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.

What Will 2021 be for The Mets?

Author: Billy Taylor

Editor: Fran Attié

Pitchers and catchers have reported to Spring Training and the hopes of a new season grow for all thirty organizations in the MLB, particularly for the New York Mets (although many would disagree).

Yes, there have been many disappointments this offseason. The Mets didn’t get Springer and haven’t exactly upgraded at center field or third base, Trevor Bauer essentially trolled the entire fanbase, Ken Rosenthal jumped the gun on Brad Hand coming over (who instead ended up in a division rival), and, of course, the Jared Porter bombshell. So while there definitely are reasons to be upset with the first offseason under Steve Cohen’s ownership, there are also ample reasons to be very excited.

The Mets started their offseason by signing reliever Trevor May to a two-year deal. Trevor isn’t a guy who will blow you away, but he is much needed for a bullpen that has quite a few question marks. They then signed catcher James McCann to a four-year deal. And while he is no Piazza, he has a solid bat and is an A+ defender behind the plate. He should help out this pitching staff with his ability to throw out runners, which the Mets have struggled with for a while. And though the pitching staff still needs to do their job holding runners on, having a catcher with a rocket arm sure could help those woes.

The Mets then started the New Year with a blockbuster trade by acquiring shortstop Francisco Lindor from Cleveland. Lindor should be the best hitter on an already stout lineup, and he is also exceptional in the field. So not only did they acquire a superstar player, but they also got Carlos Carrasco, who will be a very nice anchor to have in the middle of the rotation.

Later, the Mets acquired left-handed starter, Joey Lucchesi, from the Padres in a three-team deal. Lucchesi has been shaky at times, but he has some really nice makeup, specifically with his “churve” pitch, which is a combination of a changeup and a curveball. And though he may be out of the rotation when Noah Syndergaard comes back from rehabbing his elbow, he is a nice placeholder for the time-being and great insurance in the event there is an injury in the rotation. Taijuan Walker also recently signed a two-year deal, which gives the Mets more depth, which is never a bad thing.

Speaking of which, while negotiating with top free agents, the Mets also added solid depth with signings like Jose Martinez, Jonathon Villar, Albert Almora, Kevin Pillar, Mike Montgomery, and Tommy Hunter. These aren’t amazing signings by any stretch of the imagination, but injuries happen across the course of a season, and having these low-risk-high-reward players to pair with the bigger moves they made this offseason is really nice. If we were still under previous ownership, these signings would be the “big moves” and we would have to hold our nose and hope for the best. Some people don’t seem to realize that, but I digress.

This Mets team still has some holes, particularly with pitching, and there are questions as to how big of a detriment J.D. Davis and Brandon Nimmo’s defense will be to the team as a whole.

Despite some of the issues, however, the 2021 New York Mets are a much-improved team from the previous year. Winning the National League East with the Braves ultimately having the same team will be tough, but it’s definitely not out of the realm of possibility. And while the Phillies and Nationals have their problems, I wouldn’t count them out completely. Still, the Mets lineup is in the conversation for best in the MLB, even if the bench still leaves something to be desired, especially being in the National League. But barring something catastrophic; Villar, Pillar/Almora, Martinez, Guillorme and Nido can fill in nicely.

Overall, I think the biggest concern for the Mets is their bullpen. Dellin Betances, Jeurys Familia, and Edwin Diaz pose a lot of questions, and Seth Lugo will miss the first two months, at minimum, to a bone spur, though considering he has a partially torn UCL, it could have been so much worse. When he comes back though, the bullpen will get a nice boost and there’s always the possibility of moves being made during the season.

There are also valuable free agents still available like Roberto Osuna, Jeremy Jeffress, and Shane Greene. Personally, I think it is a necessity to add another arm to the pen through free agency before opening day, but Andy Martino of SNY reported that the offseason for the Mets is essentially done.

With an entire schedule of Spring Training games to play, there’s potential for eye-opening play as well as bigger names going down to injury, so things may change quickly and drastically. For now, let’s hope for the former. LFGM!

METS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Without Football, We Await Spring Training

Author: Zachary Patlin

Editor: Fran Attie

After the seamless victory by the Buccaneers over the Chiefs, football season has come to an end. And that, of course, means one thing to us baseball fans: spring training is right around the corner!

For a majority of teams the report date for pitchers and catchers is February 17, just a few days away, so most of the notable free agents have found homes for the season—most recently, Trevor Bauer, signing a massive AAV deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Once pitchers and catchers report to camp, the position players will follow shortly after, as the season is set to kick off on April 1. According to Vegas, the Dodgers are the favorites to come out of the National League, and the Yankees to come out of the American League. Both teams were able to keep their rosters intact while also making key additions that could propel the Yankees over the top and put the Dodgers back in the World Series.

Many underdogs and sleeper teams have a legitimate shot to make some noise this year. In what looks to be another fan limited season, the element of surprise is what makes baseball so exciting, as we wait to see which teams can put it all together and win a championship. The White Sox in the AL come to mind, as a young team that is looking to win now. The Padres. likewise, in the National League.

With the anticipation for next season and the need for baseball to come back into our lives, we also pray that the season will run smoothly and that COVID-19 won’t have a huge effect on its outcome. We can only wait and hope that the players stay safe and are able to travel more than they did last year to play teams from outside of their geographic region.

This season is looking to be a very good one, and I, for one, cannot wait for pitchers and catchers to report to spring training!

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE