Please use this thread all week to discuss any Mets-specific topic you wish.
When Noah Syndergaard and Justin Verlander – two pitchers who’ve essentially missed two seasons – each signed one-year contracts worth over $20 million, it seemed like we were going to see a huge premium for pitchers this offseason. Then Anthony DeSclafini, who in the last two full seasons has a 2.6 and a 3.0 fWAR, signed a 3/$36 deal. Then Steven Matz, a lefty and a year younger, coming off a 2.8 fWAR season, signed a 4/$44 deal with the Cardinals. DeSclafini’s deal is an outright steal for the Giants while Matz values him at less than 6-WAR for the life of the deal, which seems like a good deal for the team signing him, too.
Of course, there’s the 2/$17 deal given to Aaron Loup, coming off the tremendous year he had with the Mets. It seems like a lot of money until you remember the Mets gave Jeurys Familia 3/$30 not too long ago. Another gift from Brodie Van Wagenen. But back to Loup. Maybe it’s just that the Angels really have to overpay pitchers to sign with them.
Loup will come back to earth next season. I am glad that Matz signed with the Cardinals. I really didnt want to see him again. But, I wish Cohen would have kept his mouth zipped. Who knows, Alderson probably made him a Wilponian offer.
The Mets need to get rolling with the free agents and make competitive offers. I dont like the current rotation, which could be be barely .500 on a good day.
Maybe it is the right time to trade deGrom.
No, because the Mets will get jacked for JdG.
And also permanently lose this longtime fan if they trade The Greatest Pitcher In Baseball*
*Until otherwise proven
He is 33 years old and has arm problems. He is great. He rivals Tom Seaver. But, what can we expect from him next year? Is it dominance, or more arm problems, or limiting him to 150 innings? Los Angeles is stacked with young talent and would probably fork out some young talent for deGrom. I would take Dustin May and another top prospect for deGrom. Why not entertain trading him. He is going to make $33.5 million again in 2022. He can be a free agent in two years. Do we really want to extend him for a kings ransom in money? It is an interesting question. It could be part of a massive shakeup of the team to start building a sustainable winning team. This team has not changed much over the last few years. I’m bored with losing.
By the way, I love him too, and would hate to see him go, but business is business. It is all a roulette wheel anyhow on what players will do in upcoming seasons. Who ever expected Bobby Ojeda to win 18 games in 1986 after they got him from Boston.
Let’s find a way to get rid of boat anchor Cano. And yes, I like Stroman, Baez, Marte and Bryant. That would help. Lets hope they really go after them. If all they do is sign Baez and Stroman, they are they same team that underperformed last year.
Happy Thanksgiving everybody.
Baez,Stroman and Bryant,why not?
I’m good with things so far, but with Scherzer not crossing the Cali state line, I am happy with Kershaw – if we can get him – Gausman and Rodon. Gray can be a fall back but not too far back.
Nick Plummer could he be a sleeper? Only one roster spot left
Hey Mike W; my thoughts exactly regarding deGrom. Greatest pitcher or not, the Mets have a losing record in games he’s been involved in. Of course it’s not his fault. No offense, lousy bullpen….don’t you think he’s tired of it?
This team isn’t going anywhere next year, and I’m beginning to think Cohen is going to be the owner that no player or front office people will want to work with. God I hope I’m wrong.
They will like Cohen if and when he opens his checkbook like George Steinbrenner used to. The Mets now need momentum. It starts with hiring a good experienced manager.
Happy Thanksgiving people! Nice little write up on Plummer:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/cardinals-2015-first-rounder-nick-plummer-is-once-again-a-prospect/
He could be a sleeper, Gus, one of those guys who you look up in July and say where did he come from?
I’m hoping the Gausman goes elsewhere… I watched him pitch this season and he was frustratingly slow… would hate to see that every fifth day. Here’s my take on the current starting pitchers, based on what I see with my eyes and with my prodigious intuition:
deGrom: Superman has his limits, and we have reached his. His body just can’t keep up with the path he has carved. What’s more, the Mets never win as much as they should for him. Trade him now, since several big-market teams would still pay dearly for the oft-chance he regains his full capacity. If he stumbles next year, he is worth nothing and we get nothing… a missed opportunity.
Carrasco: worth another half season. If he is a bust by the ASG, it’s a done deal… Cleveland beats us again.
Walker: big time bonus. Still young and a great pitcher when he has it going… very consistent start-to-start. Let’s hope he can extend the “good Walker” next season… a bonafide #2 if all goes well. I see no reason it won’t. Love his demeanor on the team, too.
Megill: a can’t miss. Real big league stuff, and a killer mentality (unlike S. Matz, for example). Just got drained after a very good half season. He will only get better, and he deserves every fifth day, until he doesn’t.
Peterson: needs another season of “wait and see”. He disappointed me last year by imploding too many times in the early innings. But like Megill, can be a great back-of-rotation guy… until he proves otherwise. I give him the whole season to get it together, but we need to see progress and see very good games to stick with him.
Adding Stroman, or any other like starter would make this a decent rotation… especially if Cookie comes through. Any aging pitcher, like Kershaw (good luck getting him to come to a mediocre team… why would he?) would add half a season to the rotation’s length… only about 125 innings at best… not that helpful in a rebuilding year and certainly more expensive than other options. Expect starters to go 7 now that “yank him Rojas” is a yank… adds to their actual, true effect on the team. Need lefties!
Fyi, Verlander’s deal was a 2 year deal worth 50 mil, so if his 2022 rehab season is bumpy, then the Astors get the pleasure of paying him an additional 25 mil for another rehab season in 2023
Crazy to give $50M to a 39 year old who has thrown 1 inning in 2 years no matter how great his career has been. I hope they insured that contract.
Over on ESPN there’s a sidebar headline that asks: “Will Steve Cohen’s tweets doom the Mets?”
And the answer is clearly no. Two things jump to mind for me:
1. Any sports headline that asks a yes/no question should be answered, no
2. At the end of the day, money talks
Maybe none of these moves are really exciting but the Mets are better today then they were on Thanksgiving. Marte doesn’t have to be the 5.5 fWAR guy he was last year. If he’s the 3.4 fWAR guy he was from 2013-19 — which includes a 1.4 season in 2017 — that makes up for the loss of Conforto at a cheaper price.
SNY has the Mets non-tendering Gsellman. I’ll call that a positive.
Brian said on another thread:
“What grinds my gears is when someone intentionally posts something completely unrelated to the article or what was previously said in the comments.”
I think you’re too polite to explicitly direct this comment to me exclusively, but I have come to realize that I’m not like the rest of yous. You’re an extremely intelligent, knowledgeable and focused group, and all much better writers than yours truly. Also, you spend quality time organizing your thoughts. Yet, this blog is still extremely attractive because it is one of the few places where I can read about baseball without having my intelligence and/or senses offended.
You probably think I’m drifting so I’ll get to the point.
I’d find it really helpful if you’d create a second weekly open thread, say on each weekend, unless you have a compelling reason not to. I’ll assume that, for the reasons stated above, you’ll grant me the right to not have to explain why this would help me a great deal
Pre-thanks in advance
I sent an email to your 428/hotmail addy.