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5 toughest decisions the Mets have to make this offseason
The New York Mets are currently enjoying one of their best seasons in franchise history. They seem destined to at the very least make the playoffs for the first time in 2016 and are set to make a deep run with guys like Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer leading the way.
This offseason is going to be a big one for the Mets. There are plenty of players hitting the free agency market and some others looking for extensions as well.
Steve Cohen has shown a willingness to spend but isn't going to have a $1 billion dollar payroll as much as we can dream for it. This means there will be some tough decisions this offseason that Billy Eppler and the Mets have to make.
5) NY Mets toughest decisions they will need to make in the next 6 months: What happens with the bullpen?
The Mets bullpen has not been as disastrous as it's made out to be. Edwin Diaz has been the best closer in baseball. Adam Ottavino and Seth Lugo have both elevated into reliable set-up men. When Drew Smith and Tylor Megill come back, the bullpen will be even stronger.
There are pieces of the bullpen that are good, and the problem here is that virtually all of them will be entering free agency.
Diaz, Ottavino, and Lugo will all be entering free agency. So will guys like Trevor May, Tommy Hunter, Trevor Williams, and potentially Mychal Givens as he has a mutual option.
The only relievers left will be Joely Rodriguez and Drew Smith, assuming Megill and David Peterson come into the 2023 season as starting pitchers.
This is a huge issue that the Mets will need to address. Bringing Edwin Diaz back seems like a given. Other than that, I'm really not sure.
Will Seth Lugo want a fresh start? Can the Mets trust Ottavino to duplicate what he's done this season? Can they rely on veterans in May and Givens who have struggled this season to be good again? Or do they just bring in like five new relievers and hope for the best?
The Mets do have some young guys like Adonis Medina, Yoan Lopez, and Steven Nogosek who have come up this season and given the Mets quality innings when called upon, but can you trust one of them to be good, let alone three for a full season?
There are a lot of questions to be answered here and I'm very curious to see how it plays out.
4) NY Mets toughest decisions they will need to make in the next 6 months: What should the Mets do with James McCann?
The Mets signed James McCann prior to the 2021 season to hold down the fort as their catcher. He was seen as a guy who'd be a massive upgrade over Wilson Ramos defensively while still providing at least league-average offense.
This signing has been a disaster for the Mets. McCann has been a solid defensive catcher but puts up at-bats that aren't even competitive at the plate. He's slashed .185/.237/.266 with two home runs and 13 RBI this season. He did miss substantial time with injury, but when he's played he's been putting up pathetic at-bats.
Last season when he was healthy he had a 76 OPS+. That is 24 points below league average. This season he has a 44 OPS+. I don't know how he hit well in 2019 and 2020 in Chicago but with McCann struggling this much I have no idea what they should do with him.
Their top prospect and the number one overall prospect according to mlb.com in Francisco Alvarez is a catcher and projects to be a superstar with the bat at the very least. People argue he's ready right now, the consensus is he will most definitely be ready next season to take over the catcher spot.
The guy McCann has been splitting time with this season, Tomas Nido, I'd argue is even better than McCann despite being a poor hitter as well. His defense is elite, the pitchers seem to prefer throwing to him, and his offensive numbers have been better than McCann's this season.
Nido is cheaper and just the more qualified backup at this point. The issue with this is no team will take on McCann's money unless they attach a prospect or something of value with him.
I'd expect them to either keep McCann as the backup and trade Nido or just cut McCann outright. Both decisions will be tough with the money he is making.
3) NY Mets toughest decisions they will need to make in the next 6 months: Who do the Mets extend?
The Mets are one of the older teams in baseball but still have some players that haven't reached free agency yet. The two names I believe the Mets can and should look into extensions for this offseason include Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil.
Alonso I believe is a must-sign. He might not be the franchise player, but he's the best hitter on the team. Before his recent struggles he was their MVP and probably a top-five league MVP candidate.
Alonso is 27 years old and will hit free agency after the 2024 season. The longer the Mets wait to get an extension done, the more expensive he will get. Locking him up now will save the Mets length and AAV most likely.
The other big extension candidate is Jeff McNeil. Prior to the season, McNeil was shopped around, and thankfully the Mets didn't trade him.
The issue with McNeil is he is already 30. He has two more years of control on his deal and will look to cash in as he will likely only get one big free agency contract. Do the Mets commit to years starting with his age 32 season?
McNeil has been a huge piece for the Mets and I'd hate to see him go but it's definitely not a slam dunk in either direction. On one hand, McNeil is an all-star and a team trying to win should never let an all-star go. On the other hand, he's going to be an older player when the contract kicks in with a game that relies on shift-beating hits.
Just like Alonso, the longer the Mets wait the more expensive he will get. If they don't do it now an extension becomes harder to justify.
2) NY Mets toughest decisions they will need to make in the next 6 months: Should they trade top prospects for a superstar?
The Mets might not have the highest-ranked farm system in baseball, but they do have some very high-end prospect talent. Francisco Alvarez is ranked #1 according to mlb.com. Brett Baty is #19. Kevin Parada is #40 while Alex Ramirez is #90.
In addition to those four top 100 prospects, the Mets have guys like Jett Williams, Ronny Mauricio, and Mark Vientos who have a ton of value and might not be super valuable to the Mets anytime soon.
There's a very good chance Shohei Ohtani will be available this off-season. If he is, the Mets are in a great position to land him.
They have the prospect capital to get one of these mega-deals done, but is it worth it?
From everything I've seen, Francisco Alvarez projects to be a superstar. But projections only mean so much. Guys like Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio can and should be traded, but guys like Baty and/or Alvarez will likely be needed to get a superstar. The Mets need to decide if it's worth parting ways with guys who could be great for players who already are among the best in baseball.
It obviously depends on the package, but acquiring a sure thing is the right answer most of the time if you ask me.
1) NY Mets toughest decisions they will need to make in the next 6 months: The future of Jacob deGrom
Jacob deGrom is my favorite current player. He's been the face of the franchise for years and is the best pitcher in baseball.
With the richest owner in baseball in charge, shouldn't it be a no-brainer to keep deGrom? Unfortunately, this will undoubtedly be the hardest decision the Mets make this offseason.
deGrom has an opt-out in his contract which he has said numerous times he plans to exercise. This means that the 34-year-old will enter unrestricted free agency this offseason. With 29 other teams being in the running for the Mets ace, the price tag will be massive.
deGrom missed 13 months with injury and returned in August. Since his return, he's been just as good as he was before the injuries started. He has proven he is still the best pitcher in the game and deserves to be paid like it.
The Mets already gave Max Scherzer a massive deal last offseason, will they do it again? deGrom is already 34 and very injury prone. There's always a small thought in the back of my head that deGrom's next 100 mph fastball will be the last one he throws this season.
deGrom's next contract will likely not age very well. He's on the wrong side of 30 and will eventually lose velocity. With the injuries to take into account as well, it's hard to rely on him to make his 32 starts and be the Jacob deGrom we all know and love.
Steve Cohen has a ton of money but he didn't make it by making decisions with his heart. deGrom is a Mets icon and should be a Met for life. But the contract he will get might be too much for it to make sense from a business perspective.
It's important to note that Cohen did say he would do "whatever it takes" to keep deGrom. My hope is deGrom wants to stay and Cohen just gives him what he wants. Either way, it is going to be an extremely difficult decision and I'm glad I don't have to make it.
NEXT STORY: 3 Mets players who became fan favorites in 2022