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2 truths and 1 lie about David Stearns’ first offseason as Mets POBO
What's the truth and what's a lie about this Mets offseason?
New York Mets fans want the truth. The whole truth. Nothing but the truth.
In the midway part of the offseason, debates about where the team stands rage on among fans on each of the social media platforms. Celebrity wannabes on Twitter fight with anonymous trolls with silent voices. Over on TikTok, 13-year-old girls are virtually hollering about the Sean Manaea signing while others are doing happy dances over the addition of Harrison Bader. Folks over at MySpace are eager to see what Jason Bay will do. Don’t spoil it for them.
Optimists see one version. Realists see another. What is the truth about the Mets and what's a lie? Let's play the classic game of two truths and a lie and attempt to expose who they really are.
Mets Truth: The team can compete for a playoff spot
It's not a white flag season for the Mets. They definitely can compete for a playoff spot. It's a truth to accept even if you have felt letdown this winter by the ball club. Expanded playoffs and a standard in the National League where a team barely above .500 can sneak in and make it to the World Series will provide a little bit of hope for the hopeless.
All of those “ifs” and “buts” David Stearns has added to the roster will have fans feeling strongly in one direction or the other. The truth? He has built a team very much capable of being as good as the 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks or Miami Marlins. They’re not quite a top wild card seed level where the Philadelphia Phillies found themselves. A few lucky bounces and stolen games from the jaws of defeat can make a difference.
How the Mets perform in the first half will determine if Stearns blows the whole thing up at the trade deadline or not. The roster is perfectly set to become major sellers if need be. However, if the team does well, we shouldn’t expect them to go full bore and sacrifice too much of their farm system to win it all in 2024.
Competitive? Yes. Contenders? Check the standings at the end of June.
Mets Truth: The roster is better than it was at the end of last season
Technically, if we’re going to compare rosters, it wouldn’t be fair to size up the team now in comparison to how it looked at the end of 2023. Weeks of Rafael Ortega, Jonathan Arrauz, and others didn’t exactly strike fear into anyone the Mets invited to Citi Field. It’s still true to see how they have improved.
The starting rotation is significantly better than it was through the final days of 2024. Even if you lack faith in Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, and Adrian Houser, they are upgrades over what the Mets were putting on the mound every fifth or sixth day. Many of those players are still there with only Carlos Carrasco most notably out of the picture.
Compare the Mets now to what they looked like at the start of last year and there’s more of a debate. The Mets looked good on paper. In actuality, they were a bit more broken. Max Scherzer wasn’t himself. Starling Marte was about to embark on an injury-filled season. Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar were a step or two below what they were one season prior. Brett Baty was clearly outmatched.
There is no fair comparison to make between the Mets last season and now because of how far below expectations they reached. It’s actually probably more of a draw than anything. The lineup is relatively the same. The highs of what the starting pitching staff can reach match the lows of what Scherzer and Justin Verlander did last year. The tie-breaker will come from the bullpen where it’s not clear at all what will happen with this ragtag assemblance.
Mets Lie: David Stearns had a really good winter
The Mets didn’t add any star players this offseason and that certainly feels like the biggest strike against Stearns. How meaningful is star power anyway other than for ticket sales, particularly on the road?
Mets fans don’t have any new jerseys to buy. Does this mean the offseason was a failure?
Others see what Stearns has done as positive. He hasn’t committed to any irrational deals. It’s all a temporary hold for bigger things in the near future.
Well, maybe not. To say Stearns had a really good winter is putting the cart before the horse or the dessert before the appetizer for those who don’t travel by stagecoach to understand better. The Mets missing on Yoshinobu Yamamoto this offseason was stung even if it ultimately wasn’t their fault. A front office executive can only do so much. The owner had him over for dinner! What more could the Mets have done? Did Steve Cohen deny Yamamoto a toy from the toy chest on his way out?
You can feel satisfied with the offseason Stearns has had, but that’s because the standard has been lowered. Oft-injured players added to an already questionable roster shouldn’t have anyone reserving playoff tickets just yet.
While the Mets have made improvements, most of their moves were lateral in nature with a chance to look better. The truth of this offseason is the Mets laid out a plan and stuck with it. They were successful in not wavering from it. Whether it was the smart plan or not is why we’ll play the games.
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