When Steve Cohen bought the Mets it sent reverberations around the league. No longer would the Mets be pushed around - they’d be doing the pushing.
He started with a bang, trading for, and then signing Francisco Lindor to a massive extension. He followed that up by giving Max Scherzer 40 million a year to pitch in flushing, but this off-season has cemented himself, and the Mets, as the bullies of the off-season. He’s spent more money in free agency in one night than the Pirates have spent in over 10 years combined. No player is off limits anymore. No player is too expensive anymore. So, you want Ohtani? You go through uncle Stevie. You want Soto? Let’s see what Mr. Cohen has to say about that.
“The Mets are just trying to buy a championship”
You’re damn right they are. In the 90’s and early aughts the Yankees, and more recently the Dodgers, treated the Mets and other teams like their own personal minor leagues. Picking off talent to bolster their championship runs. Mets fans watched as the Wilpons replaced studs with mediocrity and then had the gall to say the Mets were the team to beat. No longer!
It's the Mets who are coming for your players now. For better or worse that stud under rookie contract in Pittsburgh or Arizona is now being groomed for the Metropolitans. Everyone complaining about the haves and have nots should realize all these owners can spend, they just choose not too. They treat their teams like a business, and nothing more. THEY are the problem- Not Stevie - he doesn’t need the Mets to be a business. He has several.
All this spending doesn’t guarantee a championship. There’s an argument that the Mets at over 350 million are still not the favorites for a World Series, but Cohen has brought Mets fans hope. And hope is a wonderful thing, maybe the best of things.
“What about the kids?”
This actually gives the kids more time and more cover. Alvarez is still very young and this will give him time to cook in AAA (he could still be on the Mets opening day roster too, but only if they have at bats for him). Baty, who played a decent left field for 20 games in AAA, still has a spot now or in the immediate future, as Canha signed a short deal.
Mauricio will learn to play other positions and will become more valuable in doing so. The short term, high aav contracts, have set the kids up for the future. Currently only Nimmo, Correa and Lindor are here for the long term. There’s time for the kids and there’s even less pressure now. As Sandy Alderson once said, some prospects are for playing and some are for trading. Stay tuned, the Mets aren’t done, but make no mistake they are the bullies now!
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ReplyDeleteDavid, well put. It is finally OUR TURN. Everyone else can suffer, Atlanta included.
ReplyDeleteWhat has been largely overlooked is that the last 2 drafts have been highly praised by scouts and media who cover such things, and the Mets have added multiple spots for next year's draft. IMO Billy deserves a lot of credit for this.
ReplyDeleteWe've signed no one who costs us a pick, and gained picks when other teams have signed our QO rejecters.
Uncle Steve has said multiple times that he wants to build a sustainable team that will not require as many FA signings.
In the next 2-3 years we'll see if the plan is working.
The overnight selling of James McCann to Baltimore does make it a lot easier for Francisco Alvarez to stick but my guess is they will start him off at AAA.
ReplyDeleteAs for having plenty of playing potential for the kids in general, I disagree.
You are assuming that the Mets will not continue next year to throw FA money around. Trust me, the Mets will win the Otani sweepstakes and that will eliminate any future need for a DH
Good post
The lineup seems much stronger than last year. I am excited to see what Pete does with protection behind him. They are now going to have to pitch to him. Last year he saw more pitches outside the strike zone than anyone, which sometimes led him to chasing. My prediction is less strikeouts, more HRs, more RBIs. Yes, more than the Mets record.
ReplyDeleteBig question is does Stevie strike on Ohtani now and lose prospects or just wait and blow everyone else away next off season? Hey isn't this fun. We so needed a change at ownership and boy has SC provided it because I still haven't over 10+ years lost to penny pinching from the Madoff disaster.
ReplyDeleteUncle Stevie doesn't like to wait so we'll just have to see.
ReplyDeleteThe ethos seems to be sign players to high aaa and limit there years to protect farm, I can't see them trading fro Ohtani when he can be had for money and no players after the year, but ya never know with uncle stevie.
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