Good news though; there’s nothing Google can fucking do with the amount of curse words I’m fucking dropping in this article today.[/text_output][image type=”circle” float=”none” src=”1178″ alt=”” href=”” title=”” info_content=”” lightbox_caption=”” id=”” class=”” style=””][text_output]This isn’t a reaction to all the moves the Yankees have made. I’m still of the opinion that the Giancarlo Stanton trade never did and never should have an impact on how the Mets conduct their business.
This isn’t even a reaction to the Mets wanting to spend less money than they did last year. If the Mets don’t want as large of a financial commitment on their books this coming season, fine. Having more flexibility for when it comes to paying Noah Syndergaard and Michael Conforto big money on long-term deals is totally acceptable to me.
The problem is the Mets have decided to do nothing.
Nothing!
Before the off-season started, I mapped out the holes the Mets had to fill and some creative ways they could go about filling them. Those holes still very much exist, and now the Mets are running out of time and quality options to fill them.
Maybe the most glaring hole this Mets team has is in the bullpen. That may sound odd to say, especially when you consider the team already boasts a final three of Jerry Blevins, A.J. Ramos and Jeurys Familia. That’s a formidable trio, each capable of recording big outs in big games.
That’d be fine if the Mets had plans to use their bullpen in a more traditional way. But that’s not the way manager Mickey Callaway and pitching coach Dave Eiland plan on deploying their relievers.
All off-season, the talk has been about limiting the amount of hitters starting pitchers not named deGrom or Syndergaard will face this season. That means the Mets will be relying on their bullpen more than ever. That also means the Mets will need more quality relievers than they ever had previously. Blevins, Ramos and Familia simply aren’t enough, and no organization should feel comfortable trotting out the likes of Hansel Robles in a key situation to routinely get big outs.
Even if you’re high on Paul Sewald (I like him plenty) and even if you’re high on some of the arms the Mets acquired in August of last year (Jamie Callahan is intriguing, so is Drew Smith), the Mets absolutely must acquire at least one veteran set-up man who has experience.
For the longest time, it seemed like Bryan Shaw would be their guy, but now he’s in Colorado. The Mets flirted with Mike Minor, who has since moved on to Texas. Pat Neshek was even an intriguing possibility, but he landed in Philadelphia, along with rumor du jour Tommy Hunter. Brandon Morrow has taken his talents to Chicago, and the Mets have never seemed likely to spend big on either Wade Davis or Greg Holland.
What was once viewed as the deepest pool of talent on the free agent market this year has nearly dried up completely, and the Mets have done nothing about it. The options for the Mets on the free agent market have come down to Addison Reed (don’t get me wrong, I’d love that signing) and Joe Smith (I wouldn’t be unhappy, but I wouldn’t categorize myself as overly thrilled). If the Mets miss on both of those, what the fuck is their plan then?[/text_output][image type=”circle” float=”none” src=”1180″ alt=”” href=”” title=”” info_content=”” lightbox_caption=”” id=”” class=”” style=””][text_output]”But Greg, the Mets could always trade for a reliever!”
Can they?
This team is clearing having enough of a problem trying to trade for a second baseman that I don’t fully believe the Mets have the prospects to pull off two meaningful trades in one off-season.
This isn’t a criticism of the Mets farm system. This is simply what happens when you graduate most of your higher level prospects onto the Major League roster. The deeper end of the Mets system is still full of high-end prospects, but none are really that close to the Major Leagues. David Peterson was just drafted, Andreas Gimenez is yet to play an inning of baseball about A-Ball, Justin Dunn hasn’t made the jump, Thomas Szapucki needed Tommy John surgery. They’re all good prospects, but none are close.
The trade market for second baseman has never been deeper. Ian Kinsler, Josh Harrison, Cesar Hernandez and Starlin Castro are all readily available. Dee Gordon has already been traded for middling prospects (and won’t even play 2B in Seattle). It shouldn’t be this difficult to line up for a trade with teams looking to restock their own farm systems.
And yet, the Mets haven’t done it.
Maybe this one isn’t their fault. Maybe teams are asking for too much in return for the Mets tastes. Maybe the Mets are waiting for the trade market to properly be set (the Dee Gordon trade notwithstanding since that was much more of a salary dump than a talent-for-talent deal).
But isn’t that the problem? Why aren’t the Mets willing to set the market in order to get the player they really want? Why are the Mets seemingly comfortable with some sort of second base platoon of Wilmer Flores, Gavin Cecchini and the currently injured T.J. Rivera? Why aren’t the Mets actively trying to make their roster better? What the fuck gives?
There is absolutely no reason for the Mets not to be going all in this year and the next few years. This is very much their window. Noah Syndergaard and Michael Conforto will never be cheaper. Jacob deGrom is firmly in his prime. Yoenis Cespedes only has a handful of years left on his already creaky legs. Amed Rosario is here. The Marlins are beginning another lengthy rebuild. The Braves rebuild is still firmly underway. The Phillies are preparing to exit their own rebuild. The Nationals are the only guaranteed threat in the National League East.
Do the Mets need a fucking invitation to do something?
If so, I’ll drop something in the mail today.[/text_output]
Author: Greg Kaplan
Greg Kaplan is a man of mystery. Did he write this? No. Was he asked to write this? Yes. But did he write this article? Maybe, do you like it?