Much to the dismay of most fans, the Winter Meetings came and went with no major moves made by the New York Mets. Instead, it was defined by a series of small moves that spoke volumes as to the direction that the team and GM Sandy Alderson wants to go in.
The perception of failure to pull the trigger on a major trade that would land a shortsstop lends to the theory that the team is trusting in their youth. At least enough to not want to overspend on a risky veteran right now. This may change as the offseason goes on, however.
Alderson himself has admitted that trade talks for one of his pitchers, most likely Dillon Gee, will probably not take better shape until well into January where they could reach a conclusion. So, for now, the team is standing firm in their silence.
How silent were they overall, however? They did make several decisive moves after all. They released Eric Young Jr. and Gonzalez German and signed Michael Cuddyer, Scott Rice and John Mayberry Jr. Will any of these moves individually bowl us over? No.
Collectively, though, they speak to a definitive mentality. That mentality says that the team is confident in their core of players and are merely plugging holes. This is a drastic change in offseason approach for the team. Just last season, they were in the market for a big splash and looking to sign an outfielder and veteran pitcher when they signed Curtis Granderson and Bartolo Colon.
The year before, they were just trying to get bad contracts off the books so that they could get in a better position to make moves. They are in that position now. They have solidified their farm system and are prepared to be major players for years to come as a direct result of doing so.
The key then was patience. Making methodical and timely moves for the sake of quality, not for quantity and the sake of just making moves. They wanted their moves to matter. That type of patience and selectivity is the key this offseason as well.
Just a few, sparse moves may seem like the team is doing nothing. In reality, they are laying in wait for the right time to get the right deal. It is a tactic that we’ve seen repeatedly from this GM. It is a tactic that landed Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’arnaud.
While it is not easy to stay the course when others in the division have seemed more active, it is the right thing to do. There is no sense in being concerned with what the Nationals, for example, are doing when you can’t control it. All a team can do is be concerned with what they can handle in their own house.
These Mets are not the Yankees from a few tears ago getting into bidding wars just to spite the Red Sox. They are smarter than that. They control what can be controlled, make solid, but not mind-blowing moves and hope the product on the field produces the desired results.
As fans, we have every right to get frustrated with the lack of splashes in the free agent pool, but don’t let that keep us from ignoring the smaller ripples the team has made. Sometimes, those can be far more effective.
They are broke. There’s no money. That’s what’s happening. Follow the money and you’ll understand every move better.
It’s not impossible to win that way, it’s just a lot harder.
They don’t have money for a real shortstop, just like they don’t have money for a quality LH reliever. And they don’t want to trade young pitching because these guys work on the cheap, team-controlled. For a team in the Mets financial situation, they are not going to trade cheap guys to take on big salaries. It’s not a baseball decision; it’s a financial one.
Alderson is trying to make small moves while living in a very tight box. When he had money in Oakland, he spent it. And when he has a little money with the Mets, he spends it (poorly).
This isn’t at all about being smart. It’s about working with what they’ve got — crap owners — and a semi-retired GM who is unwilling to make trades to bring in quality players, partly because he can’t afford them, partly because at age 67 he’s just not willing to work very hard.
You sound like a spoiled rich kid who is cut off.
Frank,
While I don’t blame all the woes on lack of spending, the motivation for inaction is clearly clouded by the cheapness of ownership. The total spent on payroll doesn’t matter to me, but when they are relegating the search for a bullpen lefty to non-roster invitees when even the one guy they have has had very limited success, that really makes one wonder. This is not Lester or Scherzer money, this is money for lefty bullpen help. When those prices chase you from the market, that wreaks of serious budgetary constraints way beyond what a team in NYC with its own TV station should be limited by.
The Yankee deal is a great example of why doing nothing is sometimes better than doing things to make “Waves”.
They get the under-performing Eovaldi who will need to deal with the narrow confines of Yankee Stadium and lose Martin Prado who was the most versatile player on their roster. The net gain of Phelps-Eovaldi is minimal at best and the net loss from Prado could be huge when injuries start happening.
I’d still love the Mets to drop some big money and sign Moncada, but that is another kind of “Wave” and one that would not hurt so badly.