And the award for best dressed Bizarro NY Mets goes to...

The Chicago Cubs were the recent winners of the Alex Bregman sweepstakes, one the New York Mets sat out in two consecutive offseasons. Bregman always seemed like a good match for the Mets. A solid all-around player who’ll hit in the middle of the order and play great defense at third base, the Mets appear to have chosen to stick with Brett Baty at the hot corner moving forward.

We can’t really blame them. They’ve invested a lot of time and effort into Baty. He’s far less costly and with him as a solution at third base, they can turn their attention elsewhere.

Bregman never seemed to be in the cards for the Mets this offseason despite the rationalization we could make. The Mets could have used Baty in a trade for a starting pitcher. While Bregman is the biggest Cubs splash of the offseason thus far, he’s just one of several players the Mets could have but didn’t seem all that interested in.

The Cubs are having a Bizarro version of what the Mets offseason could have looked like

We can quickly see how some of the Cubs offseason additions fit onto the Mets. Before signing Bregman, they use Baty in a trade for Edward Cabrera. It was reported last week the Miami Marlins wanted Baty and A.J. Ewing for Cabrera, but the Mets balked at the idea.

Right there are two significant moves the Mets could have made. They get their big bat for the lineup and add to the rotation. Their offseason is more complete with the one exception being their need for outfield help. The Cubs already seem prepared to step away from Kyle Tucker. They might even end up as a match for Cody Bellinger although one would have to think the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to sign one of the two.

It’s the bullpen where the Cubs have gone all out to sign guys who would have been theoretical finishing touches for the Mets. Hunter Harvey, Jacob Webb, and even ex-Mets Phil Maton would have been nice pieces behind the current additions they’ve already made. One could even make the case to have Colin Rea as a longman/sixth starter type.

Rumors about how the Mets will finalize their bullpen have been incredibly quiet. After Devin Williams and Luke Weaver, things have settled down. Are they waiting for the San Diego Padres to make up their mind about who they’ll trade to the Mets and for what? If so, we can cut them a break. Many of their relievers are better than a lot of the guys the Cubs signed.

The Cubs and Mets have operated in a similar manner, often taking fliers on pitchers coming off of injuries. It worked incredibly well for the Cubs last year with Drew Pomeranz, Brad Keller, and Matthew Boyd. They’re undertaking a similar tactic again this offseason.