Reese Kaplan -- Rome & Ticker Tape Parades Weren't Built in a Day

We've all had a few days to digest the activities leading up to Tuesday's trading deadline housecleaning and for the most part folks are slowly coming to grips with the actions taken as being not all that bad.  Yes, when the worst moves previously in the history of the ballclub involved giving away Hall of Famers like Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver, the initial shockwaves suggested that the moves involving Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander were way worse.  Yet in the light of day the team had to realize that the five year plan shouldn't involve players near or over 40 no matter how good they have been in the past.  The third arm leaving on a jet plane was All Star setup man turned closer David Robertson who was on an expiring contract.  Then there was latecomer Dominic Leone who left as well.

Of course, it's not just the starting pitchers that caused heartache, consternation, agita and hostility.  The Mets were also facing the expiring contracts on a pair of outfielder in Mark Canha and Tommy Pham, and the man who started it all, ex third baseman Eduardo Escobar.  Now no one was going to raise their fists, pitchforks nor weapons of mass destruction for these deals since it made sense to get something in return for their time served under Buck Showalter rather than simply losing them for nothing at year's end.  

So you paid for some of the best the game had to offer in the hopes of in Steinbrenner style buying a pennant but the best laid plans didn't exactly proceed as anticipated.  It's not the first time a team brought on solutions that didn't address the problems.  The Yankees brought in players from near and far who didn't work.  I won't make you nauseous with the names from the Mets' front office miscalculations but there have been times they've spent their way to the dock of the Jason Bay as well.  

Instead, take a deep breath, understand what's happened has happened, and think now about what it means for the future.  What revelations have you read or gleaned after a sufficient amount of time, tears and tequila?

Well, Ronny Mauricio is not yet in New York but their intention for the month of August and the beginning of September is to have him play left field every single game for Syracuse.  The conclusion here is not that they doubt his offensive capabilities but apparently they envision a future with Jeff McNeil playing next to Francisco Lindor and not next to Brandon Nimmo.  His ongoing delay in his climb up the ladder is about his glove less than about his bat.

Mark Vientos appears to have mades his way out of the Buck Showalter doghouse not by choice but by necessity as there are now ample opportunities for him to play at 3rd base, 1st base and at DH.  His defense is also regarded with flashbacks of Todd Hundley as an outfielder, but there are times his offensive capabilities may indeed make up for that glaring limitation.

Brett Baty is surely going to start nearly every remaining game at third base to improve both the offensive and defensive sides of his game.  There are times people have seen glimpses of what he can become but 2023 has been every bit as much a struggle for his consistency as it has for his team's ability.  

Now no one the Mets send up to the mound to substitute for Scherzer, Verlander and Robertson are going to hold a candle to even their silver year abilities, but it is an important time to determine who might or might not have any future at all as a part of the Mets.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm not here to suggest that the unknown pitchers that will trot in and out of Citifield are useless, but you none are here based upon recent merit.  It's more about filling out a roster than auditioning for starting and relieving futures.

Going into 2024 people had been expecting the Mets to renew their free spending ways but the other part of what the Cohen machine described in outlining their plans for the future was revising and renovating the ill conceived farm system which other clubs like the Braves, Astros and Rays traditionally use to remain competitive without committing to new payroll records year and after year. 

Think back for a moment about the cautious optimism the Mets fans and media gave when the club secured the services of import Kodai Senga.  His initial period of adjustment to the American way of doing things and the size of the baseball was a bit rough.  However, once he applied the lessons learned he turned out better numbers than, ummm, Max Scherzer.  So the way of the world going forward may be securing the services of potential Japanese free agent Yoshinubo Yamamoto currently in the employ of the Orix Buffaloes.  He's younger than Senga and would likely command a similar salary having a shorter track records than Senga, but when you consider his career record is 64-27 with an ERA of just 1.92.  That's not a single season of outstanding work.  It's spread across seven years beginning at the tender age of 18.  Even if the free agency paycheck jumped to $20 million per season and grew in duration from five years to seven, you're still looking at a $140 million commitment but at a much lower average annual value.  

Now for the people whose rose colored glasses are Krazy-Glued to their faces, bringing in a second Japanese pitching star might be the road to securing the services of all time record setting free agent Shohei Ohtani.  Yes, you could write this fairytale about the other Japanese stars making for a comfortable international expansion of major league baseball as we know it, but the fact is the under-30 Ohtani is going to be looking for a magnitude of over $50 million per year for perhaps as long as 10 years.  Will even someone with Steve Cohen's deep pockets be prepared to spend a half a billion dollars?  I think not.  

No, understand that the 5 year plan might take 5 full years and the magic wand from Japan by way of Anaheim is likely not going to be the direction this ship will take.  Yes, the club will make a moderate run at the best of the best, but don't expect it to happen.  Instead, expect them this time around to identify long term younger commitments who will be here for their prime and not for the denouement of their careers.  Mix in some 2024, 2025 and 2026 arrivals from the juiced up minor leagues and perhaps that longer term vision can become a reality after all.