This has been such a quiet offseason for the New York Mets with such little action going on. Nicolas Stellini of FanGraphs argues that Sandy Alderson and company have not done to help solidify this team.
In late November the Mets brought back Yoenis Cespedes, which of course was everyone’s top priority this offseason. This though has been the only major deal completed by Alderson for the time being. The team is still without added bullpen help and Jay Bruce is still a Met.
Stellini brings up the point of the Mets having a real uncertainty behind the dish, with Travis d’Arnaud being given a vote of confidence. Alderson has been reluctant to add a catcher through free agency as Matt Wieters still remains a free agent with a probable falling price tag.
Stellini also talks of the bullpen, which faces a probable suspension of it’s closer, Jeurys Familia. Many insiders believe that Familia could be looking at a 30-game suspension entering the 2017 season. Alderson has yet to bring on a reliever to help fill the void as the market for bullpen help continues to shrink by the day.
The Mets will look to rely on Addison Reed for the closing role for the first month or so of the season. Reed will look to repeat an impeccable 2016 campaign that saw him as one of the most dominant relievers in the game.
There are still some intriguing names out there for the Mets to consider though. Greg Holland, Boone Logan, Sergio Romo and a pair of former Mets in Jerry Blevins and Fernando Salas are all still available. The team could really solidify itself by picking up a reliever or two from this group.
The bullpen has become the team’s one glaring hole as it faces so much uncertainty at this point. With a young starting staff that will be looking to watch the amount of innings being thrown, it would really suit Alderson to get some more help out of the pen.
As we stand here in mid-January, there is still some time before spring training and there is sure to be a deal or two to be had. Alderson is known for waiting out the relief market to find a better bargain as he is reluctant to hand out multi-year deals to relievers.
Even just bringing Blevins and Salas back would be a huge boost to this bullpen. It is evident that overall at this point the Mets have not done enough this offseason. They are at a point where they are expected to win and everything should be done to help to get this team to the postseason for the third consecutive year for the first time in franchise history.
Do you believe Sandy Alderson has done enough to this point? What would you like to see him do to solidify this team?
