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12/12/22

Reese Kaplan -- Great Start to the Roster But Far From Finished


Many folks are gushing over the things Steve Cohen, Billy Eppler and company have done so far this offseason. Yes, bringing in star players like Justin Verlander, David Robertson and Jose Quintana while retaining Edwin Diaz and Brandon Nimmo is surely a fine start to things. However, most folks feel that the next bit of roster tinkering is minor. Yes, it would be nice to land another big arm for the rotation instead of relying upon David Peterson and/or Tylor Megill, but folks in general seem happy with what the team now has. Similarly they envision a patient management team that will allow young hitters to play in the field or at DH while adjusting to the major league version of pitching and they won't get yanked from their role after a bad stretch of 5-7 games. They feel Jeff McNeil is the 4th outfielder and some glove-first guy can be brought in for that number five role. They think Francisco Alvarez's bat is so strong that he deserves to be the starting catcher on Opening Day.


Maybe I am just more cynical, more realistic or more a student of Mets' seasons past. I'm accustomed to players getting hurt, players underperforming and rookies benched after not starting off like they were made for the All Star team. Who here remembers shortstop being manned by Omar Quintanilla, or third base with Eric Campbell or catching with Omir Santos? How about games started by the likes of D.J. Carrasco, Chris Schwinden, Drew Gagnon or P.J. Conlon? I won't even take antacid to recite relief pitchers from years past.

So right now as the team approaches the holiday season they have indeed accomplished a lot but there's still quite a bit of work left to be done. If they want to replace Chris Bassitt's innings from last year then banking on hopefuls who are not proven is likely a major gamble. If they realize that starting pitchers are yanked at best after 6 innings (and sometimes earlier). Without Seth Lugo, Adam Ottavino, Joely Rodriguez, Trevor Williams and others there would appear to be major work needing to be done here as well. Let's not even get started on the bench as they are insufficient in the outfield, infield and unproven at catcher from the rookie and the veterans. In fact, right now Tomas Nido is likely the starting catcher come Opening Day given James McCann's struggles last year and Francisco Alvarez's lack of time spent with the major league pitching staff.


They do have NL Manager of the Year in charge of the lineup, motivation and decision making in Buck Showalter. Some people nitpicked on his handling of relief pitchers as well as some of his lineup manipulations, but when you advance 24 games in the win column and make the playoffs, it's really hard to get too overly critical. Jeremy Hefner has gotten more out of many pitchers than did coaches of the past. The one big thing this year is the change of Eric Chavez into a non hitting coach role given how much improvement many players showed under his tutelage. About the only thing people criticized in the Mets offense was their overall lack of home run power once you got past Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor. Others who demonstrated more power in the past like Jeff McNeil and Mark Canha were lacking in that regard last season while the up, down and then up again Eduardo Escobar finished with respectable but subpar home run and RBI totals. Many feel that adding Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez will help in this regard, but others feel a veteran proven slugger is what's needed at the DH slot (at least one hitting from the right side).

Since a lot has already been written about the state of the Mets payroll, the willingness of Steve Cohen to spend to win, and the need to integrate some low cost assets for future savings. Jettisoning good but not great players earning north of $10 million per year like James McCann, Mark Canha, Carlos Carrasco and Eduardo Escobar could help either reduce the overall payroll aggregate total or provide funds to address the already identified needs. How would, for example, a guy like Tyler O'Neill look in the outfield every day? He has had his own Nimmo-like health struggles for the Cardinals, but in his best season in 2021 he hit .284 while clubbing 34 HRs and driving in 80 runs. That would be marked improvement over what Canha did. Of course, to make trades like that you have to give to get and thus far the Mets either overpay like they did for Darrin Ruf or they stubbornly refuse to sacrifice hot prospects even when the immediate need doesn't get addressed. For example, if they feel Mark Vientos is not the DH of the future, shouldn't he be marketed to other clubs as a legitimate power option?


Right now I'm of the opinion that the front office gets an A- with an incomplete for what they've done thus far. The bullpen in particular is a major concern as most of the warm bodies now wearing Mets uniforms have not had any prolonged success in the upper minors or majors. I can breathe easier when I know who the spare outfielder will be and I need to know who the 3rd starter is if you assume Quintana and Carrasco are slated for 4 and 5. It's not a disaster and there is still a lot of time left before players report to Florida and Arizona, but the lack of media leaks like in the past has the fans and baseball reporters tapping their feet and twitching with uncertainty.
  

11 comments:

  1. Well, you definitely have Senga for 3rd starter, and with Peterson, Megill, and Lucchesi as your 6-8 starters and swing arms, I think they are solid in pitching right now. Having those 3 as usable in the pen pretty much fills it, as I see it, if they believe Montes de Oca and Ridings will be solid and not have to rush them.

    Offense, I still think the Nimmo-boosted line up will be sufficient- Alvarez will be a major offensive upgrade, and Baty, Vientos, and Mauricio (76 extra base hits, 120 RBI) will such up many of the bad marginal player ABs is 2022. I want the team primed to swoop up Soto and Ohtani, both of whom should like the shortened Citifield right field fence. Think big, and long term!

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    1. I agree about Alvarez, Baty and Vientos. If you get 60+ HRs and 120+ RBI from that group it really increases the power numbers as opposed to what we got at C 3B and DH last year.

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  2. Without looking at your post, he is my 26:

    1B Alonso (Ruf)
    2B: McNeil Gullorme
    SS: Lindor
    3B: Baty Escobar
    C: Nido Alvarez
    OF: Cahna Nimmo Marte Ruf (McNeil)
    DH: Vogelbach Vientos
    SP: Max Verlander Senga Carrasco Quintana
    RP: Diaz Drew Smith Raley, Peterson Megill Robertson

    That's 25

    One more RP TBD



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  3. Really like this roster thus far. What an offseason! Im hoping we dump RUf and McCann for a bad of balls. I’d still like to sign Ottovino. Ideally id like one more signing or trade for someone with 30 HR power who mashes lefties and can ideally play corner outfield. Really like this team

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  4. I see McCann here at least thru ST and even to July, when teams become more desperate for catching help. Until he can bring back some value, even decent prospects, he can be both the backup Catcher and a mentor to Alvarez.

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  5. Great thoughts and some great digging through the memory banks to find names like Quintanilla, Gagnon, and PJ Conlon!

    I think that even with Alvarez earning a slot in spring training we have a hole to address at DH. Still looking for another bat there even though I would like to see Vogey on the team.

    You are right about the relief pitching - still would like to see Otto and Lugo return.

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  6. Reese,

    You can spend 500 million and still have an incomplete team. These Mets are expensive and still need at the very least Ottavino or Lugo back if not both.
    Megill and Peterson should be spending time between starting at AAA and relieving for the Mets.

    The Mets need a proven power bat but, if they don't give players like Vientos the at bats to prove himself, they will never know what they have. Same thing with Batty.

    Alvarez could benefit from half year more in AAA. Do you really want him catching the like of Scherzer and Verlander right now?

    Then there is the fact that this is the most expensive team in the ML. If you don't address the weaknesses that still exist, you will waste the dominant rotation.

    Think Dodgers from years past. They spend a lot of money, build a strong farm system and then started to replace expensive players with up and coming inhouse talent. This is what I am hoping the Mets future is.

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  7. For all the "greatness" about the Dodgers way of doing things, how many championships have they won since 1988? A commenter above said don't waste a god rotation and that is exactly what you do if you do not go get a proven power hitter to add to this lineup. For all the love of Voge I don't see him having the impact a DH should. Of course I share the sentiments about relief pitching. We need more. Everyone is way too high on Alvarez. Catching is a defense first position and he doesn't have it and no I don't want him catching Verlander and Scherzer. Mets missed Opportunity: Sean Murphy. Division competition gets him. We still have Darrin Ruf and James McCann on our roster. Two wasted roster spots. Can't have those guys on the team if you really want to win a WS.

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