Having spent way too much time watching Youtube videos of the Mets moments in history during the year end holiday it got me to thinking about the team that came within two games of the World Series in 2024 and how it compares to the one thus far constructed to compete in 2025. Let’s have a look.
Catchers
- Francisco Alvarez
- Luis Torrens
Infielders
- Pete Alonso
- Jeff McNeil
- Jose Iglesias
- Francisco Lindor
- Luisangel Acuna
- Mark Vientos
Outfielders
- Brandon Nimmo
- Harrison Bader
- Starling Marte
- Tyrone Taylor
- Jesse Winker
Designated Hitter
- J.D. Martinez
Starting Pitchers
- Kodai Senga (injured for virtually the entire season)
- Sean Manaea
- Luis Severino
- Jose Quintana
- David Peterson
Relief Pitchers
- Edwin Diaz
- Ryne Stanek
- Phil Maton
- Jose Butto
- Reed Garrett
- Tylor Megill
- Danny Young
- Adam Ottavino (left off playoff roster)
Now let’s take a look at the 2025 squad everyone is thus far banking on to make up those two games they fell short in 2024:
Catchers
- Francisco Alvarez
- Luis Torrens
Infielders
- Francisco Lindor
- Mark Vientos
- Jeff McNeil
- Luisangel Acuna
Outfielders
- Juan Soto
- Brandon Nimmo
- Tyrone Taylor
- Jose Siri (injured)
Designated Hitter
- Starling Marte
Starting Pitchers
- Kodai Senga
- Sean Manaea
- David Peterson
- Frankie Montas
- Clay Holmes
- Edwin Diaz
- Jose Butto
- Tylor Megill
- Dedniel Nunez
- Reed Garrett
- Sean Reid-Foley (injured)
- Dylan Covey
- Griffin Canning
Ummm...other than the addition of Juan Soto which is, of course, a huge one, there seems to be an awful lot missing with Spring Training starting next month. The glaring vacancies are in the infield, the outfield, DH and the bullpen. We’ll address comments about each of them in a bit, but first let’s look at the starting rotation.
Now, going into 2024 no one knew what to make of David Stearns’ reclamation project heavy rotation with Manaea not showing brilliance and Luis Severino not showing health nor competence. Holdover Jose Quintana was a known commodity to give you better numbers than Severino, Kodai Senga was injured and out of all by a handful of innings for the entire year and David Peterson was an unknown coming back from surgery on his hip.
Much to everyone’s surprise, these less-than-spectacular moves worked. Yes, there were innings given to the likes of Adrian Houser and others no longer in the picture, but somehow Carlos Mendoza and Jeremy Hefner got more out of this ragtag bunch than could have been expected.
The problem is that in this offseason Stearns has pretty much gone the same route, first by offering up Frankie Montas as the new Luis Severino. Well, on a career basis, he has had injuries and never posted the eye popping numbers the team needs. Even more surprising is how much he is being paid in the hopes that the on-the-field staff and the pitching lab can help push hm into a more competitive direction.
David Peterson was clearly the best pitcher in the rotation in 2024, finishing with an ERA of just 2.90. The problem is people think this level of performance was not a fluke but instead a new standard to expect in the coming 2025 season. Everyone hopes it could be yet at the same time it may not be realistic to write it in stone.
Rumblings exist that the Mets might try to sell high on Peterson and transfer the risk to another team as a part of a trade to help them in other places. Surely you would get a whole lot more for Peterson than you would for Megill.
The wildcard in the mix for 2025 is not as much Kodai Senga’s return to dominance which is more probable if he is indeed fully healthy and playing regularly, nor is it Sean Manaea’s rebirth in the second half of the year. He got his money and now must show it was not merely an extended hot streak.
No, the one area that no one can rightly predict is the conversion of star reliever Clay Holmes from the bullpen where he was rock solid for the Yankees to the starting rotation now that he’s hit his mid career stride.
The Mets failed to make this effort on Seth Lugo so they are hoping that Holmes’ more dominant stuff can push him into an even higher performance level than the man who got away.
Going into the bullpen is a bit unsettling as the names there are, well, unsettled. Both Nunez and Reid-Foley are recovering from injuries. We know what Diaz, Butto and Garrett can do. We’re not quite so sure about Covey, Canning and Megill if they are all slated to spend time supporting the starters.
Now the outfield is frankly a mess. Soto is a star, no question about that, but Nimmo is coming off his worst MLB season in terms of batting average. Tyrone Taylor and Jose Siri are 4th outfielders at best.
It would seem that the possibility exists for Jeff McNeil or Starling Marte to take the field in left with Nimmo going back to center. That’s not exactly an awe inspiring group of guys behind the infield.
On that note, let me remind you that the 2025 squad is missing a guy named Pete Alonso and another guy named Jose Iglesias. Granted, the Mets have some infielders in the system. I’ve already penciled in Acuna for a spot to replace Iglesias. Then there are the futures of slumping Brett Baty and lost-in-2024 Ronny Mauricio.
Finally we come to DH. Everyone was happy to see Steve Cohen spend for professional hitter J.D. Martinez who delivered a “meh” kind of season, often relegated to platoon with Jesse Winker taking the other half. Neither of those guys are here anymore and somehow few would expect Starling Marte in his final contract year to post numbers even equal to the ho-hum total the team got from the DH slot in 2024.
Any way you slice it, the club has a lot of holes to fill and while there is still about 6 weeks before pitchers and catchers report, the fact is that there are 29 other teams also looking to shore up their rosters as well. That means the available free agent pool is getting rather empty in many places and trades may need to be engaged to improve the team from where it was with its roster as last season ended. Right now even with Soto it appears weaker.
18 comments:
I think it is hard to compare apples (a full 2024 team) to oranges (a team under construction), I noted the drastic difference in performance between Cleveland bullpen and Mets bullpen in 2024. The Mets must add 2-3 real pen arms…and fill the Pete slot and (hopefully) get Winker back here. Build a 95+ win team.
Agree, the team is still under construction but to answer the question. Offensively, still have the bats of Alvarez, McNeil, Lindor, Vientos, and Nimmo. Soto replaces Alonso. Marte replaces Martinez with less power. The center field options match up to last years options. The difference is how the Mets address the corner infield. I believe the addition will result in a slightly better offense than last year.
Defensively, I believe that overall it will be a push as long as the players do no regress from last year.
I believe the starting pitching is constructed to "Give me five, then turn to the bullpen". With that philosophy, the starting pitching is a push.
Then the bullpen. This is where the work still needs to be completed and will determine the where the team goes.
Last area is team chemistry. The 2024 team seemed to take off with the addition of Iglesias. I believe he brought something into the clubhouse that ignited the team to the next level. Who will that be in 2025?
So I agree with Tom. Add a pair or three relievers and answer the corner infield position. Then I believe that the 2025 team, on paper, will be better than 2024. And will have the flexibility to allow the prospects opportunities in the second half of the season.
Steve, do we bring back Iggy?
As a fan, I definitely want Winker back. I really enjoyed that dude after the Mets got him, part of what made the team so much fun after the trade was made. Hopefully he will accept one year.
JD Martinez was very good in May and June, but just 45 for 228 (.195) in Jul-Sep, and a non-factor (4 for 18, no HRs) in the playoffs. I do not want him back at his age, at any price. Turns 38 in August. I think he got old. It happens to every player at some point. I think the Yankees will find that out with Paul Goldschmidt.
I would not have a problem bringing him back from the chemistry standpoint. Based upon last year's numbers, what is he looking to get? He is probably looking for a starting position and multiple years. That would make it more difficult to sign him and allow opportunities for Williams, Acuna, ect.
Team chemistry I mentioned above?
Prospects1500 just dropped their Mets list. Many surprises, but overall disappointment.
I think we need to move on from Winker, Iggy, and many of sentimentalities we have. Yes, the team is under construction so it isn’t fair to pass judgment, and relievers haven’t really signed anywhere yet.
As currently constructed the team will be worse than 2024. Without additional solid bullpen help and another bat for protection for Soto, it will definitely be worse.
Sorry Steve, Alverez hit .220, Nimmo .230, McNeil...meh. That just won't cut it. I can live with Marte as a DH for a while, at least he's a professional hitter. As much as I loved Iggy, he would only block the youngsters. We have to see what we have in Acuna, Mauricio, Baty and Gilbert...followed by Jet Williams the following year.
Unless those 3 hitters really step up, we are in trouble. We must sign a corner infielder, 2 solid relief pitchers, and hope our prospects step up and we will be better.
We’re kind of betwixt and between. Do we sign the veterans needed to fill open hitting spots in the lineup or do we deploy the kids who are on the precipice of being full-time MLB ballplayers? A major consideration is that some of the upcoming talent are running out of options shortly (e.g., Baty & Mauricio). With the preceding in mind, does DS take a chance on foregoing the spending of FA cash on hitting, or do we bring up Mauricio, Baty & Acuna in April or May to play full-time? Should we sign Alonso? We need another bat besides Vientos to protect Soto.
Aside from the hitting, if DS is going to go with the present rotation, it is imperative for him to sign some top FA RPs. The present configuration of the pitching staff will just not cut it against the likes of the Braves and Phillies who both present better hitting as well as better pitching talent at present.
A pennant winning team won’t find these kids ready. Acuna might actually make the team, R Mo the first injury call-up, Gilbert no earlier than midseason and Jett late in season. Gilbert hit .206 last year. Maybe he deserves demotion, not promotion.
Bader, Iglesias, Winker are all still available free agents. On the pitching side, Raley, Smith, and Stanek are available. All of them could help this team but I think that our front office has other plans that are dependent on how the trades/FA negotiations turn out so they are holding back. Since that group represents pitching, infield, and outfield it means (to me) that Stearns is still engaged in pursuing players in each of those areas.
For me, Stearns dropped the ball. Yes, adding Soto was great but it was in my opinion, overpaying for a star player in order to make a statement as the new premier baseball team in NY.
Stearns should have just added to the rest of the team. He should have brought back not only Manaea but Severino as well. Then, he should have added a true ace and fix the BP.
Stearns signed a bunch of infielders as backups but probably for the same combined salary of all of them could have just brought back Jose Iglesias. Same thing with Winker.
The 2024 Mets team was two games away from the WS so I can't understand why it was broken apart instead of keeping the key players that got you there and then adding the missing players to complete the team for 2025.
The Mets failed because they were a starter short, a potent bat and two good relievers who could close games whenever Diaz lost the gravitas.
They got the bat in Soto but if they don't replace Alonso with a power bat then what's the point?. Where is the Ace?, where are the tried BP arms?.
Tom,
It doesn’t seem (other than Soto & Manaea) that Stearns is attempting to build a winner for this year. Understandably, we are still less than halfway through the Hot Stove, so maybe some key players will be added. But Stearns’ strategy seems to exclude any hitter over 30 and any contract for more than 3 years. Accordingly, this strategy apparently limits the top tier of players still available. But the fantasy in the minds of many of our fans is that Stearns is to change manure to gold!
The question was, is the team currently constructed, is it better, same or worse. With those three, I believe they are the same. Saying that, I agree. Meh. I agree, those three need to play much better.
Whether Mets appear to be better or not may not be the most important factor in their place in the standings this upcoming season. I.e., both the Braves (given improved health) and Phillies (better pitching with Luzardo and Romano ++) look improved. All of the questions we are presently asking about our Mets seem self-explanatory.
One other element, of course, was that the 24-35 Mets to start the season were not the same team as the one that went 65-38 after that. The 2025 team will no doubt be tweaked as needed as the season progresses.
The frustration now is the lack of executing a "plan" to improve from last year.
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