Author: Frank Caggino
Editor: Brian Symons
One of the biggest takeaways from Steve Cohen and Sandy Alderson’s early-season press conference, was Sandy’s response when asked about Mets manager Luis Rojas. Alderson said the Mets have not picked up Rojas’ 2022 option. This shows that the new owner and new front office will be watching Rojas closely. Luis has not done himself any favors in the first week of the season. Rojas has made multiple questionable decisions that have not been successful. The manager was not terrific last season, but 2020 was a year unlike any other.
Most Mets fans were willing to give Rojas a pass because of the uniqueness of the 2020 season. The season started, then stopped, and then did not begin again until later in the summer. There were only 60 games and the schedule was different than normal year, with every game being against local teams. Last year, Rojas decision-making was not the best and his demeanor was not loved by Mets fans. The front office also did not give him the greatest roster with the tight budget the previous owner had.
While some Mets fans wanted the Mets to get more star players, this team is significantly improved on paper. Their performance in the first week of the season does not resemble a team that is improved. Rojas has not made the most out of this roster and their very first game of the season was a perfect example. Kevin Pillar batted leadoff and Dom Smith was on the bench. Brandon Nimmo leads the league in on-base percentage and batted eighth in the first game of the season. To make matters worse, Rojas took out Jacob deGrom after only 77 pitches when earlier in the day he said Jake could go 100 pitches. deGrom had been pitching well and the bullpen wound up blowing the lead and the Mets lost. The other main head-scratching move by Rojas was having Jonathan Villar bat sixth multiple times and playing him over Luis Guillorme. If the Mets continue to struggle, it will be interesting to see if Rojas finishes the year as the manager.
The one thing that Rojas has to his advantage is the limited managerial replacement options. If the Mets were to move on from Rojas, who will replace him? There are no candidates that stand out which could make replacing him risky. There have been worse managers than Rojas, and the Mets cannot make another mistake with who their manager will be. Obviously, it is still early, but if Rojas wants to be the manager next year, he has to adjust to help get the Mets back to the postseason.
METS ARE OUR UNIVERSE
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