We’ve beaten the “break up the Mets” horse to death over the past few weeks. We all know who can go, who should go and who might go. Now instead let’s focus on what the Mets need for the future.
One quick review of the scheduled departures after the 2023 season is necessary to set the tone for identifying upcoming acquisition plans. Slated to leave as contracts expire include:
- Justin Verlander
- David Robertson
- Carlos Carrasco
- Mark Canha
- Daniel Vogelbach
- Tommy Pham
Although Max Scherzer has been vocal about waiving his no-trade clause, he’s technically under contract for 2024 which would be his third year of a three-year deal. However, consider him on the list of possibilities to be moved.
Adam Ottavino signed a two-year deal in the offseason, so he’s also slated to be a Met for the 2024 season. His fate is likely tied to that of David Robertson as they need to turn closing duties over to someone if indeed they trade him away.
Finally, consider the once and future catcher of the New York Mets, Omar Narvaez.
He also inked a two-year deal this offseason but an injury kept him out a few months. In his absence and the awful start that Tomas Nido had, rookie Francisco Alvarez was promoted out of necessity and is on a pace to challenge for rookie catching home run totals while showing better defense than was advertised.
Narvaez might appeal to a team in need of a backstop and given Alvarez having become a bit of a young folk hero, he wasn’t going to play very much here anyway.
So now that we have the available options on the table, what is it that the Mets need most?
Going into 2024 the Mets are woefully thin in this department, particularly if they bundle away Scherzer, Verlander and Carrasco. Starting next season the starting rotation includes Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana (remember him?) and not a whole lot else. There are some possibilities in AAA and lately added to the MLB roster but long term success is not likely built upon a foundation including Tylor Megill nor David Peterson. Along
Ah, remember the sweet sound of Tommy Trumpet announcing the arrival into the game of the unbelievably good Edwin Diaz? Guess what? He’s baaaack next year. Alongside him you have some familiar names like Adam Ottavino, Brooks Raley, Drew Smith and newcomers. It’s a bit thin out in the pen and support is needed.
Where oh where does Jeff McNeil play in 2024? Yes, his hitting will come back. Remember he once before had a bad season and bounced back to win a batting title. Right now the question is he an outfielder or is he a second baseman?
That question will be answered by the prospect named Ronny Mauricio who has briefly auditioned at both positions while not excelling at either. He’s blocked by Francisco Lindor at shortstop so thinking and/or new bodies are needed to address this Canha/Pham vacancy in left field.
Ever since the senior circuit implemented the DH, the Mets have done a horrific job of assigning the right person to fill the role. Traditionally Designated Hitters are RBI machines with ample home run power and suspect defensive skills. They got the last part right with guys like Darin Ruf and Daniel Vogelbach but that’s about it.
It really sounds as if they are describing Mark Vientos. The man hits for average, power and drives in runs while not making anyone want to see him with a glove on his hand. Old school Mets would rather hand the reins over to a veteran in the tail end of his career. Can new school Mets do it differently? Or is Shoehei Ohtani an answer here as well as in the starting rotation?
I’m of the opinion that health issues aside, the starting job clearly belongs to Francisco Alvarez. With Nido no longer on the 40-man roster, he’s a long shot option here if they indeed trade away Narvaez, but I could foresee the Mets looking for someone with a better bat to serve as the occasional man with the mask on days Alvarez is given to rest. You don’t need to pay big bucks for someone in this role but it’s an area of attention.
So what types of players do you see the Mets pursuing in prospective deadline deals?
18 comments:
Morning
1. Every team needs more successful starters. The Mets could use some help here this season, but my hopes is they could, at lease, get a good current AA/AAA starter that would fit into their future rotation plans
2. Every team always needs more relievers. The Mets Ottavino and Robertson seem tuckered (no, not that guy FOX NEWS fired) out and a couple of more relievers with 2024 countracts in place would fit both the short and long term plans
3. My note for backup catcher next season is Syracuse' Nick Meyer. Also, plays a decent first.
4. I miss Jeff McNeil at second. I think he misses it too and this could be one of the reasons he is in a mental funk (no, not that hind of funk).
5. I'm not sure that either Mark Vientos or Ronny Mauricio will ever master a position. Both might be good trade bait for starters (yes, both kind of starters).
6. One of my 2024 DH would be Luke Voit.
7. In my world, the Mets really only has one outfielde. Nimmo. Guys like Stewart help but they are not potential ALS starters. Alex Ramirex has faded. BIG problem here.
The real question, of course, is do the Mets use their winning streak to light unrealistic expectations for 2023 or do they do shrewd business and hold out for stiffer prices for the aforementioned trade bait knowing that they need to build for 2024 and beyond since the 2023 plans went to...uh...fertilizer.
I don't expect much help here from any of the other owners that Cohen has pissed off
BTW... that's 29 of them
One point of note: Verlander is signed for $43MM in 2024, too, AND vests for another $35MM in 2025 if he racks up at least 140 innings in 2024. I think that makes him untradable. Next is the more treatable of the two.
Boy, do these next 2 games with SC before ASB now mean a lot. Bela Lugosi is almost out of the coffin.
Vogelbach suddenly starts hitting. Baffling all of us will it continue? Jeff McNeil is a head scratcher. It would really be interesting to understand how much the lack of shift has hurt his ability to rack up hits.
But until we see what happens today and tomorrow, it seems very iffy, but they’ll be selling anything. If they lose both games, they might be more inclined to start thinking more about selling again, but if they win both games, I could see them going into pie mode. and screw the luxury tax cap.
Alvarez - there’s a big positive fly in the ointment. He could turn out to be a truly great catcher. He’s almost starting to look like one already and that bolsters the entire lineup. I would strongly think about trying Nick Meyer catcher instead of Nido Sometimes you just need to move on from certain players, and I think the sooner they can move on from Nido entirely, the better.
“Max” is the more tradable of the two.
Trading is what they should be doing to reinforce the upper minors. I don't see that happening. The pitchers they got in the "we'll pay his full salary" Escobar deal were meh at best.
I would ask Senga to reach out to his friends back home
Mack,
If Robinson is not traded, I would sign him to an extended contract. If he is traded ,I would make sure he knew we would be interested in resigning him again in 2024.
Reese, I think the Crow portion of the Escobar trade is good…IF his elbow doesn’t need surgery. Hopefully he is soon to make his Mets MILB debut.
And Escobar in his last several Angels gamss is 6 for 29, no walks. I still think he is a mostly washed up nice guy.
I'm not sure if, at this age, he loves how he is being manhandled this season
Right
1) Do "we all" know who can go, who can go, and who should go?
I don’t think we'll ever "all agree on anything".
2) You've got to give to get. Trading rentals away won't bring much.
3) I know very little about Narvaez except that pre-Alvarez he was supposed to be our "1 catcher. What I want as backup is a solid defensive catcher with semi-decent offense. Though he's hit very little this year, Narvaez fits that description.
3) Players with expiring contracts aren't necessarily "gone". We can re-sign any that will be helpful for another year or two.
4) Adding Diaz to a back end and keeping Otto, Robbie, Smith and Raley means only a few middle-innings guys are needed and those are a dime a dozen. We can mix and match as needed.
5) If Mauricio can make it here, either he or McNeil will fill an OF spot. If we keep Pham, and Marte is healthy and returns to his usual self, the OF will be fine.
For the rest of this year, I'd like to shore up the middle pen. As I've said before, once we have a healthy, full rotation, the pen won't be over-used and dhould do better. The only GAPING need that I see is (sadly) at 1B. We need the REAL Polar Bear to replace the Kingman clone we have there now. I have confidence that he will, but this sub-.220 hitting has been killing us. Once he puts the Derby behind him and focuses on in-game performance, the offense is dramatically improved.
With all the problems we've had with his BA and keeping the rotation intact, it's surprising that we're only 6.5 out of the WC. And Q is coming to bolster the pitching.
We don't know how things will look by the deadline, but as of now I'll keep saying it: IT AIN'T OVER!!!
And I ain't jumping overboard.
I wonder if the Mets might have gone after Aroldis Chapman if they'd gotten hot a few weeks earlier. He was clocked at 102 the other day.
Hey sweep the Padres and everything looks rosy. Starters look better,Lindor and Alvarez are hitting. If McNeil and Mamet ever start hitting they have a chance.
Crow is a low 90s guy with arm issues. Sounds like a poor trade to me.
I'm loving the win streak. They still have a LONG ways to go. Even after winning 6 in a row they still need to play to a .650 win % the rest of the way to catch the current 3rd WC. They do finish the season with 13 games against 2 of the top WC teams (Phillies/Marlins) so it gives them a chance.
They still have 17 games before the trade deadline. In no capacity would I add anyone before the deadline (that doesnt help us for next year & beyond).
I just hope that they dont hold onto guys for the slim chance of making the playoffs. They still need to increase the odds significantly beyond the current 23% odds
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