Hey, it’s not all bad, right? It might not seem like it, and you may not believe it with the pending news on Zack Wheeler, but things actually could have been even worse for these 2016 Mets. If some folks got their way, we may not even talking about a wild card spot right now.
With Mets fans still riding the high of a World Series appearance and the low of losing it, the 2015-2016 offseason kicked off with the hope that the team would look to add some significant pieces to its roster. Specifically, and with Yoenis Cespedes presumed gone, the hope was that the team would add an impact outfielder and have another go at it in 2016. One of those potential outfielders was Jason Heyward, coming off of a great 6.0 fWAR season with the Cardinals.
In case you didn’t click the link in the first paragraph, “some folks” included me and the linked article is one I wrote back in November literally titled “Jason Heyward should be a Met in 2016.” It had all of the components of a classic pitch for a team to sign a player: analysis of past statistics, a discussion on how he was young with the potential for more, and how he fit so well with the team’s needs on both sides of the ball. It seemed like a slam dunk to me if not to everybody else. The Cubs signed him for eight years and $184 million.
What I didn’t count on was how bad Heyward would be in 2016. There’s no exaggeration for effect here. He’s been truly awful, at least with the bat. His current triple slash is .226/.308./.316 with a wRC+ of 71. For some perspective, Michael Conforto has a wRC+ of 92 in 2016 and the Mets just sent him to AAA for the second time this year. His defense is the only thing keeping him above replacement level. Had the Cubs not been the juggernaut that they are, you’d hear more angst coming out of Chicago over the deal.
Think about this for a minute. If the Mets had signed Heyward as some foolhardy yet well-meaning fans wanted, it would certainly have been at the expense of re-signing Cespedes. Without the production Cespedes has provided, even despite the overall team failures and injuries, things would have been even uglier. Oh, and the Mets would still be on the hook for seven more years of Heyward.
I don’t believe Heyward is truly this bad, of course. The storyline in the alternate reality where they signed him would be a familiar one for Mets fans, though. Big name Mets’ free agent signing flopping in the first year of their enormous contract? Hello, Carlos Beltran. The Cubs will regret the contract by the end because teams always regret the big ones, but Heyward will most likely snap back into form at some point. Hello again, Mr. Beltran.
Still, could you imagine the rage if the Mets’ big free agent was hitting worse than Rene Rivera? Yikes.
The 2016 Mets: Hey, at least they didn’t sign Jason Heyward.That’s probably something.
Rob,
Put me down as one of those who thought Jason Heyward was the way for the Mets to go. Oh well!
Yes, he was never going to be the big home run hitter the Braves had projected him to be, but everything else was there. A slashing hitter, good speed, great defense–oh well!
That’s why a GM’s position is a difficult one. We fans, myself included, are quick to criticize. Often forgotten is the moves they quietly do not make.
Bad signing? Aren’t the Cubs leading their division with one of the best records in baseball? Gotta like their chances to win the WS.kk
Cubs are winning despite him not because of him
He’s a nice defensive player…. He was overweighted for d and over rated as a player. He’s primarily an athletic defensive hitter…. He has no base for building a dominant offensive game…. Not a player for a huge contract
I stand by the comment I made back then – “Sabermetricians love this guy. A great defensive corner outfielder with a solid but unspectacular bat is nice to have but not worth a franchise player contract.”
I’m no genius though. I thought Bastardo was a good signing.
Upton has stunk too