Mets fans haven’t had the greatest luck in 2021. To start off, our season was delayed because of COVID cases and quarantine protocols from the Washington Nationals. On top of that when the Mets had their long-awaited season opener against the Phillies, the bullpen crumbled and left DeGrom out to dry yet again. Our manager, Luis Rojas, has been criticized for not keeping his word and making the wrong lineup adjustments. He told the media before this past Monday that you can expect DeGrom to pitch 100 pitches but was then pulled after 77. In recent lineups, we have seen players like Jonathan Villar batting over superstars like the flying squirrel himself, Jeff McNeil. Although the Mets’ 2021 season isn’t getting off to a great start, there is still time for improvement. In this article, I’m going to give the best ways to improve the 2021 New York Mets.
Let’s start off with the root of our problems, the bullpen. In my opinion, we were set up for failure in terms of relief pitchers before we even stepped a foot on the field. The pitching staff has gone on to prove that during this past week’s games. To start, let’s look at some of the contracts for the Mets bullpen. 29-year-old RP, Jeurys Familia is owed $10M for the rest of the season and will be a free agent in 2022. He has proven day in and day out, that he cannot be trusted to pitch as a closer or a setup for the Mets. Familia hasn’t been his true self since 2015 and 2016, where he was easily one of the best closers in baseball. He hasn’t reached a sub 3.00 ERA since 2018 when he posted a 2.88 ERA during his split season with the Mets. Familia used to be one of the best pitchers of baseball, but unfortunately, he isn’t of that caliber anymore. His other expensive counterpart is longtime Yankee, Dellin Betances. Since playing with the Mets last season, he fell off from the top of the bullpen conversation. Similar to Familia, Betances is owed $10.5M this season and will be a free agent in 2022. I know Steve Cohen has money to throw around, but it’s not smart to overpay people who aren’t performing. The Mets are very lucky that they were able to defer Lindor’s contract so they can still be under the luxury tax for 2021. Let’s go even further under to help out extension talks for DeGrom, Syndergaard, and Conforto. I don’t recommend releasing them, but I would definitely want to put them in a trade package or trade them separately for a group of low-level prospects or even a high-quality bench player like Jonathan Schoop or Charlie Culberson. If you have to sweeten the deal by adding Robert Gsellman, by all means, do it. He is taking up a spot on the roster for another pitcher. At that point, getting rid of 2-3 MLB pitchers will free up some spots. The Mets can then bring up a relief pitcher like Stephen Tarpley or Jordan Yamamoto, and if they don’t receive an MLB-ready pitcher from their previous trades, they can sign both Roberto Osuna and Thomas Pannone. Although Osuna brings up the problem of his potential Tommy John surgery, he has proven to be a top pitcher at the age of 27. He has a lot of time to show he can excel with the Mets. Pannone is more of an unknown name, but he is a 26-year-old relief pitcher that recently pitched with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019, and with only 49 games in the majors, he will have a chance to prove his worth. At most, I would give him a minor league contract and worst-case scenario, he becomes a depth pitcher.
After the bullpen is fixed, most of the team falls in place. The Mets are currently waiting on Jose Martinez to recover from his knee surgery, and when he does, he’ll most likely make it to the major league roster. As far as I am concerned, the Mets starting nine and bench are set. The next position to worry about is the rotation. Everyone already knows DeGrom is a lock for the number one spot and is followed by Stroman at number two. Once Carrasco and Syndergaard recover from their injuries they’ll fall in at three and four. The fifth spot will be a battle between Luchessi, Peterson, and Walker. The good part about these 3 pitchers is they are ready to play in the MLB but can also play on the Triple-A team in Syracuse for the season. It’s always better to season young guns, and not to rush them into a tricky spot and set them up for failure. Knock on wood, but if somehow, someway more starting pitchers are injured, the Mets have a couple more arms to call up, or maybe they would entertain the thought of bringing back, “Big Sexy” for a farewell season.
The last way to improve the Mets would have to be our starting lineups for every game and choosing which pitchers to call from the bullpen in certain situations. It’s important to space out your lineup, so every inning, your team has a chance to hit and possibly score. With J.D. Davis currently day to day, it makes sense to give a look to either Villar or Guillorme at the position. Hopefully, Rojas can find a rhythm with certain players playing positions and batting higher or lower depending on the pitcher they are facing. Picking the right batters and pitchers at the right times is important and a key to future success for the Mets. At the Mets and Sport Universes, we wish the team the best and hope they can come back from their recent struggles. As always, stay tuned to TheSportUniverse for all of your sports needs, TheMetsUniverse, to get daily coverage on the New York Mets, and make sure to tune into our official Mets podcast, “Uncle Stevie’s Nephews” on Spotify, Anchor, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts.
