Mets have no need to take chances on rebound candidates next year

The New York Mets shouldn’t aim to find bargains or rebound candidates this winter. They just need to make the most obvious moves to make the team better.

In an average offseason, you might find the New York Mets signing a player looking to rebound from a bad year. We saw it last year with the Rick Porcello signing. The former Cy Young winner was coming off a horrendous season with the Boston Red Sox. Although he didn’t come cheap, it was a one-year deal the Mets were willing to make.

These deals rarely work out extremely well. Occasionally, they do have a positive impact on the team. It’s a way to roll the dice on a player we’ve seen excel before.

I don’t view this as a strategy for the Mets to implore this offseason. Steve Cohen is here. The time to take chances on players is over.

Instead, the Mets need to make the job of the front office people as easy as possible. Go with the obvious moves. Don’t try to outsmart everyone by swapping salaries or trying to find a player just in need of scenery change.

I think most of us expect the Mets to do exactly this. There won’t be any Todd Frazier or Jay Bruce signings this winter. Anything expensive they add will be top-shelf.

This thinking should extend beyond just free agency or trade opportunities. Existing players on the team should also face the same treatment. This means players like Steven Matz or Robert Gsellman are on the bubble to possibly lose their jobs with the Mets.

Patience is something Mets fans had to have plenty of during the Wilpon Era. The team never seemed to successfully stack successful back-to-back seasons. Even when they returned to the playoffs in 2016 after their 2015 World Series trip things ended after just one game.

Taking a flier on a player is something every team should consider. The Mets shouldn’t have to do this right now. Their focus needs to be on adding the best players possible while maybe adding in a few missing pieces along the way that could fit this description.

The easiest job in baseball right now is spending Steve Cohen’s money. We all have an idea of how and where to spend it. Whoever gets the actual opportunity to do so should consider themselves lucky. Every day at work this winter will be like movie day in high school.

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The actual process of building a winning baseball team will take work. Fortunately, with a fat budget and an owner hoping to change the culture, it shouldn’t be impossible.