With the Major League Baseball lockout in full effect, there remain many uncertainties to this year’s offseason, and amongst the leading poles of curiosity remains, are the New York Mets finished adding positional players.
According to a recent Sports Illustrated article, it appears one man may still be on that list: Kris Bryant.
The article states that multiple people in baseball believe the Mets could end up with Bryant, with one agent saying. “If Cohen wants him, he will get him.”
While on paper the Mets have already invested $124.5 million in major league position players this offseason, adding a player of Kris Bryant’s caliber and flexibility may prove too tantalizing to avoid. The numbers circulating around the Javier Baez contract offer, may be enough to lure in the 30-year-old IF/OF, at an estimated value of $125 million over 5 years. But does this fill a hole in the roster? Or a suit a billionaire owner’s insatiable taste for headlines while making certain the New York area knows that cost is of no concern?
It’s both. While Baez clearly would have formed one of the best 2B-SS duos in the MLB, the positional diversity of Kris Bryant is hard to ignore. With the next CBA likely to include a universal DH, having a player that can shift from the corner infield to the corner outfield, could prove immeasurably valuable. The diversity of his right-handed bat would also be a welcome addition, along with Mark Canha and Starling Marte, to what has become a more left-hand dominated lineup over the last several years.
The addition of Bryant could also free the Mets up to trade from their treasure trove of arbitration eligible players, in Dominic Smith, J.D. Davis, or Jeff McNeil, to acquire additional arms for the bullpen and/or rotation.
As one executive put it, “Anything is possible with an owner that is willing and capable of spending whatever it takes to win.”
It appears that at the conclusion of this lockout, we will find out what ‘whatever it takes’ really means.
