1. Cohen is a businessman valued at something Ike 22B$. As you said, they backed off the Correa deal because it was bad money based on discovery. And the Twins proved it was iffy. Add to that, Stearns’ capacity to sniff out a truffle in the wintertime is certainly one of his superpowers. I think both of those are perfectly true and exactly a path the Mets should and will take.
2. Where I disagree is that team is just going to lean on Stearn’s black magic as a selling point for luring in any FA, let alone Mickey Mantle, oops I mean Juan Soto. Why on earth would he sign with the Mets and a promise that were good at hunting for bargains out of the dumpster as opposed to we see the best, we get the best, to become the best, like say the Dodgers and the Dark Force across town. In that scenario, I see the Mets being useful idiots to drive up the bargaining price elsewhere. And then we can settle for “ya gotta believe” instead of “we’re going to kill you with greatness.” So count me among the folks that want Cohen to accept his role as the richest owner in the game and do his job. The Dodgers shelled out 1B$ on two players - thats the cost of playing this game at the top level unless you are the Rays or the Braves, which the Mets are not. I dont give one hoot about tax thresholds and make believe prospects down the road. When you have the right bits in place, you attack and get it done. This is that time.
So I want Soto, another hitter (Pete, Bregman), and maybe one more hitter (lets say someone not Bader), and I want Burnes and Crochet and a genuine plan to show how NY can market Sasaki and land him. That’s sets this team up for a long time to develop more of the farm on a reasonable pace.
The issue with Correa was supposed to be the back half of the deal. Then he was inexplicably awful in 2023 (Maybe he thought he was on that year's Mets!) and then last year pretty much reproduced what he did in 2022.
There's no way Stearns is going to go six-plus years on Burnes. Doubtful for the other guys you listed, too.
I definitely see the world different than you do. No good player is going to give a team their prime years and accept a contract for only those years. If you want the best players, like say Cole, these are the kinds of deals that get made and who cares? So Burnes has maybe 2 years of top stuff, 203 more of really good stuff, and a couple of so so years you eat. That’s how the game is played. If the Mets dont do that, I would not expect big FAs to ever come to Queens. Look, Pete is worth 4/100 in my eyes, and it sucks to imagine past that, but he will get 6 years, and those last 2 are gonna be aweful to witness. So I’d go to 6/150 and by the time those years come around, the money will look like chump change.
I have no desire to see this team like the Brewers in terms of money in any way shape or form.
There's also the fact that Stearns has said pretty directly he expects to spend most of the money coming off the books. I fully expect a $300 million payroll this season.
I have been much more on the side of a 3-4 yr deal for Snell rather than a 7 yr deal for Burnes but Chris has swayed me a bit. Maybe you take Burnes on a 7 year deal and just accept that the last 2 or 3 will be average at best. He does seem to be a workhorse at the top of the rotation and could be a good mentor to someone of the up and comers like Sproat and Tong (assuming neither of them gets traded). The dream staff for me would be Snell, Senga, Sasaki, Manaea, Peterson. But I'm not gonna cry if you replace Manaea of Sasaki with Burnes instead.
Similarly - I also want Pete back only because we rarely get to see players play their entire careers with one team and it can be a special thing. And to watch him pursue 400 home runs in a mets uniform over the next 6 years would be a wonderful thing. But if they don't get him, Christian Walker on a 3 year deal would suffice and allow time for Clifford to develop fully in the minors.
Not sure how to address CF, but if you've got Nimmo and Soto out there on the corners, Taylor is fine for 2025 with the expectation that Gilbert of Williams will be ready to take over by 2026.
The bullpen is a crapshoot anyway so while it would be great to land Tanner Scoot, I'm ok running it back with Diaz, Nunez, Garrett, and whoever Stearns picks up knowing that it will be a constantly evolving piece of the team all the way up until and through the trade deadline and beyond.
The Soto infatuation has led me to find other ways of achieving our goal. Chris does not share my hope of avoiding draft and signing penalties, and that is his right.
The right trade with the White Sox can help the Mets set themselves up for the future and for Sasaki without “needing” to sign Soto and tie up that money. Also, any player that willfully signs with the Yankees does so knowing that they are an older team with a questionable farm system. This is not the future but rather a present whose expiration is unknown. The Mets have a lesser base but a better position to be better longer.
The Mets were playoff team with 89 wins. Goldschmidt, Pedersen, Manaea, Flaherty and Kittredge would upgrade the 2024 playoff team. The Mets don't need to make a splash to entice Soto.
I whole both agree and disagree with you.
1. Cohen is a businessman valued at something Ike 22B$. As you said, they backed off the Correa deal because it was bad money based on discovery. And the Twins proved it was iffy. Add to that, Stearns’ capacity to sniff out a truffle in the wintertime is certainly one of his superpowers. I think both of those are perfectly true and exactly a path the Mets should and will take.
2. Where I disagree is that team is just going to lean on Stearn’s black magic as a selling point for luring in any FA, let alone Mickey Mantle, oops I mean Juan Soto. Why on earth would he sign with the Mets and a promise that were good at hunting for bargains out of the dumpster as opposed to we see the best, we get the best, to become the best, like say the Dodgers and the Dark Force across town. In that scenario, I see the Mets being useful idiots to drive up the bargaining price elsewhere. And then we can settle for “ya gotta believe” instead of “we’re going to kill you with greatness.” So count me among the folks that want Cohen to accept his role as the richest owner in the game and do his job. The Dodgers shelled out 1B$ on two players - thats the cost of playing this game at the top level unless you are the Rays or the Braves, which the Mets are not. I dont give one hoot about tax thresholds and make believe prospects down the road. When you have the right bits in place, you attack and get it done. This is that time.
So I want Soto, another hitter (Pete, Bregman), and maybe one more hitter (lets say someone not Bader), and I want Burnes and Crochet and a genuine plan to show how NY can market Sasaki and land him. That’s sets this team up for a long time to develop more of the farm on a reasonable pace.
The issue with Correa was supposed to be the back half of the deal. Then he was inexplicably awful in 2023 (Maybe he thought he was on that year's Mets!) and then last year pretty much reproduced what he did in 2022.
There's no way Stearns is going to go six-plus years on Burnes. Doubtful for the other guys you listed, too.
I definitely see the world different than you do. No good player is going to give a team their prime years and accept a contract for only those years. If you want the best players, like say Cole, these are the kinds of deals that get made and who cares? So Burnes has maybe 2 years of top stuff, 203 more of really good stuff, and a couple of so so years you eat. That’s how the game is played. If the Mets dont do that, I would not expect big FAs to ever come to Queens. Look, Pete is worth 4/100 in my eyes, and it sucks to imagine past that, but he will get 6 years, and those last 2 are gonna be aweful to witness. So I’d go to 6/150 and by the time those years come around, the money will look like chump change.
I have no desire to see this team like the Brewers in terms of money in any way shape or form.
There's also the fact that Stearns has said pretty directly he expects to spend most of the money coming off the books. I fully expect a $300 million payroll this season.
I have been much more on the side of a 3-4 yr deal for Snell rather than a 7 yr deal for Burnes but Chris has swayed me a bit. Maybe you take Burnes on a 7 year deal and just accept that the last 2 or 3 will be average at best. He does seem to be a workhorse at the top of the rotation and could be a good mentor to someone of the up and comers like Sproat and Tong (assuming neither of them gets traded). The dream staff for me would be Snell, Senga, Sasaki, Manaea, Peterson. But I'm not gonna cry if you replace Manaea of Sasaki with Burnes instead.
Similarly - I also want Pete back only because we rarely get to see players play their entire careers with one team and it can be a special thing. And to watch him pursue 400 home runs in a mets uniform over the next 6 years would be a wonderful thing. But if they don't get him, Christian Walker on a 3 year deal would suffice and allow time for Clifford to develop fully in the minors.
Not sure how to address CF, but if you've got Nimmo and Soto out there on the corners, Taylor is fine for 2025 with the expectation that Gilbert of Williams will be ready to take over by 2026.
The bullpen is a crapshoot anyway so while it would be great to land Tanner Scoot, I'm ok running it back with Diaz, Nunez, Garrett, and whoever Stearns picks up knowing that it will be a constantly evolving piece of the team all the way up until and through the trade deadline and beyond.
The Soto infatuation has led me to find other ways of achieving our goal. Chris does not share my hope of avoiding draft and signing penalties, and that is his right.
The right trade with the White Sox can help the Mets set themselves up for the future and for Sasaki without “needing” to sign Soto and tie up that money. Also, any player that willfully signs with the Yankees does so knowing that they are an older team with a questionable farm system. This is not the future but rather a present whose expiration is unknown. The Mets have a lesser base but a better position to be better longer.
Are you suggesting a deal for Crochett and Luis Robert? Bc that would definitely be a plan b for me if we don't land Soto
Indeed.
The Mets were playoff team with 89 wins. Goldschmidt, Pedersen, Manaea, Flaherty and Kittredge would upgrade the 2024 playoff team. The Mets don't need to make a splash to entice Soto.