Reese Kaplan -- Roster Still Looking Fairly Empty With Spring Training Starting on the 17th

Sandy Alderson is not looking too good lately in his hiring practices.  Yes, he and his boss both announced how disgusted they were by Mickey Callaway (and not just for his managerial practices).  Sandy Alderson went on to admit his cluelessness when it came to Callaway’s peccadillos.  It came, of course, on the heels of his less-than-stellar background checking on Jared Porter.  Yeah, Sandy seems a bit in over his head on the basics of human resources.

All of these distractions (along with the Steve Cohen GameStop fiasco) makes it seem as if the Mets are not paying strict attention to building a roster.  It’s true this week they did add Jordan Yamamoto from the Marlins who will likely fortify the Syracuse roster, but they missed out on Nolan Arenado from the Rockies and nothing one way or the other has been done with Trevor Bauer.  There’s no center field solution in place (nor even in the hot rumor stage) and no one knows how the Mets are filling out the entire pitching rotation. 

So if the season starts on time (as the Player’s Union wants) then you have to look at the roster as it exists today.  There are definitely holes to fill there, defensive questions abound and pitching remains a question mark.  Yes, it was announced that Noah Syndergaard, in addition to his new book club (he reads?), it was announced he’s ahead of schedule and due back in May instead of June.  That filled fans with unwarranted enthusiasm and temporary amnesia as none seem to recall what happens when you rush a player back prematurely from recovery.  Everyone knows Syndergaard wants to return to the rotation ASAP in order to set the stage for his free agent year payoff. 

Of course, the big question about the DH is not yet fully settled.  To hear it, they are bypassing the role for what is promised to be a more-or-less normal 162 game season.  Of course, it could just be a negotiating tool that will be allowed in exchange for some concession from the Player’s Union as yet to be determined. 

For the Mets, it’s a bit of a quandary with J.D. Davis inappropriate to play defense anywhere and Dom Smith unsuitable for left field.  Of course, if Smith makes it to left field regularly, that means Brandon Nimmo is back to his ill-suited role as a center fielder.  That means the defense in the outfield other than Michael Conforto is highly suspect.

 

Fans assume that three quarters of the traditional infield with Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor is certainly an adequate double play combo, though not the Gold Glove best.  Third base is still an open issue and it currently seems to be a toss up between potentially solid hitter in Davis or stellar glove man in Luis Guillorme.  They could also flip flop McNeil who struggled at 3B and move Guillorme into what could be a Gold Glove DP combo between shortstop and second. 

There is some speculation over the backup catcher behind James McCann.  Some figure the job is Tomas Nido’s to lose since he is out of options and would likely be lost if they tried to demote him.  There are some other options in the minors, but none close enough to the big leagues to make you feel any would be appropriate.  Finding a veteran backup is not a bad idea. 

In fact, the whole bench is pretty suspect at this point.  Everyone knows Luis Guillorme is there in some fashion.  Outfielders are definitely a mystery.  Another infielder is needed as well. 

No one is jumping for joy at the prospect of starting pitchers after Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman and Carlos Carrasco being named David Peterson and Joey Lucchesi.  That discomfort is part of the overwhelming desire by many fans to add Trevor Bauer to take one of those remaining two slots.  To do so, however, would cost about $30 million and with so many other holes to fill, that sum could cure a lot of problems. 

Internally many of us have debated other pitchers still available to be signed as free agents (without even dipping into the trade market).  Good prospects include Taijuan Walker, Jake Odorizzi, James Paxton, Homer Bailey, Rich Hill and many reclamation projects.  Felix Hernandez and Jake Arrieta would fall into this category.  Then there are fringe pitchers like Gio Gonzales and Mike Leake. 

On the bullpen side, signing more starters means you have (currently, anyway) Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia, Trevor May, Seth Lugo, Dellin Betances, Aaron Loup and Brad Brach.  It’s not awful for sure, but it could still be better.  The problem is finding someone to pay the salaries of Familia, Betances and Brach. 

Here’s hoping the rest of this week is better than how it’s started out for the Mets.