The Position Group That Should Be The Mets Main Focus

The New York Mets enter the 2023 offseason coming off one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history. The ball club saw their win total drop from 101 to only 75 in a season where New York’s preseason playoff odds were extremely high. Now, they will hope for a complete turnaround and aim to regain the regular season form they had in 2022 ending with a strong showing in the postseason.

To do so, new president of baseball operations David Stearns will have his work cut out for him. As has been well documented, the Mets sold off at the trade deadline as former general manager Billy Eppler further set the team up for success in the future. With all that being said, and given the current state of the team, what are the squad’s biggest needs entering the offseason?

Postion Groups

It comes down to two areas, each surrounding pitching. Both the starting pitching group and bullpen have major holes. On paper, the Mets only have two rotation spots anchored (Kodai Senga and José Quintana) largely due to the in-season trades of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, each of which were suppose to be signed through this upcoming season. Additionally, in the bullpen, only two-to-three roles are cemented (Edwin Díaz, Brooks Raley, and Adam Ottavino). However, both Raley (team) and Ottavino (player) have options.

Of course, there are several other players currently scheduled to be under contract or who are arbitration-eligible and can contend for a spot. However, each of these type of players – David Peterson, Tylor Megill, Joey Lucchesi, Trevor Gott, Drew Smith, etc. – are note exactly locks.

Not to mention, each the starting group and bullpen, ranked in the league’s bottom half in efficiency. Mets’ starters in 2023 had the sixth-highest walk rate in the league and a group wins above replacement (WAR) that ranked 18th. Meanwhile, the bullpen ranked 22nd in ERA and 29th in WAR.

On the flip side, the hitting group is much easier to envision on paper. The Mets have their core of Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso (pending arbitration), Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo, among others, already set in stone. Add in further development from rookies like Francisco Álvarez, Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and/or Ronny Mauricio, the Mets should be pretty well set up on offense. Granted, additional moves in this area would both be welcomed and wise, but should not be as much as a focus as the pitching.

Biggest Need

Of the above, the hardest thing the Mets will have to accomplish this offseason is finding at least two more quality starting pitchers. The bullpen, which struggled exceedingly last year, is much easier to piece together due to the higher supply on the market and how much cheaper options will come than starting pitching. Luckily, for the Mets, the free agent market is expected to be plush with starting pitching options.

Top-end options that line the market consist of Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, and Aaron Nola. Other top of the rotation options include Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Not to mention, there are several middle-to-lower-level rotation starters that would be helpful, such as Jack Flaherty, James Paxton, Tyler Mahle, Michael Lorenzen, and Kenta Maeda, to name a few. Of course, there is also the trade market.

Regardless, luckily for the Mets, it appears the team’s biggest need, starting pitching, will be extremely accessible to the team via different avenues this offseason. Hopefully, new president of baseball operations, David Stearns, realizes just how many holes is in the team’s starting group and makes that an area of focus this offseason.