4 Players the Mets Need to Extend!

Author: Sal Vassallo

Editor: Brian Symons

The first offseason for new Mets owner Steven Cohen was an eventful one. In the best Mets offseason possibly since they signed Carlos Beltran in 2005, the Mets did a full overhaul on their roster. Their roster moves included the signings of reliever Trevor May, catcher James McCann and a trade for starter Carlos Carrasco and star shortstop Francisco Lindor. While Steve Cohen has set a 3-5 year window to win a championship, he also wants to build sustainable success. One great way to do that is by signing your star players to extensions and using them as the cornerstones for your team for years to come. While extension talks have not started in Mets camp, Mets GM Sandy Alderson said the team will likely start extension talks soon. Here are four players the Mets should and likely will consider extending.

4) RHP Marcus Stroman- Stroman’s Mets career started off a little shaky after he was traded to the Mets in 2019. The former Toronto ace went 4-2 with a 3.77 era in eleven starts with the team. His first few starts were shaky but he settled in to end the year. In 2020 he went into the season nursing a calf injury. A few weeks into the season, Stroman ended up opting out after it appeared he was rehabbing his calf to come back and pitch. Fast forward to the 2020-21 offseason and he became the first move for Cohen as majority Mets owner when he accepted the Mets 18.9 million dollar qualifying offer. Stroman would probably come in at number four on the list of Mets that they should consider extending. I think in a contract year he will have a nice year in the middle of the Mets rotation. If they could bring back Stroman for 2022 and beyond I’d love the move, but I'd look to extend the other three first. Either way, he would definitely be a candidate for a midseason or 2021 offseason extension as the Mets should see how he fares considering he has not pitched in a full year. Stroman seems to be really fired up to play for Steve Cohen and I am excited to see how Stroman fares in 2021!!

3) RHP Noah Syndergaard- The Mets acquired right-handed starter Noah Syndergaard as part of the deal that sent 2012 NL Cy Young Award winner RA Dickey to Toronto. The trade is described as a major win for the Mets who acquired Syndergaard along with catcher Travis D’arnaud as the main pieces coming back to the Mets in the deal. The man nicknamed Thor shot his way through the Mets farm system to make his debut against the Cubs in 2015. 2015 was the year he had his highlight moment as a Met as he was the winning pitcher in game three of the world series against the Kansas City Royals. When it comes to Noah Syndergaard he is electric on the mound as he easily tops 99 miles per hour on his fastball. His outgoing personality and activity on social media has made him a Mets fan favorite. However, he has run into some problems that he will need to address in 2021. Syndergaard could be described as a thrower and not a pitcher. Often he will try to beat major league hitters by blowing fastballs by them. That may work every so often however he must develop his secondary pitches and not always try to overpower hitters. I have noticed throughout his career that he can have success if he dials back the velocity and pitch to contact. He has all the tools to be a star pitcher for years to come, however, he has to put it all together upon his return from Tommy John surgery that he underwent spring training 2020. With Jacob Degrom, Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker, and David Peterson signed with the Mets through 2022 and beyond, Syndergaard and Stroman will have to impress to get the extensions they may be looking for.

2) Michael Conforto- The most interesting thing to remember about Conforto is the fact that he is a Sandy Alderson guy. Drafted by Alderson when he was the Mets GM in 2014, Alderson drafted Conforto with the 10th overall pick. Conforto credits Alderson for getting him through the early days of his career when he would get demoted to the minors after he would hit a slump. Still, Conforto would make his debut in late 2015 and was a big part of their run to the world series in 2015. Conforto has shown a huge amount of growth since his debut. Scouts had said he was not a great defender however he has made them eat those words as his career has gone on. He is by no means a gold glover but he is an above-average corner outfielder that can play center in a pinch. Hitting wise he has been known to be streaky however when he gets hot he can carry a team. Conforto also shook the streakiness in the shortened year last year. The man called Scooter hit eight homers with a career-high 322 average. It was a shortened season but he was clicking all year. His power numbers are also outstanding as Conforto has hit over 25 homers from 2017-2019. With a full 162 game season this year, I expect him to hit between 25-30 home runs. The Mets hope he can also keep his average up and avoid those cold streaks but either way it is very important the Mets at least try to extend Conforto. Conforto is a Scott Boras client so if the Mets look to extend their homegrown outfielder they will have to pay a pretty penny to do it. Still, I think It sends an excellent message to the rest of the team that if you perform, you will get paid, especially since Conforto is a homegrown talent. I hope to see Conforto in a Mets uniform beyond this year!

1) Francisco Lindor- When the Mets made the trade for Lindor and Carrasco it was the first big splash for Steve Cohen as the Mets owner. Lindor has been one of the top shortstops in baseball since his debut in 2015. Of course, when a team makes a deal for a star with one year left on his deal it is assumed that the team will make a good attempt to sign the player to an extension. That is no different with the Mets and Lindor. The man known as Mr. Smile will likely be in Queens beyond the 2021 season. Team president Sandy Alderson said the team will sit down with Lindor to start extension talks within the next couple of weeks. Lindor has set a deadline for opening day for extension talks. Although he had an off-year in 2020, there were a few factors to consider. Of course, it was a crazy shortened season last year with little to no spring training. Lindor was also playing for a Cleveland team that did not give him a fair extension offer. Lindor has been a top-three shortstop in baseball for years. A four-time all-star and two-time gold glover, he’d be a great cornerstone face of the franchise for the Mets for years to come. Get it done Mets!!!!

METS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

A Busy Winter in Queens

Author: Steven Chase

Editor: Aaron Mesco

With the new ownership group led by financial mogul, Steve Cohen, the Mets received a great deal of buzz around them this winter. The Mets were formerly owned by Fred Wilpon, along with his brother-in-law Saul Katz. These two created a reputation of not spending money in the biggest market in sports, which made the Mets the laughing stock of baseball. Cohen, with a net worth of 14.2 billion USD according to Forbes, came into Queens motivated to change this narrative. Cohen and Mets President Sandy Alderson were very successful in doing this via various acquisitions this offseason, making the Mets a threat heading into 2021.

The major move that received the most attention from the New York media was the trade that brought Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the Mets. In doing this, the Mets gave up Andres Giminez, Amed Rosario, and prospects Isiah Greene and Josh Wolf. This was a huge move by the Mets, sending a message to the rest of the league that they are going to be one of the best franchises for years to come. The major reason why this was talked about so much is for one reason: Francisco Lindor. Lindor is an all around superstar, with a slashline of .277/.343/.502 along with a .354 wOBA and 13.7 fWAR (stats from 2018-2020). While the offensive numbers are great, Lindor is known for his defensive metrics, being a 26 DRS and 26.3 UZR. Obviously, Lindor is an elite player, and with his positive attitude he is a guy you need in your clubhouse. Not only did they get Lindor in this trade, but they acquired Carlos Carrsco, a top 20 starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Over the last three seasons, Carrasco has a 3.19 xFIP, 3.32 SIERA and a 7.6 fWAR, along with a 2.91 ERA in 2020. Carrasco will give the Mets a phenomenal one-two-three punch at the top of their rotation, with himself deGrom, and Syndergaard.

Furthermore, in addition to Carrasco, the Mets also acquired various other depth starting pitchers, such as Taijuan Walker, Joey Luchessi, and Jordan Yammamoto. All three of these players have major league experience, and will be great back end starters, and will be essential if the Mets make a postseason run. Moreover, another key addition the Mets made this offseason was Trevor May. May has been one of the better relievers the past few seasons, posting a 3.19 ERA, 3.48 xFIP, and a 3.01 SIERA over the span of 2018-2020. His stats are very similar to Seth Lugo, and these two will be tasked with the job of pitching in the 7th or 8th inning with the goal of getting the ball to closer Edwin Diaz for the save. All in all, with all of these acquisitions in addition to Noah Sydergaard and Marcus Stroman coming back from injury, the Mets have one of the best pitching rotations in all of baseball.

On top of perennial superstar Francisco Lindor, the Mets made other solid acquisitions. The two that are of most importance are Kevin Pillar and Johnathan Villar. With the lack of the universal Designated Hitter, the Mets are forced to sacrifice defense to get all of their bats in the lineup. Both Pete Alonso and Dom Smith need to be in the Met lineup on a daily basis, but the problem is they both play the same position. This forces the Mets to hide Dom Smith in left field, and move Bradon Nimmo to center field. This puts both of these players in an out of position role, making the Mets vulnerable to poor defensive play. Kevin Pillar, who has a 56 DRS and 33.6 UZR over his seven-year career, was a much needed addition to bolster the Mets outfield. Jonathan Villar was also a huge addition. Villar is a threat in many different ways: he has had over 40 stolen bases in multiple seasons, he can seemingly play every position defensively, and he brings a decent bat offensively. Villar has a 95 career OPS+ and .727 OPS, which are average, but his value on the bases and eligibility at various positions make him a key member of the Mets bench. In addition to the veteran acquisitions, the Mets also brought in prospect Khalil Lee. This move showed that the Mets plan to not only win now, but win in the future.

The various acquisitions the Mets made, along with the change in culture in the front office, make the Mets appear to be one of the premier teams headed into 2021. The only negative about the Mets offseason is that they have not yet re-signed Francisco Lindor or Michael Conforto. Despite all of this, it does not matter how good the roster is paper- it matters how the Mets perform. 2021 will be a major year for the Mets to see what they can do for now and the future.

METS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Should the Mets Sign Yo?

Author: Oliver Lang

Editor: Brian Symons

Spring training is in session, and in just around a month the season is scheduled to start. And while many of the top free agents in baseball have been scooped up, a good number by the Mets, there’s one player in particular who has had his ups and downs with the Metropolitans who has yet to sign with a team. This, of course, is 2-time homerun derby champ, Yoenis Céspedes. Back when the Mets got him midway through the 2015 season, he led them to the World Series and was instantly beloved by Mets fans everywhere, and that trend continued until it didn’t.

After the magical World Series run that Céspedes had a key part in, he raked in New York, batting .280 with 31 home runs in 132 games in 2016. While he only played in 81 games in 2017, he was still great, batting .292 with 17 home runs. However, after that, things took a series of turns for the worse.

In his age 32 season in 2018, he played a mere 38 games, and in that span hit 9 homers but only batted .262, and he didn’t play for all of 2019 due to injuries so it was clear that even if he did play, Céspedes would only be on the roster for a fraction of the season. Then there was the wild boar incident.

While on his ranch, where he was recovering from injury with hope for a return to Queens, a wild boar broke his ankle. After this strange incident, he wouldn’t be able to play until the 2020 season—which leads to yet another wild Céspedes and the Mets story, the disappearance of Yoenis.

Yoenis Céspedes was coming into the shortened 2020 season with high hopes, and others were feeling similarly. The former Mets star hadn’t played in over a year, and Met fans were hungry for some Céspedes power, and to his credit, Yoenis showed it, kind of. On opening day against the Atlanta Braves, the score was 0-0 going into the 7th when Céspedes came up to bat. He then proceeded to hit a go-ahead bomb to left field that put the Mets up 1-0 over Atlanta, which is where they’d stay. However, he did practically nothing good besides that. In 8 games he hit 2 home runs and batted an embarrassing .161, not nearly what was expected of him. Instead of pushing and trying to improve as a hitter, he took the easy route and just left. He didn’t come to the field when he was supposed to and didn’t tell anybody anything. During the game of his disappearance, people had no clue where he was—some even thought he might have been kidnapped, as he wasn’t answering people’s calls. It was then found out that he had decided to opt-out, but decided not to tell his own team about it on a day he was supposed to report to the stadium for a game. Pretty much, he didn’t play how he wanted and decided to quit instead of making an attempt to improve.

Getting back to now, he is a free agent and nobody has picked him up yet, but talks about the possibility of him going back to the Mets have taken place. He would likely be just a bench hitter, as the Mets are already loaded with all-stars on the field, and he’s coming off of bad seasons, along with causing numerous problems for the team. In addition to that, 2021 will be his age 35 season, so he won’t necessarily be a prime Céspedes who could lead an entire team to the playoffs. However, he will likely be a low-risk signing who can’t really hurt them that much, as he will cost almost next to nothing and won’t play very much. It’s really a complicated situation, where he could just be a waste of money that doesn’t do much of anything and has hurt the Mets in recent years, but at the same time, the money will be low enough that it doesn’t harm the team. And if there were even a chance of 2015 Yoenis Céspedes coming back, it would be well worth the risk. There is a risk in there, and a team as good as the Mets are this year doesn’t need or want anything that could derail their chances of being the champions of baseball. But if we are all being honest, someone who sits on the bench most of the time and has potential for high reward sounds like a risk worth taking, so to answer the looming question, should the Mets sign Céspedes for the 2021 season—as long as they don’t overpay for him, yes, Yoenis Céspedes should be a New York Met in 2021, and who knows, he may help them get to the World Series again.