Every major NY Mets transaction has us thinking the same thought

Whether it was the Brandon Nimmo trade, Devin Williams signing, Jorge Polanco addition, or even the loss of Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz in free agency, each major New York Mets transaction or non-move has us thinking the same thing.

A driver’s test isn’t graded on coming to a complete stop at the first stop sign. You need to get to the parallel parking. We’ve thrown out some early initial grades for several of the Mets moves and reacted to the losses. Every major Mets decision has an element of “what’s next next is what matters most.”

The frustration fans are feeling is because the next step, which feels like phase two of the plan, is mysterious. Not a hint of the Mets having interest in Polanco and more subtractions to come from the roster as well as additions, the team has made decisions with players that all required something else to fully satisfy.

Every Mets transaction or decision seems to envoke a feeling of needing to see what's next to truly understand the move

Some will never accept David Stearns. Others are too heartbroken to get out of bed after seeing Pete Alonso in a Baltimore Orioles jersey or Edwin Diaz talk about winning with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Brandon Nimmo’s smile has never looked worse than it did beneath a Texas Rangers cap.

When the Mets traded for Marcus Semien, we understood it as a way to open up left field and improve defense at second base. They swapped a beloved player with an offensive focus for a Gold Glove infielder whose bat may or may not be frying. Upon the addition of Williams, we again believed it was a precursor to signing Diaz. They wanted to go this route, but he chose the Dodgers.

Then came the Polanco signing. More of a definitive solution to a problem, it hasn’t quite shut the door on several possibilities. He spent most of last year as the Seattle Mariners DH. Mixing in first base and maybe even the occasional start on the infield at other places, we shouldn’t negate the idea of the Mets bringing in a more truly gifted defensive first baseman or, for a real twist, someone to take on the bulk of the DH at-bats. Polanco doesn’t have enough experience at first base for us to say he’ll be good or bad there. One would think any infielder moving there would be able to supply the kind of range we never got from Alonso.

The Mets took steps backwards for sure and until we see the finished product it’s too soon to tell what was right and what was wrong.

You wouldn’t be satisfied with just eating the cookie dough and not the cookies, would you? Okay. Bad example.