Who should be the next Mets manager?

Author: Frank Caggino

Editor: Fran Attie

After the New York Mets finished the season with a losing record, some changes had to be made. The first one, was deciding not to bring back Luis Rojas. This does not come as a surprise, as Rojas made several mistakes during the past two seasons. Whether it was his use of pinch hitters, pitching decisions or his conservative mentality, it was clear he should not be the manager anymore. Firing Rojas will not automatically make the Mets a playoff team, because they still have to select a new manager. Unfortunately, there is no obvious selection for who the next manager should be. There are multiple candidates available that all have positives and negatives.

The person that many Mets fans want to be the next manager is Carlos Beltran, even though he did not get to manage a single game. He was the manager that Luis Rojas took over from. Beltran was one of the managers that got punished due to the Astros stealing signs scandal. The other managers that lost their jobs were A.J. Hinch and Alex Cora, who are both managing again. Beltran does have some good qualities, and he was a player in New York for several years, which will help him relate to the players. If the Mets retain Javier Baez, Beltran can hopefully get Baez to be the player he was in September on a relatively consistent basis. The problem with Beltran, is he would be the third straight rookie manager that the Mets have hired. The main issue with a rookie manager is they are very unpredictable. Carlos Beltran can be a solid manager, but he also could be a subpar manager, since he is inexperienced. The Mets are not in a position to be taking another risk with the manager, which is why Beltran is not a good fit.

In an ideal world, Bob Melvin would be the next manager of the New York Mets. He is much more experienced than the previous two managers. His teams usually finish with better records than the Mets, despite having a lower payroll. Melvin’s managing mentality is different than Luis Rojas’ since he is more aggressive when it comes to stealing bases. Melvin managed this year’s stolen base leader Starling Marte, who stole more bases in Oakland despite playing more games in Miami. The Mets did not attempt to steal enough bases despite having players such as Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Javier Baez, and Jonathan Villar. The problem is that Melvin is still under contract and the Mets would have to perform a trade in order to acquire Melvin. Manager trades are rare which makes it unlikely that Melvin will be the Mets manager.

A name that is intriguing is Miguel Cairo. Cairo has a very similar resumé to Red Sox manager Alex Cora. Cora and Cairo were both utility players that played for several teams and were active players as recently as 2011. Miguel Cairo played for the Mets and Yankees which gives him some familiarity with New York. Cora was a rookie manager when the Red Sox hired him, but he was a bench coach for the Houston Astros the year before. Cairo is currently the White Sox bench coach and is learning under Tony La Russa. Cairo would be a rookie manager but at least he will have some coaching experience.

Other names that the Mets can consider are Ron Washington, who has plenty of managing experience and Joe Espada who has never managed, but has been a coach since 2010. The other issue that the Mets might run into, is the front office positions that still have to be filled. The new president of baseball operations might not want the same manager that Sandy Alderson does. The present of baseball operations should be the one that makes the decision, since this could be Sandy Alderson’s last year with the Mets.

The New York Mets have a lot of important decisions to be made and now all we can do is hope that the decisions they make will help this team finally become a sustained winner.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Who Stays and Who Goes?

Author: Frank Caggino

Editor: Mark Awadallah

If the Mets want to win a world series in three to five years, they are going to have to make some changes in the offseason. The Mets have several key players on their team that are expiring free agents and have to decide who is going to stay and who is going to be released.

One of the main reasons the Mets did not sign George Springer is because of Michael Conforto’s upcoming free agency. Some fans thought Conforto could get an eight year, 200-million-dollar contract from the Mets following his great 2020 season. This year however, Michael has not looked anything like the player he was in 2020, and now those same fans do not think he is worth a 200-million-dollar contract anymore. The New York Mets have to decide which Conforto season to examine before making a decision. Luckily for the Mets, they can give him the qualifying offer, a year contract for almost 20 million dollars at the end of the season.

The player the Mets gave the qualifying offer to last season, Marcus Stroman, is going to be an expiring free agent as well. Stroman is having a strong season with his 2.85 ERA that is tied for 10th best in all of major league baseball. Stroman also has not gone on the injured list at any point this season which would make him one of the very few Mets to do that. This is very important for Stroman’s free agency with him being 30 years old. A lot of the other quality pitchers that are going to be free agents are older than Stroman, which makes Marcus more appealing. Since the Mets were unable to sign Kumar Rocker, and pitchers such as Matt Allan and Joey Lucchesi having surgery, the Mets need healthy arms next season. Bringing Stroman back makes sense, but it has to be under 5 years. Most of the time, investing in a player after the age of 35 is a bad move. However, Stroman is not the only starting pitcher the Mets have that is not an expiring free agent.

The Mets will also have a difficult year evaluating Noah Syndergaard following his Tommy John surgery. Noah still has not pitched for the Mets this season following many setbacks, the most recent of which came after testing positive for COVID-19. If Noah does pitch this year, he has been told to not throw sliders by the team’s doctor. He will also be a reliever this season, when ideally the Mets would like him to be a starting pitcher. With how difficult this year has been for Noah, it makes sense for both sides to agree to a one to two year contract. This will allow Syndergaard to build this value up and help the Mets evaluate if Noah Syndergaard is the same pitcher he was before the injury. Before the season started, the Mets knew they had a few big expiring free agents, and during the season they acquired another one.

The Javier Baez trade cannot be fully judged until his free agency decision is made. Baez has not played many games as a Met and in the games he has played, there have been mixed results. Baez has the ability to make big plays to help the Mets, but this is offset by poor performances throughout where he totals three to five strikeouts the entire game. As a result, while Baez has helped the Mets, his consistency in performance is lacking. His fit, long-term, conflicts with the Mets’ current roster. If the Mets retain Javy, their decisions for Jeff McNeil, J.D. Davis, and Dominic Smith long-term becomes more challenging. Trying to find more playing time for all of these players will be difficult, and if other teams offer them more money it would not make financial sense for the Mets to outbid those teams for bench players. Finding playing time for prospects such as Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Ronny Mauricio would also be harder to do. Baez needs to play great in order to bring him back and ideally, the contract would be for seven years at most for no higher than 25 million a year. The Mets have more free agents at the end of the year who will not cost as much but are still important to the team.

One of the most pleasant surprises for the New York Mets is Aaron Loup who has completely outperformed his one year, three-million-dollar contract. Loup has to be retained in the offseason, however the Mets have to be weary of his age, with Loup being 34 next season, and how inconsistent relievers can be. Another Mets reliever that is going to be a free agent is Jeurys Familia. Jeurys had some great performances this season but also some performances that do not warrant him coming back. The Mets have to be smart with who they keep because the team they currently have is not good enough. They should not overpay for the players they already have when they are going to need some players from outside of the organization. For the Mets, it should come down to whoever plays well stays and whoever does not goes.

METS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

The Mets Need a Center Fielder

Author: Frank Caggino

Editor: Brian Symons

The month of May has been a challenging one for the Mets with all of the injuries they have suffered. The position that has the most injuries, is the outfield and in particular centerfield. New York’s starting center fielder Brandon Nimmo has been out for weeks and it is not clear when he will return. When Nimmo was playing rehab games, he suffered a setback. Other center field options have suffered unfortunate injuries such as Kevin Pillar getting hit in the face with a pitch. Albert Almora and Johneshwy Fargas got hurt running into the outfield wall on separate occasions. The Mets made a move for a center fielder by acquiring Cameron Maybin, who still has not gotten a hit yet. Center field was a position fans wanted the Mets to address, because they have not had a true center fielder for a long time.

The Mets tried to get George Springer in the offseason, but Toronto’s six year offer was difficult for the Mets to top for a player over 30 years old. The Mets knew that they still need a long term solution. They hope young prospect Pete Crow Armstrong can be the player they have been looking for, but he is out for the year following shoulder surgery. The Mets are fortunate to be in first place, despite all the injuries they have endured. All of their games have been tight because of how low scoring they are. This team can use a boost in the lineup in for order them to stay in first place with the tougher schedule coming up.

A very intriguing name is Byron Buxton because of how talented he is. However he is very injury prone, and that is the one thing the Mets have to avoid. Ramon Laureano is a good defensive center fielder who is competent offensively. Oakland is known for trading their players away and Sandy Alderson has an Oakland Athletics connection. Since the Mets have multiple injuries, a player with defensive versatility would be ideal.

With all of the injuries the Mets have, a player with defensive versatility would be ideal. Joey Gallo stands out because he is a very good defensive outfielder, and can also play the corner infield positions. This team has struggled with hitting for power, and Gallo has tremendous power. The downside is he strikes out a ton and would be another left handed bat. He might be attainable because of how poorly the Rangers have played. Kris Bryant would be another option, but the Cubs are playing too well for them to trade him right now. Another player worth mentioning is Ketel Marte who is a young switch hitter that has position versatility and is not on a great team.

Nonetheless, the Mets have to do something because they need to score more runs and Cameron Maybin is not getting the job done. The Mets will also need a two way center fielder for next year, especially if there is a universal designated hitter. Steve Cohen wants to win and hopefully the front office can find the right player who can perform in New York. It is unknown what player will be able to perform as a Met and all we can do as fans is hope the Mets front offie makes the right decision.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE