The Mets went to the Winter Meetings with the primary goal of obtaining a late inning reliever, and the team accomplished that goal by signing Anthony Swarzak to a two-year deal.

However, that has been the only player the Mets added to the roster so far this offseason. This was due in part to Ian Kinsler outright refusing to waive his no-trade clause to join the Mets.  It was also because the Mets traded Rule 5 selection Burch Smith to the Kansas City Royals for cash considerations or a player to be named later.

There may have been other reasons why the Mets were largely unable to make further moves, including but not limited to the payroll.

Processing all of this information, in the latest Roundtable, MMO tackles the question as to what grade the Mets deserve for their Winter Meetings performance:

Josh Finkelstein: C-

I’ll give them a grade this high because they technically did live up to their promise of signing a reliever at the Meetings. However, they still have a lot of work to do and are getting a lot of heat this offseason for their spending habits and deservedly so. The confidence in this organization has just gone as low as imageable this off-season.

With that being said, I don’t think anyone else cares what this team looks like now. What matters is how this team looks on Opening Day. They need to address a lot of needs, but there is still time to do so and they took a step in the right direction during the Winter Meetings so I can’t say it was an absolute failure.

John Jackson: D

Fans who followed the Winter Meetings saw player after player being traded for and signed by multiple teams not named the Mets. While we heard the Mets had interest in certain players, they only ended up signing one: Anthony Swarzak.

Swarzak was a solid supplemental signing, but if he is all that the Mets acquire this winter, then the offseason should be considered a bust.

Perhaps Sandy Alderson truly laid a lot of groundwork for the rest of the offseason at the meetings. Regardless, I can only grade what I can see.

Ed Leyro: C-

Swarzak is a nice pickup after Bryan Shaw and Tommy Hunter signed elsewhere. It’s also encouraging that the Mets have been looking at several free agent infielders instead of putting all their eggs in one position player’s basket.

But I didn’t like that the Mets selected Burch Smith in the Rule 5 draft and then traded him away for cash. It’s like they wanted the player who could put more money in their pockets instead of more wins on the field.

Dilip Sridhar: C

It’s really too soon to call the offseason or Winter Meetings a failure.  With that said, they can recover and make themselves a contender. I haven’t been a huge fan of the $30 million payroll figure or the Jose Reyes rumors. But I do like the Swarzak signing and I’d be a huge fan of getting Jason Kipnis and/or potentially having Todd Frazier at third base.

I also love the hiring or Mickey Callaway and his idea on a bullpen. I think the Mets will make some more moves and they’ll be better in spring but it really depends on whether or not Sandy Alderson builds a team that can avoid being a boom or bust type team. I’m still fairly optimistic about 2018.

‏John Sheridan: C

When you begin with the premise the Mets wanted a good late inning reliever, and they got one in Swarzak, you would think they deserved a fairly a high grade.  However, that’s not all that happened.

Kinsler refused to waive his no trade clause for the Mets, but he did for the Angels.

We discovered the relationship between Mickey Callaway and Bryan Shaw wasn’t enough to prevent Shaw from agreeing to pitch in Coors Field over the next three seasons.

The Mets made a very good Rule 5 pick, a player who could very well help them next year in either the rotation or bullpen, and they traded him for cash considerations.

We can react and overreact to the remaining rumors, especially those players linked and not linked to the Mets. However, before doing that, it is important to note, there are still plenty of players available who could help the Mets.

Rob Piersall: F

I’m normally pretty lenient when it comes to doling out grades, but not this time.

Was Swarzak a decent signing? Yes. Was he really even on the Mets radar before they lost out on Bryan Shaw, Mike Minor and to a lesser extent Tommy Hunter? No.

Again, the Mets were shell shocked by the price free agents got and were unwilling to match what other teams ultimately gave them.

Beyond that, the team did nothing to address any other need and there are many. Instead, it just frustrated fans more when the team sat on their hands and saw Sandy Alderson downplay the lack of payroll while the Yankees got themselves Giancarlo Stanton.

There is still time for the Mets to turn this around, and maybe they will do something after Marc Carig’s scathing report against ownership has been released, but I doubt it.

I fully expect Jose Reyes to be holding down the keystone, much to the chagrin of myself and other Mets fans alike, and I doubt they go out and get an additional starter which they so desperately need.

So overall, I’m going to give them an F because I’m tired of this tight budgeting year after year and have no more patience to be laid back.

It’s New York and we deserve a winning team. When they go out and get more than one reliever, maybe I will reassess. Until then, I’m remaining firm in my grade.

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Overall, our staff was not at all impressed with what the Mets did at the Winter Meetings. Do you agree with our assessment?  We look forward to seeing your comments.