The New York Mets finished the 2016 regular season at 12 games above .500 with a 87-75 record which was good for second place in the NL East. They went on to lose to the San Francisco Giants in the NL Wild Card game.
With a solid campaign last season, the Mets entered the offseason with the primary goal of re-signing their top offensive player and they wasted no time in locking up Yoenis Cespedes to a four-year deal worth $110 million dollars.
The Mets did lose the very popular Bartolo Colon to the Atlanta Braves, but have plenty of reason to be optimistic about young right-handers Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo, plus the anticipated return of former top prospect Zack Wheeler.
The Mets’ pitching rotation has suffered from a horrible streak of injuries in the last few years which has really hampered the team’s overall performance. But with relatively young pitchers like Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard all healthy and throwing in spring training, the Mets have the firepower on the mound. They may even have one of the best rotations in baseball if they can all manage to stay healthy, which has been easier said than done in recent years.
Last season their offensive production was carried in great part due to their affinity for the long ball. As a team, they combined for 218 homeruns during the 2016 regular season, behind only the St. Louis Cardinals for most homeruns in the National League. Despite their power in the lineup and hitting an impressive number of homers, they still only scored 671 runs on the year, which is a relatively low mark especially when you consider how many homeruns they hit.
The goal this coming season is to get on base more so that the core of their lineup can do more damage and drive in more runs. The Mets boast an impressive array of power hitters in Cespedes, Jay Bruce, Neil Walker, Asdrubal Cabrera, Lucas Duda, and Curtis Granderson. It would be stunning with a lineup and rotation this good for the Mets to miss the postseason. They stack up pretty impressively against any of the other playoff hopefuls in the league.
Still, the Mets are viewed as a team of mystery entering the 2017 season. Odds makers say their ceiling is potentially going to the World Series, and maybe even winning it, while their floor could be missing the postseason entirely with an 82 win season.
The sportsbooks in Vegas clearly think the Mets will overcome their past injury issues and make a run at the crown this year as they opened up at 6/1 odds to win the World Series. However they have fallen back to 12/1 which is where they currently stand at. That’s still a very solid mark, and reason for optimism if you’re a Mets’ fan. There’s only five other teams that Vegas thinks have a better chance to win it all: The Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, and the LA Dodgers.
With players like ace pitcher Noah Syndergaard, Jacob DeGrom who is returning from injury, Yoenis Cespedes who chipped in with 31 homers last year, and Jeurys Familia who converted 51 of 56 save opportunities in 2016, the Mets undoubtedly have the talent to compete with the top teams in baseball this season. They’ll have to stay healthy and show some ability to manufacture runs beyond just hitting homeruns, as homerun hitting teams are always exposed during the playoffs when pitching is at a premium. All in all, there’s more reasons for optimism for the NY Mets and their fans entering the 2017 season.
