Frequent commenter JimmyP made an important point the other day that should be repeated for emphasis. He said,
While the lazy, understaffed media parrots talk about Cohen’s “spending spree,” it’s been largely ignored that he basically replaced three rotation starters with three cheaper alternatives.
Jacob deGrom signed for $185 million, Mets replaced him with Justin Verlander for $86 million
Chris Bassitt signed for three years, $63 million, Mets sign Kodai Senga for five years, $75 million
Taijuan Walker signed for $72 million, Mets replaced him with Jose Quintana for $26 million
In raw dollars, Verlander and Quintana were cheaper
In AAV, Senga and Quintana were cheaper
For just $2 million more, the Mets get three pitchers for a combined nine years versus the five years the Rangers are getting with deGrom. It will be curious to see which “group” does more to push their team towards a World Series.
Then they re-signed Brandon Nimmo and Adam Ottavino for market-rate or better deals. The only one that looks like an overpay is Edwin Diaz but after the year he just put in, it’s certainly understandable why the Mets offered the contract they did. And they let themselves be outspent by the Twins on Carlos Correa, which hardly fits the “spending spree” narrative.
Given I don’t like a clock in baseball (or 1950’s girls basketball position restrictions), I’ll accept “progress,” but still have some questions.
The clock starts when the pitcher receives the ball from the Cather; how long can the catcher hold onto the ball after the pitch?
Is the clock reset if the pitcher asks for a new ball? A batter’s time out?
Same time limits on a new batter after an out? 1st pitch of an inning? The more I think about it the more I don’t like it. Cut out 1 commercial during between inning break—there, fixed it.
JimmyP is exactly correct. The team had a ton of expiring contracts and had to face the reality that even treading water was going to cost a fortune. In the end, the team is basically treading water. This was not a team with poor players and Cohen went to get the best FAs to overhaul the team. No one was bitching about the club from last year, so why should anyone do so this year when its manifestly the same?
This comes down to a perfectly predictable outcome that Cohen knew at the time he bought the club. We can blame the previous owners and Alderson who designed the team to be shaped this way instead of proper management and staggering of contracts.
Who gave deGrom the opt out?
Who didn’t extend Diaz after he traded for him?
Who didn’t look to extend Nimmo after his breakout 2018?
Who traded for Bassitt without getting an extension?
Alderson’s not the answer to any of these.
The only one that should be laid at Alderson’s feet is Walker, who signed about a month after they fired Jared Porter.
It is very difficult even by “experts” to separate the top 3 teams in the NL East. While the Mets faded late last year and the season ended in disappointing fashion, they did win 101 games. I don’t think it is accurate or fair to characterize this offseason as treading water. True, they did retain their own two big free agents Nimmo and Diaz. These are top players. They replaced deGrom with a stud along with two starters with comps. The bullpen looks to be improved, but time will tell. However, they are now positioned with multiple prospects and young pitchers that are poised to contribute. Alvarez an Baty could contribute and potentially impact 2023. Additionally, Peterson and Megill are now one year older, and should be more refined. They are pretty good depth pieces from my vantage. Sure Pham is trending down and Ruf was lousy in NY in a very small sample last year, but if that is the only performance concern the Mets should be in good shape. They have a lot of excellent players. Health will likely determine how good this season is. How Alavarez, Baty, Mauricio, Vientos, Ramirez, Senga, Peterson, and Megill perform over the next two seasons will likely determine if Uncle Steve can get the payroll below the tax line.
OMG,,why is there a Cohen tax? Who is the only one over it. Cohen will spend what it takes to get to a WS.
In fairness, the spending spree storyline comes from the 2023 total payroll which Spotrac notes is $330,643,332. Number 2 is the Yankees at $267,954,047. Dodgers are fifth at $216,412,634.
Hard not to talk about spending when the Mets are so much higher than everyone else. But in the end, I’m fine with a Cohen “spending spree” if it leads to perennial division titles and a few championships.
The payroll is going to be high until the Mets developed their minor leagues. It will be difficult to build the minor leagues because of the “Cohen Tax” that penalize their minor league draft order.
Alvarez and Baty should be some salary relief in 2024 but they will need an leftfielder, Maybe Mauricio could fill in that need. The fifth starter to replace Carrasco will be Peterson. In the future, they will need a top notch pitcher(s) and that caliber pitcher(s) are not in their minor league system. One option is to trade with a “have not” team that can’t afford a young established pitcher getting near free agency for their top position prospects and then do an extension. Another option is to signing a star free agent pitcher but that would be expensive and a more lengthy contract which they might not want to do but might have to do. The Mets will exceed the luxury tax for many years to come. It is the price of being an elite team.
deGrom is already feeling some tightness in his side. I am glad we didn’t sign him. Can you imagine, day one and he is already hurt.
Just saw that Tim McCarver has passed away – he was terrific as an announcer for the Mets in the 80’s.
Sorry to hear that. He was a baseball lifer.
McCarverwas very good when he was with the Mets.
Remember McCarver standing up to Deion?
Not exactly by start date and end date, but for me Tim McCarver was essentially the bring from Ralph, Lindsey and Bob to GKR. I found him to be a great listen and he definitely expanded my baseball knowledge. RIP.
Tyler Naquin signed a Minor League contract with the Brewers. For that price the Mets should have offered him a MiLC contract as injury insurance ( and as lottery ticket). Syracuse has slim pickings in the outfield . Just saying.