3 Up
1. Mets Are Good
While many correctly site the Mets could have and should have done more this offseason, the Mets have a team capable of winning the National League East in 2020. In fact, PECOTA rates them as the top team in the division.
While this is far from a complete team, the bullpen should be better with Dellin Betances, and overall, the pitching staff may very well benefit from having Jeremy Hefner as the new pitching coach. Already, it seems he is helping Steven Matz build off his strong second half to have a true breakout season.
How the Mets 2020 season finishes is anyone’s guess, but the Mets have as much top-end talent as any team in baseball. If that talent can get the Mets to the postseason, we have already seen what Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard can do on the big stage.
2. Cespedes Ready To Go Full Boar
We finally found out Yoenis Cespedes missed the entire 2019 season because of an altercation on his ranch with a wild boar. This would lead to a renegotiation of his contract, which arguably freed up money for the Mets to acquire more pitching this offseason.
The double heel surgery and broken ankle now seem to be behind Cespedes and he has been taking part in baseball activities. For the first time since 2018, he will be participating in Spring Training and, depending on how things go, could be on the Opening Day roster.
If Cespedes is on the Opening Day roster, he is an immediate game-changer, even as a part-time player because he has the type of power which can instantaneously change the game and, as we have seen, he has a sense for the big moment.
Overall, a healthy and productive Cespedes takes the talent on this Mets roster to another level and it changes the conversation from the division to making the World Series.
3. Mets Have The Right Manager
It may have taken a while to get there and there were embarrassing circumstances involved, but ultimately, the Mets finally hired the right man for the job. Luis Rojas is a baseball lifer whose dream was to manage the New York Mets. Not only did his dream come true, but also the dreams of Mets players also came true that day.
Nearly every homegrown Met in that clubhouse was impacted and developed by Rojas. It wasn’t just homegrown players like Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, and Jeff McNeil who were enthusiastic about the hire. Players from other organizations like Marcus Stroman were also excited about Rojas managing the Mets.
Rojas has had an impact on this Mets team already. He has shown the ability to get the most out of their talent and raise their games. Now, he has the chance to do it as the Major League manager. Given his track record, we should be very excited about what he can do with this team in 2020.
3 Down
1. Wilpons Still Own The Team
For a brief moment, the Mets were going to be sold to Steve Cohen, who is not just an avid Mets fan, but also the 35th wealthiest person in America. However, much like the David Einhorn deal from a decade ago, this deal fell apart.
The Mets may still be looking to sell the team, and they finally are saying they are going to give up control immediately. However, according to Charles Gasparino of Fox Business, there isn’t much interest in purchasing the Mets.
Perhaps that is the result of the Wilpons wanting to hold onto SNY, the Mets saying the new buyer should expect to lose $50 million a year, or the state of the team’s finances.
In the end, we are left with a Mets team still owned by the Wilpons and it is a team that is in a state of limbo.
2. Astros Scandal Comes To Queens
The Astros sign-stealing scandal led to the firings of AJ Hinch, Alex Cora, and Carlos Beltran in that order. In a truly Mets fashion, they were the team who did not get a World Series from their manager and they were somehow the team who looked the most in disarray.
Beltran coming home was supposed to be a way to pave the way for him to finish what he started in 2005, and it was going to lead to the team eventually retiring his number as he wore a Mets cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. Instead, Beltran was forced out, and the Mets were scrambling looking for a new manager.
To make matters worse, the Mets have both J.D. Davis and Jake Marisnick from that 2017 Astros team. According to different studies and video evidence, both Davis and Marisnick were two of the Astros players who had the highest percent of banging noises during their at-bats.
They now share a clubhouse with Marcus Stroman, who has been outspoken on the issue, and other Mets pitchers who have been impacted by this scandal. Hopefully, this team has the leaders in place to prevent this from sabotaging the season. So far, the Mets players are saying the right things.
3. Baseball in Disarray
We could be focused on Mike Trout getting help in the form of Anthony Rendon. We could be focusing on the Yankees taking the next step with Gerrit Cole. We could look at the NL East becoming deeper and more dangerous. Instead, baseball has been a flood of negativity and drama.
The story of the baseball offseason was the sign-stealing scandal, and the Astros players’ complete unwillingness to accept any responsibility. This is made worse by the findings of Major League Baseball already coming into question with the Wall Street Journal showing this was not necessarily the player-driven plot Manfred wants us to believe.
The Mookie Betts trade was first the result of the Boston Red Sox not willing to spend, and then it was about the leaking of Brusdar Graterol‘s medical records. At the same time, the fates of Nolan Arenado and Kris Bryant are in limbo with the latter having lost his grievance sending a message service time manipulation is accepted.
In the interim, there have been potentially false flags like the universal DH and seven postseason teams to try to shift the conversation. All that has accomplished is drawing the ire of the true traditionalist diehard fans which remain a significant portion of baseball’s fan base.
