Last night the Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians to win their first World Series since 1908 and start what’s sure to be intense offseason. It was an incredible Game 7 that was hard-fought with plenty of drama and electricity that won’t be soon forgotten.
The New York Mets enter the offseason with multiple questions surrounding a team coming off two straight playoff appearances. Losing in the Wild Card game would have been seen as a failure by most before the season started but now seen as a success given the rash of injuries to the starting rotation and key position players.
Yoenis Cespedes now has three days to officially opt-out from the final two years left in his contract with the Mets. Cespedes will of course opt-out as previously reported and seek a long-term deal as the best outfielder on the free agent market.
The Mets’ number one priority this offseason should obviously be bringing back Cespedes to be their top power source in the middle of the lineup. They also have important questions in whether they should pick up the team option on Jay Bruce, give Neil Walker a qualifying offer, and what to do at the catching position which was a black hole offensively in 2016.
On Tuesday the Mets received the unfortunate news that Jeurys Familia had been arrested for his part in an alleged domestic assault. It’s still early in the legal process to know what the outcome will be, but given the previous cases with Jose Reyes and Aroldis Chapman you have to believe there will be a suspension for Familia coming.
The Mets kicked off their offseason already by outrighting reliever Jim Henderson and utility man Eric Campbell to clear a couple of 40-man roster spots. Henderson has decided to elect free agency.
Two clear cut moves the Mets haven’t announced yet but will happen are them picking up the 2017 option on Jose Reyes and buying out the option Jon Niese has for next season.
Sandy Alderson and his lieutenants will head south to the MLB GM Meetings next week, where in addition to league business, general managers will begin to lay the ground work for some potential deals and the rumor mill will start churning.
Here are a few important dates this offseason:
Nov. 7: Deadline for teams to make qualifying offers to their eligible former players who became free agents
Nov. 8-10: General managers’ meetings in Scottsdale, Arizona
Nov. 14: Deadline for free agents to accept qualifying offers
Dec. 2: Last day for teams to offer 2017 contracts to unsigned players on their 40-man rosters
Dec. 5-8: Winter Meetings, Washington, D.C.
Dec. 8: Rule 5 Draft
The Mets have seven players that are free agents: Neil Walker, Bartolo Colon, Fernando Salas, Jerry Blevins, James Loney, Alejandro De Aza and Kelly Johnson. Cespedes will make eight once he officially opts out of his contract.
They also have eleven players that are arbitration eligible: Addison Reed, Jeurys Familia, Josh Edgin, Zack Wheeler, Matt Harvey. Rene Rivera, Justin Ruggiano, Wilmer Flores, Travis d’Arnaud, Lucas Duda and Jacob deGrom.
The Mets will begin the offseason with their 40-man roster at 35 players once you consider the free agents, Cespedes and the buyout on Niese.
