Tom Brennan - CAN THE METS COMPETE IN 2019?
Second straight tough year for the frequently injured Mets. Things looked awfully bleak going into the All Star Break and beyond.
After an 11-1 start, they went brutal, winning just 33 of their next 95 (.347).
Since then, they've played so much better, despite trading away their closer Jeurys Familia.
So, how does 2019 look, with just minor changes, like getting a Familia-equivalent reliever via trade or free agency this off season?
You could make the case it looks very good. Why?
ROTATION:
Jake deGrom is the best starter in baseball, Zach Wheeler is suddenly Top 10, Thor is clearly above average and the ace of the staff if he were on a number of other teams, Matz is seemingly re-emerging strongly, and Vargas looks like a strong # 5, after a brutal first half. A case could be made that this is, if not the best team rotation going into 2019, certainly a top 5 rotation.
If needed, Dunn and Peterson could be arriving by mid-season - aggressive? Yes. Plausible? Yes.
INFIELD:
Rosario is now broken in and ready to climb to near All Star level in 2019. Frazier should be solid again. McNeil is looking like a strong 2B starter. At first base, Bruce (see also outfield) and Alonso should more than get it done.
The return of Rivera should add a strong utility bat, and I am guessing Flores will be traded elsewhere due to redundancy and a rising paycheck. Especially since Andres Gimenez should be in Queens by mid-season, as he does so many things well.
OUTFIELD:
Conforto, an emrging star in Nimmo, Bruce, Lagares, and perhaps Dom Smith (or someone else) give us a solid outfield. If the infield gets overcrowded with Gimenez in mid-season, that "someone" could be...Jeff McNeil, a former college CF. Cespedes to me seems like a write off for 2019, but maybe he shows up by August to give the team a shot in the arm. (P.S. If Lagares re-injures himself stupidly early on in 2019, cut him).
PEN:
Gsellman, Lugo, Smith, and Swarzak gives the weak pen a decent core. Get one or two more REAL arms, including perhaps re-signing the reliable Blevins, and make it a difference-maker for this team.
The 2019 key is to stay healthy and avoid a steady stream of marginal major leaguers like we've seen called up in 2017 and 2018. Spend wisely, do well. Go cheap, and go home.
8 comments:
Tom
You seem to have the 2019 team pegged well.
I see the biggest needs being a new + catcher, a real center fielder, and two stud relievers.
Much of this can be obtained in the FA market or by trading a stud like Alonso
It could happen, Mack, but I would prefer a free agent catcher and keeping Alonso. He seems like a possible 250-400 homer career guy.
So there issues i believe with your positive outlook, Matz cannot be counted on... He is inconsistent and misses time every year... I have been thinking of a article so I will save that part.
Rosario has been avg when he has been at his best... Avg is not Allstar levels... He is also a needs to prove it over a full season to believe it.. otherwise he is place holder for one of our stables of SS or as I would trade him before the shine rubs off the Prospect/youth potential.
The bullpen is so weak and we have seen this season that Free agent Pen signing go badly really quickly... this need to be filled internally...
so there is hope for .500 but that is not contending...
(most actually though this was a contending team this off season) (we should pull up the preseason prediction article from before the season)
I for one hope for another tank and sell off the rest of the Baggage for a all in 2020...
Being realistic is no fun...
Mack Why in the world would we trade Alonso... Even if he fails, a Potential Paul Kornerko (who i see him as) is worth seeing through here...
No catcher is worth a potential 35 HR hitter who will make the minimum for 3+ years...
There are maybe 3 catchers in all of baseball worth having so if all other team can deal with poor play at the C position I am sure we can piece it through. (with the right leadership of course)
Also No OF acquisition makes sense if we cannot unload Bruce and with A spot being held for Cespedes (like it or not) we should not Block Conforto and Nimmo playing time...
the OF for the next 2 years Is Cespedes Nimmo and Conforto... Which isnt that bad...
I'll be discussing some of these options on Wednesday
Required: Manny Machado and AJ Pollock.
Don't let Rosario or $$ stand in the way of Machado.
And Pollock can be that CF Mack mentioned.
Also.... without question, Nimmo should bat lead off instead of Rosario.
Bob, good plan.
A few points of disagreement:
- I agree with Eddie that Matz can’t be counted on and I would like to switch Lugo’s and Vargas’ roles while they add bullpen.
- Bob, check Pollack out and you see a history of less than stellar production. His defensive numbers in CF aren’t better than Nimmo’s.
- The catcher this team needs should be very much in their range: Wilson Ramos.
- The bullpen core is not there. Gsellman, Smith, and Swarzak at best are better than average collectively, and at worst a weakness. They need at least one strong addition, three of the following five to step up in roles - Monterey, Mejia, Bautista, Bashlor, Callahan - and Vargas to be th lefty. Forget Blevins.
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