In early December, the Mets made a blockbuster deal to bring second baseman Robinson Cano and right-handed closer Edwin Diaz to New York.
While they were able to shed albatross contracts in the process by sending outfielder Jay Bruce and reliever Anthony Swarzak back to Seattle in return, they also parted ways with top prospects Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn.
Giving up a hefty package like the Mets did looked like a signal to fans that the team was serious about contending in 2019. However, since then, the Mets have been overall quiet, especially in recent weeks.
Yes, they brought back reliever Jeurys Familia on a three-year pact and catcher Wilson Ramos on a two-year deal, but there is still a decent amount of work to be done.
One thing I find particularly interesting is that the Mets wanted to prevent the rival Philadelphia Phillies from acquiring Diaz, so they upped the ante in order to get him.
If the Mets cared so much about making sure Diaz didn’t go to a division rival, it’s perplexing that they haven’t even been on Bryce Harper, one of the top free agents of this century, who has been heavily tied to the Washington Nationals and Phillies.
Mets’ general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, after signing Ramos, made a bold statement and claimed the Mets are now the favorites to win the NL East title in 2019.
Fangraphs, however, is a contrarian as they predict the Mets to win 85 games and finish in second place behind the Nationals — and that’s without Harper in Washington’s lineup.
Predictions are predictions and they should be taken with a grain of salt, but I think it’s a fair assessment to peg the Mets as a Wild Card team if everything breaks right, especially in a division that is packed with talent in three of the other four teams New York will be competing with.
At this point, it seems highly unlikely that New York will be able to land Harper. Even Van Wagenen has said that the Mets would have to be “creative” in order to bring on Harper’s contract, but it just seems strange that the Mets would care so much about making sure Diaz didn’t go to a division rival, but will seemingly allow Harper to go elsewhere in the division.
With that being said, if the Mets aren’t going to sign Harper, they need to really make sure they push hard to sign A.J. Pollock or Marwin Gonzalez, as well as adding another arm or two to the bullpen and potentially another starter that isn’t Hector Santiago.
If Van Wagenen really believes the Mets are going to be the favorites in the NL East, he still has to put the pedal to the metal and finish off this offseason with a couple more shrewd moves.
