To say that the Winter Meetings have been uneventful for the Mets would be an understatement. In fact, the biggest happening of this offseason has been the hiring of new manager Mickey Callaway. The Mets, who finished 70-92 in the 2017 season, appear to be sitting idle. They sit and wait while their cross-town rivals, the Yankees, continue to splurge in the riches of living in the New York market. Their recent addition? Giancarlo Stanton, and his 59 home runs from last season. The most recent addition to the Mets roster? Anthony Swarzak.
While Swarzak is a quality player, he is in no means the type of impact player that Stanton is. Stanton brings fear and power to the actual lineup. He brings fans to the seats and money to the team store. Swarzak brings a 94.7 MPH fastball, and reliability. Once again, it appears that the Mets will sit and stay put during the offseason. It is starting to make people angry, and for good reason.
So what can the Mets do to fix this? Well, they must first look at the holes that they need to fill. The infield is a mess. There is not a single player that you can rely on for a healthy, consistent season. Whether it be through free agency or trades, the Mets need to acquire an infielder.
Trade-wise, it would make sense to look at the fire sale known as the Miami Marlins. They acquired Starlin Castro in the Stanton trade, and there is no reason to keep a veteran like Castro on the team. Signs point to the Marlins trading Castro because of the rapid rate that they are selling other players like Marcel Ozuna and Christian Yellich. Castro bat .300 as a Yankee, and would be a great mentor to fellow Dominican infielder Amed Rosario.
Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis is reportedly on the market as well. Kipnis would fit in well, and having a manager that has seen Kipnis play on a daily basis like Callaway has will only work to the benefit of the Mets. The only downside is the 30 million that Kipnis is owed over the next two seasons, especially after the poor 2017 that he had. The two time All-Star put up a .232/.291/.414 effort in 90 games with the Indians. Before that however, Kipnis was a force to be reckoned with on the field. This rumor has traction, as the Mets have reportedly talked to the Indians about a potential trade.
In free agency, there lies the proposition of third baseman Mike Moustakas. While he would come at an expensive tag, the Mets could go for a slugger in the infield. Moustakas slugged 38 home runs for the Royals last season. Whether it be on the right or left side of the infield, the need to be aggressive has never been more pertinent for the Mets. It is frustrating seeing a team that is in a major market like New York City, while other teams build up strength around them.
Moustakas doesn’t seem to be getting much attention. MaybetheMets can sign him.
General manager should be fire. Anderson should be gone’and wilpon should sell the team
with the rumors about Machado, almost nothing will happen with big tickets, especially IF’ers, until that’s resolved
Adrian Gonzalez is now suddenly available.
Would make a lot of sense because he’s free and the Mets could probably offer him the best chance at playing time. Also he wouldn’t totally block Smith, to appease those that still believe he has a MLB future.
+1 I would promise him the starting first base job at the beginning of the season. He will cost the Mets nothing in salary. I would rather put my money on Adrian Gonzalez then Mike Napoli.
Gonzales was once a great player. He s cheap, he was injured, might be a good gamble.
Another disappointment season looms ahead as the piker Wilpons remain the perennial cheapskates of baseball. They treat the New York market as if it was a bush league team in Iowa
I’m surprised that the Mets have not been connected with the name Matt Adams at all. The downside is that he’s a 1B-only type where they may be looking for a 1B/OF guy but his offensive potential is probably comparable to a Lucas Duda at what would be a lower price.
For 2B I’d like to see them in on Josh Harrison partly because he’s a decent 2Bman and partly due to his ability to also play 3B and the outfield corners in the event that someone else steps up at 2B like TJ Rivera or Wilmer Flores.
He should absolutely be on the radar. Doesn’t quite have the upside or track record as Duda but he has a good shot as being average at the position.
2017 Carlos Santana: 23 HRs, .818 OPS, 112 OPS+
2017 Lucas Duda: 30 HRs, .818 OPS, 116 OPS+
2017 Matt Adams: 20 HRs, .841 OPS, 118 OPS+
It’s absolutely mind boggling why you’d pay $20 mil annually for one of those guys while the other 2 will almost certainly clock in at less than $10 mil annually (and possibly even $5 mil) and just 1 or 2 years.
Yes Santana has 600+ PA for 7 straight seasons, but no way that consistency is worth paying 3+ times the going rate for that kind of production.
Ditto for Hosmer, who has only exceeded the 2017 production of those guys just once in his career, which just so happened to be this year. If he does get 100+ mil he has a chance to surpass Ellsbury as the worst contract in the last 5 years.
Name +1
Duda or Adams are also reasonably priced short-term solutions to the first base position until Smith is ready.
Holy shit! Another horrific (i need to find another word) 1b signing!
Mitch Moreland 2 years $13 mil. Are you fucking kidding me?
Last year:
0.9 fWAR (22 out of 28)
98 wRC (25 out of 28)
Has only 1 season in 8 years above 1.0 fWAR and 1 above average offensive season in the last 5 years with most of his other seasons as weak as Ruben Tejada. This guy is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to 1b. Why the fuck would you give him any guaranteed money for any number of years with all the other options available? This is a guy you sign at the end of the winter to a minor league deal. Absolutely absurd. You think teams finally turned a corner by shunning Chris Carter last year but 1 year later teams go back to their idiotic overvaluations of 1b first with Santana, now Moreland, and soon to be Hosmer.
With all the “bring the band back together” talk, Im surprised there isnt a lot of talk about Duda, who will come on a cheap deal is my guess. Is he out of baseball? I havent heard his name in hot stove even once.
I love the idea of Adams or Gonzalez. Low cost, good potential reward for both. Good veteran presence. This would be a smart value signing.
Matt Adams, or even Adam Lind, makes a lot of sense. Either one would make a perfect platoon with Flores. And it would enable them to give Smith another year of seasoning to get more comfortable. They could always bring Smith up in July and trade Adams or Lind if he is having a good enough year to get a decent return.
For 2B I want Cesar Hernandez. He would make a great leadoff hitter, taking the pressure off Rosario, who could hit lower in the order for the time being.