Opening Day is finally here! After five long months of cold weather and no Mets baseball, Amazin’ fans can rejoice as their club will take the field yet again today. Last season was a wild roller coaster ride that saw the Mets look dead in the water a couple of months in, to doing a complete 180 and going to the sixth game of the NLCS. The squad from Queens has now added some new faces, including former crosstown foes Juan Soto and Clay Holmes, to try to get themselves over the hump. The energy is high as another exciting season is on tap in Queens!

The Mets open up in Houston today at 4:10 p.m. EST. It will be Clay Holmes making his first start as a Met, going against Astros ace Framber Valdez.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Latest Mets News

Manny Randhawa of MLB.com did an interview with Juan Soto’s mentor and Little League coach, Rafel Zapata, who turned Sot from a pitcher to a position player. 

Frankie Montas‘ MRI this week showed “really good healing” in his strained right lat, David Stearns said. He still is a week or two away from starting a throwing program, per Tim Healey of Newsday.

Steve Cohen went in depth with Jon Heyman of the NY Post on how any why he went to the length that he did to get Soto.

Carlos Mendoza says Brett Baty will receive “a lot of the reps” at second base with Jeff McNeil starting the season on the IL, per SNY.

Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña made the Opening Day roster. Click here to learn more about the Mets’ Opening Day cuts.

Latest MLB News

Strauss is beginning a Minor League Baseball partnership as the first brand partner on MiLB helmets, per David Broughton of Sports Business Journal.

RHPs Carl Edwards Jr. and Touki Toussaint each signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels and were assigned to Triple-A Salt Lake.

New Brewers starter and former Met Jose Quintana agreed to be optioned to the minors to complete his build-up, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.

In 2025 spring training, the ABS challenge system yielded these results: 4.1 challenge per game, 52.2% overturn percentage, 2.6% of called pitches challenged and 13.8 seconds added per challenge.

The Yankees and Mets are expected to generate $909 million in economic impact for New York City during the 2025 regular season, according to projections from NYC mayor Eric Adams and the NYC Economic Development Corporation, per Mike Mazzeo of Sports Business Journal.

Pirates star young pitcher Jared Jones is dealing with a UCL sprain and the organization is being careful and exploring other avenues as they try to avoid Tommy John surgery, per Noah Hiles of Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette.

Latest on MMO

MMO has released their 2025 pre-season MLB power rankings. 

Check out MMO’s preview on new Met A.J. Minter!

See what moves the Mets made to complete their opening day roster.

On This Date in Mets History

2022: Jacob deGrom pitches the first three innings and Max Scherzer finishes the game with six innings in relief as they strike out 12 in a 7-3 spring training win over the Cardinals.

1987: The Mets acquire David Cone from the Royals in exchange for Ed Hearn, Rick Anderson and Mauro Gozzo. 

Born on This Date: Clay Holmes (1993), Brandon Nimmo (1993), Matt Harvey (1989), Johnny Monell (1986), Michael Cuddyer (1979), Bill Sudakis (1946).

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Wright had been sidelined since April 14, initially with a hamstring injury, then a diagnosis of spinal stenosis, a condition that would ultimately end his career. But his return on Aug. 24, 2015, sparked the Mets’ lineup during their magical year.

Before the Mets barrage in the city of brotherly love, the Phils had raced out to a 3-0 lead off Mets’ starter Jacob deGrom. Philadelphia grabbed the early lead from Mets’ killer Ryan Howard, who launched a first-inning three-run dinger.

Wright led off the top of the second inning against Philadelphia’s starter, Adam Morgan. Wright hit an absolute bomb to left, announcing his return to the lineup in dramatic form.

The Mets, who were in the midst of a battle with the Nationals for first place in the National League East division, still trailed the game 3-1. And that lead widened on a rare night where deGrom struggled against the Phillies.

Cameron Rupp hit a round-tripper to put the Phillies ahead 4-1 in the bottom of the second, and then Dominic Brown hit a three-run shot in the third to give the Phillies a 7-2 lead. It seemed like this was not going to be a the Mets’ night.

But the Mets chipped away before putting down the hammer. Juan Lagares went yard in the third inning to cut the Mets’ deficit to 4-2 and then the runs came crashing down afterward.

9 years ago today, David Wright returned from injury with a thunderous home run.

pic.twitter.com/NANNstOPWi

— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) August 24, 2024

In the top of the fourth inning, Wilmer Flores and Travis d’Arnaud went back to back to bring the deficit to 7-5. Then in the top of the fifth, Flores struck again, along with Michael Cuddyer who added a solo shot to jump the Phillies. The three-run homer and solo shot gave the Mets a 9-7 lead, which they never succumbed.

Daniel Murphy got in on the fun in the sixth inning with a two-run homer. D’Arnaud doubled in two runs in the same inning, giving the Mets a 13-7 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.

Yoenis Cespedes weighed in in the top of the ninth inning, smacking a two-run home run, putting the Mets ahead 16-7 and ending the scoring for the night. The eight home runs were a club record, and winning the game put the Mets up by five and one-half games in the division. Sean Gilmartin recorded the win, pushing his record to 3-1 on the season.

The Mets would go on to sweep the four-game series in Philadelphia, staying red hot after sweeping three from the Rockies in Colorado in their previous series.

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After the New York Mets dropped more than $250 million via free agency prior to the lockout, it’s safe to assume many Mets fans had one thought in mind: a return to the playoffs in 2022. When looking at the team’s 2021 performance, it’ll take a significant jump in results to go from a 77-85 club to one that plays postseason baseball.

As everyone knows, the Mets have reached the playoffs nine times since getting established (1969, 1973, 1986, 1988, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2015, 2016). All these occurrences have been preceded by a record better than .500…except in 1969 and 2015.

Of course, these two occurrences were a little extra special because not only did they both include trips to the World Series, but they ended a streak of losing seasons. New York was beginning to trend up in the win-loss column from 1967-68, but the best record they finished with was 73-89. So, following seven straight losing campaigns, the Mets emphatically broke that streak with a 100-62 record and a World Series title. Not bad at all.

Fast-forwarding to 2015, it was a similar but different situation. New York had finished with a winning record four years in a row from 2005-08. From there, they became a perpetual 70-win club while eventually rebuilding for their next competitive window. That streak of winning baseball was followed by six consecutive years of no more than 79 wins, but no fewer than 70. Then, 2015 came around and New York won the National League pennant after posting a 90-72 record.

Although some of the seasons prior to other playoff appearances weren’t terrific, momentum towards something special was being built. The 2022 version of the Mets won’t have to break a cycle of that many consecutive losing seasons thanks to an 86-76 showing in 2019, but the last couple of years haven’t necessarily been great.

Pressure continues to mount, as well. Steve Cohen said prior to last season that his goal is to have the Mets win a World Series within the next five years. After one season under his belt as owner, that timeline has now shrunk by a year. The entire coaching staff has changed, he’s watched an experienced manager in Buck Showalter take control, and he was played an integral part in signing Max Scherzer to lead the rotation with Jacob deGrom.

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Of course, being in the big leagues comes with inherent pressures, and that’s even more true in a major media market like New York. But at least the Mets are showing they’re serious, right?

With eyes of hopefully starting to compete the following season, Sandy Alderson’s major-league acquisitions in advance of 2015 included signing Michael Cuddyer to a two-year, $21 million deal and John Mayberry Jr. to a one-year, $1.45 deal. Sure, they made crucial mid-year trades that helped propel this club to the Fall Classic, but it’s safe to assume nobody was thinking “The Mets are going to the World Series” after that kind of offseason.

Since the Mets are now spending more than ever before, the hope of seeing the Amazins in October again has certainly increased. What will be crucial for general manager Billy Eppler and the rest of the front office is to finish the job they started earlier in the offseason (once there’s a new CBA in place and they’re able to, of course).

Last week, we saw a report from Andy Martino stating the Mets were likely done making splashy acquisitions prior to Opening Day. Of course, “likely” doesn’t mean “definitely”, but I’m not going to lie, I was a little sad upon reading that. Mostly because hearing that wording during the previous regime meant the Mets were definitely done. I’m still getting used to New York having the sport’s richest owner because there’s always a chance Cohen gives the green light to drop the metaphorical hammer if he wants (you know, the one that has all the cash in it).

Jon Heyman got me excited again simply because he worded his tweet differently, saying the Mets could consider bringing in more significant talent to hopefully put them over the edge. Whether that means trying to wine and dine Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Trevor Story, Clayton Kershaw, or swing a trade isn’t the point. In recent years — during both the offseason and at the July trade deadline — the Mets have made moves but didn’t quite finish the job by completely augmenting the roster in the way it was most needed.

That’ll need to change once the lockout ends. The offense has certainly improved, but the bullpen could use some reinforcements, and the rotation could at least use additional depth so what happened last year — you know, when they essentially ran out of MLB-caliber arms — doesn’t happen again.

We heard Eppler talk last week about how he thinks the Mets are competitive as currently constructed, but won’t close the door on continuing to make additions once he’s allowed to. Based on what we know and have seen from this new era of Mets baseball, I wouldn’t be surprised to see another significant addition or two be made prior to Opening Day (whenever the heck that’s going to be).

Going from below .500 one year to the playoffs the following year isn’t easy. The Mets will need as much help as possible to make this kind of jump for just the third time in franchise history. It’ll soon be time for them to finish the offseason with an exclamation point, and it’s OK to feel reasonably confident that they can make it happen.

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The Mets finished the 2010s in the middle road of most offensive categories with the highlights few and far between outside of their magical run in 2015.

Their 1661 home runs ranked 9th out of 15 National League teams for the decade and their 6828 runs scored came in 10th.

As the Mets enter a new decade with a strong offensive core of Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, and J.D. Davis, let’s look at the top 10 offensive highlights from the last 10 years.

Assman Steals the Show (9/22/16)

It was a wild game that included numerous lead changes, six home runs, and the rarity of Addison Reed struggling, but Asdrubal Cabrera would wrap it up with a three-run walk-off homer in the 11th inning and a glorious bat flip.

Captain Rocks Citi Field in October (10/30/15)

It was a long ride, painful ride for David Wright to play in a World Series game in front of Mets fans. What he did when he finally got that moment was poetically perfect, a crushed two-run homer that gave the Mets an early lead and had Citi Field rocking.

Polar Bear Breaks Rookie Record (9/28/19) 

The rookie season for Pete Alonso was one for the record books, and now he sits all alone in Major League history with 53 home runs in his first season. He broke Aaron Judge‘s previous record of 52 set back in 2017.

Wright Return Homer (9/24/15)

There were questions about whether David Wright would ever play again, well he did and returned with a bang. In his first at-bat in over four months, the Captain hit a towering blast off that was so emotional that even some of the home fans in Philadelphia stood up and applauded the long-time Met.

Nieuwenhuis Goes Deep Thrice (7/12/15)

First Mets hitter in team history to hit three homers in a home game? Yup, that would be former top high school football player Kirk Nieuwenhuis. The outfielder entered the game with no big league home runs that season then hit all three by the bottom of the fifth inning.

Later that season, Kirk would have one of the biggest hits of the season with a solo homer off Jonathan Papelbon to cap the Mets comeback from a 7-1 deficit to the Nationals.

The win pushed the Mets six games ahead of the Nationals and was the middle game of what turned out to be a monumental sweep in Washington.

The Impossible Has Happened (5/7/16)

Bartolo Colon went deep and Gary Cohen had one of the best calls in major league history. It was also one of the slowest home runs trots in history as Bart took his time around the bases in San Diego.

Enter Tears of Joy (7/31/15)

Just two days after Wilmer Flores cried on the field because of a trade that never went through, he blasted a walk-off home run against the Washington Nationals in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Teammate Michael Cuddyer called it one of the best walk-off homers he had ever seen, and it will certainly be remembered in Mets history for a long time.

Postseason Power Surge (Postseason 2015)

Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy hit 14 home runs in 499 regular season at-bats in 2015, the playoffs were a completely different animal. He would hit three in the NLDS against the Dodgers including in back-to-back games to close out the series win.

The he would hit a home run in all four of the National League Championship Series games in the sweep of the Cubs. Murphy became the first player to hit a home run in six consecutive postseason games.

Yo Breaks It Open (10/15/2015)

Yoenis Cespedes was everything the Mets had hoped for when they acquired at the trade deadline in 2015. He had 35 extra base hits and 44 RBI’s in only 57 games as the Mets won the division.

He would also hit two homers in the playoff run, including a massive dong to left field that put the Mets on top 10-3 in Game 3 of the NLCS against the Dodgers.

Beating the Best (5/28/13)

Walking off against Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera is not something that happened often, though the Mets did that in late May of 2013 with three straight hits to begin the and end the inning.

With the Mets down 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth, Murphy started with a double, Wright singled to score Murphy, and then Lucas Duda singled to score Wright for the walk-off win.

Top 10 Defensive Plays

Top 15 Games

Minors Minors All Decade Team

Top Offensive Players

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Brandon Moss
Position: First Base / Outfield
Bats: Left – Throws: Right 
Born: September 16, 1983 (Age 33)

Brandon Moss enters the offseason in enviable fashion; with no qualifying offer attached to the 33-year-old and coming off a season where he posted his second highest home run total (28) of his career, highest OPS (.784) since 2013 with Oakland, and offers versatility in the field, as he plays both first base and the corner outfield spots.

Moss spent the entire 2016 season with the St. Louis Cardinals, putting up a slash line of .225/.300/.484 with the aforementioned 28 homers, and 67 RBI in 128 games played. Moss had a solid year in the power department, posting a slugging percentage of .484, the highest it’s been since 2013, while posting a .259 ISO, 14th best among players with at least 400 at-bats in 2016.

Just as Jay Bruce intrigued the Mets with his superior numbers with RISP, Moss too had an excellent year in that department, slashing .258/.383/.573 with seven home runs and 42 RBI. And in high leverage situations, according to Baseball-Reference, Moss has an .826 OPS in 64 at-bats in 2016, indicating that he excelled in high pressure situations.

At the conclusion of August, Moss had a stat line of .261/.333/.562, good for an .895 OPS. However, a prolonged slump in September/October but a damper on that gaudy stat line, as Moss went 9-for-91 to close out the 2016 season.

Moss does come with some warts though. As a lefty hitter, Moss had his issues against southpaws in ’16, putting up an OPS of .664 and hitting only three of his 28 homers against left-handed pitching. He hit much better against lefties in 2014-15 however, posting a .792 OPS in ’14 and .721 in ’15, both better marks than he put up against righties in both those years.

His defense is also a bit suspect, as he posted a -10.1 UZR/150 at first base this past season according to Fangraphs, and a -3 in defensive runs saved. He fared much better in the outfield, where he posted a combined 14.1 UZR/150 between left and right field in 507.1 innings, with three defensive runs saved.

Contract: 

Moss earned $8.25 million this past year, after the Cardinals tendered him a contract last winter. He’ll be looking for at least a two-year deal, and could find multiple suitors for his skill set, including the Nationals, Orioles, Blue Jays, and Angels. Best guess, Moss secures a two-year $16-18 million contract in the offseason and continues to play both in the outfield and at first. Similar contracts include Mike Morse in the 2014 offseason signing a two-year $16 million deal with the Miami Marlins, and Michael Cuddyer signing his two-year $21 million deal with the Mets prior to the 2015 season, before retiring at the conclusion of the year.

Recommendation:

The Mets should pass on Moss. The team already has many left-handed hitting options in the positions Moss plays, particularly in the outfield with Michael Conforto, Curtis Granderson, and Bruce already in place, and then Lucas Duda manning first. A few other areas of worry about Moss include his declining OBP since 2012, his rising K% since 2014, and his diminishing BB% the last three seasons. The team should allocate its finances towards bringing in several bullpen arms, bringing in a right-handed bench player who kills lefties (Justin Ruggiano comes to mind), and of course, re-signing Yoenis Cespedes.

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The General Managers Meetings officially begins on Monday, November 7 in Scottsdale, Arizona and will last through Thursday, November 10.

All 30 MLB general managers will meet and discuss a variety of baseball issues like the new CBA, participate in various workshops and make presentations, and then elect the 2016 MLB Executive of the Year. But of course that is merely the backdrop.

The GM Meetings have evolved into a staging ground for all of the wheeling and dealing that is to come this winter. It’s the official start of the Hot Stove season and more and more trades and signings come out of it with each passing year.

We have seen more and more deals taking place at the GM meetings over the last few years. Last year we saw the Braves deal Andrelton Simmons during the GM meetings, and lets not forget that in 2014, Sandy Alderson signed free agent Michael Cuddyer to a two-year deal during the GM Meetings.

My guess is that this year, Sandy will be spending a great deal of his time trying to gauge the market for an upgrade at catcher, acquiring a top shelf reliever to bolster the bullpen, and maybe even take a peak at the center field and second base markets.

Whatever happens, it should be an interesting four days filled with lots of rumors, actual trades, and even some early free agent signings. We’re looking forward to covering all the action for you on MMO.

Important Dates:

Nov 7 – Teams extend qualifying offers to their eligible free agent players.

Nov 8 – Free Agency officially begins and players can negotiate with all 30 MLB teams.

Nov 14 – Free agents must inform their teams if they are accepting or declining their qualifying offer.

Nov 18 – Teams must finalize their 40 man roster for the upcoming Rule 5 Draft.

Dec 1 – The current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires.

Dec 2 – Teams must non-tender or offer arbitration to their eligible players.

Dec 5 – Winter Meetings in National Harbor, Maryland through Dec 8.

Dec 8 – Rule 5 Draft

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Despite saving  $12.5 million dollars from Michael Cuddyer‘s contract, Joel Sherman of the NY Post says the Mets have no intention of bringing back Yoenis Cespedes unless he lowers his demands. Mike Puma adds that the Mets only like Cespedes on a 2-3 year deal.

Sherman writes that they will instead look to add quality veteran depth instead of making a big splash. While this certainly comes as disappointing news fans, the Front Office believes that building solid depth and flexibility is crucial to their success.

The Mets learned this lesson the hard way this season when fringe players such as Eric Campbell, Daniel Muno, Darrell Ceciliani, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Johnny Monell and John Mayberry Jr. were given a substantial amount of playing time early in the season.  Sherman calculates that this group of  players had taken 17 percent of the Mets position player at-bats, or about one out of every six.

However, this issue was resolved later in the year when the team acquired veterans Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson to fill out the roster. The team’s significantly improved depth was one of the main reasons for their mid-season turnaround, and they want to replicate that success once again in 2016.

The Mets already took steps to achieve this with Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera,  but what other available players could the Mets look to sign? Sherman says utility man Ryan Raburn would be a great target for the bench. 

The 34-year old free agent batted .303/.393/.543 in 201 plate appearances for Cleveland this year, and crushes left-handed pitching. As Sherman points out, he posted a  1.004 OPS against them this year and has a .827 mark for his career.

He also brings some versatility to the club as he can play both corner outfield spots as well as first base. This means he can be a great platoon option for Michael Conforto, Curtis Granderson or Lucas Duda who aren’t as prolific against southpaws.

I’m not sure why the Mets can’t sign a player of Cespedes’ caliber and also add proven veteran depth like Raburn at the same time. Is the payroll still that much of an issue for the Wilpons, or is the team really just reluctant to commit to Cespedes on a 5-6 year deal? Still, Raburn looks like he’d be a solid addition.

(Updated 12/14)

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According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, Baseball America is set to name New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson as Major League Baseball’s executive of the year. Nothing yet on the BA site, but Rubin has close to ties to them so it should be officially announced shortly.

** Scratch that lest sentence, here is the full announcement from Baseball America which went live two minutes after I posted this. **

A couple of weeks ago, ESPN’s Jim Bowden recommended Alderson for the award and said:

“The Mets had a quiet offseason; the signing of outfielder Michael Cuddyer was their only significant move. In this case, Alderson’s best moves were the ones he didn’t make, including trading one of the team’s good young starting pitchers to get a hitter.”

“That said, once it was evident that the team could win the division in 2015, Alderson went to work, making multiple deals to transform one of the league’s worst offenses into one of its best.”

Terry Collins also spoke highly of Alderson and believes he is deserving of the award as well.

“When Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe walked into our clubhouse, the attitude changed. He knew we needed a big bat and added Cespedes. I think there is no question he is the Executive of the Year.’’

“He is the guy who was the architect of this rotation,’’ Collins told The Post. “He timed all these guys coming up here at the right time, he didn’t rush any of them.”

In his fifth season as the Mets GM, Alderson’s Mets produced a 90-72 record, won the National League pennant, and were a heartbeat away from being World Series champs.

“Sandy is the best leader I’ve ever been around,” Mets special assistant J.P. Ricciardi said. “He lets you do your job. He respects you. And he wants your input. In the world today, his ‘yes’ means yes and his ‘no’ means no. That’s one of the best things about him. He’s always in the forefront. He’s not afraid to take arrows. He’s just a great leader.”

Congrats to Sandy, and I hope he’s doing okay wherever he is. I haven’t heard a peep from him ever since the team announced he would miss the GM Meetings due to a medical procedure. I reached out to Jay Horwitz and asked about him before the Thanksgiving holiday and was only told that he’d pass along my well wishes.

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The Mets first big move last offseason was acquiring free agent outfielder Michael Cuddyer. He signed with New York for two years and $21 million, and he cost the Mets their first round selection in the 2015 draft.

While he was coming off an injury-plagued season, the Mets believed that he was exactly the type of hitter they needed to solidify the middle of their order. In his two previous years with Colorado, he batted .331 with a .929 OPS and 139 OPS + over 745 plate appearances.

However, at the age of 36, Cuddyer’s production suddenly declined. His triple slash line plummeted to an underwhelming .259/.303/.391 in 408 plate appearances and he had a 0.0 WAR according to Fangraphs.

In the playoffs, Cuddyer’s struggles were highlighted even more as he recorded only one hit in 12 plate appearances. He also made several costly mistakes in the field during the Dodgers series.

It’s clear that the Mets can no longer start him going forward, but is there anyway they could salvage his contract? He is owed $12.5 million dollars next year, which is taking up a lot of space on the payroll and making it harder for the team to acquire other players.

Given his contract, the Mets will have to eat most of his salary but will there be any teams even interested in him after his poor performance this year? Steamer forecasts more of the same from Cuddyer next season as they project him to have a 0.1 WAR in 105 games.

The Mets just have to hope that Cuddyer produces well off the bench and as a pinch hitter. It doesn’t look like any team will take him off our hands, and it’s unlikely that he will return to form in 2016 when he’ll be 37.

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I wanted to update this post in which I argued that the Mets should not trade either of their two young catchers for the reasons I outlined below.

The question came up last night at the Boca Raton Hotel and Resort, the site of the GM Meetings. Assistant GM John Ricco was asked if the team was considering dealing one of Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki

“Catching is a position where you can’t have enough depth,” Ricco said Tuesday. “And we have two guys we think are frontline catchers, but I think there’s ways for us, especially in the short-term, to make use of both of them.”

“The short answer is I don’t think we’ll be talking about either one of them in trades, because they are both going to help us win.”

Ricco also said there have been no discussions about moving either player to a different position, even on a part-time basis. But if the situation warrants it because both players are playing at high level it will be considered. “I don’t think we feel the urgency at all,” Ricco said.

“Kevin is still learning and developing. And Travis still has yet to show that he can be a healthy guy for a full year… If they’re both playing at an elite level and they’re kind of tripping over each other and it’s a situation where there’s resentment, then I think you think about it longer.”

November 10

Are the Mets going to move one of their catchers? That gets asked a lot these days, and I understand the reasoning behind it, but I consider the likelihood of that happening very unlikely and illogical as well.

Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki were the two main catchers for the Mets in 2015, appearing in 140 of the season’s 162 games. D’Arnaud is undoubtedly the team’s number one catcher, but due to a pair of prolonged injuries, Plawecki was pushed into a lot of playing time as the primary backup last season.

D’Arnaud batted .268 with 14 doubles, 12 home runs and 41 RBI in 239 at-bats last season, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to expect 30 doubles, 25 homers and 80 RBI in a healthy season. His .821 OPS and 129 OPS+ rank him in the top five among all catchers.

At 26-years old, I cannot see an offensive-starved team like the Mets tossing in the towel and trading d’Arnaud to fill a need in the infield or bullpen. His value is exponentially higher to the Mets than it is in trade mostly due to the injury history. But if there’s a better example of a high reward/risk player for the Mets I’d like to see it.

While the Mets were pleased with Kevin Plawecki, who hit .219 with three homers and 21 RBI in 73 games, last season, there were some legitimate concerns, and nobody would put him on the same level as Travis d’Arnaud as an offensive player. Not even close.

Still, as a backup, Plawecki more than qualifies for the job, and as a tandem the Mets are in good shape behind the plate with their young backstops. If there’s one quibble, it’s with TDA defensively and mostly limited to throwing runners out at second base.

Clearly there’s room for improvement, and I’m hearing that d’Arnaud is going to focus more on blocking the plate and being in position to throw to second with runners on base, while easing up on his intense pitch-framing focus which some in the organization see as the culprit.

There’s been on-again, off-again talk of moving one of them to a different position, but GM Sandy Alderson downplayed it.  “We’ll see how that sorts out over the course of the offseason. But I don’t think we’re anxious to run either one of them out of that catching position.”

But getting back to the debate of trading one of d’Arnaud or Plawecki, let me leave you with this.

1. Did Kevin Plawecki show you enough in nearly a half season of games that he can adequately step in as the number one catcher and replace d’Arnaud’s offensive value to the lineup?

2. Are you so confident that Travis d’Arnaud can give you 140 games next season, that you’ll peddle away Plawecki for a similarly valued middle reliever or bench option?

If the answers to those two questions are no, then there;s your answer on whether the Mets should deal one of them. I just don’t see the logic in moving either of these players with their value to other teams so much lower than their value to us.  And moving a potential 25 HR and 80 RBI bat while you’re trying to replace the loss of Yoenis Cespedes and Daniel Murphy is about as ridiculous an idea as you can get.

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