Mets starting lineup got a complete overhaul on Friday

What happens when Steven Matz changes his mind and signs elsewhere? It gets New York Mets owner Steve Cohen angry. And you won’t like him when he’s angry, especially if you work for another organization.

A week after Billy Eppler officially became the general manager of the Mets, he spent his Black Friday giving the fans not one, not two, but three new additions to the starting lineup.

It began with veteran infielder Eduardo Escobar signing with the team before I put on my Christmas lights outside. By the time I was about to start my second movie of the night, Mark Canha was with the club.

Then came the big fish. I had to wake up to see this one. The Mets reeled in their biggest fish so far, bringing Starling Marte to town.

The Mets starting lineup in 2022 is going to look very different

Faster than you could digest your Thanksgiving leftovers, the Mets starting lineup got a complete makeover. We can now expect Escobar to play third base or possibly become a fallback option at second base. Canha will probably open the year in left field, possibly right. Marte could push Brandon Nimmo to one of the corners and take over in center field or maybe he becomes the Michael Conforto replacement we have been waiting for.

You know the meme of Charlie Day from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia? That’s Mets fans right now figuring out the different starting lineup possibilities.

I’m not quite sure exactly how the lineup will look. What we can say with certainty: the Mets will spend their weekend modeling a few ideas in front of the mirror.

The work isn’t over yet. The club still has a pitching staff to worry about. These additions only make the team better if the club is willing to go all of the way in remodeling their starting lineup.

We have to ask: is Escobar a big enough upgrade over someone like J.D. Davis? Is Canha guaranteed to perform better than Dominic Smith? Does Starling Marte have enough in the tank to prevent this from becoming a bad signing?

You never know with any player when baseball’s Grim Reaper will tap them on the shoulder—and no, I don’t mean the commissioner.

The important takeaway here is that the Mets got busy last night (your mind needs to leave that gutter) and will not accept defining insanity by doing the same thing all over again.