Jayson Stark of ESPN, spoke with one of his colleagues Dan Szymborski, and polled some MLB executives and Vegas odds makers, to determine which five teams have most improved the most this offseason as well which five teams have least improved.
The consensus is that the Mets could tie with the Marlins for the most losses during the 2013 season:
As for what they had to say regarding the Mets’ offseason thus far, there is this:
Let’s just say there was massive competition for the final spot on this list. Among the teams that got multiple votes: the Rockies, Brewers, Mariners and Yankees. But the Mets sneaked in here, even though they got rave reviews for the return they got in the R.A. Dickey deal.
“If you’re asking are they going to be improved down the road, I’d say yes,” said one AL executive. “But if you’re asking are they improved next year, the answer is obviously no. I mean, you’ve lost your No. 1 starter, a guy who won the Cy Young Award. The bullpen looks kind of shaky right now. They haven’t re-signed Scott Hairston, so what’s their outfield? And I’ll go back to this: You’re taking away your No. 1 [starter], a guy who really impacts your club. That’s a big hit.”
Maybe, in seven weeks, we’ll have a different feeling about all of this. But that’s a discussion for another day. For now, that’ll do it for our offseason halftime show. Now back to the hot-stove action!
Not exactly the rave review one would want to see, but a totally understandable stance in the context of the 2013 season.
Incidentally, the Toronto Blue Jays was the consensus choice for the most improved team this offseason.
