What a crisis it would be if Diaz opts out! Can’t imagine the Mets will get in a free agent bidding war for a pitcher who is about to be 31 years old. Unless they sign long term deals next year the Mets could go after Devin Williams of the Yankees, Ryan Helsley of the Cardinals, or Raisel Iglesias of the Braves. There does not seem to be a stockpile of players who would step in as the closer unless the Clay Holmes experiment fails and he assumes the closer spot. Given the starting staff we are all hoping he turns into this years’ Seth Lugo.
There was talk in the past of trying Mauricio in the outfield due to his athleticism and that still seems like a plausible way to get him into the lineup since Vientos should be at third for the rest of this decade and Acuna and Baty are still in the mix. It would also seem that with the current stockpile of infielders, there is sufficient options to move on from McNeil if they can dump his salary.
If Alonso has a monster year, given what happened this offseason, chances are he will leave for a big 3-4 year deal, especially since his salary drops to $24 million for 2026. A number of teams would possibly be willing to advance over that number but not the $30 million he will get paid in 2025.
In an overall sense, the Mets have stockpiled a strong starting lineup with the potential for a lot of power and scoring runs. While they are not a young team, their long term deals (Nimmo, Lindor and Soto) are for players who have a lot of upside and can be considered in or approaching their prime (Soto).
It seems that they are well on their way to being able to move young players up each year, but still have the financial flexibility to pop in an expense free agent on a not ridiculous contract (No to Vlad Jr and another 12-15 year contract). So, I think the answer to your article is yes, they have stockpiled good player to create a sustainable winner.
I will continue to crow as the harbinger of bad defense to come, that Vientos has little history of good defense at third base prior to reaching the majors.
You write about a McNeil rebound but the Mets would be better off with a Nimmo rebound. They have better options to replace McNeil and there's the length of Nimmo's deal.
Iglesias should be included in the 2024 group as he had a 2.5 fWAR.
The point of the article touches on the top offensive players each year. However:
1. They aren’t always the same ones, meaning only certain players have been consistent, and
2. No one is questioning the lineup having potential, but rather can the pitchers do what winning teams need their pitchers to do.
It is my contention that the Dodgers lucked out that the Mets took out the Phillies and the Dodgers faced a staff running on fumes. The Phillies had a better staff and matched up better than the Mets did. So…. did we fix last year’s problem? No.
Yes, the Mets have potentially a strong lineup, but Vientos sophomore season could become a version of Alvarez’s sophomore season. A year ago, everyone thought that Alvarez was a sure thing, just like they are viewing Vientos now.
McNeil has a rather successful history and the second half gave us expectations for the successful return; Nimmo, Soto, Lindor, Alonso likewise have a positive history; there is no offense from CF but at least there’s a glove (no team is perfect), and the DH position scares the crap out of me because all they can offer is to hit and their history leans more toward failure than success, but man they sure can slam a helmet. Lastly, we all raise a glass to Alvarez having what he hopes this swing change brings.
Your list of major Dodgers additions this year was missing Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, and Hyeseong Kim (all signed for 3 years or more). They really did have some sort of insane off-season.
The Mets have all these young prospects and it's always a chess game trying to configure where everyone will eventually fit, but one consideration is that at least some of these guys will be moved at some point. Prospects are great trade pieces for valuable short term guys when the team is going on a run, so the landscape of who will be here to step up in the big leagues is likely to look different in a year or two. Hard to predict who could be on the trade block, but I would imagine something happens to change the outlook in the next year.
What a crisis it would be if Diaz opts out! Can’t imagine the Mets will get in a free agent bidding war for a pitcher who is about to be 31 years old. Unless they sign long term deals next year the Mets could go after Devin Williams of the Yankees, Ryan Helsley of the Cardinals, or Raisel Iglesias of the Braves. There does not seem to be a stockpile of players who would step in as the closer unless the Clay Holmes experiment fails and he assumes the closer spot. Given the starting staff we are all hoping he turns into this years’ Seth Lugo.
There was talk in the past of trying Mauricio in the outfield due to his athleticism and that still seems like a plausible way to get him into the lineup since Vientos should be at third for the rest of this decade and Acuna and Baty are still in the mix. It would also seem that with the current stockpile of infielders, there is sufficient options to move on from McNeil if they can dump his salary.
If Alonso has a monster year, given what happened this offseason, chances are he will leave for a big 3-4 year deal, especially since his salary drops to $24 million for 2026. A number of teams would possibly be willing to advance over that number but not the $30 million he will get paid in 2025.
In an overall sense, the Mets have stockpiled a strong starting lineup with the potential for a lot of power and scoring runs. While they are not a young team, their long term deals (Nimmo, Lindor and Soto) are for players who have a lot of upside and can be considered in or approaching their prime (Soto).
It seems that they are well on their way to being able to move young players up each year, but still have the financial flexibility to pop in an expense free agent on a not ridiculous contract (No to Vlad Jr and another 12-15 year contract). So, I think the answer to your article is yes, they have stockpiled good player to create a sustainable winner.
I will continue to crow as the harbinger of bad defense to come, that Vientos has little history of good defense at third base prior to reaching the majors.
You write about a McNeil rebound but the Mets would be better off with a Nimmo rebound. They have better options to replace McNeil and there's the length of Nimmo's deal.
Iglesias should be included in the 2024 group as he had a 2.5 fWAR.
Thanks for the Iglesias correction. The post has been updated to include him.
The point of the article touches on the top offensive players each year. However:
1. They aren’t always the same ones, meaning only certain players have been consistent, and
2. No one is questioning the lineup having potential, but rather can the pitchers do what winning teams need their pitchers to do.
It is my contention that the Dodgers lucked out that the Mets took out the Phillies and the Dodgers faced a staff running on fumes. The Phillies had a better staff and matched up better than the Mets did. So…. did we fix last year’s problem? No.
Yes, the Mets have potentially a strong lineup, but Vientos sophomore season could become a version of Alvarez’s sophomore season. A year ago, everyone thought that Alvarez was a sure thing, just like they are viewing Vientos now.
McNeil has a rather successful history and the second half gave us expectations for the successful return; Nimmo, Soto, Lindor, Alonso likewise have a positive history; there is no offense from CF but at least there’s a glove (no team is perfect), and the DH position scares the crap out of me because all they can offer is to hit and their history leans more toward failure than success, but man they sure can slam a helmet. Lastly, we all raise a glass to Alvarez having what he hopes this swing change brings.
Your list of major Dodgers additions this year was missing Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, and Hyeseong Kim (all signed for 3 years or more). They really did have some sort of insane off-season.
The Mets have all these young prospects and it's always a chess game trying to configure where everyone will eventually fit, but one consideration is that at least some of these guys will be moved at some point. Prospects are great trade pieces for valuable short term guys when the team is going on a run, so the landscape of who will be here to step up in the big leagues is likely to look different in a year or two. Hard to predict who could be on the trade block, but I would imagine something happens to change the outlook in the next year.