During his introductory press conference, Steve Cohen made a note that the Mets, his newly minted purchase, will not only go full bore in trying to win but to also live up to the expectation that a major market team should spend like a major market team. Cohen stated confidently that “this is a major market team and it should have a budget commensurate with that.”
Cohen and the Mets wasted no time delivering on those promises as they began this pursuit by acquiring All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor from Cleveland and then locking him up to a 10-year, $341 million extension. Coupled with the signings of James McCann, Taijuan Walker and Marcus Stroman, among others, the Mets looked and felt different going into Cohen’s inaugural season as owner.
Fast forward to the end of the 2021 season, massive under performances from star players, questions of clubhouse issues and an overall disappointment of a team that led the NL East for the majority of the summer led the Mets to need to make a splash (or a few) in the approaching offseason. The Mets were looking to fill needs in the outfield, rotation and bullpen along with finding a new manager to run the club. They had their work cut out for them. Interestingly enough, the offseason didn’t exactly start off the way they expected.
A long and seemingly arduous search for a president of baseball operations and general manager morphed into a search for just a general manager and did not put the club in good footing to start the offseason. Added with the departures of Noah Syndergaard and Aaron Loup and public shaming of the club by Steven Matz and his agent left the Mets in a very precarious position, and with a lockout looming, something needed to be done.
Freshly hired GM Billy Eppler and that infinite checkbook brandished by Cohen decided to make their impact and make a statement to the fans and all of baseball. In what seemed like a total flip of the script, the Mets opened the floodgates and signed Mark Canha, Eduardo Escobar and Starling Marte all to contracts on Black Friday, totaling eight years and $124 million.
Three days later, the Mets made the biggest splash on the market and signed future Hall of Fame pitcher Max Scherzer to a record contract of three years and $130 million. Additionally, the Mets were also in on top tier free agents such as Javier Báez, Kevin Gausman, Marcus Stroman and Robbie Ray along with being linked to names such as Kris Bryant and Craig Kimbrel. Even though those aren’t wins, would anyone imagine the Mets being this active and aggressive on the market not even two years ago? This change in philosophy has been a breath of fresh air to Mets fans everywhere.
Almost immediately, the Mets went from having a potentially disastrous offseason to one that has become fruitful with the potential of more additions down the line. That being said, while the fruits of having an improved roster with a seemingly unlimited checkbook are aplenty, there was something missing. The club was being formed without someone to lead it. While the lockout prevents teams from pursuing major league talent, it does not prohibit clubs from hiring staff, which is where the Mets pivoted their attention.
Enter the manager search. After dismissing Luis Rojas, the Mets ran a thorough search over the last two weeks. Although candidates such as Joe Espada and Matt Quatraro (both bench coaches for the Astros and Rays, respectively) impressed in interviews, the team ultimately decided on a familiar name in Buck Showalter. Having served as a longtime coach and manager with the Yankees, as well as stints in Arizona, Texas and Baltimore, Showalter has garnered the respect of many players (including Adam Jones and Scherzer) across the league in over 3,000 games managed. He is exactly what the Mets are looking for in their new manager. Known for being fiery and honest, Showalter brings credibility and stability to a franchise that desperately needed it from their lead man in the trenches.
Now that the Mets have their skipper along with an improved roster, the only way seems to be up for the boys from Queens. Adding a speedy center fielder, a hard-working right fielder, a versatile and power hitting infielder and an elite future Hall of Fame pitcher to Lindor, Pete Alonso and Jacob deGrom, the Mets have hit a home run with how the offseason has gone so far. It can possibly hit a grand slam if they make more additions to compliment these improvements once the lockout is over. The proactivity and eagerness to put a good product on the field is one of the huge reasons this offseason has been a success so far, and it doesn’t seem like the Mets are going to pull back any time soon.
They say money may not buy happiness but it certainly can’t make anyone sad when spent in the right way.
