NY Mets offseason grades for the major winter transactions

The New York Mets are all in. That is something I have not seen in all of my years being a die-hard Mets fan. The Wilpons are out and Steve Cohen is now running the show as the owner of the franchise. We have gone from penny-pinching to having the richest owner in all of baseball by far.

In Cohen’s first offseason in charge, there were a lot of holes he and new Mets president Sandy Alderson had to fill. The main ones in my eyes were center field, catcher, and pitching. If the Mets filled these holes and added some quality depth, I would really like their chances in this loaded division.

Luckily, the Mets had a great offseason including a potentially franchise-altering trade.

I believe the Mets come into the 2021 season with a really solid team. The pitching is improved, the lineup is extremely formidable, there’s more depth than ever before, and even the bullpen is coming along.

The expectation was that the Mets would sign one or two of the top-tier free agents. This list included Trevor Bauer, D.J. LeMahieu, George Springer, and J.T. Realmuto. The Mets went hard after Springer and Bauer but didn’t land either one. To be honest, not landing Bauer might’ve been a blessing in disguise.

And even while the Mets didn’t land a major free agent, the fact that they were in talks with them was a major step up. The old Mets would never even schedule a meeting with a top-tier free agent.

While they didn’t land a major free agent, they showed a willingness to spend. The Mets reportedly offered more money than the opposition for guys like Bauer and Brad Hand and offered well over $100 million dollars for George Springer. The Mets showed they’re willing to spend on the pieces they believe will make a big difference, and that is so encouraging to see.

This offseason was easily the most exciting one since I’ve been a fan, so let’s get to grading the moves they made.

Mets acquire Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco

The New York Mets made one of, if not the biggest trade in franchise history, acquiring shortstop Francisco Lindor and starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco from the Cleveland Indians. In a steal of a deal, the Mets sent shortstops Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez to Cleveland along with pitching prospect Josh Wolf and outfield prospect Isaiah Greene. Wolf was the Mets ninth-ranked prospect while Greene was the tenth-ranked prospect according to MLB.com.

The obvious winner in this deal is the New York Mets. In most trades where a superstar is involved, the team that acquires the superstar comes out as the winner. Francisco Lindor is a superstar. He is at the very least a top 10 player and is without a doubt in my opinion the best shortstop in the game.

When ranking baseball players, Mike Trout and Mookie Betts come up as the top two in any list as they should. Is there really a definitive third-best player in the game? Francisco Lindor is definitely in that conversation. He is elite defensively, something the Mets have been missing for years.

Lindor is also elite offensively. In his last three full seasons, Lindor has hit at least 32 home runs while stealing at least 15 bases. Lindor is a switch hitter that will add a massive boost to the top of the Mets lineup for this season at least.

The one caveat with this deal is Lindor is a free agent at the end of the year. This is why the package to acquire him was so much less than it should have been. With Steve Cohen in place as the owner, I fully expect the Mets to lock Lindor up on a massive extension before the season starts.

Now to the other piece of the deal, Carlos Carrasco. He is not talked about nearly as much as he should be. He slots in perfectly as the Mets number two starter behind Jacob deGrom and has been one of the more consistent starters in the game the last six seasons. In the shortened 2020 season after winning his battle against Leukemia, he posted a 2.91 ERA in 12 starts, adding a 10.9 K/9 (career-high) while also putting up an ERA+ of 157 (another career-high).

The best part about Carrasco is his price tag. He has two years guaranteed on his deal worth $12 million dollars per season. To prove how good that money is for a top-end pitcher like Carrasco, Drew Smyly just signed a 1 year $11 million dollar deal this offseason. He made a grand total of five starts last season and had a 5.69 ERA in his 21 starts in 2019.

While Carrasco is 33 years old, I fully expect him to pitch well at least for this season. If he struggles next season, he has a team option worth $14 million dollars in 2023 that the Mets can decline.

So the Mets got the best shortstop in the game and a really solid starting pitcher in exchange for honestly, not so much. The major league players the Mets gave up were Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez. At one point, Rosario was the number one prospect in the game but after losing his full-time starting spot last season to Gimenez, he was expendable. You could see he had the tools and potential to be a star, but never quite put it all together as a Met.

Gimenez was a pretty highly touted prospect too but was not the highest ranked shortstop prospect in the Mets system, that would be Ronny Mauricio. He debuted in 2020 and looked better than I expected, slashing .263/.333/.398 with three home runs and 12 RBI along with eight stolen bases.

Both Rosario and Gimenez have shown flashes and will probably end up being good baseball players. But they will not be Francisco Lindor.

The Mets also gave up two prospects in Josh Wolf and Isaiah Greene, the ninth and tenth ranked prospect in the Mets system respectively. When getting a star like Lindor, you would expect to give up a top five prospect at the very least.

I think this was an outstanding deal pulled off by the Mets. They got a generational talent at shortstop and a really good starter for a bunch of what-ifs. Yes, the Mets do need to extend Lindor but with Steve Cohen’s wallet and will to win along with Lindor being open to an extension, I have no reason to believe that won’t happen.

Grade: A+

Mets sign James McCann to a four-year $40 million dollar deal

Since the days of Mike Piazza, the Mets have struggled to find stability at the catcher position. They’ve had some pretty decent players like Paul Lo Duca and Brian Schneider for a couple of years, but they were not stars or long-term answers.

The Mets tried to get their long-term answer by trading R.A. Dickey to the Blue Jays getting Travis d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard in return. Travis was often injured and never came close to living up to the hype. But of course, he is now raking in Atlanta.

For the last two seasons, the Mets have been stuck with Wilson Ramos behind the plate. That experiment failed miserably. He had one good month offensively and was awful defensively.

This offseason, the Mets made catcher a priority. The biggest name on the market was J.T. Realmuto. The Mets opted to go after James McCann aggressively, as they feared Realmuto’s price would be too high and didn’t want to wait for his market to develop.

The Mets ended up coming to terms with McCann on a four-year $40 million-dollar contract. This is a contract I’ve got mixed feelings about. McCann is 30 years old and has had only one good full season. In 2019 McCann slashed .273/.328/.460 with 18 home runs and 60 RBI. McCann was an American League All-Star. This past season, the White Sox signed Yasmani Grandal so McCann only appeared in 31/60 games. In that limited sample size, he did perform well as he slashed .289/.360/.536 with seven home runs and 15 RBI.

While I am not positive his recent success is sustainable based on his track record, I do believe McCann will be much better than what the Mets had. His defense is much improved and the Mets really don’t need him to be an all-star.

The Mets have a very deep lineup which should have McCann hitting seventh or eighth most days. If he can be just a league-average hitter while providing good defense behind the plate, I think it will end up being a good deal.

When looking at alternate routes the Mets could have taken at the catcher position, I believe they made the best choice. If they had waited on Realmuto, McCann likely would’ve signed elsewhere and the Mets would’ve been forced to give Realmuto a lot more money than he ended up getting, which might’ve affected other moves they made. The next best option after McCann was Kurt Suzuki who is not moving the needle at all.

$10 million dollars a year for a top 10 catcher is not bad value at all. The Mets now have their catcher for the next four years. I’m a fan.

Grade: A-

Mets sign Trevor May to a two-year $15.5 million dollar deal

For years, the Mets bullpen has been among the worst in all of baseball. Trevor May has been one of the better set up men in baseball for the last couple of years and should excel in that role this season and next. The Mets signed May to a two-year $15.5 million-dollar contract.

With the news that Seth Lugo will be out for all of April at least, May will be relied upon heavily to be the main setup man for Edwin Diaz. For the last couple of years with the Twins, May has excelled in this role.

He was the main setup guy for Taylor Rogers in Minnesota and has a combined 37 holds in 40 opportunities the last two years. This is one of the better marks in all of baseball and proves he is extremely reliable late in games, something the Mets have been looking for from guys like Jeurys Familia and Dellin Betances. The 31-year-old May seems to be in the midst of his prime and is coming off of a really good 2020 season.

He appeared in 24 games and went 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA. While the ERA seems a bit high, that was due to his home run rate being as high as it has ever been at 1.9 HR/9. I assume if he had a full-season workload that number would have gone down a bit.

May struck out 38 batters in his 23.1 innings pitched, a 14.7 K/9, the best mark in his career by far. His career average is at 10.7 K/9.

For a bullpen that really needed another high leverage arm, I think May was the perfect get. He has experience in that role and should be the perfect fit. He has postseason experience and fills a crucial hole the Mets needed to fill.

Grade: A

Marcus Stroman accepts the qualifying offer worth $18.9 million dollars

One player the Mets missed badly was Marcus Stroman. After being acquired at the trade deadline in 2019, Stroman did not pitch in the 2020 season. He suffered a calf injury during “summer camp” and once he got enough service time to give him the full year, he ended up opting out.

Even though he didn’t pitch at all, the Mets decided to extend the $18.9 million-dollar qualifying offer to Stroman. Betting on himself instead of trying to get a long-term deal in the Covid market, Stroman decided to accept the qualifying offer and will be back this season.

I love this for Stroman and the Mets. He was unlikely to get the kind of deal he would want in free agency after missing the entire 2020 season. Instead of taking less than what he’d think he’s worth, he is betting on himself to have a great 2021 season and cashing in after.

The Mets get Stroman in a contract year. He will be eager to show what he’s got and should pitch well under those circumstances. I mean, look at what Trevor Bauer did in a contract year.

Stroman is a really solid mid-rotation arm. He likely slots in as the number three starter in the rotation to begin the year, behind Jacob deGrom and Carlos Carrasco. He is an above-average third starter. When Noah Syndergaard comes back from injury in June, he would be the fourth starter. Probably the best fourth starter in baseball.

For this season, the Mets have one of the better rotations in the game. Marcus Stroman was an All-Star in 2019 after going 10-13 with a 3.22 ERA in 32 starts between the Mets and Blue Jays.

I am not sold on him long term quite yet, but this is a prove-it year for him. I believe the Mets will keep one of Syndergaard or Stroman past this season. If Stroman outpitches Syndergaard, I will not be opposed to having him here long term. Having him back on a one-year deal is very low risk and extremely high reward, so I love this move.

Grade: A

Mets sign Aaron Loup to a one-year $3 million dollar deal

With Justin Wilson entering free agency, the Mets had to find a new left-handed reliever. In the National League East, there are guys like Freddie Freeman, Juan Soto, and Bryce Harper who are big left-handed power bats. Having a lefty who can come in and get those guys out is extremely valuable.

The Mets tried their hardest to sign former Indians closer Brad Hand. Sandy Alderson said they might’ve claimed him off waivers if Steve Cohen was the owner at the time he was on waivers. Ken Rosenthal reported that the Mets were close with Hand, but ultimately, he decided to go to the Nationals. The Nationals gave him the chance to close, the Mets could not promise that.

The Mets pivoted to Aaron Loup and got him. They signed him to a one-year $3 million-dollar contract. I have mixed feelings about this deal.

The lefty I wanted after Brad Hand was Justin Wilson. He had pitched the last two seasons for the Mets and was one of their more trustworthy relievers. Down the stretch in 2019, Wilson and Seth Lugo both were unhittable and kept the Mets alive until the bitter end. In 2020, Wilson struggled a bit but was dominant against lefties as they slashed just .115/.207/.231 against him.

The Mets opted to go with Loup who pitched well for Tampa Bay this season. He went 3-2 with a 2.52 ERA in 25 innings pitched. The Rays have a history of getting the most out of players so can the Mets expect that kind of production? Probably not.

I would feel better about this signing if they had signed Justin Wilson or even Jake McGee in addition to Loup. I don’t love Loup being the primary left-handed reliever to try and get Freddie Freeman out in a tie game in the seventh inning.

At one-year $3 million dollars, it’s kind of hard to be mad at the move. There is no risk and he should be decent enough to make him worth that price tag. If Loup is a disaster, there are always left-handed relievers available at the deadline so the Mets could trade for one. They probably should look to do that regardless just to add another southpaw option.

Grade: C

Mets acquire Joey Lucchesi and Jordan Yamamoto

One of the big issues the Mets have had over the last couple of years has been their pitching depth. They would go into the season with a solid rotation but have nobody good enough to step up if someone got hurt. The Mets have had guys like Ariel Jurado, Walker Lockett, Corey Oswalt, and Chris Mazza in recent memory try and be members of the rotation just to name a few. Imagine replacing those guys with Joey Lucchesi and Jordan Yamamoto. That’s much better.

In January, the Mets traded catcher prospect Endy Rodriguez in a three-team trade which landed them Joey Lucchesi. This was the Joe Musgrove trade. The 27-year-old Lucchesi gives the Mets a left-handed option for the rotation or the bullpen with four years left of team control and minor league options as well. He is a huge step up from the guys we are used to seeing on the shuttle from Syracuse.

Lucchesi is likely battling with fellow southpaw David Peterson for the fifth starter spot, and I assume whoever does not win that spot will get the last spot in the bullpen. Lucchesi struggled in his limited appearances in 2020 as he only made two starts and pitched a total of 5.2 innings. In 2018 and 2019 he made 26 and 30 starts respectively and had an ERA just over 4.00 both seasons. For a fifth starter or bullpen piece, that’s pretty good. Much better than what the Mets have turned to in the past for depth.

The other depth starter the Mets acquired was Jordan Yamamoto from the Marlins. They traded minor league shortstop Federico Polanco to get Yamamoto after he was Designated for Assignment.

Yamamoto made his debut with Miami in 2019 and showed flashes of being a good starting pitcher in this league. He went 4-5 with a 4.44 ERA in his 78.2 innings pitched, with a 9.4 K/9. Yamamoto’s big issue was his control, as he walked 4.1 batters per nine innings. This past season like Lucchesi, he didn’t really have a place on the team and struggled when he did pitch.

While on the surface Lucchesi and Yamamoto won’t wow you, they’re not meant to be aces. For depth pieces, they are great additions. Lucchesi will probably begin the season in the bullpen while Yamamoto will likely be in AAA. Depth is very important in a 162-game season and I’m sure both will make an impact on the 2021 Mets.

Grade: A

Mets sign Kevin Pillar, Albert Almora, and Jonathan Villar

While the Mets have struggled with pitching depth, they have also struggled to have quality position player depth as well. The list of defensive center fielders the Mets have had that can’t hit a lick is endless. Guys like Kevin Pillar and Albert Almora are steps up from Billy Hamilton and Keon Broxton, that’s for sure.

The Mets made three additions to the bench and I like them all a lot. Kevin Pillar might be known more for his days as “Superman” on the Blue Jays, but he is a different player now. His defense has gotten worse, but his bat has improved. He is coming off of his best offensive season, splitting time with Colorado and Boston and slashing .288/.336/.462 with six home runs and 26 RBI. In 2019, he slashed .264/.293/.442 and hit 21 home runs while driving in 87 runs.

He is a .286 hitter against lefties in his career and should be a great bench bat. And even with his defense on the decline, he is still better in left than Dom Smith, and probably better in center than Brandon Nimmo as well.

He is someone the Mets can play every day if an outfielder or Pete Alonso misses time with injury. You won’t lose too much offensively, and he should be at least serviceable in the outfield. He has looked very good with the bat and the glove in Spring Training thus far.

Albert Almora is an upgraded version of what guys like Juan Lagares and Jake Marisnick were for the Mets last season. He is an excellent defender, has speed, and has had a little bit of success with the bat in his career. With the lineup the Mets have, he won’t be relied upon to produce much offensively. He will likely come in and play center field late in games most of the time to give the Mets a plus defender in the outfield.

While Almora is not known for his bat, he has slashed .280/.332/.402 against southpaws in his career. The Mets have three left-handed-hitting outfielders as their starters so having a right-handed bat who can defend and hit pretty well against lefties is a good thing off the bench.

Jonathan Villar is a starting-caliber player in this league and the Mets got him to bolster their bench. That’s excellent value. Villar did struggle last year with the Marlins and Blue Jays (especially against the Mets) but he put up outstanding numbers in 2019. He slashed .274/.339/.453 with 24 home runs and 73 RBI for Baltimore. He also tacked on 40 stolen bases. His career-high in that department is 62 back in 2016.

Villar adds a ton for this Mets bench. He is a switch hitter, the only one the Mets have other than Lindor. He is extremely versatile, can play three infield positions, and can move to the outfield if need be.

The best part about Villar is he provides speed. The Mets have not had speed on their team since the days of prime Jose Reyes. Villar is someone who can steal at least 30 bases if he plays enough, and that just adds another dimension to the Mets lineup on the days that he’s in it. With his versatility, he will play pretty often.

This Mets bench looks as good as I can remember. Pinch hitters won’t be automatic outs, and if guys get hurt they have legitimate major league options that can step into an everyday role if need be. I love these signings.

Grade: A

Mets trade Steven Matz for three prospects

One of the few remaining pieces from the 2015 World Series team was traded to the Blue Jays for three prospects. Pitchers Josh Winckowski, Sean Reid-Foley, and Yennsy Diaz were the players the Mets got in return.

Heading into the offseason, I wanted Matz to be non-tendered. In the 2020 season, Matz went 0-5 with a 9.68 ERA in nine appearances. Somehow, he allowed 14 home runs in 30.2 innings pitched. The Mets decided to keep Matz, and they agreed on a one-year $5.2 million-dollar deal.

The fact that the Mets were able to turn Matz, a guy the Mets considered non-tendering into three prospects is kind of astonishing. Are these guys top prospects? No. But they are better than nothing and add even more depth.

The Mets ended up flipping Winckowski in the deal to get Khalil Lee, who is now the seventh-ranked prospect in the Mets system.

Sean Reid-Foley at one point was a pretty highly touted prospect as he was 93rd on MLB.com’s top 100 prospect list. Things haven’t gone super well for him in the big leagues so far in his 21 appearances, but he is just additional depth. He is 25 years old and still has plenty left in the tank.

Yennsy Diaz is another depth piece. He has made one big-league appearance, but other than that hasn’t pitched above AA. In 2019, he went 11-9 in AA with a 3.74 ERA in his 24 starts. The 24-year-old is listed as the 27th ranked prospect in a pretty weak Mets system.

While the pieces in the deal might not look that great on paper, they are better than nothing. I did not like Matz at the money he was scheduled to make, I would rather have Lucchesi in the role Matz would have been in.

Grade: A

Mets acquire Khalil Lee

When I saw the Mets were involved in the Andrew Benintendi trade, I was hoping they would just dump one of Jeurys Familia or Dellin Betances to Boston, but I will gladly take the outcome that occurred. The Mets sent Josh Winckowski, the player they acquired in the Steven Matz trade, to Boston along with a player to be named later and received outfielder Khalil Lee from the Royals.

The 22-year-old Lee is the seventh-ranked prospect in the Mets system and they got him for pretty much nothing. I am ecstatic. For a farm system that is not very good, Lee is a very good pickup.

Furthermore, the Mets had been starving for outfield depth. After seeing guys like Guillermo Heredia, Billy Hamilton, and Ryan Cordell last season, it is a welcome sight to have a guy like Khalil Lee waiting in the wings.

While he might not be ready immediately, he should be ready pretty soon. In 2019 Lee slashed .264/.363/.372 with eight home runs and 51 RBI. His best tool is his speed and that can be seen from his 53 stolen bases that season. Lee is a guy that gets on base and can be a leadoff hitter in this league.

The 154 strikeouts are a little high, but if he can work more on putting the ball in play I think he will be ready. He has struck out a lot from what I’ve seen during the spring as well.

Other than Pete Crow-Armstrong, the Mets fifth-ranked prospect, their outfield prospect depth is razor-thin. Lee is a big boost for that and he was acquired for virtually nothing. This move doesn’t get talked about enough and it should.

Grade: A+

Steve Cohen’s first offseason as the owner of his beloved New York Mets was a huge success. I have no reason to believe the Mets will be anything worse than a Wild Card team. While that may seem like a tall task for a team that went just 26-34 last year, it is not. This team is loaded.

The lineup 1-9 is complete. The Mets lead the league in batting and were third in OPS. They were an elite offense that added Francisco Lindor, James McCann, and a really good bench. They will score a lot of runs.

The pitching staff is much improved as well. Last season, it was Jacob deGrom and nothing else. Steven Matz was the Mets number two starter to begin the year and we all know how that ended up. Michael Wacha and Rick Porcello are gone. The Mets added a second third and fourth starter to their rotation. David Peterson, the Mets’ second-best starter last year, might not even make the rotation. That’s how much they improved.

The bullpen looks better as well. While Seth Lugo is hurt now, the Mets did sign Trevor May which was a huge addition to bolster their ‘pen. The additions of guys like Aaron Loup, Joey Lucchesi, and Jordan Yamamoto should help as well.

The Mets also will get Noah Syndergaard back in June which is a huge boost to an already much-improved rotation.

Bottom line, if you can trade for a guy as good as Francisco Lindor, the offseason is automatically a success.

To trade for him and not give up any top prospects to do it is an even bigger win.

Yes, the Mets didn’t sign Springer, Realmuto, LeMahieu, or Bauer, but Lindor is better than all four of those guys. Steve Cohen said he did not want to spend like a drunken sailor and stuck to his word.

Grade: A

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For offseason number one, it was a massive success. Let’s hope there are more of these to come.