First major NY Mets move of the offseason is their only in the name of run prevention

One man come, in the name of run prevention. One man he come, another man he go. It might sound like a caveman talking, but have you ever actually taken the time to look up U2’s lyrics? Bono sang about pride in the name of love, David Stearns spoke about the New York Mets in the name of run prevention a tad more elegantly with proper grammar.

Us fans may have taken it a little too much to heart. This offseason has been about more than run prevention. The Mets have a long way to go before run prevention is truly a theme of the winter.

Yeah, signing Devin Williams and Luke Weaver sort of fits. All pitchers are present for run prevention. But it’s only the Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien swap that truly appears to be a run prevention maneuver.

What the Mets still have to do to become a team more focused on run prevention

Was signing Jorge Polanco to be a 1B/DH a run prevention move? The addition by subtraction by letting Pete Alonso walk doesn’t work until we see Polanco play first base. There has yet to be an improvement in left field. The rest of the roster is the same. Unless Juan Soto has magically improved his range, his run prevention abilities aren’t changing.

Then there’s the whole pitching staff. The team took a hit by losing Edwin Diaz. Even if Williams is a competent closer, you can’t say they’re in a better position with him and Weaver over Diaz and either one of them. The bullpen has a need for at least one more significant reliever. That addition may need to come via trade because the rest of the remaining free agents aren’t so special.

More than maybe anywhere else, we have yet to see the improvement in the rotation. Everyone is still here. No subtraction has been made. Not a single addition has been brought in. They wouldn’t dare pitch us the idea of Kodai Senga being better, Sean Manaea living up to his contract, and David Peterson having the durability to last a full season, will they? 

In the name of run prevention, the Gold Glove defense of Semien is literally the only move we can declare was for the purposes of letting the opponent score fewer runs. The Mets haven’t completely swayed away from this idea or blocked themselves from making some obvious additions. Cody Bellinger remains unsigned. Polanco doesn’t shut the door on other first basemen although it’s hard to imagine with Willson Contreras traded to the Boston Red Sox that they’d get much of an everyday player for the position who rated well defensively last year.

The run prevention wording seemed to be a setup for fans to understand the Nimmo-Semien trade long before it happened and help justify the departure of Alonso. If that’s the case, Stearns masterminded when of the best campaigns possible. The average fan isn’t upset with him because of the Nimmo-Semien trade and loss of Alonso. It’s those combined with not re-signing Edwin Diaz and the lack of other additions.