Bader is in, Mets linked to starting pitchers, and a discussion about the club's core offense
Pressure is on the team's offensive core to deliver in 2024, which also needs additional help from the free agent market
What’s Up with the Mets? 🍎
The Mets signed veteran CF Harrison Bader to a free-agent contract on Thursday (Story)
Bader also attended the Rangers game at MSG Thursday night (SNY)
Rumor Mill 💨
The Mets are willing to trade back-up catcher Omar Narváez (NY Post)
The Mets are “linked” to starting pitchers Hyun-Jin Ryu, Sean Manaea and Shota Imanaga (New York Post)
The Mets core offensive players will be under the microscope in 2024✍️
The biggest news in Metsland on Thursday was the team’s free-agent agreement with veteran center fielder Harrison Bader. The 29-year-old is clearly a glove first player who can bring elite defense at a premium position, but I think the notion currently flying around Twitter that he is an offensive liability is a little unfounded.
Sure, Bader isn’t a threat to win a Silver Slugger award anytime soon, but just two years ago he slashed .267/.324/.460 with 16 homers, 50 RBI, and 21 doubles. Those numbers aren’t necessarily eye opening, but should he return to even that form and stay healthy, those numbers are plenty playable for a Gold Glove caliber center fielder who will hit towards the bottom of the order. His addition also should shift Brandon Nimmo into a corner outfield position, which in theory will take stress off the legs of one of the Mets’ most important players and in turn, improve his defense while limiting his weaknesses out there.
But one of the first things that came to my mind when I heard about Bader’s signing was that the Mets core offensive players are going to be under an immense amount of pressure to stay healthy and produce in 2024.
I’m talking about Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Nimmo, and Jeff McNeil.
New York clearly needed to add an everyday position player, and while as I said earlier, Bader is a fine addition. But he doesn’t move the needle offensively as someone like Teoscar Hernandez could have.
With that in mind, the Mets will clearly need dominant outputs from their big guns and additional help from free agency.
Alonso—actually a former college teammate and close friend of Bader—will have to have a huge year in particular.
Last season, the Polar Bear delivered his third season with 40 or more homers and drove in more 118 runs for the third time. He’s the heart and soul of the Mets offensive attack, and provided he and the team eventually come to terms on a long-term contract extension, he’ll eventually own most of the club’s offensive records.
Lindor, meanwhile, has been everything the Mets could have hoped for when they traded for him and more. In 2023 he delivered his first 30/30 season and was a model of consistency all season long.
Nimmo enjoyed the best season of his career from a power perspective, setting new career highs in home runs, RBI, total bases, and slugging percentage, and his increased power output is something the club hopes he can build on.
McNeil, though, is arguably the most crucial part of this equation, as after winning the batting title in 2022 he watched his average drop 56 points a year ago while his OBP and SLG% both took similar dives.
Sure, it’s no secret that the Mets have high hopes for young players like Francisco Álvarez, Brett Baty, and Mark Vientos, and ideally, someone among that trio of youngsters needs to take a giant leap in 2024.
But the offensive success of this lineup is quite clearly going to come down to the four players I just discussed, and they’ll be the quartet tasked with leading this team back to relevance after a lost ‘23 campaign.
Hot Stove 🔥
The Yankees are considering making a run at two time Cy Young winner Blake Snell (NY Post)
Atlanta signed newly acquired LHP Chris Sale to an extension (Press Release)
Former Met Kevin Plawecki signed a minor league contract with San Diego (MMO)
Lindor was "the model of consistency all season long." Really? He hit .221 in April, .227 in May, and .230 in June. By the time the Mets were out of it and really needed him, Lindor turned it on. He hit .276 in July and a truly meaningless .305 in August and .277 in September. Surely one of the least impactful 30/30 seasons in baseball history.