Reese Kaplan -- The Cohen Explosion Can't Happen Soon Enough

So your team is playing under .500 baseball, you've turned losing into an expectation rather than an occasional misstep, and there are few people on the current roster actually earning their keep.

If you are the owner of the New York Mess, what would you do?  There are a lot of approaches that could be taken.  You could cut loose the folks who are simply not getting it done, but then who takes their place?  

You could field a team with half rookies in the starting lineup but then there are growing pains to be had.  You could trade away veterans on expiring contracts and bring in fresh blood who might simply by change of scenery show some new energy compared to what folks have experienced lately.

Rumor has it that Steve Cohen is about a week away from a major explosion.  No one can tolerate long term losing forever.  After the collapse in 2022 and the injuries and slumps of 2023 it is time for some serious action to be taken.  The question is which changes will make the most immediate and long term impact?

Play the Rookies

Everyone here is pretty much fed up with the fact that Mark Vientos mastered AAA and Ronny Mauricio appears to be on the same path of domination, yet instead of giving them the opportunity to play the club uses the likes of Daniel Vogelbach, Tommy Pham, Eduardo Escobar, Mark Canha and others who collectively add up to an aggregate of one decent ballplayer split into four separate bodies.  

While Vientos in his very limited playing time hasn't exactly set the world on fire, the fact is he needs to play to get his swings in regularly and to adjust to this new level of pitching just as he has done throughout his minor league career.  DH is where he belongs.

Ronny Mauricio has yet to cross the major league threshhold but with the way he's hitting for a high average and stealing bases it would seem that holding him in Syracuse while the number of L's surpass the number of W's, it's time to see what he can do against the best of the best pitchers.  

We've already covered how he could play second base with McNeil moving to left field or how he could play left while McNeil stays at second.  Being blocked by an underperforming (and frankly overpaid) Francisco Lindor is not sufficient reason to keep Mauricio demonstrating his omnipotence of Onandaga County.  

Cut Loose the Short Term Underperformers

As difficult as it is to believe, Tommy Pham probably has surpassed Daniel Vogelbach on Mets fans' list of players that might be worth keeping.  He shows occasional power and speed while playing a few different positions when needed.  

Vogelbach seems lately to have his bat frozen to his shoulder and is not going to replace Pete Alonso at first base.  He only earns $1.5 million and should be an easy DFA or trade given how willing they were to tolerate giving up more expensive players like Robinson Cano and Darin Ruf.  

Eduardo Escobar is a bit of a different situation.  He is a switch hitter, can play multiple positions and seems to bring a positive energy to his team even when he is not performing especially well.  Add in his 8 figure salary and he would be a tough chip to trade unless you brought back someone who was just as lackluster in production for another team.  

Mark Canha might net something in return if he continues to exhibit strong ABs and power.  He is also an 8-figure problem to solve.  It's possible you could bundle a few of these expensive pieces together to bring back one truly expensive piece in return.  For example, if you found a $24 million player on another team in need of a change, then they might be willing to swallow both Escobar and Canha in the right deal.  

Find Some Pitching

I won't even go into the issues the starting pitchers have had.  Their inconsistency and reliability is highly questionable.  The bullpen, however, has been mostly a disaster and no matter how many AAAA arms you toss into the late innings it doesn't solve the problem that's compounded by 4-6 inning starts.  

You might have to deal away some real pieces of the farm system to pick up quality relievers and despite Eppler's Ruf deal of 2022, you need to be able to take chances if you are serious about trying to contend.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained is not a business plan anyone would like to follow (except perhaps the Wilpons).  

It's getting more and more difficult to watch this team and Cohen's volatility is highly understandable.