Reese Kaplan -- First There Was Nuttin' Then Came Sumthin'

Do you ever look over a neighbor and notice the new shiny car, swimming pool, paint job or other conspicuous thing they have done to beautify and improve what they control?  That's how Mets fans must feel today seeing the ongoing changes throughout the other 29 baseball teams but NOTHING happening in Queens.  There's an old saying attributed to someone who is a little smarter than the majority of us:

So what exactly are the Mets planning to do differently to try to elicit different results either for the remainder of 2023 or for baseball next season and beyond?  The last time any of us looked the majority of the starting rotation is haphazard at best.  The bullpen seems to confuse fireman with firestarter.  The hitters are all being held at bay by both good pitchers and bad.  The injuries are taking their toll. Surely team management MUST have a plan to do...something, right?

Thus far the answer is wrong.  

Now to be as fair as possible, Billy Eppler is not operating under the fiscal constraints Sandy Alderson and others faced during the Wilpon era.  Steve Cohen is not averse to spending money, although one might question the value of the folks he entrusts to evaluate and recommend how that money should be spent.  So cash flow is not the issue.

Billy Eppler speaking for the front office has said that the club is looking to build its future internally and as such the dispatching of highly regarded prospects to bring in new talent is not in the cards.  If what he said is actually true, then the team has already confessed they are not going to be buyers of talent as they have not a whole lot to offer up as sellers to bring back current help.  

So that would make you wonder about what they can do as sellers?  It would seem that the way to reinforce the quality of prospects in the minor leagues is to go get some.  The way to do that is to trade away folks on expiring contracts or whose presence isn't pushing you into the promised land of pennant contention.  You all know the names already -- Pham, Vogelbach, Narvaez, Robertson, Carrasco and others.  Even Starling Marte and Adam Ottavino could be in play, though putting Brooks Raley on the trading block would only underscore that issue with poor judgment from Eppler.  Ditto Jose Quintana.

Imagine everyone's shock to hear that the Mets flew the surrender flag up the pole Thursday evening and announced that David Robertson was on his way to Miami for a pair of highly regarded but very low level minor leaguers.  Almost no one believed the Mets would take any constructive steps prior to the August 1st deadline, so when the story first emerged people thought it was Internet gobbledy gook.  

While no one is disputing the value of veteran David Robertson, it was pretty much a given that a high quality player would generate a decent return.  The infielder obtained was regarded more as a hitter and runner than glove magician while the catcher was the opposite as a switch hitting catcher with a rocket arm but heretofore questionable offensive skills.  Both are hitting higher than anyone in the current Mets starting lineup, so the long game return could be considered fair.  Brooks Raley and/or Adam Ottavino will likely serve as Edwin Diaz's placeholders for the next few months.

We also know that the co-Aces of the starting rotation would fetch the biggest haul in return if you paid down some of the salary for the remainder of this year and part of next year.  However, between Carrasco, Scherzer and Verlander departing, you're banking on the rest of this year with the likes of David Peterson, Tylor Megill, Jose Butto and/or Joey Lucchesi as the rest of your starting rotation.  Winter of 2023 into 2024 would begin an earnest effort to bring in three quality starting pitchers as none of the above are going to replace what the departing arms could offer on a good day.  

Impatience is probably the most gnawing thing bothering Mets fans right now.  It's clear to everyone not named Eppler that the club is not contending in 2023.  A good businessman then plans ahead for 2024 instead of simply losing folks with no compensation come year's end.  Yet that thus far appears to be what the plan is and if so, it might even make people start yearning for even Sandy Alderson again. Still, give kudos to Eppler for looking past his personal long term relationship with Robertson to have taken a best-for-the-team step by initiating this phase of the great 2023 Mets dismantling.