from the past successful season, then add in one or two really good pieces deemed missing the season prior, it will somehow equate to a divisional first place finish the next season and a World Series run of sincere worth and merit.
Wrong.
There is simply no "Ground Hogs Day" in baseball. Sorry. But good try anyway. NO buffet for you.
Here's a few other reasons why as well...
There are way too many uncontrollable variables determine with each seasons success and failure rate. There is good luck and also bad luck determining record outcomes. Starting player and key player health/injuries intra-season that factor in hugely, bench strength during those injuries, team chemistry, batters getting into a sort of "locked-in" consistency, other divisional team's personnel mid-season moves, the overall competitive level of play intra-division. Just way too many impossible to predict variables enter into this equation.
In other words, no team can just simply plug into their player personnel strategy those one or two key off season replacement moves and then expect a World Series ring is awaiting them.
This is precisely why I stress here in building your team for now and the future. Allow the next AAA player personnel wave from within to seriously be included into your off season team building equation. From this type of a strategy, more upgrades can happen.
Pinning your next seasons chances on arm tired older starters is "way too iffy" at best, as we have recently seen here already. Sometimes you have to take chances on younger player chances and then cut-bait on the older declining veteran ones.
The fans want the World Series win a lot more than any one player staying as a NY Met. Plus, Jake deGrom has clearly and more than one time stated that he wanted to leave the Mets. This is the perfect time now for Carlos Rodon and Kodai Senga to enter into the NY Mets player personnel equation.
Let's do here a win/win.
It's simply taking the better chance for success.
Player Personnel of Current
The NY Mets have an excellent active core of players. Maybe the best core ever in their franchise history. Take a closer look at these field players.
1B Pete Alonso 2B/LF Jeff McNeil, SS Francisco Lindor, CF Brandon Nimmo, RF Starling Marte.
These are all serious All Star consideration type players we have. This is the 2023 NY Mets core. It's outstanding.
Then add in the best NY Mets organizational younger player wave, like 3B Brett Baty, 2B/LF Mark Vientos, DH Ronny Mauricio, and C Francisco Alvarez and the Mets have something brewing really, really substantial.
And this is just the field players.
The starting rotation with 1. Scherzer 2. Rodon 3. Senga 4. Carrasco 5. Peterson has the ability to be sensational as well. But the right personnel moves have to be made to get there.
Mack, I saw that tweet from Mark, also, and thought it made sense. The Mets have little prospect capital to trade to swing big deals.
Anonymous, no one is advocating to simply put the band back together. I agree the Mets will need to start integrating the next generation of talent or they will find their clubbed aged out of contention.
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