Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets will hold seven picks before the fifth round of the 2023 MLB Draft. That is quite the haul, and underlines the organization’s long-term philosophy and approach under owner Steve Cohen.

This offseason has been dominated by Cohen’s determination to outspend everyone else in baseball in order to transform the Mets into a perennial winner. Ownership and the front office have already committed to spending over $300 million on payroll in 2023 after signing Justin Verlander, José Quintana, David Robertson, and Kodai Senga. They also re-signed key players Edwin Díaz and Brandon Nimmo to big-ticket, long-term deals.

The Mets will have 7 picks before the 5th round in the 2023 Draft:

First-rounder (dropped 10 spots)
Second-rounder
Third-rounder
Brandon Sproat compensation
Fourth-rounder
Jacob deGrom compensation
Chris Bassitt compensation

Another huge step toward building sustainability.

— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) December 12, 2022

Furthermore, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and our very own Michael Mayer reported on Tuesday night that the Mets had been in contact with agent Scott Boras over star free agent shortstop Carlos Correa. That ultimately didn’t pan out with Correa signing a historic 13-year, $350 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. However, per Rosenthal, the Mets are still very much in on adding another big bat to the lineup and have interest in free agents Michael Conforto and J.D. Martinez.

One thing that has slipped under the radar given the Mets’ spending spree has been the fact that the franchise has also spent the winter building for the future. After a very productive 2022 MLB Draft in which the Mets came out with one of the best hauls according to many draft experts, they will enter the 2023 draft with another war chest of valuable picks.

The Mets currently own seven picks before the fifth round, which is an incredible arsenal of picks. It also presents the scouting department with another excellent opportunity to further stock a farm system that is the rise. Although their pick in the first round slid back ten spots, they have a selection in the second round, a selection in the third round, a pick in the fourth round and three additional compensation picks.

New York’s compensation pick for failing to sign Brandon Sproat will fall between the third and fourth rounds. The selections for not signing Chris Bassitt and Jacob deGrom will take place between the end of the fourth round and the beginning of the fifth round, respectively. While the Mets will still need to hit on those draft picks, that amount of draft capital at least gives them the chance to put together an outstanding draft class for the second consecutive year.

Building through the draft is a philosophy Cohen has embraced, and it is clear the Mets are trying to follow the blueprint created by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Spend big money on free agents in order to allow time for the farm system to be rebuilt, then nurture and develop those prospects and implement them into the big league roster. And, as the Dodgers have so successfully done, you can then build around those prospects through free agency and in the trade market.

While Cohen has been committed to spending big bucks in order to improve the major league roster for now, he has also put a lot of resources into developing talent. As mentioned, that was on full display at the 2022 MLB Draft when the Mets had one of the best first days of any team after selecting catcher Kevin Parada, shortstop Jett Williams, RHP Blade Tidwell, and utility player Nick Morabito all within the first two rounds.

The Mets also boast the best prospect in all of baseball in phenom catcher Francisco Álvarez, while Brett Baty and Mark Vientos could have big roles to play on the major league roster in 2023 and beyond. Ownership and the front office’s commitment to building for the future was also underlined last year when the team refused to give up any of their top prospects for win-now moves at the 2022 trade deadline.

The draft isn’t an exact science,  and the Mets have plenty of work ahead of them in order to ensure they take full advantage of the draft capital they have at their disposal. However, this is another huge step towards Cohen fulfilling his goal of making the New York Mets a sustainable organization and ensuring that his front office builds a consistent winning team through the draft rather than just relying on spending huge money in free agency.

The post Mets Will Have Seven Picks Before the Fifth Round of 2023 Draft appeared first on Metsmerized Online.