Reese Kaplan -- Spring Training Is Right Around The Corner

Happy Monday morning, Mets fans!

OK, OK...I know Mondays are never happy, particularly after spending Sunday in the national non-holiday tradition of watching the Superbowl commercials, eating to excess, drinking irresponsible amounts, and finally stumbling to bed after the conclusion of the game.  Oh yeah, there was a game, wasn’t there?  That excess has got to make a Monday morning a bit more challenging than most.

After all, what could have happened over the weekend?  Oh, right, to address a primary need the Mets boldly signed a released outfielder named Albert Almora, Jr.  It could be worse.  Juan Lagares wound up with a minor league deal to try to make the Angels to back up for some schlub named Trout.  

On February 8th the Mets are just nine days from the start of Spring Training for pitchers and catchers, and just 14 days from the reporting of position players.  I feel like a broken record repeating the team’s needs again and again, so I won’t venture down that path again.  

Instead, let’s take a look at who is still readily available to the Mets to fill that $40 million payroll vacancy created when Trevor Bauer thumbed his nose at Steve Cohen and company.  Rather than paying one guy with a career 3.90 ERA more money than any pitcher in baseball, I’m one of the few who feel the team dodged a very expensive bullet.  Even if he drops his career ERA by a full run for the remainder of his career, he’s still not worth what he’s being paid.  (By the way, a 2.90 ERA pitcher is very good indeed...but not quite as good as a certain infielder turned pitcher who will be the number one starter for the Mets and possesses a career ERA even lower than that at just 2.61 for significantly less money.)

While many folks are pining for the long-term pitching success in the past of guys like Jake Odorizzi, James Paxton and Mike Leake, I’m a bit more interested in younger pitchers without as much of a track record and overall the potential to be better now in the present and in the near future for the next few years.  There are plenty of elder statesmen available like Jake Arrieta and Rick Porcello (urp!).

Instead, what about considering the less expensive and decidedly better arms like Julio Teheran most recently of the Angels who is coming off a horrific 2020, but at age 30 he holds a career ERA of 3.82 which is actually better than an across-town pitcher who just signed for $40 million this coming year.  His control is erratic.  In the years it works he’s been a very high quality pitcher.  When it doesn’t, well, he’s still better than Rick Porcello.  Teheran is coming off a one-year $9 million contract and given his poor performance in 2020, he could likely be had for less.

The other younger pitcher I’ve mentioned before is Taijuan Walker.  This 28 year old righty is coming off a very strong 2020 short season north of the border for Toronto.  He too works best when his control is on and his 3.84 career ERA is still better than Trevor Bauer.  Walker is quite the opposite of Teheran, younger and coming off just a $2 million paycheck.  He would expect his pay to rise, but even if it went 2.5 times higher to $5 million, that’s half of what the Mets forked out for Rick Porcello last year.  

Trades are possible, too, and there are still the “my bad contract for your bad contract” type of transactions that could have Jeurys Familia, Dellin Betances or even Brandon Nimmo wearing a new uniform in order for the Mets to pick up another starting pitcher without increasing their payroll significantly.  

Come on, Zack...earn that interim paycheck!