Paul Articulates – Winter meetings draw to a close

The 2022 MLB winter meetings have now finished, and as usual there was a flurry of excitement surrounding them.  Many big name free agents were signed to some very aggressive teams as owners and GMs jockeyed to improve their chances of contending for the 2023 title.  Many other role players moved to new teams in hopes of making their mark.  This is not the end of signings and trades – they will continue all the way through spring training.  Here are a few of my takeaways from this week:

• The Mets lost Jacob deGrom to the Rangers but obtained Justin Verlander.  My reaction went from “Oh, no!” to “Oh, yes!” within the matter of days.  They are two very different pitchers but both dominate from their spot on the mound in this very difficult game.  We lose the overpowering deGrominator but gain a savvy veteran pitcher with a re-built arm that knows how to win.  He added a Cy Young and a World Series championship to his list of accomplishments last year.  The Mets still have a 1 and a 1A at the top of their rotation.

• The NL East remains the best division in baseball and it looks stronger in 2023.  Although the Braves didn’t make much of a splash this week, the Phillies did some real luxury shopping and if you thought they packed a wallop last year in their lineup, think about this list playing in that little band box they call Citizen’s Bank Park: Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, JT Realmuto, Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, Nick Castellanos, Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, and Brandon Marsh.  You’re not going to out-hit them, so you better out-pitch them.

• Aaron Judge remains in the American League.  There were almost as many rumors as there were teams for who was going to land Aaron Judge, and it turned out that he kept his parking space in the Bronx.  Good thing, too because if he ended up in San Francisco, it would have made the Mets’ mid-April west coast road trip a nightmare.  3 games in Oakland, 3 in LA, and four in San Francisco will make it tough to get off to a good start in 2023.

• Pitching is getting way too expensive.  Contracts for starting pitchers are off the charts this year.  Some pitchers signed contracts that were larger than the entire payroll of some small market teams.  The length of contracts was also astounding, starting with the Rangers giving deGrom 5 years with an option for a 6th after all the talk about his health.  Two years and $26M for Jose Quintana seems like a steal right now.  What I’m worried about is how much it will cost to get Chris Bassitt back.  He was on my list of keepers, but he has quietly let the market escalate around him and now is one of the best guys left – he has some serious negotiating leverage.

• The big bat we have been waiting for is still something we are waiting for.  Much has been said about the DH position and adding a powerful bat to the Mets lineup.  Certainly with the aforementioned lineup the Phillies are sporting and the already formidable Braves lineup, we need more hits. The Mets focus so far has been pitching, and that is appropriate given the number of free agents that wore orange and blue last year.  Pitching has been dominating the winter meeting news, but it’s about time that the bats woke up.

Now that the winter meetings are over, some might think it is time to settle down for a long winter’s nap.  Not Steve Cohen or Billy Eppler – they still have work to do.  Stay tuned!