The New York Mets had some good stretches after the trade deadline, and they're hoping that can lead to winning.
The New York Mets played some good baseball after cleaning house at the trade deadline, and they seem to be counting on that carrying over into next season. Both GM David Stearns and owner Steve Cohen have made remarks and comments to that effect, but whether it will actually happen is a different question entirely.
Tim Britton of The Athletic explored this topic in a recent piece, and it’s well worth reviewing. The Mets went 26-20 after the deadline, which was the seventh-best record in MLB, per the writer. That’s part of the reason the Mets were comfortable giving Andy Green a deal to become their full-time manager, and the development of the younger players has also been cited.
Britton used players like infielder Bo Bichette and second baseman Marcus Semien who said ongoing continuity is important, but their comments are at least somewhat self-serving. Veterans tend to want continuity, especially if they’ve underperformed, which was definitely the case for Semien offensively and Bichette defensively.
Green talked about the “mindset” carrying over, which is fine and dandy on the surface, but the Mets kept former manager Carlos Mendoza employed for far too long because the club caught fire for him a couple of years ago, and the team was hoping that would happen again.
As the Mets learned this year, though, hope isn’t a plan.
There’s plenty of evidence pointing both ways, as Britton noted, and that’s part of the problem. The most egregious bad example lately would be the Toronto Blue Jays, who were counting on a repeat of their World Series run last season that never came close to happening.
The real answer to this question is about making the right moves and roster construction. Bichette was a bad fit because the Mets already had a competent third baseman in Brett Baty, but they wound up weakening themselves at multiple positions because it was the wrong move at the wrong time, and adding Bichette felt like a knee-jerk reaction move when Cohen lost a bidding war to the Los Angeles Dodgers for the services of outfield Kyle Tucker.
There are too many other examples of moves that went wrong to mention, but the Mets have similar situations all around the diamond and on their pitching staff going into the offseason. It’s fine to expect continuity from winning players like outfielder Carson Benge and starter Nolan McLean who constantly make adjustments and are determined to improve, but false expectations from questionable players were a big part of the reason the Mets were so bad this year.
