Reese Kaplan -- Early Roster Rumblings Good, Bad and Quiet

It would appear that the Cohen/Eppler front office is far different from what the fans and media have come to expect from the Mets organization in the past.  First, they moved swiftly on what they deemed their number one priority -- securing the services of Edwin Diaz for the next five years and preventing him the opportunity to hit free agency.

Next came the somewhat surprising but inexpensive option of picking up the option on lefty slugger Daniel Vogelbach.  These days $1.5 million is considered chump change for almost any player.  When you factor in 30 HR potential should he play full time, it's a downright bargain.  The reasoning probably was just as much about his clubhouse fit as it was his output with the bat.  He may not be the left handed half of a DH this season, but having someone who can work out a walk or drive the pitch over the wall at any time are attributes worth having even in a reserved role.  By comparison, minor league first baseman Dom Smith was earning $3.95 million last year and will likely triple what Vogelbach will receive.

To me, however, the biggest surprise is not the delay in working towards finality on the negotiations with Jacob deGrom, Brandon Nimmo, Adam Ottavino nor Seth Lugo.  It was the somewhat surprising announcement today that a bullpen slated to be missing Ottavino, Lugo, Trevor Williams, Trevor May and others volunteered to cut ties to Mychal Givens whose mutual option was declined.  Bear in mind he was brought in having worked with Buck Showalter in the past and delivering to the tune of a 2.66 ERA for the Cubbies.  Yes, it did not go well during his initial foray into the NL East, but his career track record is a virtual match for Seth Lugo and allowing him to walk away for relative chump change was somewhat unexpected.  He would have gotten a paycheck for $3.5 million.  Losing him now costs $1.5 million, so the delta here was just $2 million for a guy with a 3.40 career ERA as a relief pitcher.  

Coinciding with this move was the Mets decision to pick up journeyman lefty Tayler Saucedo from the Toronto Blue Jays.  The turning-30 reliever is not exactly cut from championship cloth, not having even made the majors until already 28 years old.  He did have a stellar stint in AAA in part of 2021 appearing in 12 games, pitching just over 18 innings, fanning 25 and walking just 2 while delivering an ERA under 2.00.  Perhaps the Mets feel that the substance is there to set him up as a situational reliever to face lefties against whom the Mets often struggled this past season.  However, his track record of control and batting average against weigh against his potential.  Still, a waiver claim is not exactly making a major risky investment.

Thus far the Mets have seen 12 of their 13 eligible players declare free agency for themselves.  While no one will shed tears if Tyler Naquin or Joely Rodriguez or Tommy Hunter wind up elsewhere, there are still some quality players in the potentially departing list worthy of front office consideration.  Some thrived while here, others want more prominent roles and others who were thought to be good additions to the roster simply did not deliver as expected.  

Right now position-wise the only real issue facing the Mets is who will play center field if not Nimmo.  However, the pitching side of the cabinet is pretty barren with deGrom, Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker all heading to the auction house, a decision needing to be made on whether or not Carlos Carrasco is worth $14 million for next year, then the bullpen being empty except for the recently re-upped Diaz, Drew Smith, Stephen Nogosek, Bryce Montes de Oca, Yoan Lopez, Jose Butto, plus the converted starting pair of Tylor Megill and David Peterson.  Yes, the team is going to need some arms for sure.

Choosing who to keep and who to sign are always as much art as science.  No one could have foreseen the steep drop off in productivity that happened to Aaron Loup for the Angels.  Maybe the thinking is that after being rock solid in 2022 Adam Ottavino should be someone else's expensive egg waiting to crack.  As much as the Mets need to figure out how to juggle the trio of young power hitters in the lineup coming up through the system, the bigger issue by far would seem to be pitching, both to start games and to help end them.