Mets 2020 offseason wish list

Expect the Mets to back up the Brink trucks in free agency for the first time in club history this winter. (Photo via NY Post).

With new owner Steve Cohen taking over the New York Mets, it’s obvious to say big changes are coming. Instead of hoping the Mets solve a hole or two like they have the last few winters, huge expectations are here right now to become an instant, perennial contender. It’s okay to dream big Mets fans, as Cohen has discussed upping payroll and investing in not just players but more analytics and front office personnel.

The Dodgers got new ownership in 2012 who drastically improved not just the roster but the entire organization. The franchise hasn’t missed the playoffs since. Cohen mentioned during his press conference while he wants to do things his own Met way, the Dodgers certainly are an organization that should be emulated.

Below should be the Mets offseason wish list that makes them an instant contender. While this list would have been fantasyland just a year ago, it certainly seems realistic based off of Cohen’s comments about reinvesting into the team.

1. Sign Trevor Bauer

Trevor Bauer is clearly the top pitcher on the market and its already clear there is mutual interest between the Mets and Bauer. Sandy Alderson on WFAN last week described Bauer’s unique personality as something that could be a welcome addition to NY. Alderson brought up how baseball is an entertainment industry first and foremost. Bauer is a very intelligent pitcher who Alderson said could help the Mets out with new ideas when it comes to pitching.

Bauer has also made it clear he would have interest in pitching for the Mets. Bauer put up a YouTube clip which was around 15 minutes of praising Steve Cohen’s press conference and social media approach to addressing the fans. The title of Bauer’s video is “Steve Cohen’s BRILLIANT start”.

The main question with Bauer isn’t how his personality will fit in a major market like New York but what will be his price tag? Bauer has said in the past he will take one-year deals to maximize his future earnings but based on the season he just had, that seems unlikely. Bauer has been inconsistent in his Major League career but finished his ninth MLB season on a high note with a Cy Young award and a 1.73 ERA. Top of the rotation pitching is in short supply so even in this depressed free agent market, Bauer will be paid like an ace. While the timing couldn’t be any better for Bauer’s free agency, he’s not exactly a consistent ace. Look at his ERA each of the last four seasons, 4.19, 2.21, 4.48 and 1.73. Across those four seasons, Bauer has a 3.46 ERA, a good pitcher but not the elite ace that he’ll be paid as.

Trevor Bauer says he's never signing a long-term deal. Only one-year contracts.

Why? Turns out he made a bet with a friend: If he ever signs a multi-year deal, the friend gets to shoot him in the nuts with a paintball gun from 10 feet away.

Full podcast: https://t.co/hvN9x1gPKo pic.twitter.com/9l3z7PHLGz

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 6, 2018

Bauer has often expressed an interest in signing one-year deals every year to always pitch for a contender. Plus there’s this bet … Will Trevor Bauer hold up his side of the bet with his best friend about signing a multi-year deal?

Despite the small-sample size, is it possible Bauer figured something out this season? While his Cy Young season was just 11 starts, 100 strikeouts in 73 innings is far from a fluke. The upside is certainly there for Bauer to perform similarly in future seasons.

A rotation of Jacob deGrom, Bauer, Marcus Stroman, David Peterson and eventually (hopefully) Noah Syndergaard is the type of rotation that gets into the playoffs and has a legit chance at a championship.

The last time the Mets got to the World Series was based on their pitching. Signing Trevor Bauer is the first step in solidifying a rotation that desperately needs top of the rotation help.

2. Sign George Springer

While the Houston Astros have already re-signed Yuli Gurriel and have shown interest in bringing back Michael Brantley, there has been very little reporting that the Astros will spend the big dollars necessary to retain George Springer.

George Springer is the two-way centerfielder the Mets have been lacking since trading Carlos Beltran away nearly a decade ago.

There is certainly concern about how good the Astros hitters are after the sign-stealing scandal, but Springer didn’t regress much this season (.265/.359/.540 in 222 PAs). What also makes Springer special is he’s been one of the better postseason hitters over the last decade with 18 home runs and a .925 OPS over his last 56 playoff games. Springer is 31 so the question is how will his centerfield defense decline as he gets into his mid-30’s. The hope is the Mets can sign him to a five-year contract and find a new center fielder in year three or four, moving Springer into a corner at that time. Like Bauer, there really isn’t an adequate replacement at his position if the Mets choose elsewhere on the free agent market. The next best centerfielder on the open market is 30-year-old Jackie Bradley Jr. who is a career .239/.321/.412 hitter, pass. As Springer went, so did the Astros and the hope would be he could do the same for what could be a special Met lineup.

George Springer’s infectious energy at the top of the Houston lineup has led to countless comeback Astros victories. (Photo via Houston Chronicle).

Expect the Mets to land a big hitter in free agency, they’ve already shown interest in Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna is a big bat but the Mets need a center fielder, not another LF/DH type at the moment.

3. Extend Michael Conforto

Michael Conforto had a breakout 2020 and it makes a lot of sense to see if the Scott Boras client would consider a long-term extension before he hits free agency. Conforto will get a decent raise in arbitration on his $8 million 2020 salary. Could an extension similar to Justin Upton’s five-year, $106 million contract with the Angels make sense for the Mets? Upton had more MLB experience than Conforto when he signed his deal but since that deal is a few years old, (factoring in inflation) this could make some sense. An outfield duo for most of the decade of Springer and Conforto could be special offensively.

From August 5th, 2020: Steven Inman discusses why this is the right time to extend Michael Conforto.

It makes a lot of sense for the Mets to also look at some of their other position players as candidates for long term extensions. The sooner the Mets lock those young players up such as Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith and Pete Alonso, the cheaper they will be long term. Conforto is looking at $100 plus million because the Mets didn’t explore this possibility when signs of the breakout were appearing. Again, it takes two to tango and Boras may apt for Conforto to hit free agency but Boras clients have signed extension close to free agency before, such as Stephen Strasburg and Jered Weaver.

4. Resist the temptation to trade for Francisco Lindor

You just bought your hometown franchise and the fanbase looks at you like the savior. I bet it’s awfully tempting to make that franchise-altering move and acquire a superstar, middle of the diamond player to immediately put your stamp on the team. Cohen and the Mets need to resist that temptation and let him get traded elsewhere.

Francisco Lindor is in the final year of arbitration and will become a free agent in 2021. This means a team isn’t just paying the Indians prospects but also in terms of a close to $300 million dollar contract. Lindor is likely worth that money as a dynamic shortstop and middle of the order bat but the Mets have spent most of their prospect depth over the last two years under Brodie Van Wagenen. This means the Mets will likely have to include big league talent in the deal for Lindor. Speculation has come up this could mean Andres Gimenez and more importantly Jeff McNeil. McNeil is a career .319/.383/.501 hitter in three seasons as a Met. The sample size is large enough now to show that he’s no fluke and I can’t imagine trading him as part of a bigger package for a rental player, no matter how good Lindor is. Now maybe the asking price on Lindor decreases as the winter goes on and we can discuss this idea further but that is unlikely.

The trade for Lindor now supporters compare this to the Mookie Betts trade, where Betts signed long term in LA, won a World Series and never reached free agency. Yes, the same thing could happen to Lindor on his new team as well. Having said that, there are plenty of 2021 All-Star shortstop options available for the Mets in a year besides Lindor such as Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Javier Baez & Carlos Correa. It is likely that a couple of them could sign long term deals before they hit free agency. With that said, the odds that none of them hit the open market is remote at best. Sandy Alderson has acknowledged that the upper levels of the minors are barren. Amed Rosario and Gimenez can handle shortstop and the No. 9 spot in the lineup for a year (assuming the DH is back again because why wouldn’t it be) and then the Mets can make shortstop a top priority in a year if neither of those homegrown players show they can handle the full-time role.

5. Finally fix the bullpen

Death, taxes and the New York Mets bullpen underachieving are the only things certain in this world but with a new owner comes new possibilities. Could one of these possibilities be the Mets finally fixing their bullpen? Absolutely and this is a great winter to try it.

The Indians declined a relatively cheap club option on closer Brad Hand and shockingly no team in baseball claimed him. Hand, 30, has a 2.70 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP over his last five seasons as one of the more underrated bullpen weapons in the game. The entire baseball industry decided he wasn’t worth picking up for a $10 million 2021 salary and he went unclaimed. This means if you are one of the few franchises willing to spend this winter, not only can you revamp your roster, but you can also get really great bargains too.

Hand should be considered, as should Athletics closer Liam Hendriks, as the free agent struck out 161 in 110.1 innings over his last two seasons in Oakland. Certainly don’t expect the small market A’s to spend wildly in free agency. Expect the Brewers to dangle dynamic closer Josh Hader in trade discussions again this winter as he gets pricier but with so many interesting free agent options, the Mets should preserve their prospects. The Mets should also move Seth Lugo back to the bullpen where he’s at his best. It’s been made very clear that he reportedly prefers to start but he’s just such an impact pitcher out of the bullpen, it makes too much sense to move him back to relief for good. The Mets could find a middle of the rotation starter like Charlie Morton or Jake Odorizzi on a one-year deal to fill Lugo’s rotation spot. By acquiring one or even both of Hendriks and Hand and moving Seth Lugo back to the bullpen, the Mets have the makings of a great bullpen. Not only are Lugo, Hand & Hendriks great relievers, but they all have experience in a variety of bullpen roles. The Mets must get bullpen insurance in case Edwin Diaz blows up again.

6. Sign James McCann

While J.T. Realmuto is the best catcher in baseball and available on the free agent market, it’s scary to commit 100+ million to a catcher who will be 30 before Opening Day. Has a large, long-term contract for a catcher ever worked out for a team before? Buster Posey and Joe Mauer were being transitioned to first base long before the final years of their contracts (Posey is still owed $22.177,778 in the final guaranteed year in his contract in 2021). The Blue Jays last year paid $16.4 million to get the Dodgers to take the final year of Russell Martin’s contract off their hands.

It makes much more sense to make catcher a year-to-year position because it’s just so taxing. Willson Contreras would be the perfect fit but it’s unclear what the Cubs would want for him (it would take a big haul). Veteran James McCann is the best solution here as he is a solid defensive catcher who has learned how to hit big league pitching in his two seasons with the White Sox, slashing .276/.334/.474 across 587 plate appearances. McCann is hardly a star catcher but he’s solid enough to drive in some runs batting eighth, while more importantly handling a very good pitching staff. McCann could likely be had on a two-year $26 million contract. The money the Mets are saving on his deal compared to signing Realmuto is going towards Bauer & Springer’s large contracts.

Again, this is the Mets offseason “wish list” meaning if they fall short of doing all of these things, it’s far from a disaster. Having said that, there is no reason not to expect an eventful offseason where many of these things listed above could happen.

Now it’s your turn. Leave in the comments below your Mets offseason wish list. Let’s Go Mets!

Everything you need to know about New York Mets – Wilpon sale

Will attempt No. 2 get Steve Cohen his beloved Mets? (Photo via Fox Business).

If you ask New York Mets fans, they would tell you the club’s biggest issue over the past two decades has been ownership. Despite playing in New York, the team has spent like a mid-market club, especially in recent seasons. In 2018, they ranked 12^th in total payroll and in 2019 they ranked 13^th. Owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon have owned a majority stake in the Mets since 2003. The duo has alienated fans due to their nature of reportedly meddling in day-to-day operations of the club. Fans would likely be less bothered by this if the Mets had any World Series championships under their belt since 1986.

An executive familiar with the Mets said the following about Jeff, who is more involved in the day-to-day operations currently of the Mets than his father Fred, “Jeff is the problem in that organization, and he is never going to realize that. He cannot help himself. He has to be involved. He will never hire anyone who will not let him have major input. He will not hire anyone who does not run every personnel decision through him.”

Things only got worse under the Wilpons after the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme scandal. The owners lost a fortune when Madoff was arrested and lost even more when they were sued by Irving Picard, a lawyer at the firm Baker & Hostetler. Picard was in charge of salvaging assets to compensate Madoff’s victims. Picard was aware that the Wilpons received large financial gains from what was perceived to be legitimate dividends from Madoff.

As the game of baseball has seen salaries rocket over the last decade with rising television contracts, the Mets have had payrolls in the same range. The team never spent like their crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees, but it is puzzling to see a team in New York not in the top 5-10 teams in baseball in player salaries.

Even the players the Mets have invested significant dollars in over the past few seasons such as Robinson Cano, Yoenis Cespedes, Jeurys Familia and Jed Lowrie have all been unable to stay on the field due to injury over the last few seasons. (Photo via Baseball Reference).

Enter Steve Cohen

There have been various reports over the last few years that the Wilpons are in massive debt and may not be able to hold onto the team much longer. In December of 2019, the Wilpons surprisingly announced they would sell majority shares of the team to minority owner Steve Cohen. Cohen would go from owning eight percent of the team to 80 percent in a deal valued at $2.6 billion. Cohen, a lifelong Mets fan would take over the franchise from the Wilpons after a five-year waiting period, but the cash was expected immediately. After the agreement, Cohen believed he could get the Wilpons out ahead of schedule since he would be the one spending the money. The deal fell apart in February 2020 over the five-year waiting period. There was also talk that Cohen wanted the Mets lucrative cable network, SNY, as part of the deal. The Wilpons announced they would begin looking for a new deal with the hopes of selling at least a portion of the team by the end of 2020.

In 2019, the Mets spent money like a mid-market team and as a result, the 2019 revenue was equivalent to a mid-market team. (Photo via Statista).

According to people familiar with the Mets finances, the Mets annually lose $50 million a season, due to declining attendance numbers and $50 million in annual payments used to finance the construction of Citi Field. The Wilpons have been able to stay afloat so far because SNY reportedly brings in $150 million per season. It remains to be seen whether the Wilpons will be able to sell the team that loses money without giving up the cash cow SNY.

One reason a potential new owner may be comfortable purchasing the team without the cable network included, SNY only reportedly owns the Mets media rights until 2030. It’s possible a new owner would create a new network or sell the rights to broadcast games to an existing network at that time.

Despite all of the debt the Mets currently have, there have been numerous candidates interested in buying the team, even if the Wilpons maintain that SNY will not be part of the deal. After a first-round bidding that knocked out a few candidates, three groups have emerged in the next round of bidding. The second round of bidding involves each group looking through the team’s financial books before final offers are submitted, likely next month. Of course, a mystery candidate could always step in and make a large offer but at this moment, there are three groups involved.

The candidates: Steve Cohen

Despite a messy falling out in February, Cohen is reportedly back in the race to buy the club and is the favorite due to his deep pockets and lifelong love of the franchise. Another advantage Cohen has is as a current minority owner, he can see the bids that come in. That means Cohen knows exactly how much he needs to bid to win the team over the other candidates. It has been reported that Cohen’s second bid for the Mets was $2 billion for the team and another $2 billion for SNY.

While Cohen is clearly the fan’s choice, it’s not an easy decision. Cohen has had legal trouble in the past with insider trading. Cohen’s company Point72 was sued by a current employee claiming sexual harassment and pay discrimination based on gender.

Alex Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez and friends

While Alex Rodriguez is the only candidate with a baseball pedigree, it remains to be seen if his group has the money to actually win the bid. Rodriguez has already gotten his wealthy celebrity finance Jennifer Lopez, Florida Panthers owner Vincent Viola and BodyArmour founder Mike Repole involved. Like Cohen, Repole is a huge Mets fan from Long Island. Rodriguez has also recruited star athletes like Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. The issue is for Rodriguez to remain as the control person (baseball requires every group have one go-to control person), he likely needs to put up the most money amongst the group. Rodriguez continues to add new money to his bid through new investors, reportedly recently asking New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft for an investment. Kraft is interested in redeveloping the land outside of Citi Field to make it a haven for baseball fans, similar to what goes on near Gillette Stadium on Patriots game days. Having said that, the big question here is will the 29 other baseball owners approve of such a large group?

Josh Harris and David Blitzer

Josh Harris and David Blitzer already own the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils. The thought here is during the coronavirus pandemic, the team may be available at a discount compared to the $2.6 billion bid Cohen placed last year. Harris and Blitzer are known as bargain hunters, acquiring both the Sixers and Devils as distressed assets in serious debt. It remains to be seen if they are willing to get into a bidding war with Cohen.

The remaining questions

While the Wilpons will decide which bid they want to go forward with, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred will also have a major say, as will the other 29 MLB owners who will have to vote the new Mets owner in. After an ugly war with the players this spring over salaries and number of games during this shortened 2020 season, owners are reportedly concerned over Cohen coming in and spending a lot of money on players. As more and more players have been left out in the cold during the recent MLB hot stove seasons, tensions between both sides are high. Cohen coming in and spending big money on free agents and driving prices up, right before the 2021 CBA expires is something that concerns both Manfred and the other owners. Still, during a pandemic, it is likely the other owners and Manfred would want the largest bid to take the team, propping up the values of the other MLB franchises.

The fans

99 percent of Met fans are salivating at the idea of Cohen coming into Queens and turning the Mets into the New York Yankees. Cohen is not just expected to spend big on players but enhance the team’s analytic and scouting departments.

The Wilpons

After a messy disagreement between the Wilpons and Cohen, the Wilpons reportedly would prefer to sell to another bidder if the bids are close. This time around, the Wilpon’s financial situation is even murkier after having a season without fans at Citi Field. It is expected that the five-year waiting period goes away and the Wilpons will depart the organization after the sale is completed.

It seems pretty clear that if one bid is significantly larger than the others then that bidder will win the team. Having said that, what if the bids are all really close together? In this strange financial time, it remains to be seen if Cohen will simply outbid the other candidates by several hundred million like fans are hoping.

Who will end up owning the Mets in 2021?

First base is becoming a problem for the Mets

By Steven Inman

Kennys Vargas could be had on the cheap for the Mets

The New York Mets have been looking for a long-term option at first base since the Carlos Delgado era ended nearly a decade ago. Since then, the Mets have employed the likes of Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, James Loney plus a few others with only Duda having strung together much success. Even while Duda had a few strong power seasons with the Amazins, Sandy Alderson and his staff considered him a stopgap option the last few years. Over the past 6 seasons, Mets 1B have hit .242/.329/.438, which is in the bottom third of baseball over that time frame. The Mets have struggled offensively the last few years and health has a lot to do with that but strong lineups often have a big slugger at first base. The Mets haven’t had a consistent All-Star caliber hitter at first since Delgado. This year should be more of the same, so let’s examine who the Mets can look towards at this key position.

Internal Candidates

Adrian Gonzalez – Gonzalez has not had a good spring after having a dismal 2017 season, where he hit just 3 home runs in 71 games. With that said it seems pretty clear that he is the Mets choice to start the season as the 1^st baseman. He still carries a quality glove and has a tremendous track record of All-Star production before 2017. He’s only costing the Mets the league minimum so it wasn’t a huge risk to bring the 5-time All-Star to camp. The main risk with Gonzalez comes from his influence in the clubhouse. I say that because he intentionally missed the World Series with the Dodgers to go on vacation with his family in Europe. The Dodgers couldn’t have been thrilled with that who then convinced him to waive his no trade clause a few months ago to go to Atlanta where he would be cut. If Adrian hits this season he will remain the Mets first baseman.

Dominic Smith – The Mets 2013 first round pick seemingly has squandered his opportunity to be an everyday player in New York for the foreseeable future. Dom pretty much needs to get healthy and for Gonzalez to struggle to get another opportunity. He had just a .658 OPS in 183 PA’s last season with the big club. Smith also really struggled defensively and has missed most of Spring Training with a quad injury. The perception was Dominic Smith had a shot at the Opening Day roster with a strong camp. He was benched early on in camp for being late one day, scouts have questioned his conditioning and he hasn’t been comfortable enough to run with the quad, let alone get back in a game. Dominic Smith’s Met career is in jeopardy just when it was getting started.

Peter Alonso – For the last few years, there has been a pretty even split in the Mets front office on who is the first baseman of the future, Dominic Smith or Peter Alonso. Alonso, 23, has hit in every minor league stop he has been in and is probably the most likely candidate on this list now to be the Mets long-term first baseman. Alonso’s signature trait, his power, could be a game changer in New York. The University of Florida product hit 18 homers in just 93 games in the minors last season. Alonso is a big kid who has a big strike zone so K’s could be an issue as he moves up. He might not be in the Mets plans for a majority of this season (he only has played in 11 games above High-A) but this is a bat to keep an eye on. Dominic Smith needs to get on a field and produce quickly as Alonso is right on his heels now.

External Candidates

Adam Lind – Lind, 34, has played with four different clubs (TOR, MIL, SEA, WSH) over the last four seasons. You would think with his production in that span (.280/.345/.466 in 1,621 PA’s) he would stop bouncing around but the 12-year vet was forced to sign a minor league deal with the Yankees in a very slow free agency. After it looked like he wouldn’t make the team with the addition of Neil Walker, Lind was granted his release. Lind has always mashed right-handed pitching to the tune of .288/.348/.504. He wouldn’t cost much more than the league minimum and pairing him with the lefty mashing Wilmer Flores (.862 OPS against LHP in 2017), could give the Mets one of the best platoon situations in all of baseball.

Kennys Vargas – The former Twin who has drawn David Ortiz comparisons by many was designated for assignment last week by Minnesota. They have a few more days to find a trade for him before he can become a free agent. The 27-year old has shown flashes of massive power but was never able to stick as a full time 1B or DH in Minnesota. The addition of Logan Morrison, who slugged 38 homers in Tampa last season, made Vargas expendable in Minnesota. Vargas hit 21 homers over the last two seasons, in just 441 PA’s. His strikeouts are probably a huge concern for interested teams but Vargas could be worth a flier. He also has just two full seasons of MLB service, so should he be able to stick on a roster, he will be cheap and under control for a long time.

It seems as if the Mets are committed to giving Adrian Gonzalez the first crack to solve this position. My choice would be a Lind/Flores tag team at first. They would be smart to check in on Lind as soon as possible and Lind would likely be interested in coming to Queens with the amount of playing time likely available.

Who do you think should be the Mets first baseman in 2018 and beyond?

The Mets should trade for Jason Kipnis

By Steven Inman

Photo via CBS

If you’re reading this, you probably already know it’s been a very quiet offseason for the New York Mets. The team brought in 2017 breakout reliever Anthony Swarzak early on and re-signed Jay Bruce to a 3-year deal Wednesday. This has been the slowest moving MLB offseason in recent memory and there are still plenty of players available that can turn the Mets into a contending club before it’s time to report to Port St. Lucie next month. The Mets could use a starting pitcher and another reliever but it appears Sandy Alderson and his staff has made solving second base a priority. The issue the Mets are having is they’re trying to drastically cut payroll and don’t seem to have the prospects necessary to acquire talent in trades. Despite not having a lot of chips at the table, the Mets can still get their man. Second basemen like Ian Kinsler and Dee Gordon (Dee will play CF in Seattle) were traded for little more than salary relief earlier this offseason. The player the Mets should grab will be tougher to acquire than just a salary dump but he’s worth looking into. That player is Jason Kipnis.

Kipnis, 30, is coming off the worst season of his 7-year MLB career. He was banged up and missed about half of the season with injuries. He didn’t really hit and eventually the Indians decided to move AL MVP candidate Jose Ramirez to Kipnis’ position at 2B and move Jason to center field. The move held mix results for Kipnis and he is expected to move back to second should he stay in Cleveland in 2018.

Kipnis has been in trade talks all winter but the Indians have reportedly been reluctant to move the 2-time All-Star. Kipnis in 2015-16 before his injury plagued year, hit a healthy .289/.357/.460 in nearly 1200 at-bats. During those seasons Kipnis was also a very strong defensive player at 2B so the Indians shifting him to the outfield, where he hadn’t played since 2009 rookie ball was strange. His contract isn’t cheap which is probably why Cleveland is even considering moving him. Kipnis is owed around $13.7M in 2018, $14.7M in 2019 and then has a $16.5M club option for 2020. With that said if Kipnis can come close to his 2015-16 numbers he is a nice bargain for whatever club he is on.

It’s unknown what the Mets could give up that would intrigue the contending Indians. After losing Bryan Shaw to Free Agency they can probably use another reliever. Would the Indians have interest in AJ Ramos and prospects in a Jason Kipnis deal? If I were the Mets I’d have to explore it. While Ramos is expected to be a big part of the Mets bullpen, his salary will jump via arbitration from the $6.55M he made in 2017. The money the Mets could save could allow them to make another big move such as upgrading their starting rotation or look into another reliever to replace Ramos.

When considering the Mets’ payroll remember Jay Bruce’s 3-year $39M deal is backloaded this season, perhaps in an effort to let Sandy Alderson make another big move.

It’s strange to see a quality player like Jason Kipnis reportedly available at arguably his lowest value but there have been similar salary dumps across baseball this offseason. Time for the Mets to take advantage.

The 2017-18 Mets Offseason

In the offseason edition of the Mets Report podcast Rob DeLucia and Steve Inman discuss the impact Mickey Callaway can have on the Mets, what Omar Minaya’s new role will be in the organization, the Mets second base options, why the Mets shouldn’t trade Juan Lagares and if the Mets only have $10-$15 million left to spend, who should the Mets spend it on? Thanks as always for the support and if you want a question or comment responded on the next show leave it below in the comments section!

The Mets should bring in Jon Jay this winter

By Steven Inman

Photo from Chicago Tribune

We’re well aware at this point how much the Mets need to add externally after a disastrous, 70-92 season. The team is going to have to add a 3B or 2B, bullpen help and another starting pitcher. Another piece they’re going to need is an additional outfielder. Yoenis Cespedes missed 81 games this season, Michael Conforto underwent major shoulder surgery and could miss a chunk of 2018 and Juan Lagares has not shown he can stay healthy at the major league level in his big league career yet. Obviously with so many needs and payroll coming down a reported $15-$20M, Sandy Alderson and his staff really can’t afford to spend big bucks on a major outfielder. The perfect guy to compliment the Mets outfield is Jon Jay.

Jay, 32, has been a solid table setter for the Cubs this season. He has stops on his baseball card in St. Louis and San Diego prior to signing a one year $8M deal with Chicago last winter. The Mets might be banking on Juan Lagares and Brandon Nimmo platooning in center field to start next season but that would be a mistake. The Mets must start to accrue depth, so they can have a plan B if/when everyone gets hurt again. If Conforto is in fact not ready for the season, Nimmo and Lagares would be forced to play every day and the Mets 4^th outfielder would be someone like Matt Reynolds, who hasn’t distinguished himself in the majors yet.

Jay hits lefties and righties at a great clip (.288 career vs LHP, .289 vs RHP). He is not a guy with much power but he can play all 3 outfield positions well and won’t break the bank. Jay just finished a 1-year, $8M contract with the Cubs and will likely get around the same money next season. Jay has said publicly his preference is to return to the Cubs, who have advanced to the NLCS or further the last 3 years but with the surplus of outfielders in Chicago, the Cubs may be inclined not to negotiate a new contract with Jay.

With the amount of injuries the Mets endured last season (and for the last decade) it would be smart for the club to start to accrue depth. By signing and starting Jay, the Mets would be in a position to have Brandon Nimmo and Juan Lagares as late inning pinch hitters and defensive replacements. Plus they could step in as starters should one of the Mets outfielders get hurt or in the likely event Conforto isn’t ready for the opener.

Does an outfielder like Jon Jay make sense for New York?

The Mets would better off non-tendering Matt Harvey

By Steven Inman

Photo from NY Times

In what has been a disastrous year for the New York Mets, perhaps no player has been more disappointing than the Mets former ace, Matt Harvey. After leaving the mound in the 9^th inning in Game 5 of the World Series 2 years ago, it has been all downhill for the right-hander. The last two seasons, Harvey has been totally ineffective with a dip in his fastball velocity by around a full mile per hour in each of the last two seasons. As a result of that, Harvey is throwing his fastball slightly less and his slider more. Harvey is in rare territory here as a pitcher trying to successfully return from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.

It’s been difficult to find a pitcher to undergo this surgery and come back just as effective as he was before. Not saying it’s impossible, but the early results have been very discouraging. Harvey has a 5.82 ERA and has let up a whopping 17 homers in just 77.1 innings. (2.0 HR per 9) He has given up a ton of hard contact and doesn’t seem to be fooling hitters these days. As a player who has one final year of arbitration next season, it’s time for the Mets to let go of Harvey. In arbitration, whether it makes sense or not, it’s extremely rare for a player to get a pay cut. Matt Harvey is making $5.125 million this season so he will make slightly more if offered salary arbitration.

The Mets have question marks all over their team. With pretty much every top prospect in the organization already promoted to Citi Field, this farm system isn’t going to be able to contribute much in 2018. Sandy Alderson and his staff are going to have to find a second baseman, a third baseman, another starting pitcher, bullpen help and perhaps a corner outfielder with Michael Conforto in jeopardy of missing a chunk of next season. All of that is with the Mets saying it’s likely the team sticks with their current catching duo. Sandy Alderson acknowledged that the club’s payroll is likely to slightly decrease from the $145-150M it started this season as. With so many holes still to fill, paying Harvey $6M without any signs that he can be close to the pitcher that he was is probably not a great use of resources.

It’s highly unlikely Harvey would get $6M guaranteed somewhere if the Mets non-tendered him. If the team didn’t offer him arbitration, they could always bring him back on a smaller, incentive laden contract.

Harvey has had one of the more roller coaster careers an athlete has had in New York. The 28-year old went from the Dark Knight to getting booed in the blink of an eye. His agent Scott Boras along with Harvey were very apprehensive about the righty pitching throughout the postseason after putting so many innings on his arm coming off Tommy John surgery. Pressure from the Mets along with public pressure from fans and media, convinced Harvey not to shut himself down for the year and ignore his “innings limit”. We’ll never know if his downfall is because of all those IP in 2015, but they surely didn’t help him. Matt Harvey deserves a thank you from all Met fans for putting his career on the line in the pursuit of getting the Mets to that 2015 World Series.  He was magnificent in that game 5 vs Kansas City and if things had gone differently in that 9^th inning, perhaps Met fans would have a different outlook on Harvey today.

Harvey should be remembered as one of the great Met pitchers that helped the club reached just their 5^th World Series since 1962. With that said, it’s time to move on.

The Mets are going to have to make around a 20-game improvement next season if they want to make the postseason, to do that while cutting payroll, the Mets are going to have to make creative decisions like this one.

The Mets Report Podcast: The Post Trade Deadline Era

By Steven Inman

Join Rob DeLucia and I as we breakdown what the Mets did at the Trade Deadline, how the Mets’ payroll will look going forward, early impressions of Amed Rosario, what we hope to see out of Dominic Smith and what does the future in New York look like for Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler & Terry Collins?

Thanks for listening as always and any questions you want answered on the show, leave them in the comments section below!

https://soundcloud.com/rob-delucia/mets-report-podcast-august-2017

Should Sandy Alderson regret building around pitchers over hitters?

By Steven Inman

Photo from NY Times

The Mets 2017 season, that started with so much promise, has been completely derailed by injuries to key players. The pitching staff that finished 2016 with the 3^rd best ERA in MLB, has been the WORST in the majors with a 5.01 ERA. The pitchers that the front office believed could lead them back to the World Series have all dealt with injuries (Or in Matt Harvey’s case off the field troubles and regression) this season except for Jacob deGrom, who has been decent, but far from the elite arm he’s been the last few seasons. It must make fans wonder if Sandy Alderson and his team creating the blueprint around young pitchers was the right choice.

When Sandy Alderson came to New York, he had the plan of tearing everything down and following the San Francisco Giants mindset, which was to construct a team around one offensive star (Buster Posey for SF, Yoenis Cespedes for NYM) and pretty much all other offensive players were interchangeable, while building around superior pitching. The trio of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner were as formidable as any rotation in baseball for not one or two, but three championships. That model created a borderline dynasty, but it was short lived. Cain never had an ERA under four after his age 27 season, and Tim Lincecum now 32, is out of baseball. The Giants success while impressive, has a stroke of luck attached to it. Looking back on it, all of those postseason innings Cain and Lincecum threw turned out to just be too much mileage on their arms. The club has had a dismal start to 2017.

The Mets like all other franchises, want to make long runs in the postseason every season. The way their pitching has not been able to stay on the field the last few regular seasons, it’s fair to wonder if they’ll have the ability to do that. Even workhorses like Cain and Lincecum were not able to handle that kind of workload going on deep playoff runs after awhile.

Sandy Alderson did an excellent job of following the Giants model. He waited out long and expensive contracts left behind by the previous Met regime and made some shrewd trades to acquire future starters such as Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler. Offensively, Sandy has made it clear in his tenure with the Mets that home runs and walks are the most important traits he wants his position players to have, while defensive range and athleticism haven’t been considered as important. Hopefully for the Mets sake when the team calls up Amed Rosario in a few weeks, they can improve a very poor defense. The Atlanta Braves are also on record saying during their current rebuild that they’re trying to emulate the starting pitching plan the Mets have committed to.

With that said, there aren’t too many teams that build around pitching in today’s game. Obviously, you need quality pitching to win, nobody is disputing that, but with pitchers being as brittle as they ever have been, does it make sense when rebuilding to build a core around arms? Or does it make more sense when rebuilding with prospects to go after young hitters over pitching like the current Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs went with the opposite strategy of the Mets and Giants, selecting position players at the front ends of drafts such as Kris Bryant & Kyle Schwarber and trading big league pitching for Addison Russell and Anthony Rizzo. The Houston Astros also have a nice young core of position players such as George Springer, Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve. The ‘Stros have enjoyed the majors best record to start 2017.

The story of this Mets era, built around the arms of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler is far from over but at this point it’s a legitimate question if this group can stay healthy enough to win the franchise’s first World Series since 1986. The 5 starters mentioned, who the Mets were hoping would anchor their pitching staff for the next decade, have never pitched a single turn in the same rotation.

When all is said and done will the Mets regret building around pitching over hitting?

Mets need to give Jose Reyes a chance to break out of slump

By Steven Inman

Photo from Bleacher Report

The Mets slow start to the season has a lot to do with their inconsistent offense, and their inconsistent offense has a lot to do with Jose Reyes’ complete lack of production. Reyes is just 6 for 62 at the plate this season and has made some rough errors at third base. His performance has been so bad that the Mets are wondering how much the 15-year veteran has left in the tank.

The Mets have plenty of options if they elect to replace Jose Reyes. Wilmer Flores will return to the Mets from the disabled list next week. Top prospect Amed Rosario played third base Friday night. T.J. Rivera has also hit in every organizational stop he has been in, including the big leagues. With that said, the Mets should give Reyes more time.

Reyes was a huge boost when he returned to the Mets last summer and the offense really picked up once he started hitting. What people seem to forget is that Reyes has always been a slow starter and it does not mean that he’s over the hill. Throughout his career April has always been Jose Reyes’ worst month. Reyes’ April AVG, OBP, SLG and OPS are statically his worst month compared to any other month in his career.

The Mets are better off with Flores remaining in his bench role where he just mashes lefties and it is highly unlikely the Mets would consider calling up Rosario before the Super Two date passes. (Likely in the middle of June)

Jose Reyes has done a ton for this organization and while their shouldn’t be any sentiment for him as his career winds down, the Mets need a productive Jose Reyes if they want to return to the playoffs and the only chance of that happening is to simply keep sending him out there. Jose Reyes is really the only player with plus speed on the roster so having him get going is crucial.

Reyes has always been streaky as a player so if the Mets are going to endure his low point, they should at least wait it out for him to get hot, he could help get this struggling offense going.

Do you think Jose Reyes should continue to play every day for the Mets?