The New York Mets finished 77-85 last season, winding up in third place in the National League East and missing the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. They held first place for more than 100 consecutive days before collapsing in August and September, finishing with a losing record for a second straight year.
The Mets enter this offseason with a ton of question marks.
They had a lineup that finished 27th in runs per game which is obviously something that must be addressed. They had a rotation that was so banged up and inconsistent they had to rely on a starter who had made just eight starts above A-ball in Tylor Megill.
There are some sure things on this Mets roster. Francisco Lindor is signed for another 10 years so he will be manning shortstop. Pete Alonso will play first base. Brandon Nimmo will play somewhere in the outfield. Jacob deGrom will take the ball on Opening Day. Other than that, pretty much everything is up in the air.
The Mets have a ton of free agents to make decisions are. With that in mind, the roster will look extremely different on Opening Day. Here are where I believe the big free agents on the Mets roster currently will be playing ball in 2022.
Noah Syndergaard 1-year $18.4 million dollar deal (Qualifying Offer)
I believe Noah Syndergaard will sign the Qualifying Offer the Mets offered him. He has thrown two innings in the last two seasons and will use 2022 to build his value up in order to get a big payday in 2023.
If Syndergaard pitches like the pitcher he was prior to the Tommy John Surgery he will surely get a lot of money in free agency.
The Mets did the right thing offering Syndergaard the Qualifying Offer as well. If he accepts it, and I think he will, he would slot in as the number two starter in the rotation and hopefully pitch like the pitcher he was in the past.
If he rejects it for whatever reason, the Mets would get a compensatory pick in the draft which would be very useful. Or they could sign him in free agency if it really came to that.
The absolute worst-case scenario is he underperforms or gets hurt again, but he’s signed for only one season. The Mets should be spending anyways so that contract really won’t matter.
Overall, I think Syndergaard accepting the Qualifying Offer is the best move for both sides and I’m sure that will happen.