3 players added this offseason we should be more bullish on in 2023

Feb 19, 2023; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets catcher Omar Narvaez (2) and starting pitcher
Feb 19, 2023; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets catcher Omar Narvaez (2) and starting pitcher / Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
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If New York Mets players were stocks, you might want to buy these three right now. Added during the offseason in one of the better winters the team has ever had, we should all be bullish on them.

Two rebound candidates and a guy who is more of a wild card are getting added to my baseball player brokerage account.

1) NY Mets catcher Omar Narvaez is a huge bounce-back candidate

Omar Narvaez is coming off of a bad season with the Milwaukee Brewers. He batted .206/.292/.305 in 296 plate appearances. His three seasons with them were a sandwich if the bread was made out of poorly-cooked cauliflower. He was a .176/.294/.269 hitter in 2020 before slashing .266/.342/.402 in his All-Star campaign back in 2021.

Narvaez is actually much more like the 2021 version of himself than the bookend of his time in Milwaukee. He joins the Mets as a lifetime .258/.343/.386 hitter. Expected to split some time behind the plate with Tomas Nido, he can only benefit from regular rest and getting to feast on right-handed pitchers most of the time.

The left-handed hitting catcher is a .268/.345/.406 hitter against righties. Against lefties, he’s slashing just .206/.331/.282. It’s easy to see how the Mets should deploy their catching platoon if offense is something they value. It should be. Neither catcher should become a personal one for any of the starters. Too much time in past seasons has been spent with starters preferring one over the other.

Narvaez will sit regularly and may not always finish games he starts. He’s definitely a buy-low candidate who should appear in nearly every game where the Mets face a right-handed starter. It’ll boost his numbers. He has the potential to have one of the better offensive years from a Mets catcher in recent seasons.

2) NY Mets outfielder Tommy Pham is in a much better situation

A lot of Mets fans were disappointed with the signing of Tommy Pham. The last of the major additions the team made, and in a lot of ways the last reasonable choice, it’s not a horrendous move in any way. Pham joins New York on the down swing of his career. He hasn’t hit all that well in recent years but as a fourth outfielder who should only start regularly versus left-handed pitchers, Pham is in a much better situation than he was in the past.

Last year was weird for Pham. The centerpiece of the slap across Joc Pederson’s face, he went from the very bad Cincinnati Reds to a collapsing Boston Red Sox ball club at the trade deadline. He finished the season hitting .236/.312/.374 with 17 home runs. It was close to what he did the year prior with the San Diego Padres, slashing .229/.340/.383 with 15 dingers.

A concern we may have for Pham is how he can translate as a part-time player. This is a guy who has been a starter for much of his career. Irregular at-bats could be problematic. I’m willing to be patient with him. He’s a buy and hold type of stock to be bullish on.

Pham won’t suddenly win at-bats away from anyone. Over time, he can distinguish himself as the strongest half of the DH platoon with Daniel Vogelbach and maybe get a few more starts over Mark Canha.

Pham hasn't hit well this spring in his first few chances. If it mattered, these games would count.

3) NY Mets pitcher Kodai Senga could be the rotation difference-maker

Close your eyes. Spin the chair. Throw the dart. Wherever it lands could be what Kodai Senga does in 2023. Coming over from an overseas league is hard to predict. The adjustments to the baseballs, the mound, and even the culture can be difficult for even the hardiest of athletes.

If Senga was a stock, he’d be a start-up with a lot of promise. It’s not outrageous to believe he has a high ceiling. Categorized by most as a second-tier free agent this offseason, the Mets are counting on him to give them number three starter innings.

Senga is someone who could come along slowly due to those changes he’ll experience early on. Even if it takes him a month before he’s able to consistently go beyond 5 innings, he could be worth the wait. 

I’m bullish on Senga because he doesn’t need to be “the guy.” Behind Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, Senga can have time to figure things out. In fact, what’s so awful about him being their fifth-best starting pitcher if Jose Quintana and Carlos Carrasco do well? He's not coming over as a kid either. Senga is at the point where he should be in the prime of his career. I'm buying in.

Narvaez and Pham won’t be in Queens for long. Senga’s stay will last a couple of seasons. And even if year one isn’t as terrific as we’d like it to be, I’m going to hold onto this mutual fund.

3 Mets who will be better, 2 who won't. dark. Next

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