After striking quickly last offseason to acquire Michael Cuddyer, the Mets do not expect to make a similar type of move out of the gate this year. While the Mets still have several needs to address, assistant general manager John Ricco explains that the current situation is much different than last year’s.
“Not where we sit right now,” Ricco said Monday, as the general managers meetings opened at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. “We’re in a little bit of a different place teamwise than we were last year. And not only because of where we finished — but because of how some guys developed, and our holes I don’t think are as glaring as they were.” (Adam Rubin, ESPN NY)
“That’s not to say we can’t improve. We certainly have to improve and be better next year. But last year we had a clear need in the corner [outfield]. That’s why Sandy went out quickly and addressed it.”
Even though they haven’t had a lot of time to plan due to the World Series, Ricco says that the Front Office isn’t behind schedule and are fully prepared for what’s to come.
“I wouldn’t say behind,” Ricco said. “We were together all month. You talk about the current team, but part of the job description is you always look ahead. I think the fact that we were together — J.P., Paul, Sandy and I — more this October than we would have been at any other time, we had a lot more conversations.”
One of the biggest issues this year will be figuring out what to do in centerfield with Yoenis Cespedes likely moving on. Ricco expects to meet with his representatives soon, but all signs point to Cespedes signing elsewhere.
“We’ll be in contact,” Ricco said. “We already have been talking to them in normal course. We’ve touched base with most of our free agents. There will be ongoing discussions.”
The list of free agent targets to replace him include Colby Rasmus, Denard Span and Dexter Fowler, but Mets could also hope for a bounce back year from Juan Lagares. He batted .281 in 2014 while playing the best centerfield defense in baseball.
Another possibility is moving Curtis Granderson to center, but Ricco says that’s unlikely to happen.
“That would be something Terry [Collins] ultimately has to decide, but I think at this stage of his career, he’s had a pretty good year in right field, and I would guess right now our thought would be to leave him there,” Ricco said.
While shortstop is assumed to be another area of concern, Ricco doesn’t see the position as a glaring weakness.
“If you look at the overall numbers we got out of shortstop, I think Sandy may have mentioned this the other day, but our two guys had pretty good seasons,” Ricco said about Flores and Tejada.
“Just collectively, I know we were right around the top 10 in terms of production. … We got to the World Series with them. Wilmer and Ruben were a big part of what we did. You’re always looking to get better. You have to try to find ways. We’re not going to stand pat at all positions. But I would not characterize it as a hole.”
Tejada batted .261 this season with a solid .338 OBP while Wilmer Flores displayed impressive power potential with 16 homeruns and 22 doubles in 137 games.
It’s really going to be interesting to see how the Front Office approaches the offseason. They have a lot of tough decisions to make as they need to build off of last year’s success and replace the production of Cespedes and Murphy.
One idea that will certainly be off limits is trading trading any of the young star pitchers such as of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz. The Mets have made this clear all along, but Zack Wheeler remains the lone exception according to Ricco as he is still recovering from Tommy John and will not return until mid season.
Ricco says he is going to meet with his agents and discuss their plans for him this season.
“A lot of it is just touching base and seeing who they have and what they’re thinking.”
Wheeler was 11-11 in 2014 with a 3.54 ERA in 185 innings pitched. However, he missed all of 2014 due to injury.
“Prior to the injury he was included in that group,” Ricco concluded.
