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11/24/23

Reese Kaplan: Before You Light Your Angry Torch, Take a Breath


Well, if you're here you're undoubtedly a Mets fan yet this week has come and gone without any significant player additions being made while we all see other clubs like the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves progressing substantially on improving their rosters.  

Now it's not as if the Mets have been sitting still and doing nothing during this period of seeming inaction.  While Aaron Nola and other notable players have made contractual agreements, the Mets have also been busy with their lawyers but it was for the management team rather than the on-the-field guys with bats, balls and well worn cleats.  

By now it's already old news, but the Mets have purloined a top amateur scouting executive from the Houston Astros, a bench coach who was twice the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, a first base coach from the deposed Gabe Kapler San Francisco Giants and a third base coach from Tito Francona's former staff in Cleveland.  


Think about these hires for a minute.  They are looking to improve their scouting and amateur player assessments so they get the best in the game to take over that role.  They have a rookie manager who might need some in-game guidance as he takes the reins.  They bring in a former Met player who had several years as the manager in Toronto to aid Carlos Mendoza in adjusting to his new role.  

They bring in 1st and 3rd base coaches from winning (or mostly positive) organizations to replace the now gone Joey Cora and Wayne Kirby.  They retained the pitching coach who has survived several managers.  They returned Eric Chavez to the role where he excelled as hitting coach (though why they retained Barnes is still a bit of a mystery).  


So while folks may very well be frustrated by what hasn't happened thus far with improving the roster, it would appear that rushing to be first to sign someone isn't a strategy for long term success.  How many trades and free agent acquisitions this club has made in the past didn't pan out as expected?  

Sure, Starling Marte looked like magic in his first year, then came the injuries that cut short the end of 2022 and most of 2023.  I can go on to reiterate the point, but picking the best is not guaranteed by picking them first.

As promised, there will be an examination of the available free agents come Saturday morning.  Expect the Mets to be active here but not in the pay realm necessary to land Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, David Robertson and others.  

Yes, there will be serious play made for Yoshinobu Yamamoto and they won't be counting on Jose Butto, Joey Lucchesi and Tylor Megill to fight it out for the other two spots in the starting rotation.  Adam Ottavino may be gone but there are other capable arms available who could help the team improve.  


For now remember it's Black Friday, most folks are off from work for the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend and action likely won't resume until Monday, the 27th.  

19 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. On Black Friday, buy a flat screen, not a guy with a flat curveball.

    It's leftover time at the table, not at the Mets rebuilding table.

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  3. This is a well crafted article. The Mets have their priorities in the right order to achieve long term success.

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  4. I donno Reese, it is pretty obvious you have moved from the American way. I want it and I want it NOW!

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  5. Reese

    You are preaching to MY choir here. Everything they have done is in the right order

    Now

    Do these 5 in whatever order you want:

    1. Sign Yamamoto
    2. Sign another top FA starter
    3. Sign top FA reliever
    4. Resign Alonso
    6. Extend Alvarez

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    1. Mack, I’d like to get into a discussion about Alonso. We all know the numbers for sluggers as they traverse into their 30’s and how the power subsides. How far are you saying to take this signing and why not cash him in, if the return is a strong one?

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    2. Gus

      I would hold at a 6yr deal in the 270mil range

      If they pass, I would trade him at the all-star break. Prior to that I would send Baty to Syracuse to begin conversion to first

      Lastly I would then draft one of the 5 top first men with the first pick in the 2024 draft

      I will breakout those 5 two weeks from Sunday

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  6. Yesterday I posted the Mets prospect list on FanGraphs (which y’all will find in their Big Biard) and their standing as the 7th ranked system. Today, I want to offer this half hour listen in the Mets prospects. Spoiler alert, they need pitching.

    https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2024-mets-top-10-prospects-podcast/

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  7. $45MM a year? Are you serious? Oh wow. I’m sorry, I vehemently disagree. Heyman had his trade chances today at 5%, but I just don’t see how Alonso will make that when Freeman is making $27 and Olson just signed for $22. Alonso has a low average, high K’s and is all or nothing. A good player, but I can go six years but I can’t pass the $27MM that Freeman got.

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    1. I would pay 40mil for first 3 yrs and 50 for last 3 yrs

      2024 cost of doing big business

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  8. Funny. I posted an Open Thread on Alonso this AM, to run at 11:00.

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  9. If the Cubs, Mariners, or Orioles give me what I want, Alonso is a former Met. No one wins without pitching, and that has to be a priority. The Mets have offense and more coming, but they don’t have elite pitching and don’t have it coming. I can’t believe Met fans don’t see this.

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    Replies
    1. Gus

      I'm spending Steve's money here not mine

      He has plenty more for pitching and dead money goes away in a year

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  10. Mack, I believe they will still owe almost $40 million to Marte and Verlander in 2025 (per Spotrac) and that is a massive overhang.

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  11. Gus, I listened to that Top 10 discussion. Thanks.

    Pitching and Kevin Parada were two real areas of concern for the ranker. I had Parada 5th in my Top 35 before Arizona. They ranked him a courtesy # 10. If I did mine several weeks later…Parada down near #10.

    Starters? Let’s hope it is better than what this gent’s mediocre back end rotation projections indicate.

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  12. It’s 2023,pitching.no longer rules. DBacks and Rangers weren’t pitching first teams. O’s weren’t a pitching. First team. The Dodgers with all the injuries weren’t much of a pitching team. 13 men staffs show relievers are replacing started, openers and 5 inning start innings starts or less are more and more common.

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  13. Is 200 million for a starting pitcher a good spend? Look at all the playoff teams with just 3 starters! Maybe spending the money on power relievers and homer hitting position players is a wiser way to go.

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