Mets: Which offseason addition is most likely to be a bust?

Brad Brach

Brad Brach deserves a spot on this list even though he was a member of the 2019 Mets for two months. He was still a free agent addition, making him a possible bust candidate under these parameters.

However, I’m not so sure there are lofty expectations for the veteran righty where anyone could realistically think of him as a bust. He’s not making a lot of money which almost seems like a requirement. A bad year from Brach can be easily written off as a veteran who has officially crossed over into the twilight of his career.

In many ways, Brach is a forgotten member of the Mets bullpen plan for 2020. He was better than average in limited opportunities for the club last year. Hopefully, without a year of losing his job and then having to find a new one, it helps his performance.

Brach may be bad in 2020. Calling him a bust with the more than reasonable price tag—even in an epically bad year—feels very unlikely.

Jake Marisnick

The lone “major” position players the Mets added this winter came via trade. Not long after officially moving on from Juan Lagares, the team replaced him with a player that appears to have a similar skill set. Outfielder Jake Marisnick came over from the Houston Astros where he’ll look to supplement this squad in New York with occasional at-bats but more defense than anything else.

Marisnick’s offensive numbers have been poor enough where I don’t think too many people are thinking highly of him. In many ways, he’s this year’s Keon Broxton. And while Broxton wasn’t seen as a significant part of the team’s plans, I still classify him as a bust.

Will Marisnick suffer the same fate?

There is a good chance the Marisnick trade is an absolute failure for Brodie Van Wagenen. Thus far, the J.D. Davis deal is the only one we can say worked out well. Fortunately, if you’re superstitious at all, that deal also involved the Astros. So, perhaps the Mets get a little more out of Marisnick than expected. Let’s not hold our breath yet, though.