Mets don’t need to reinvent the wheel this winter, just change the tires

A small number of changes to the roster and continued improvement of others will put the New York Mets in a great position to compete in 2020.

Unlike past winters where the New York Mets had a great deal of work to do, the sophomore offseason for Brodie Van Wagenen should focus on fine-tuning instead of overhauling. To break out a cheesy metaphor—they don’t need to reinvent the wheel. The Mets simply need to change the tires.

You’ve likely heard plenty of good things about the current Mets core. For the first time in a while, they have an abundance of position players who should start regularly. On any given night, there’s at least one guy on the bench who could be in the starting lineup. This is a great attribute to have for a team known to suffer debilitating franchise-altering injuries.

Next year’s Mets could have some impressive depth at the corner infield and outfield positions. If Jed Lowrie stays healthy, he gives them yet another option to assist.

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Let’s not hold our breath on him, though. He became the forgotten Met much like outfielder Yoenis Cespedes—yet another guy who could rejoin the team in 2020 and change the way we view this team.

A few minor tweaks aimed at upgrading where they need help most could improve this team greatly. For example, they will need at minimum one elite bullpen arm. Adding two would be much sweeter.

Zack Wheeler’s future remains unclear. The Mets can still A) offer him a qualifying offer and watch him accept or B) re-sign him after Wheeler realizes there aren’t many great offers in free agency.

Alternatively, they could sign someone else, make a trade, or offer an opportunity to one of the young pitchers. This last option is by far the worst when considering the options they have.

The bullpen has many more possibilities. Relievers are about as hit-or-miss as any position in baseball. I won’t waste your or my time running down all of the possibilities. The Mets should be able to find someone they can put their trust in—at least until he goes on a three-week slump and is relegated to mop-up duties.

Other than Wheeler, they aren’t in danger of losing anything major in free agency this winter. This allows them to plug in players where needed. The front office can focus on building up the roster’s depth and possibly upgrading where needed.

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It’s a good situation to be in. Fans just need to hope Van Wagenen doesn’t attempt to go out and speed up the process only for his trades to spit back in his face.