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
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