Did your team get better or worse? For Mets fans, according to Brad Doolittle of ESPN, “the moment Pete Alonso signed with the Orioles, it might have become all but impossible for [GM] David Stearns' offseason work to receive positive reviews in New York.” He ranked the New York Mets seventh in his midwinter progress report, which reflected the media disappointment in the team’s offseason moves to date.
Doolittle wasn’t entirely negative, however. He made the obvious point that the depth chart “clearly has room for one of the elite outfield free agents,” but Doolittle also stated that the offense is solid enough that Stearns could justify getting a lower-cost depth option in left field or center who can run and defend.
He also defended the upside of the rotation, given the presence of young starters Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong. Doolittle also mentioned something that hasn’t been emphasized much, which is that the forecast walk rate for this group is alarming.
The innings forecast is also low, hence the need for a top-of-the-rotation type, whether that’s free agent pitcher Framber Valdez or a trade target. The rotation as constituted is currently a ground-ball group, Doolittle added, which should work well with the infield defense anchored by newly-acquired second baseman Marcus Semien.
Most of the rest of this story is familiar. Valdez wants a long contract that doesn’t fit well with what the Mets are trying to do with their rotation structure, and we’re still waiting on that trade to solidify the rotation. The Mets have an excess of starters who aren’t good enough to anchor an elite rotation, so something has to give in the next month or so.
The other media story line is about those pricey free-agent outfielders. Cody Bellinger of the New York Yankees is one of them, and talks between Bellinger and the Yankees have supposedly cooled based on the number of years Bellinger wants. The Mets are also steering clear of long-term deals, thoguh, so it seems unlikely that they’re going to make an offer to Bellinger that will take him into his mid-thirties and perhaps beyond.
Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker is the other big name in this part of the free agent market, and rumors have the Mets making a bigger offer for less years to Tucker. There are still too many suitors in that conversation to make sense of what Tucker wants and who’s in the lead, hence the speculation from Doolittle about those low-cost options who offer speed and defense.