On paper, the Mets have had a roster brimming with talent that hasn’t sniffed the post-season in five years. Whether you blame it on injuries, luck, coaching, or organizational approach, it’s obvious we can’t bring the exact same squad back for 2022. Here are five creative ways for the GM-to-be-named-later to shake things up.
1- Load up on geniuses. There’s no luxury tax penalty for out-spending the competition on coaches, scouts, trainers, analysts, etc. The Mets should identify the best of the best and simply outpay their current employers. We have the richest owner in baseball and we should spend like it. The Mets should assemble an all-star roster of the best minds in the game. That’s how we change the organizational approach to everything from talent scouting to player development to game strategy.
2 – Remember the sunk cost fallacy. We needn’t feel obligated to re-invest in a player because we’ve already invested time, effort, and money in them. Michael Conforto seems like a terrific guy and there’s something to be said for a player who grew up with our organization, but if he’s gonna demand star dollars coming off a crap season, he can take his talents elsewhere. Ditto for Jeurys Familia and Noah Syndergaard, though these two are less likely to be so demanding. The same holds true for Marcus Stroman, Javier Baez and the rest of our free agents. We like these players, but there are other options to consider and we shouldn’t limit ourselves to familiar faces.
3 – Open the darn check book. The new front office should look at all available free agents and determine which player(s) would most improve our team. The Omar Minaya way of doing things was to identify our biggest weakness and then target the best available player at that position. Think of signing Francisco Rodriguez as an example. The Sandy Alderson way is to do likewise, but shy away from the best available and convince ourselves that the second best guy is almost as good for less money and then we wind up with Jason Bay. Instead, let’s see who would give us the most WAR. Maybe it’s a lockdown closer like Kenley Jansen that pushes Edwin Diaz to a setup role and lengthens and strengthens the entire bullpen. Maybe it’s a veteran starting pitcher like Max Scherzer or Clayton Kershaw who pairs with Jacob deGrom to give us a killer 1-2 Young punch. Or maybe it’s a bombs away hitter like Nick Castellanos or a versatile slugger like Kris Bryant. After we get that guy, then we can plug the holes and fill in at the margins.
4 – Talk to other GMs over cocktails. The Mets aren’t the only team with talent and a high payroll who disappointed this year and is hungry to get back in the hunt. Surely there’s a creative talent swap that could materialize between the Mets and one of the Padres, Blue Jays, Reds, Indians, and As. There’s a lot of talent among those teams and with the exception of the Blue Jays, these teams would all love to shed some payroll. J.D. Davis, Dominic Smith, and David Peterson are all cost controlled, young and talented. We could also afford to part with one of our three future third baseman in the high minors. We could oblige taking on a salary from the Padres, say Wil Myers, but we also get one of their starting pitchers like Chris Paddack or Dinelson Lamet.
5 – Load up on depth. One of the main reasons why the Yankees and Dodgers are in the playoffs nearly every year is because they have the depth to overcome injuries. Both teams routinely stock their 40-man rosters with veteran pitchers and AAA depth players who are available in case of emergency. The Mets did a better job than usual this past year as the bench mob helped keep us in it in the first half, but having to turn to Jerad Eickhoff for four starts is never a good sign.
With so many possibilities, it’s hard to imagine why more baseball execs aren’t excited about the opportunity to take on the role of Mets GM. It’s a challenging puzzle to piece together for sure, but with the support of Cohen and Sandy Alderson, it’s a chance to be really innovative and take an unorthodox approach to bring winning back to Queens. #LFGM
It’s worth remembering that when the Mets signed Francisco Rodriguez, they forfeited their first-round pick which the Angels turned into Mike Trout.
I would add to your list a new and talented training corp. It seems that we have had a ton of preventable injuries, hamstrings, quads, obliques, that didn’t used to happen. Need to get these players out of the weight room and remember that this is baseball, a sport that plays at a slower more deliberate pace. I also agree that if Cohen is the richest owner in baseball, then now is the time to show us the money and damn the luxury tax. Our attendance was poor last year. If we spend on quality players and improve performance then the fans come back and the cost of better players is not a factor. Add 1 million fans back at an average of $100 (ticket, parking, food and souvenirs) and you have another $100 million to spend. We have a competing core of players but need a few more stars to bring us to the top. Let’s see how much progress we can make in year 2 of Cohen’s 3-5 year plan to be a perennial playoff team. LGM
Honestly, I’d be fine with a whole new cast… every single player. I’m that fed up with being a Mets fan for my whole life… it would spur my interest way more than any tinkering with a mediocre product.
That said, I know it won’t happen. For one, you need a very savvy GM who gets a big return on trades for Alonso and deGrom… and nobody’s taking Lindor’s contract…
So we have Lindor, McCann, Alonso for sure. Mets can trade Alonso in subsequent years, but I think we know what he is already… and yet, he can actually improve and we might see it next year… more gap to gap hitting late in counts…. better RISP hitting.
But I want big changes!
Cohen needs to hire the best hitting coach he can find, match that with a great running coach, an elite IF coach, a very talented OF coach but most importantly get a coach that knows how to safely stretch the players so very few hamstring pulls and tears occur.
It is going to take a lot a money to compete for the division. Cohen isn’t shy when spending for intrastructure of the team. He will open his checkbook for free agents but he should avoid free agent that are encumbered by a draft choice. Also they are penalized if spent $250M in salary . The penalty is a 10 slot decrease in the draft. The Mets can not afford to lose any more draft picks and position in the draft. The Mets have a estimated salary of $170M so can spend $80M and just be penalized by the luxury tax which frankly Cohen doesn’t care about. Filling the holes with $80M is a daunting task when there need of at least #2 starting pitcher, (Scherzer/Stroman/Gausman), an impact bat (Bryant/ Baez) and a set man (Loup). The rest of the money would go for depth starters, bullpen and the bench.
The only point that brings hesitation to me is #2. Not that I can’t follow it, but there were other factors this year that led to the offense being putrid. I’m not expecting 2020 all over again, but this team had no plan all year and that can’t be a coincidence for every single player. But, nice piece Matt. On the first question, it bothered me that Allan Baird was let go. Couldn’t understand that…
I have to state clearly that I don’t want aging, high-priced pitchers. Both Scherza and Kershaw are more likely on the IL more than they will actually throw pitches… just the nature of the game and the vulnerable bodies that play it.
I’d be much more satisfied with rising players, younger, cheaper, and more likely to give 200 innings. What good is Scherza (who will never pay for the its) if he’s hurt…
Like DeGrom! If he doesn’t make25 starts next season it will be anther go home in October.
Try for a dependable LH starter, other wise start the season:
deGrom (hopefully) 15 wins
Walker 12 wins
Syndergaard 10 wins
Carrasco 10 wins
Megill 8 wins … total 55 wins
Realistically, Mets are hopeful of 85 wins… I wonder how many of us would take that t-o-d-a-y?
There are no easy answers with this roster. I just hope we get a GM who can really think outside the box. I dont think it’s as simple as signing a few free agents. This team needs a shakeup. If we can get 3 FAs, I want Jansen, Ray and Castellanos. Stroman and Conforto can walk. Then I’d see about trade possibilities.
What I dont want is a team that mostly looks like the team from the past two years. That means cutting ties with the of the old guard and making several impactful trades of existing players. You have to look at teams who would be delighted to get McNeill, Smith or JD Davis. My feelings would not be hurt if we made a key trade by trading deGrom. He is 33 years old and who knows how his fragile arm will hold up. We just need some big changes.