Reese Kaplan -- Restructuring the Cellar Dwellers Starts Next Week

Word has filtered out that even hitting coach prospects for the Mets want nothing to do with the cellar dwellars in Queens.  Retread Kevin Long opted out of consideration as did Cubs assistant hitting coach John Mallee.  The story being spun on Long was that it was mutual but the fact is that when team coaching personnel have no burning desire to work for the Cohen/Stearns structured environment then at some point people need to ask the obvious question, “Why not?”

Going into the 2027 season is challenging on a number of fronts.  First, no one knows how long the season will be with a lockout over the CBA negotiations being written in Sharpie on everyone’s baseball analysis paperwork.  As a result, the jobs needing to be filled won’t show dividend until baseball actually begins. 

The next set of questions that arise concern the players currently on the roster not exactly earning their keep.  Some are easy to identify like Marcus Semien, Sean Manaea, Kodai Senga and Jorge Polanco who are all being paid quite handsomely to produce numbers more reminiscent of replacement players than ones deserving 8 figure annual paychecks.

Then there are the younger but still unestablished players who are young enough to remain in baseball but who do not necessarily have anything more to show the Mets.  This list would include Mark Vientos, Brett Baty and injury-plagued Ronny Mauricio.  Of this trio you could make the positional versatility argument for Baty or extend the “He’s never had a real starting player opportunity” argument for Mauricio.  Vientos has pretty much shot himself in the foot as he can’t run, can’t field and hasn’t hit enough even to assign him as a DH.  A new hitting coach isn’t likely going to convert these guys from wannabes to wunderkinds. 

The pitching staff is almost as much a mess as is the offense.  Assume for the moment that the starting rotation would include Nolan McLean, Christian Scott and Zac Thornton.  After that it gets much less appealing with possibilities including Manaea, Senga, recovering Tylor Megill, unestablished Jonah Tong and disappointing Tobias Myers.  Yeah, it would appear some outside help is indeed needed.

The bullpen is almost as difficult to feel confident in its potential.  Closer Devin Williams is coming off his second straight disappointing season in New York between both clubs.  Then come the 2026 newcomers to the club like Nate Lavender, Daniel Duarte, Jonathan Pintaro, Austin Warren, Chayce McDermott, Jefry Yan and Cionel Perez, as well as more familiar faces like Dedniel Nunez and Justin Hagenman.  There’s the great Senga question given his much more impressive bullpen numbers than his starting shriek fest.  The club very much misses solid arms like Luke Weaver and Huascar Brazoban.  

With the World Series ending this week it is shortly going to be time to see who posts for free agency by opting out of contracts or whose employers simply let them walk away.  The front office should be looking for bats and arms in almost equal number.