Of course Cease would be a great acquisition but without a concrete idea about the cost, it's rather meaningless to discuss it. The Padres would be less than impressed with an offer of Megill and McNeil and middling prospects. They'd prob want 2 or 3 of our top 10 prospects. Unless you want to send them Acuna and Jett along with Megill and McNeil, it won't go. Stearns surely wouldn't bite on that.
I'm worried, though. As presently constituted the Mets are jam-packed with ifs. One big if is whether Vientos can do it agan as we hope. Will Alvarez finally hit? Will Baty ever hit? Is McNeil done or does his second half give us reason to hope? Will Tyrone Taylor/Jose Siri be automatic outs? God forbid Lindor goes down with an injury. I think it's quite possible they end up as a .500 team. I also fear that Soto will be pitched around constantly, ends up getting frustrated, and has a down year. I'm still holding out hope they work something out with Bregman even though there's no talk about it. I think Alonso is history.
There are definitely question marks, and a lot has to go right if we're going to truly contend. But that's part of the excitement.
I look at it this way: if a few guys surprise to the upside -- Acuna at second, Baty at first (I think he's the guy who is moving), Montas and Holmes -- we could be in for an epic run.
So, yeah; we could be a .500 team. Or we could win the division and be a nightmare for anyone in the postseason, including the Dodgers.
I wil say this, though: I'd feel a lot better about things if Pete came back. It's not looking good right now, and if it doesn't work out we'll have to move on, but in a perfect world he's in the four-hole every game and our lineup is hell to pitch to.
There were a lot of excellent arms available without having to give up anything and Stearns chose Montas & Holmes and Canning to go with Manaea and Senga and Peterson. Pretty unimpressive group but that’s what he picked and don’t see him changing course anytime soon
Of course Cease would be a great acquisition but without a concrete idea about the cost, it's rather meaningless to discuss it. The Padres would be less than impressed with an offer of Megill and McNeil and middling prospects. They'd prob want 2 or 3 of our top 10 prospects. Unless you want to send them Acuna and Jett along with Megill and McNeil, it won't go. Stearns surely wouldn't bite on that.
My thinking, too. Stearns won't trade prospects for a guy he'd have to sign to a big contract in just one year in order to keep him.
I think our pitching is done, anyway. It's all about getting first base sorted. That's the last big puzzle piece.
I'm worried, though. As presently constituted the Mets are jam-packed with ifs. One big if is whether Vientos can do it agan as we hope. Will Alvarez finally hit? Will Baty ever hit? Is McNeil done or does his second half give us reason to hope? Will Tyrone Taylor/Jose Siri be automatic outs? God forbid Lindor goes down with an injury. I think it's quite possible they end up as a .500 team. I also fear that Soto will be pitched around constantly, ends up getting frustrated, and has a down year. I'm still holding out hope they work something out with Bregman even though there's no talk about it. I think Alonso is history.
There are definitely question marks, and a lot has to go right if we're going to truly contend. But that's part of the excitement.
I look at it this way: if a few guys surprise to the upside -- Acuna at second, Baty at first (I think he's the guy who is moving), Montas and Holmes -- we could be in for an epic run.
So, yeah; we could be a .500 team. Or we could win the division and be a nightmare for anyone in the postseason, including the Dodgers.
I wil say this, though: I'd feel a lot better about things if Pete came back. It's not looking good right now, and if it doesn't work out we'll have to move on, but in a perfect world he's in the four-hole every game and our lineup is hell to pitch to.
There were a lot of excellent arms available without having to give up anything and Stearns chose Montas & Holmes and Canning to go with Manaea and Senga and Peterson. Pretty unimpressive group but that’s what he picked and don’t see him changing course anytime soon
It's hard to keep up with the Padres...i.e. are they going for it or not.