By Mike Steffanos
A renewed emphasis on defense would be a good thing for the New York Mets.
Mike Vaccaro had an interesting column in the New York Post about the rather dull first winter of David Stearns's tenure, compared with the splashier debuts of some other recent Mets GMs. Back in the offseason of 2004-05, Omar Minaya famously hit the ground running, signing Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran in his first offseason in charge. In his inaugural hot stove as GM, Brodie Van Wagenen swung a deal for Edwin Díaz that, unfortunately, also saddled the club with the Albatross of Robinson Canó's contract.
Contrast this with Stearns, whose biggest deals this winter was the signing of pitchers Sean Manaea and Luis Severino. While I certainly understood the logic behind inking these guys, neither of the announcements made a chill run down my spine as I felt when I first learned of Beltran's agreement. The 40-man on Mets.com is loaded with the names of guys David Stearns brought in to deepen the roster. Some of these new guys could play an important part in what happens to the Mets in 2024. A few of them even fascinate me a tiny bit.
I'm intrigued by the defensive skills Harrison Bader can contribute in the outfield, even as I acknowledge that he is likely to miss time due to injury and hasn't posted an OPS+ over league average since 2021. Bader is with the Mets on a 1-year contract. Those short-term deals are hard to find fault with, as the player won't be around long enough to cause any lasting pain, even if he doesn't really work out. What makes Harrison Bader interesting, and has kept him employed in MLB despite a lackluster batting line of .243/.310/.396 over 7 seasons, is the elite defense he brings to the table.
The Mets have a history of prioritizing offense over defense going back decades. Davey Johnson, still arguably the most successful manager in Mets history, would often sacrifice some defense to get a bit more pop in his lineup. For instance, he often started Howard Johnson or Kevin Mitchell at SS when Sid Fernandez was pitching. There was logic to this choice, as El Sid was an extreme fly ball pitcher. But it was notable in the pre-steroid era when defense was still prized over offense in baseball.
3 comments:
One year deals are perfect for the outfield
The Mets will have at least three minor leaguers that can play excellent outfield defense as well as hit well in a year from now
All this is going to make a lot more sense in 12 months
Sounds good to me
To me, it all comes down to the NYM starting pitching for 2024. 2025 starts "A New Mets ERA" just as Mack has eluded to here prior. Mack is most correct.
However, 2024 is in no way (as some suggest) a throw away season or "a bridge" to 2025. It has most of the pieces for a decent run. But their top three starters of Senga, Severino, and Manaea have got to stay healthy for them to have any real chance at a playoff spot this season.
For the four and five rotation slots, there have been names continuously bantered about in the press all off season. Names like Quintana, Megill, Butto, Houser, and Lucchesi. But will any one or two have a fabulous no more questions needed to be asked Spring Training?
If me, I might bring two of the above into ST for a look for these roles, probably have Butto start in Syracuse to fine tune things there, and then either work one more trade for another really decent starting pitcher, or straight up sign Eduardo Rodriguez at his current $8.3 million contract per season and put him into the third starter slot here. Eduardo is a lefty starter that I have seen pitch a lot over the years, mainly with Boston. He had a really solid 2023 season with Detroit, and would be a perfect balance with the Mets other lefty starter Manaea.
This would leave the Mets with a vary favorable starting five rotation of Senga, Severino, Eduardo Rodriguez, Manaea and then one from the pool of Lucchesi, Megill, Quintana, Houser grouping, and a new starter the Mets would have traded for. Rotation order not yet set in stone.
I would obtain this one more solid starter perhaps using trade bait of C Omar Narváez, and two pitchers not chosen for the rotation.
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