Mets: The young core could save them from a long rebuild

The New York Mets may need to rebuild soon, but a promising young core could speed up the process.

The “will they or won’t they” trope is a common one on television. Usually, between two leads with a love/hate relationship, viewers watch each week wondering if they will get together or not. In baseball, the closest equivalent takes place between June and July when teams like the 2018 New York Mets ponder whether they are buyers or sellers.

Will they or won’t they begin the rebuild?

The way this season is going, I’m convinced they don’t go in either direction. They are leaning toward selling at the trade deadline, but a rebuild doesn’t seem like the best direction. Their biggest issue is with the veterans.

The youngsters, meanwhile, are beginning to turn their seasons around. Brandon Nimmo is leading the charge with Amed Rosario beginning to contribute in his own way. Together, this pair could become a terrific duo at the top of the order.

Another young player the Mets are counting on, Michael Conforto, has had his ups and downs. This year has been more of the latter, but there’s plenty of hope he develops into the star player they drafted in the first round a few years ago.

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It’s not hard to imagine these three batting first, second, and third for a first-place Mets team within a few seasons. Once the big contracts are off the books, this trio is a core they should have in place for several years.

It’s not just those three leading the charge. There are high hopes first base prospect Peter Alonso can keep up with his hot performance at Double-A this season once he reaches the big leagues. Dominic Smith‘s recent outfield transition also opens up the possibility that we see him play one of the corner outfield positions in Queens.

Already, that’s five players in the starting lineup. If all goes well, they may not need to tear it all down and start from scratch.

We’ll know more about what the Mets intend to do with their future on July 31, 2018. Jacob deGrom is young enough to keep for a few more seasons and put him on the mound every fifth day as the ace. Paired with Noah Syndergaard for several more years, the Mets have an amazing one-two punch few teams can keep up with.

The Mets have their problems. A shallow farm system won’t help much, but maybe they rank so low on prospect rankings because their best young players are already on the 25-man roster.

Better young players will come along.

Next: Who do we blame for the bullpen struggles?

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Hopefully, if there’s any fire sale at Citi Field, it’s a limited offer and the Mets can get back on track quicker than other recent rebuilders.

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