Reese Kaplan -- Setting Front Office Winter Priorities (Part 1)

If you were sitting around in the Mets front office right now and had to finalize the offseason agenda, it would be a business plan to rival the best of the best.  It is not because the Mets are better than any other team in the majors.  They demonstrated that despite 101 wins there is no guarantee that means others can't beat you.  

No, it's a matter of identifying all that needs to be done, prioritizing the items that make that agenda, and figuring out recourse plans if things you expect don't evolve as you had penciled into the 2023 season.  The Winter Meetings are upcoming during the first week of December and there is an awful lot that needs to be done.  

I can never be more emphatic about the need to strengthen the Mets from top to bottom when it comes to who will take the mound for them.  The farm system is not producing top quality talents who pitch effectively.  

The majority of the existing crew from starters to relievers are running headfirst into free agency.  With uncertainty about who can last 5-6 innings in each game, the need to improve the quality of the bullpen can't be overstated.

Now some of the more rose-colored-glasses fans and media feel that there are hidden gems in the Mets system already.  They'll extol poetically about what the towering Bryce Montes de Oca can do in relief while conveniently forgetting that he's just dipped under the 4.00 mark in ERA while playing in the minors.  They'll drool over Jose Butto's future in the pen while ignoring his losing record and middle-of-the-road ERA.  They talk about Yoan Lopez having been a steal despite turning 30 in January and owning a five-year losing record with an ERA of 4.39.  

Then there are the bevy of newcomers to the Mets.  They have added Jeff Brigham, Elieser Hernandez, Stephen Ridings, Tayler Saucedo and William Woods.  

No one is ever certain who will emerge when given a fresh chance with new tutelage from obscurity up through this point in his career, but the fact is that these players were not obtained by giving up the crown jewels of your own farm system (nor from the major league roster).  

They were, for the most part, plucked from the scrap heap when waived or left unprotected by their former clubs who concluded that they tried long enough and are ready to move on to other options.  One or more of these pitchers could turn out to be excellent, but it's a bit of an uncertainty.  

In between you have relievers who have bounced back and forth between the Mets, the minors and the IL during their careers.  This group would include Drew Smith and Stephen Nogosek.  The 29 year old Smith has a record above .500 and a 3.24 ERA for his splintered career.  Nogosek is two years younger and has flashed some brilliance in the minors and finally with the parent club this last season.  Figure they both have claimed spots in the pen regardless of who comes and who goes.  

Finally, there are the folks still on the roster who are recovering from injuries who may or may not help the big club in the future.  John Curtiss has been on the shelf for Tommy John Surgery recovery for all of 2022 and should be ready to begin anew in Spring Training.  He was a decent player with a mid 3.63 ERA as a reliever over 76 games during an injury-interrupted five years of playing experience for several clubs.  

When healthy he's good at fanning batters and limiting the bases on balls.  No one knows at this point how he will be when he arrives in Port St. Lucie.

Joining him from the IL is pitcher Joey Lucchesi.  Between the Padres and the Mets the big southpaw started 66 of 70 games in which he appeared.  He owns a losing record and a 4.24 ERA.  At age 30 he should be fully recovered from his own Tommy John Surgery in the middle of 2021.  

By Spring Training in February he will have had more than 18 months of recovery and will get a chance to audition as a starter, reliever or find himself looking for a new opportunity elsewhere.  

Now a lot of folks are mentioning keeping the two spare starters -- Tylor Megill and David Peterson -- here in the bullpen as insurance against injuries to anyone who makes the five man rotation despite the fact that neither has had much experience with the mindset of what is different for a relief pitcher than it is for someone taking the mound to begin a game.  

Both have had extended stretches of quality at points in their big league careers that suggest they are above average in potential but they are not what you would write in as sure things just yet. 

As this examination continues, we'll start to look at some other areas the front office must analyze, address and improve if the club is going to become perennial contenders.  It would still seem right now that planning what to do in-house with pitching is definitely a top priority alongside finding external resources to help as well as deciding who among the free agent departing crew is worth keeping at virtually any cost.