Oh yeah! We are back! I cannot wait to see my fav… and the first game of the season got canceled. That's actually good for me, I had a lot of MLB blogs and college shit to do the past 72 hours, so it gave me an extra 24 hours to get this blog out. But you don't care about that. It's baseball SZN, and unlike most Mets fans, I enjoy where the Mets are at. Sure, they have some glaring holes and question marks, but I'm staying positive with this team. So, let's look at what New York did this offseason and how I feel like their season will play out.
What the Mets Lost:
Lost DH Daniel Vogelbach to Toronto: 1 year $2M
Lost RHP Carlos Carrasco to Cleveland: 1 year $2M
Lost INF Luis Guillorme to Atlanta: 1 year $1.1M
New York had zero significant free agents this offseason. None of the players listed above were big losses. Daniel Vogelbach was terrible in New York. He could be considered the biggest bust the Mets ever had, so good riddance. Cookie is a great guy, but he is no longer needed. He was always hurt, and when he wasn't, he always underperformed. The one that hurt was Luis Guillorme. Such a fan favorite, and to see him go to Atlanta sucks. He's going to light up the Mets this season without a doubt, but like I said, the Mets didn't lose anything significant in the offseason.
What the Mets got:
Hired President of Baseball Operations David Sterns
Hired Manager Carlos Mendoza
Signed LHP Sean Manaea: 2 years $28M
Signed RHP Luis Severino: 1 year $13M
Signed DH JD Martinez: 1 year $12M
Signed CF Harrison Bader: 1 year $10.5M
Signed LHP Jake Diekman: 1 year $4M
Signed RHP Jorge Lopez: 1 year $2M
Signed UTL Joey Wendle: 1 year $2M
Signed RHP Michael Tonkin: 1 year $1M
Acquired RHP Adrian Houser and CF Tyrone Taylor from Milwaukee
Acquired Zack Short off Waivers
Just like many of you, I hoped the Mets were going to make some big moves this offseason. With Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto going to Los Angeles, Steve Cohen and David Sterns went a different direction and went for short-term deals. Sean Manaea and Luis Severino are low-risk, high-reward players. They aren't here for the long term. They are fine deals, and you just have to hope that the Mets can squeeze the best version out of them, especially Severino.
While the Mets starting rotation has its problems, the Mets were able to replenish the bullpen. Of course, they get Edwin Diaz back from his season-ending injury, but getting Jake Diekman and Jorge Lopez were good additions. The Mets have a good bullpen for the first time in a long time. But the best part of the offseason was that the Mets finally answered their biggest problem since 2020. The Mets haven't had a true DH or protection for Pete Alonso, and finally, the Mets made a great move and got JD Martinez. JD is a huge get, and it legitimizes the Mets' offense. I also like the Mets getting Harrison Bader and Tyrone Taylor. The two can platoon centerfield and I just hope one of them can have a good offensive season.
Season Expectations:
I understand how bad the Mets starting rotation can be. With Kodai Senga expected to miss at least the first month of baseball, things can get real bad for the Mets. Jose Quintana should continue to be a good option. He's an average pitcher that we should not have to worry about. The rest of the rotation is what we have to wonder about. The hope is that Luis Severino's season last year was only injury-related. I do not expect him to return to his former self, but if he can be a reliable pitcher who pitches six innings a game and has a 4.00 ERA, I'd be happy with that. I have no worries about Sean Manaea because he's been pretty consistent most of his career. Adrian House is a #4 pitcher, so I don't care much about him, as long as he doesn't kill us. He's been fine his whole career, so hopefully, nothing changes now. The biggest question mark for the starting rotation is Tylor Megill. He gives the fanbase hope to start the season every year and then falls off the cliff. Hopefully, Tylor can start off hot once again, but I'm not buying any stock until June.
The reason why I am fine with the Mets starting rotation is because I believe in this offense. This offense can carry the Mets. Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, JD Martinez when he gets called up, Jeff McNeil, and Francisco Alvarez is a solid batting lineup. McNeil needs to get back into his 2022 form, which we all know is still there, and Francisco Alvarez needs to continue to develop, but the Mets offense will be a problem for the opposing pitching.
Now looking at the bottom of the batting order, Starling Marte needs to figure it the hell out. After a terrible Spring Training, I lost a little hope, but 2022 Marte must still be in there. He was a key factor in the Mets winning 101 games, and the Mets will need to get that again if they want true success. Then you got Brett Baty at third base, and he needs to show up this season. It hasn't been pretty for Brett Baty in the major leagues, and this will be his last chance to show that he can be a major league player. The Mets have plenty of prospects that can replace him if he doesn't show up and perform where he should be. And last, we have Harrison Bader and Tyrone Taylor. Bader will be the guy who plays the most games there, but I hope one of them can hit a little bit. A .230 batting average would be OK by me.
2024 Record: 85-77
The Mets will be a good team. Just shut up and accept it. 85 wins will get them to the playoffs as the third Wild Card team. Hopefully, in July, Sterns will make the right moves for the Mets to be real contenders when they make the playoffs.
Now let's watch some baseball and stop the damn complaining. The Mets have a lot of good players, and you should enjoy it.
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