Mets will be prioritizing their bullpen the rest of the winter
Mets will be prioritizing their bullpen the rest of the winter
Plus, a note on Pete Alonso, protecting him in the lineup and figuring out his future starting right now
What’s Up with the Mets? 🍎
The Mets have set a soft cap of an additional $10 million spend this winter, and will be prioritizing the bullpen with their budget (SNY)
Rumor Mill 💨
The Mets are searching in the lower tier of the relief market, with an eye on Wandy Peralta, John Brebbia, and Brent Sutter (New York Post)
The Mets do need bullpen help, but there are additional holes to fill too! ✍️
Look, we all know what the plan is around here at this point, right? We have discussed it ad nauseam for months, reminded everyone what Max Scherzer said, what Justin Verlander said, what former GM Billy Eppler said, what Mets President and CEO Steve Cohen has said, and even what new President of Baseball of Operations has said about what 2024 is going to be about.
We are all clear on this now, right? We see how the roster is being built for 2024, we now have a fiscal understanding of why this is happening, right? We know the team stunk last year, they have zero starting pitching in the immediate pipeline, and aside from Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the free agent class this winter has been generally weak and overpriced, right?
Ok, good.
Having said all of that, Andy Martino said on SNY last night the Mets have around $10 million they’d like to spend on free agents this winter, and will prioritize those remaining funds in the relief market.
And, as Joel Sherman of The New York Post wrote yesterday, they’re of course targeting the lower tier of the relief market with those funds because, well, they’re not getting even one elite reliever for $10 million in today’s market.
Originally, I would’ve liked the Mets to set their sights on big swing-and-miss guys like Aroldis Chapman or Héctor Neris, but I’m not sure they can do a whole lot with the $10 million even if they go into the Phil Maton area of the market, or with the arms Sherman mentioned in his column yesterday. It’s safe to say the relief market is still emerging and growing in price, and relievers are really the most valuable asset to have at the trade deadline as well. And the Mets bullpen is of course an absolute mess aside from Brooks Raley and Edwin Díaz, so I really don’t know how Stearns and co. plan to address this massive issue on the roster with $10 million and a bunch of spring invites already in the fold.
Anyway, lets talk about that another day, as there’s an important non-mention in this $10 million in their remaining budget.
So, ok, the Mets have addressed their needs in the rotation, albeit with a lot of if’s, some reclamation projects, and upside-only arms. We just talked about their needs in the bullpen in general. Their need for big league insurance at third base goes without saying at this point, but it sure seems like they’re going to roll with Brett Baty and Mark Vientos primarily, and use some combination of whoever else is here as that insurance policy.
But the Mets don’t really have a designated hitter.
In fact, they haven’t ever really had a designated hitter.
In 2023, the Mets had 15 different designated hitters. This is who they were and what they produced:
In 2022, they were actually less productive in the DH spot if you can believe that with three additional players:
Heading into the winter, there was a clear need for the Mets to add offense and more specifically, find someone to protect Pete Alonso in the middle of the order. The Mets haven’t done that and while there have been rumors and some hints of rumors connecting them to players who could help augment the offense, the Mets haven’t done that this winter.
If the remaining $10 million they want to spend this winter is earmarked for the bullpen, I really don’t know what the expectation is for this need or the lineup as a whole among the holdovers from 2023.
I am not saying the Mets need to or should shift the priority here, go completely bonkers and do something silly in free agency or trade. The point is, both are serious areas of need and there remain viable options on the market that can be had on one-year deals.
After all, if Teoscar Hernandez can settle for a one-year deal with the Dodgers, why would the lesser players who remain available (Justin Turner, JD Martínez, for instance) not be agreeable to such a scenario?
I understand the CBT situation the Mets are in and the penalties they’re facing no matter what. This is a product of their own bad gamble in free agency over the last couple of years, and they’re paying for all of that in 2024. Any salary adds just compounds their tax even more.
Even so, 2024 is likely going to be hard on the eyes and ears for all of us. Even if they were to pivot and set some focus on acquiring a DH, we all know what we are in for here at this point, short of a miracle, “everything breaks right” season. But at a minimum, if the Mets intend to be, “competitive” and to keep the product interesting while they wait for whatever it is they’re waiting for in 2025 or 2026, then why not actually do that and build that lineup competitively?
It’s all I ask. I get what is going on around here. But even a competitive benchmark has a floor and it’s hard to see the Mets at that point and getting to that point if they only intend to spend an additional $10 million this winter.
As an aside, if this is generally it for the Mets in free agency, perhaps the Mets will center their efforts around convincing Alonso to stick around and sign him to a long-term contract over the next couple of months. Presumably, the Mets will have until Opening Day to figure this out with Alonso and get a deal done.
From my seat, if the Mets can make both Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo Mets for lifers, there is absolutely no reason or excuse to let Alonso, the most prolific home run hitter in their history and the player with the most home runs in MLB since 2019, get away.
Given the state of the Mets, I don’t know how they’ll be able to make their case with him, but money talks, especially in these situations.
Hot Stove 🔥
With his deadline looming, Shota Imanaga agreed to a contract with the Cubs (USA Today)
Wander Franco - who was suspended last year while under investigation for a relationship with a minor in the Dominican Republic and was arrested last week - will face lesser charges of sexual and psychological abuse (AP)
Former Met Anthony Kay is headed to Japan as he will sign with the Yokohama BayStars (FanSided)
Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias - who was arrested last year for allegedly assaulting his spouse - will avoid felony charges for domestic violence, but his case will remain active as the DA pursues misdemeanor charges (LA Times)
Rachel Balkovec, the first female manager in affiliated professional baseball, has been hired by the Marlins as their director of player development (MLB.com)