Realistic expectations for the Mets at the Winter Meetings

There’s a certain allure to the MLB Winter Meetings. It’s a conference where general managers, executives, agents, and players get together and talk shop. This is a period when New York Mets fans will be eagerly refreshing Twitter a little more aggressively.

The MLB Winter Meetings do signal the unofficial start of the offseason which has already been open for almost a full month now. What fans need to remember is that the MLB Winter Meetings have no deadline. They’re more of a caucus. And we’ve all seen the episode of The Simpsons which explained to us what a teachers do at one of those.

What should we expect out of the Mets at the MLB Winter Meetings?

The MLB trade deadline is fun because a lot happens over the period of hours. The Winter Meetings are different. Ideas are exchanged. A few trades are executed. Several free agents do sign.

This year’s MLB Winter Meetings are taking place only about a month after the end of the World Series. We’re actually behind schedule due the lockout that pushed back the end of the regular season. It may seem like the hot stove is unusually cold. You’re correct in feeling no heat. The unusual part of it is actually in line with how November typically goes.

Things can pick up near the end of November, however, it’s in December when things get very active. The Mets have been relatively quiet in recent offseasons during the month of November. Many of the big splashes happen in December. Some even carry over into January.

Considering November the month of cleaning up. Setting rosters. Tendering players. Making important decisions about the players you already have in house. These are all part of November.

In December, the pace picks up. It’s at the Winter Meetings when we go on a higher alert.

Will the Mets do anything at this year’s Winter Meetings? With Jacob deGrom off the board, one would have to think there's a lot of pressure to do something big.

Lesser free agent signings and trades that we can credit the Winter Meetings with offering us. Our expectations for the Mets could be to reunite with Chris Bassitt over those days. They might sign a relief pitcher. They could even strike a lesser trade on the scale of swapping Khalil Lee with another team’s fallen prospect.

As much as the Winter Meetings offer us few guarantees, it can be the beginning of the action. All it takes is one player to sign. Has deGrom going to the Texas Rangers kicked things off? Let's see if the rest of the dominoes fall next.