Zack Laird makes his offseason Mets predictions
Second on our list of prediction-makers is Zack Laird. Fortunately, for experimental purposes, he had some different thoughts on what the Mets will do this winter.
Mets Sign:
Noah Syndergaard (QO)
Robbie Ray
Aaron Loup
Javier Baez
This is a very light free agent class for the Mets to bring in, particularly given what Mr. Cahill has predicted above. Three re-signings and an outsider (wasn’t that a Hugh Grant film in the early 1990s?) hardly gets fans thrilled as much as it fits what they actually need.
Laird took an approach with his predictions that the Mets are going to lose a couple of times this winter. I tend to agree. Naturally, teams miss on more players than they hit.
Fortunately, they do have two starting pitchers (including a lefty) plus the big bat of Baez back. Loup helps solidify the bullpen yet again—or so we can only hope.
Trade For:
Nick Anderson (or a replacement level player)
James Kaprielian
These sound more like neighbors of mine than actual professional baseball players. I actually had to look up if one was a buddy of his he’s trying to give a shout out to.
Nick Anderson is a reliever from the Tampa Bay Rays who logged only 6 innings for them this past year. Already 30 aka the death age for female actresses in the 1990s (I think one starred opposite of Hugh Grant in that movie I mentioned earlier), Anderson would be a logical trade candidate. However, surgery will prevent him from pitching for several months next year so I’m certain this is in the cards any longer.
I reached out to Mr. Laird for comment and a new name but due to a conflict in our schedules, we weren’t able to come to terms on a new name. Somewhere out there, another team has a Nick Anderson for the Mets to nab.
James Kaprielian is someone I remember from his New York Yankees prospect days. Traded to the Oakland Athletics in the Sonny Gray deal, this past year was his rookie campaign, at age 27. He was okay, going 8-5 with a 4.07 ERA in 1119.1 innings of work. I can see why the Athletics might move on from him already and why the Mets could have an interest. Could the Mets view him as this offseason’s Joey Lucchesi?
Trade Away:
J.D. Davis
Trevor May
This is where I have to shake my head. Trading J.D. Davis makes all of the sense in the world. Trevor May comes as a shock. He wasn’t brilliant in 2021 but I think he more than met their expectations. Perhaps Laird believes the front office isn’t a fan of his Twitch stream.
One thing I am a little surprised by from our first two guests is the lack of trade pieces exiting the Mets. Maybe it’s just me, but with so many changes at the top, I feel like the club is going to subtract far more from the organization than these two have predicted thus far.
Will our final visitor think along those same lines?