NY Mets: Grading each of the major moves made last offseason

In Steve Cohen’s first offseason as the owner of the New York Mets he flexed his financial muscles by making some big moves. He expected to turn the Mets from a team that missed the 16 team playoffs in 2020 to a playoff and maybe World Series contender in 2021.

Unfortunately, things did not go to plan. The Mets finished with a 77-85 record and a lot of this has to do with the moves the Mets front office made in the offseason.

Some moves definitely panned out and they made some outstanding decisions but some others look awful when looking back.

With the moves the Mets made I expected a playoff team or at the very least a team that would finish over .500.

Unfortunately, this did not happen. The Mets actually played their best baseball when a lot of their great players were hurt.

The Mets were supposed to have an elite offense especially with the additions of the newcomers but they finished 27th in runs per game.

Their pitching led the way in the first half while the Mets were in first place for over 100 days straight but faltered in the second half.

While Steve Cohen definitely spent money, if he spent it better, the Mets might have made the playoffs or at least gotten closer.

There were a lot of big names the Mets acquired but in my opinion, the real value signings came from the lesser-known names.

Hopefully, with a new front office eventually being put in place, the Mets can find some more of these sleepers to help them get back to the postseason in 2022.

Aaron Loup

Hands down the best signing the Mets made was signing Aaron Loup on a one-year $3 million dollar deal. For me, Loup was my third choice for a left-handed arm last offseason.

My top choice was Brad Hand who was non-tendered by Cleveland right as Cohen became the Mets owner. Sandy Alderson would go on to say that if Cohen’s regime was in place earlier that the Mets might have claimed him off of waivers.

The Mets of course did end up with Hand in September and he was decent for the Mets but nowhere near as productive as Aaron Loup was.

My second choice was for the Mets to retain Justin Wilson who was so good for the Mets in 2019 and 2020. Wilson would sign with the Yankees and underperform to the point where they traded him to save money at the deadline. It’s safe to say the Mets hit the jackpot with Loup.

Loup finished with a 6-0 record, posting an ERA of 0.95 in 65 appearances and 56.2 innings.

He did this in a bunch of different roles. He served as an opener twice, made six appearances recording more than three outs, and would even serve as a late-game reliever sometimes.

With the three-batter rule in place, Loup couldn’t just be a lefty specialist in most cases. He’d have to get right-handers out and did so very successfully.

In a division with superstar left-handed hitters like Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, and Freddie Freeman, Loup had his hands full all year and was dominant all year.

He allowed a total of six earned runs in 56.2 innings pitched. He allowed a total of one earned run in the second half, pitching to a 0.31 ERA in 28.2 innings pitched.

Loup held lefties to a .167/.226/.214 slash line, allowing a total of two extra-base hits.

It was one of the best years for a reliever in Mets history and Loup is a must sign this offseason.

Grade: A+

Jonathan Villar

One of the more under-the-radar signings the Mets had was signing Jonathan Villar to a one-year $3.5 million dollar deal. Villar was expected to be a utility infielder who would be able to step in and play every day if injuries occurred or be a good bench bat when the team was healthy.

With all of the injuries the Mets sustained this season, Villar became one of the more important players on the roster and stayed that way for a majority of the season. He slashed .249/.322/.416 with 18 home runs and 42 RBI in 142 games.

The 142 games was third on the Mets and the 18 home runs was also third on the team.

Villar’s season was a strange one. When he was hot, he provided a huge spark for this team. Villar hitting leadoff with Brandon Nimmo batting second was when the Mets lineup really clicked and it’s a shame we only saw that for a short while.

I thought Villar would be more of a threat on the base paths but only went 14/21 in stolen base attempts and got picked off a bunch of times as well.

Villar hit for more power than I expected him to and was a streaky, but good hitter for a lot of the year.

I would say the Mets should bring it back but I assume his season earned him a starting role on some team. The Mets should not bring Villar back to be the everyday third baseman again.

Villar stepped up when the team needed him and provided positive value with his 1.8 WAR.

If he’s willing to come back on a one-year deal as a utility guy I’d be all over it but highly doubt that will happen.

Overall it was a solid season in Queens for Villar.

Grade B+

Trevor May

The Mets signed Trevor May to a two-year $15.5 million-dollar deal to be a late inning arm in the bullpen. He went 7-3 with a 3.59 ERA in 68 appearances. He struck out 11.9 batters per nine.

May’s first season in Flushing was very up and down. He would have a couple of bad appearances followed by a stretch of ten or so appearances allowing no runs and striking out a ton of batters.

A lot of May’s struggles this season have come from his changeup. Opponents hit .341 against his changeup with a .636 slugging percentage. He allowed twice as many extra-base hits with his changeup than he did with his slider despite throwing it 104 fewer times this season.

If he can improve on that next season, I believe he will be more consistent and reliable in his eighth inning role.

For the most part, May was as advertised. In Minnesota, he was known to be a strikeout artist. May’s 11.9 K/9 put him in the 90th percentile according to baseball savant and is well above his career mark of 10.7 K/9.

May seemed to be at his best when he was aggressive with and locating his fastball. His fastball was often his put-away pitch as 62 of his 83 strikeouts were with the 4-seamer.

I think with improvement to May’s changeup, he will become an even better late game arm for the Mets to use.

Overall, I liked the signing at the time and still do like the signing. Despite some inconsistency, May was good for the most part in his first season. One year at $7.5 million dollars is very reasonable for an arm like him and I’m looking forward to seeing what next season brings.

Grade: B

Taijuan Walker

It was a tale of two halves for Taijuan Walker. In the first half, Walker was 7-3 with a 2.66 ERA in the first half. He was so good he was a National League All-Star. In the second half, Walker went 0-8 with a 7.13 ERA. Overall, Walker went 7-11 with a 4.47 ERA.

Walker signed a three-year $23 million-dollar deal with the third year being a player option worth $6 million dollars.

He was signed to be a back end of the rotation arm, and his full season numbers pretty much were that.

Walker’s season was frustrating just because of how good he was in the first half. Had Walker been half of what he was in the first half the Mets at least contend for a playoff spot for longer.

However, it is a lot to ask for asking Walker to keep up all-star production for 30 starts. Walker had not pitched 100+ innings since 2017. Going from that to being relied upon every fifth day for a quality start in a 162 game schedule is a lot to ask for.

The Mets got all of this rotation depth with Joey Lucchesi and Jordan Yamamoto among others to in part be a security blanket for Walker if the Mets ever wanted to skip one of his starts or push him back a day or two.

I expect more consistency in a 30 start sample next season if Walker can stay healthy, which has always been tough for the 29-year-old.

He doesn’t have to be an all-star, but just a consistent Taijuan Walker would be a huge addition to this Mets rotation in 2022.

Grade: B-

Francisco Lindor & Carlos Carrasco

The biggest move the Mets made was trading Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez, Josh Wolf, and Isaiah Greene to the Indians for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco. After the trade, the Mets extended Lindor for 10 years $341 million dollars.

The Mets found their new face of the franchise in Lindor, and added what was supposed to be a reliable number two or three starter in Carrasco.

Lindor’s first season was up and down. He got off to a brutal start, slashing .182/.293/.266 from Opening Day through May 27 with just three home runs and nine RBI.

After that awful start, Lindor was the Lindor the Mets thought they were getting. He slashed .258/.341/.492 the rest of the way with 17 home runs and 54 RBI. His .833 OPS during that stretch is higher than his career mark of .821.

He finished with a 103 WRC+ this season which is 3% above average. While the Mets certainly should expect better, once Lindor got accustomed to New York and the National League he played very well for the most part. I expect the Lindor of old to appear in 2022 for a full season.

While Lindor’s bat took a hit, his glove did not. He was in the 100th percentile in outs above average according to baseball savant. Being one of the best defensive infielders in the game was quite valuable for the Mets.

The revitalized bat along with an unbelievable glove gives the Mets the player they thought they were getting.

The other player the Mets got in this trade was Carlos Carrasco. He tore his hamstring in Spring Training and missed the first four months of the season because of it.

In the two months he played, he was not good. Carrasco went 1-5 with a 6.04 ERA overall.

A big chunk of Carrasco’s struggles stemmed from the first inning. In that inning, Carrasco allowed 18 earned runs in 12 innings. That put the Mets down early and made those games very hard for the team to win, which is why they were 5-7 in his starts. He had only two starts in which he threw a scoreless first inning.

Hopefully, with a normal offseason and Carrasco presumably being healthy through Spring Training he can bounce back and be that reliable rotation arm the Mets really need.

Both Lindor and Carrasco had down years and I expect them to be better next season.

Grade: C

Joey Lucchesi

The Mets traded catching prospect Endy Rodriguez to the Pirates in a three-team trade in which they acquired left-hander Joey Lucchesi from the Padres. Lucchesi was acquired to be the fifth starter for the first part of the season until one of Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard were healthy.

His total numbers are not good as he went 1-4 with a 4.46 ERA, and the Mets went just 2-9 in his outings.

Lucchesi got off to a very rocky start and the Mets often had to use openers in his outings. He didn’t get into the fifth inning until mid-June.

While he got off to a rough start, Lucchesi allowed one run or fewer in each of his last five outings (22.2 IP). He pitched to a 1.19 ERA and 2.99 FIP in those outings, including 5.1 scoreless innings in Washington in what would be his last start of the season.

Lucchesi tore his UCL after this outing ending his season. He will likely miss part of next season as well. Once he is healthy I hope he doesn’t have to be a starter but his last five outings showed that the potential is there and I think he would be a solid long man in the bullpen.

Lucchesi has been a solid back end of the rotation arm in the past, pitching to ERA’s just above 4.00 in 2018 and 2019. In the case of injuries I have every reason to believe Lucchesi can be that guy for the Mets as well and give them five innings with the responsibility of just keeping them in the game.

Grade: C-

Kevin Pillar

A moment I won’t forget from the 2021 season was when Kevin Pillar was hit in the face by a pitch in Atlanta. I had never seen a player get hit like that live. The way Pillar came back from that was inspiring and uplifting. Pillar was back in the lineup just two weeks later after breaking his nose.

When Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo were hurt, Pillar was the one responsible to step in and play every day. While I definitely appreciate the heart and passion he displayed, Pillar just didn’t do well in a full-time role.

This season he slashed .231/.277/.415 with 15 home runs and 47 RBI. He did have some clutch hits this season but overall wasn’t a very good hitter as his 88 OPS+ shows.

While Pillar has always been a below-average hitter in his career, he has always hit lefties well. This season, however, he slashed .240/.256/.421 against southpaws, posting an OPS+ of 81. Pillar’s career OPS+ against lefties is 117. Pillar being a good hitter against lefties would’ve been great for a Mets team that struggled against left-handed pitching. He could have replaced Michael Conforto in right field who really struggled against lefties this season if he hit lefties well.

Pillar’s nickname is “Superman” due to the outstanding catches he’s made in the outfield in his career, mainly with the Blue Jays. Unfortunately, Pillar is now 32 and is not a good defensive player anymore.

Pillar was in the 39th percentile in OAA according to baseball savant and posted a -1 DRS according to Fangraphs. Pillar was below average at the plate and in the field this season.

The Mets signed Pillar to a two-year, $6.5 million dollar deal this offseason with the second year being a player option worth $2.9 million dollars. He will almost certainly pick up the option.

I hope the Mets just cut their losses and release Pillar and get a better fourth outfielder but I doubt that will actually happen. Hopefully, his bat and especially his glove improve to make him more playable.

Grade: C-

Albert Almora Jr.

For years the Mets have always seemed to have these one-dimensional center fielders who can’t hit but are great defensively. They’ve had Juan Lagares, Jake Marisnick, Keon Broxton, and many more. This year’s version of that was Albert Almora Jr.

Almora was signed to be the fifth outfielder. He would come into games to play center field so the Mets could put Brandon Nimmo in left.

Nimmo proved that he was more than capable in center so Almora didn’t ever really have a role. While he was never known for his bat, Almora was a disaster at the plate. He slashed .115/.148/.173. His OPS+ was -12.

Almora spent a majority of the season on the Injured List and in AAA. He was Designated for Assignment and outrighted to AAA.

While with the Cubs, Almora was not a good hitter generally, but he was able to hit against lefties. In his career against southpaws he’s slashed .274/.326/.392 with an OPS+ of 108. This season, Almora had just three hits in 21 at-bats against left-handers.

With Kevin Pillar also having a down year, I hope the Mets can find an outfielder or two who can be the fourth outfielder or step into an everyday role in the event of an injury. Almora didn’t prove at all that he is capable of stepping into either of those roles.

Even in AAA he slashed .270/.331/.428 with six home runs and 18 RBI. Those numbers aren’t bad, but he wasn’t tearing the cover off the ball like someone who was deserving to be on a major league roster would be.

Defense first outfielders are great and useful, but they have to be able to do something offensively.

Grade: F

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What grades would you give to these additions last offseason?