Mets debates we would be having right now in a normal 2020 season

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 14: Jacob deGrom #48 of the New York Mets looks on against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on September 14, 2019 in New York City. The Mets defeated the Dodgers 3-0. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

If 2020 was a normal year, these are three ongoing debates New York Mets would be having right now.

It’s mid-June and there has yet to be a single game of regular season baseball. Under different circumstances, New York Mets fans would have far more pleasant things to debate on social media even in a down year for their favorite squad.

This year has been tough for a variety of reasons and it isn’t any easier with the lack of baseball action. If all things were normal, what would Mets fans be talking about?

We don’t know for sure, but I have an inkling these are three ongoing arguments that might be all over social media right now stemming from how the team in Flushing has performed.

Can the Mets offense give Jacob deGrom run support for once?

An ongoing issue with the last two seasons and probably even beyond has been the lack of run support for ace Jacob deGrom. Despite having a seemingly better crew of bats ready to go to war this year, I don’t think it’s an issue that would get solved.

In mid-June, we could expect deGrom to be among the top contenders for the Cy Young. It’s a fair assumption. He won the award in 2018 and 2019.

However, it’s also my belief we wouldn’t see him racking up wins like he deserves. The bullpen Brodie Van Wagenen built had its own question marks at the beginning of the year. Even if some guys figured things out, I am prone to believe they might have blown at least a few games for deGrom along the way.

The Mets also did very little to improve their offense over the winter which means we could easily have a repeat of the 2019 season as far as run-scoring goes.

There’s something in the Gatorade whenever deGrom pitches. For some reason, the bats slow up and turn into those big fat Wiffleball sticks. Those cannot do any damage against a 95 mile per hour fastball in the big leagues.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 29: Robinson Cano #24 of the New York Mets in action against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on September 29, 2019 in New York City. New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves 7-6. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

Can we sit Robinson Cano already?

I’m not as much of a Robinson Cano hater as most. His 2019 campaign was gravely disappointing and while I thought he was a good candidate to rebound somewhat in 2020, it wouldn’t be enough for us to avoid questioning his place in the lineup.

There are a few stages we would have gone through with Cano in 2020. First, we’d want to see him dropped in the lineup. It doesn’t matter where the Mets chose to hit him at the start of the year. There’s always a demotion somewhere.

Following that, I think we may have begun to kick and scream about why he’s still there. Jeff McNeil is a perfectly serviceable second baseman. For the next few weeks, we’re going to check in on which third basemen are available before the trade deadline.

Sadly, this is a story I expect us to live through for at least another year. Without the 2020 campaign to be the final straw for Cano, we’re probably going to need to experience this in real-time during the 2021 season—if we ever get baseball back at all.

As an aside, I’m starting to grow really tired of using that sentence.

The problem with Cano is he’s making so much money that the Mets probably will never sit him until it’s unbearable to watch. After he drops in the lineup, he’ll become more of a part-time player but the kind that starts a little more often than we want. There will be a lack of logic as to when he gets his starts. There will be a Sunday when McNeil is riding an eight-game hitting streak and he gets taken out in favor of Cano.

It’s the cold hard truth and will be ready for us to cry about when baseball comes back.

PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 20: David Peterson #77 of the New York Mets poses for a photo during Photo Day at Clover Park on February 20, 2020 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

When can we see this awesome prospect on the big league team?

Every year seems to have that one prospect fans want to see on the big league roster. In 2018, Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso took on this role. Last year, to a far lesser extent, Anthony Kay became the man.

Then the Mets traded him away to the Toronto Blue Jays for Marcus Stroman.

Around June is when we start to hear more of an outcry for one of these top prospects to get promoted to the show. My guess is someone like David Peterson would be a candidate although I wouldn’t rule out other pitchers either. Kevin Smith had a superb year on the farm last year and may eventually pass Peterson on the franchise’s prospect depth chart—if one of those even exists.

The Mets don’t have any legitimate prospect position players near the major leagues. Although, I can envision a night where Amed Rosario makes a pair of errors and the boo birds insist it’s time to promote Ronny Mauricio to New York.

More realistic, one of the starting pitchers is having a bad year, and fans check stats in Triple-A or Double-A to find which man is having the best year of all. He then becomes this year’s McNeil/Alonso/Kay and fans rage on about how the veteran struggling in the rotation needs to march to the bullpen to figure things out.

I can’t disagree with this entirely hypothetical desire. Teams can get a jolt when they promote a highly-touted minor leaguer. What’s more, it’s possible they can ride the momentum of an awesome season. How many times has a hot minor league player reached the major leagues and brought it with him only to fizzle out by the very next year?

Next. Seth Lugo has earned a chance to compete

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June is a time to start thinking seriously about the trade deadline. It’s also the month when the best minor league prospects become known to the casual fan.

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If 2020 was a normal year, these are three ongoing debates New York Mets would be having right now.

Can the Mets offense give Jacob deGrom run support for once?

Can we sit Robinson Cano already?

When can we see this awesome prospect on the big league team?

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