Sometimes, good teams just have bad seasons.
The 2017 Mets have been a classic case of this phenomenon. After coming into the year with World Series aspirations, a loaded rotation and a solid lineup, the Mets find themselves seven games under .500 and 10.5 games out of a playoff spot almost halfway through the year.
To say it’s been a disappointment would be an understatement.
The Mets’ shortcomings of 2017, however, do not mean that the Mets’ future with their current core is permanently spoiled.
Plenty of teams, in the midst of a solid string of seasons, put up a year in which they fail to meet expectations, so it’s not exactly uncommon.
The Giants lost 86 games in 2013, between their 2012 and 2014 championships. The 2012 Red Sox lost 93 games, only to win the World Series the following year (thanks perhaps in part to firing Bobby Valentine). And the Rangers have made the playoffs in five of the last seven seasons, but lost 95 games in the middle of that stretch in 2014 for their only losing season of the decade.
None of these seasons took away anything from their team’s core or stopped them from contending in future years. And in some cases, these teams were able to add to their respective futures by trading impending free agents for prospects– the Sox traded Lars Anderson to the Indians for future All-Star Steven Wright in 2012.
It’s totally plausible with the amount of tradeable players that the Mets have that they will be able to add at least one future contributor into the fold in 2017. Given the Mets’ plethora of capable young players, there’s every reason to think that the Mets will be back next year.
Next year, the team will still have six capable starters in the rotation– and yes, that includes Matt Harvey. He’ll also have the motivation of playing for a contract next season, and you know he wants that payday. They’ll have a lineup that will include Michael Conforto and Yoenis Cespedes, and Amed Rosario will probably be brought into the fold as well. Perhaps best of all, the Mets will have about $52 million coming off the books with departing free agents. Depending on how the Mets play their offseason cards, there is still potential for a bright future.
The rest of the decade provides ample opportunity for the Mets to bounce back and play like the team that made the World Series in 2015.
It’s important to learn from the shortcomings of 2017, retool for next year and sure up the positions that need upgrades and go back out there and compete. They have the core talent, and with complements to their current players, can be a force to be reckoned with in 2018.
Only time will tell if that World Series appearance will become a one-year apparition like 2006, or a string of several dominant seasons like the Mets had in the 80s.
