The lockout is over! Whether the parties came to a fair agreement – and who “won” this round of collective bargaining – are questions to ponder on another day. For now, let us spend our considering what the 2022 Mets will look like.
With free agency already back in full swing, and plenty of roster spaces to fill, you can rest assured the Mets’ new brain trust led by Billy Eppler is already hard at work looking at options to fill out the rest of this year’s squad. After the Chris Bassitt trade, the Mets’ needs shift away from starting pitching and more to areas like their bullpen and bench.
Bullpen
The Mets bullpen needs some work. Bullpen options on the current 40-man roster include (in general order of likeliness to contribute to the big league team this year): Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo, Trevor May, Miguel Castro, Drew Smith, Yennsy Diaz, Jake Reed, Antonio Santos, Sean Reid-Foley, Adam Oller, Thomas Szapucki and Jose Butto.
It is likely that a couple of pitchers mentioned in the starting pitching section above will contribute to the bullpen as well. While there are some very talented arms on that list, it is a group that is lacking in experience and, well, left-handedness.
Remaining free-agent options include: Kenley Jansen, Collin McHugh, Ryan Tepera, Brad Boxberger, Andrew Chafin, Adam Ottavino, Mychal Givens, old friends Hansel Robles and Brad Hand, Jake Diekman, Steve Cishek, Andrew Miller and Archie Bradley, among others.
(Note: the Mets just signed Ottavino to a one-year deal, and Diekman signed with the Red Sox.)
The bet here is that the Mets bring in a left-hander on a major league contract (looking at you, Andrew Chafin), and perhaps another lefty on a minor league deal (come on down, Brad Hand?). Among the righty crop, Givens and McHugh intrigue me.
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Infield
The Mets current infield group includes Pete Alonso at first base, Francisco Lindor at short, and some mix of Jeff McNeil, Eduardo Escobar and Robinson Cano manning second and third base. We have no idea whether the Mets view Cano as an everyday contributor at this point in his career, but it appears likely that Cano will at least arrive at spring training with a chance to earn a spot on the club.
Projected backups include Luis Guillorme and J.D. Davis, with Travis Blankenhorn in Triple-A as a potential depth piece. Dominic Smith serves a theoretical backup to Alonso at first base, but it is possible he gets the bulk of his playing time at DH, in the corner outfield or with another team.
Keep an eye on Mark Vientos, too, who might make his big league debut sometime this summer. Making another major league addition to the infield seems unlikely, but if Smith, Davis, or McNeil is traded in the next month, depth options on the free-agent market include Jonathan Villar, Josh Harrison, and Colin Moran.
Oh, and Kris Bryant and Freddie Freeman are available, too.
Outfield
As things currently stand, the Mets appear likely to line up with some combination of Mark Canha, Starling Marte and Brandon Nimmo in the outfield. Nimmo has stated that he prefers to play center field over either corner spot, but the Mets have not announced whether they plan to play Nimmo or Marte in center field when both appear in the starting lineup.
Depth options on the 40-man roster include Dominic Smith, Khalil Lee, and Nick Plummer, who the Mets signed to a major league deal earlier in the offseason. Again, it is not yet clear how the Mets plan to deploy Smith this season. He appears to have made strides in the outfield defensively, but he regressed at the dish last season after a very strong shortened 2020 season. Lee and Plummer provide the Mets with youthful and high upside depth, at least in theory.
If the Mets make an addition to their outfield, the options on the free-agent market include: Kris Bryant and Nick Castellanos, who each have infield/outfield versatility, Kyle Schwarber, Jorge Soler, Tommy Pham, Andrew McCutchen, and Seiya Suzuki. If the Mets were to add any players as a fourth outfielder, Pham, Soler and McCutchen would fit that bill.
Starting Pitching Depth
The Mets made their first post-lockout splash on Saturday night, acquiring veteran right-hander Chris Bassitt from the Oakland A’s for minor league pitchers J.T Ginn and Adam Oller. Bassitt, 33, slots nicely into the middle of the Mets’ rotation, behind Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer, and probably combining with Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker to complete the Mets’ 5 man rotation.
Tylor Megill, David Peterson, Trevor Williams and Jordan Yamamoto round out the Mets’ starting pitching depth chart, and serves as 40 man roster members who may have the flexibility to contribute in the bullpen. It is worth noting that Bassitt comes to Flushing with just one year of contractual control remaining.
Still, deGrom will enter 2022 having pitched only 92 innings in the season prior due to various ailments, including to his pitching arm. Carrasco only tossed 53 2/3 major league innings in 2021, to the tune of an unsightly 6.04 ERA after missing a large portion of the season due to hamstring woes. Scherzer admitted that he suffered a dead arm period during the 2021 postseason, and, at age 37, has accumulated a lot of miles on his right arm.
Even so, the guess here is that the Mets are likely done adding major league pieces to their rotation. With Carlos Rodon, Yusei Kikuchi and Clayton Kershaw agreeing to new deals soon after the lockout was lifted, the free-agent market for starting pitching is drying up quickly. The options on the free-agent market include question-mark-laden veteran types, like Danny Duffy. However, the Mets may not be done stocking their starting pitching depth, as some veterans may be forced to accept non-roster invites to major league spring training given the compressed run-up to Opening Day. The minor-league deal market is certainly something to monitor moving forward.
