Three Keys For Mets To Win The NL East Title

The National League East is full of competition entering the 2022 regular season. The defending World Series champions, the Atlanta Braves, have added talented players to an already strong roster. The Philadelphia Phillies have added two big bats in Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, among other names. Even the Washington Nationals and Miami Marlins have made some nice additions to bolster their roster heading into the new season.

So, what do the New York Mets need to have happen in order to win the division, for the first time since 2015

Starting Pitching Health

We all know the importance of having quality starting pitching over the course of a grueling 162-game season– something the Mets did not have throughout all of the 2021 season.

Jacob deGrom‘s arm injury was a turning point in the Mets fall from first place in 2021. His last regular-season appearance occurred on July 7, when he struck out 10 batters and allowed two earned runs. That raised his ERA to 1.08 on the season. DeGrom’s health might be the utmost important thing if the Mets plan on raising the 2022 N.L. East banner at Citi Field.

Newly acquired three-time Cy Young-award winner Max Scherzer dealt with “dead arm” last postseason while pitching with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Scherzer attributed his arm issues to extra days off and closely monitored pitch counts while with the Dodgers.

“If I pitch in that game, I blow out and I could be out for a year and jeopardize my career,” Scherzer said, discussing not being able to pitch in Game 6 of the NLCS in 2021.

A 1-2 punch of deGrom and Scherzer could prove lethal for the Mets this season. It will be much needed against the lineups they’ll face in division play.

Carlos Carrasco, whom many fans thought would be a solid No. 3 in the rotation last year, started off 2021 with an injury. He tore his right hamstring in mid-March before the regular season had begun. Originally expected to miss six-to-eight weeks, Carrasco would not make his first appearance in the orange and blue until July 30. He never quite seemed right in 2021, finishing the year with a 1-5 record and a 6.04 ERA in 12 starts.

The veteran right hander underwent surgery to remove a bone fragment in his pitching elbow. He’ll look to have a bounce-back year in 2022, health forbidding. Carrasco owns a career ERA of 3.86 and has been an effective starter for most of his 12-year career.

Bounce Back Season for Francisco Lindor

Francisco Lindor, still only 28, will be starting his new 10-year, $341 million contract with the Mets this season. There wasn’t much that went right offensively for the switch-hitting shortstop for a bulk of the 2021 campaign. He struggled mightily in his first few months after becoming the highest-paid shortstop in Major League Baseball.

He showed flashes of being the All-Star caliber player he was for Cleveland after he came back from a strained right oblique injury in late August. In the month of September, Lindor slashed .257/.346/.549 in 30 games, including nine home-runs, 25 RBI and 4 doubles. Mets fans are hopeful to see more of that, compared to his first-half slash line of .225/.325/.373.

Lindor, a two-time Gold Glove Award winner, has shown no signs of slowing down on the defensive side. There is no doubt he is a top-end defensive shortstop in baseball. He’ll need consistency all season if the Mets want to win the N.L. East title.

Newly Acquired Players Performing

Steve Cohen’s and Billy Eppler’s new additions must have an impact for the Mets to be legitimate contenders to the defending-champions, and a revamped Phillies roster. The big-splash this off-season is without-a-doubt signing Max Scherzer to a lucrative two-year deal with an option for the 2024 season. Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha, all 33-year-olds, were brought in to replace the bats of Javier Báez and Michael Conforto. They were also brought in to compete with guys like Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith, J.D. Davis and Robinson Cano–all of whom are question marks entering 2022 after their 2021 performances–for at-bats.

Marte, who split time with the Miami Marlins and Oakland A’s in 2021, tied his career-high stolen-base mark at 47. With him, you’re getting an incredible athlete on both sides of the ball, who has the potential to be a well-above-average offensive player. The Mets finally have added a threat on the base-paths.

Escobar provides the potential for a much-needed thump in the lineup behind Pete Alonso. A switch-hitter, who will likely slide in at third base for the Mets, also has the positional flexibility to play second base and even shortstop if needed. With power from both sides, he has hit 91 HR vs. RHP, and 47 HR vs. LHP throughout his 11-year career.

Canha has the ability to play both corner OF spots, along with experience at first base and third base in his seven-year career with Oakland. A player known for his on-base percentage (.396 in 2019, .387 in 2020 and .358 in 2021) should help the team improve an area of need. 

These new additions were brought in to boost the Mets offense after struggling in 2021. Last season the Mets ranked 29th in hits, 25th in home runs, 24th in stolen bases, 24th in OPS and 17th in on-base percentage. The Mets front office knew they needed to improve offensive production, and are betting on the newcomers to produce better run-support for Jacob deGrom and the starting rotation.

Another former Oakland A’s player, Chris Bassitt, joins deGrom and Scherzer atop of the rotation. Bassitt, coming off of his first All-Star season in 2021, had career highs in innings pitched, strike-outs, WHIP and wins last season. The Mets’ path to winning the division starts with these three pitchers. Starting pitching is the one key advantage the Mets have over the rest of the N.L. East. They will need to limit the damage against the star-studded lineups of the Braves and Phillies.

In the presser when Steve Cohen took over majority ownership, he said, “If I don’t win the World Series in the next 3-to-5 years, … I would consider that slightly disappointing.”

But that starts with winning the N.L. East. We’ll have to wait until October to see who is crowned the division champion. The Mets open up on April 7 at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. The marathon starts there.