3 biggest Mets success stories of 2023

In a year to forget for the Mets, there are still some positives to build upon.

Miami Marlins v New York Mets - Game Two
Miami Marlins v New York Mets - Game Two / Elsa/GettyImages
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The New York Mets 2023 season was a disaster, there's no point in sugar coating it. Given the World Series aspirations and massive payroll that Steve Cohen invested in, missing the playoffs entirely is an embarassing look for the franchise.

However, not everything about 2023 was a lost cause. From player performances to front office decisions, the Mets have a few key success stories from a forgotten season that should help propel them back into contention in 2024.

Kodai Senga emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball in 2023

When the Mets signed Kodai Senga as a 30 year old rookie this offseason, the expectation was that he would serve as a reliable third starter behind Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Now that 2023 has concluded, it appears the Mets may have found an ace for the future.

Senga exceeded all expectations this season, posting a 2.98 ERA across 29 starts. His patented ghost fork gave him over 200 strikeouts on the season, becoming one of the best strikeout pitches across all of baseball. While he will likely not win any awards for his season, he figures to finish with some NL Rookie of the Year voting across the league, which Mets fans are thrilled about.

What makes Senga's success more important for the Mets is how much he improved throughout the season. He struggled with control in the early going, but significantly reduced his strikeout to walk ratio from 2.4 in the first half of the season to 2.97 after the All-Star break.

The Mets appear to have found a future star in Senga, who quickly became a fan favorite across Citi Field this season. With him under contract for the next four seasons, the Mets have a great arm to build around to quickly get back into contention.

Francisco Lindor had another great season for the Mets, and made some history along the way as well

Francisco Lindor's first Mets season in 2021 was one to forget, as many fans were expecting more from a player that had just recieved a massive 10 year contract. While Lindor still hasn't regained his peak form from his early days in Cleveland, he just finished another successful season that shows better times are still ahead for the star shortstop.

Lindor hit for a respectable .254 on the season, playing in all but two of the Mets games this year. His .806 OPS was his highest mark since 2019, and he gave the Mets a reliable glove at shortstop as well. After hitting .230 and being the ire of fans across 2021, this was his second straight season of producing at a higher level.

More importantly, Lindor became a member of the exclusive 30-30 club this season, recording 31 home runs and 31 stolen bases in 2023. He is now just one of 46 players in league history to have accomplished this feat, putting him in rarified air with a feat that he can most likely repeat next season.

In order for the Mets to have any hope of competing in 2024, they will need another effort like this from Francisco Lindor. His reliability, power and speed are intangible to this lineup and if he can repeat this next season, the team should be in great shape to rebound from this awful year.

The Mets trade deadline was a success, and set the team up greatly for the future

The Mets were one of several teams with high payrolls to miss the playoffs this season in what was a big surprise across the league. However, instead of sticking it out and hoping for a miracle, the Mets smartly decided to cut their losses and gained some potential star prospects in return.

When the Mets determined the season was lost, they flipped every veteran or expiring contract they could, most notably Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. Even though the front office knew the harms of giving up on the season, they went ahead and even attached money with their players to get the best prospects possible.

While this decision made 2023 end on a sour note, the Mets now have a plethora of top end talent in their farm system as a result. Luisangel Acuna and Drew Gilbert, both acquired via trade, are ranked as the 38th and 52nd best prospects in baseball respectively. These prospects and many more have the chance to change the Mets fortunes long term in a way that the veterans they traded away wouldn't have been able to.

It's strange that a teams biggest win on the season comes from an overall failure, but that's exactly what the Mets were able to accomplish at the trade deadline. With a clean slate and loads of new prospects ready to make their mark, this Mets team is more set up for the future than they were coming into this season.

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