2019: Go for broke or break it down!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

The Mets need to spend $$ on scoring more runs somehow, that helps the bullpen even more. I'd look into what it'd take to get Fammy and Ottavino (Brooklyn kid, played in Lunchpail's Litttle League) but not to the point where it cost me from doing other stuff.

The other thing I'd do is look into Dallas Kuechel and/or Patrick Corbin, even though the latter is a YLDB

[Edgy MD]

I'm almost always down on over-investing in the bullpen, particularly in name-brandy guys. Trends just don't continue. If you sign Kimbrel now, you don't get the 26-year-old who hosed the league down with his magnificent hosey hose, you get his Mark Melancon years, and quite possibly his Melancon results. He certainly could reverse trends, but that's a lot of sauce to put down.

I think the goal is to get good pitchers, keep 'em healthy, build up some redundancy, and guys emerge. Maybe Joshua Torres. Maybe Chris Flexen pulls a Lugo/Gsellman and ups his game when he moves to the pen. Maybe Jeurys Familia comes back from the dead.

Probably none of those. But I say you add good pitchers, develop good pitchers, keep good pitchers healthy, and remember that the best bullpens are fluid things.

[metsmarathon]

i think that, right now, if we put a whole lot of money into our bullpen, we're going to be signing a bunch of guys whose primary job will be to keep 1-run defecits from getting bigger, rather than hanging onto 1-run leads.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm telling you, Andrew McCutchen! Right-handed bat. On the downswing of his career. 32 years old next week. Made $14.75 million in 2018. This is the kind of guy that the Mets sign.

Of course, the new GM might look at things differently, but McCutchen smells like a future Met to me. (Although, perhaps, the asparagus I had for dinner last night is having an effect on my perceptions.)

[Centerfield]

The answer is, frankly, that the Mets need to drastically upgrade both. They have a 23rd ranked offense and a 28th ranked bullpen.

That being said, I agree that if we have to do one or the other, we address the offense first.

[RealityChuck]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I agree. Bolster the middle of the bullpen and let Lugo or Gsellman or whoever else proves to be the best drift towards the late innings.

Don't they still control Jennry Mejia? It doesn't look like he's been released, and they did offer arbitration to him last year. Drug issues aside -- and I'm sure they're behind him -- he has closing experience, and I doubt the steroids did much to make him better. Given their need for relief pitchers, it makes sense to seriously consider him.

[Lefty Specialist]

1B- Alonso/Smith/Bruce
2B- McNeil
SS- Rosario
3B- Frazier
LF- Conforto
CF- Lagares
RF- Nimmo
C- ?
Cespedes whenever he shows up.

You're not going to get a real first baseman, with 3 and possibly 4 contenders if they keep Wilmer. A CF who can hit and really play the position would be nice, but then what happens when Cespy comes back? Sure, dump Frazier, but you have to replace that offense (the batting average won't be hard to replace). And it goes without saying that they need a catcher who can both throw out runners and hit more than .225.

So while the offense sucked, as presently configured there's not a lot you can do to upgrade unless you're willing to roto-rooter the roster.

The bullpen's easier to find bodies for, but no telling how it'll all work. Mejia's intriguing, but after 4 years away I doubt he can be competitive.

[seawolf17]

Lefty Specialist wrote: Mejia's intriguing, but after 4 years away I doubt he can be competitive.

He was pretty good in the Dominican Summer League, for what that's worth. He'll be in the mix until he isn't, I guess.

[smg58]

Chapman has pitched 50 innings in each of the last two seasons, Davis got off to a very rough start in Colorado, Jansen has some medical issues and is having trouble keeping the ball in the park, Melancon had an injury that cost him half of two seasons and compromised him in the other halves... it's not a safe bet. Relief pitchers who can give you an ERA below 3 are easier to find than that.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, he beat those teenagers down!

With regard to upgrading the offense, most anybody can be moved to make room for incoming talent, but the softest spots currently seem to be catcher and third base.

But I'm as interested in a philosophical upgrade as I am in a talent upgrade. I'd say I was actually more interested in the former, but often the former comes in tandem with the latter.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Some addition by subtraction: Here's a silver lining -- Jose Reyes won't be around next season. That Reyes got about 250 PA's while batting under the Mendoza line might've been one of the biggest scandals of the baseball season. I suppose Sandy insisted on Reyes playing and probably threatened to squeeze the trigger of the gun he was holding to Jeff Wilpon's stupid head if Reyes didn't get all of that playing time.

[Guest 41Forever]

seawolf17 wrote: Lefty Specialist wrote: Mejia's intriguing, but after 4 years away I doubt he can be competitive. He was pretty good in the Dominican Summer League, for what that's worth. He'll be in the mix until he isn't, I guess.

Is AJ Ramos still under contract? Is he back next season?

[Lefty Specialist]

God, I hope not.

What they need is a batting coach who can teach hitters to go the other way. Too many ground balls into the shift.

[Edgy MD]

Ramos is a free agent, and given that he's coming off of surgery for a torn labrum, it ain't the best time to be in the market. I suppose he'll be happy to get a major league contract offer.

[Ceetar]

Second half offense was 'fine'. We don't really have as far to go as it might seem. The plummet in June was extreme, and is making everything else seem kinda worse. Even just one great hitter, like Machado, and some talented platoon type bench guys would make a world of difference.

The pitching is/can be pretty great. Even a lot of the disasters of the middle of the year were bullpen blown ones. Hold down those early leads and things look a lot different.

[Vic Sage]

According to Spotrac, Mejia is a UFA this year. I don't think they'll be bringing him back.
Flores is an Arb3, as is d'Arnaud, who will both be FAs after next year, so they'll probably non-tender d'Arnaud; maybe Wilmer, too.

[Edgy MD]

Ceetar wrote: Second half offense was 'fine'. We don't really have as far to go as it might seem. The plummet in June was extreme, and is making everything else seem kinda worse. Even just one great hitter, like Machado, and some talented platoon type bench guys would make a world of difference. The pitching is/can be pretty great. Even a lot of the disasters of the middle of the year were bullpen blown ones. Hold down those early leads and things look a lot different.

Also, not a few of those blowups were attached to the Mets going to the pen early when they didn't have to, to preserve recovering arms. He also used bullpen back-enders in high-leverage situations, when the featured guys hadn't been overused, but were being held to a strict innings pace. (Gsellie smelted down the last month anyhow, but hey, first year as a big-league reliever and all.)

Hopefully that won't be as necessary in 2019, and Callaway will be at least a little more aggressive with innings.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Over the last third of the season, the Mets played at a 96-win pace. I don't want the new front office to overvalue ("We don't need to do all that much!") nor undervalue ("Tear it down! Let's commit to three 100-loss seasons!") that fact.

[Ceetar]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Over the last third of the season, the Mets played at a 96-win pace. I don't want the new front office to overvalue ("We don't need to do all that much!") nor undervalue ("Tear it down! Let's commit to three 100-loss seasons!") that fact.

Well, that's exactly the job. If they correctly value the things that were actually talent and correctly dismiss the things that were flukey, they'll be good in 2019. Same for everyone.

I'd be concerned about over valuing McNeil, given Citi Field's BABIP reducing ability.

[Centerfield]

Let's try something new this winter and get someone good. We haven't done a lot of that recently. In fact, other than getting Yoenis Cespedes three times, I can't remember the last player that falls into this category.

Get someone good. Have one of those "put a new jersey on over your suit" press conferences without people snickering in the back.

[Ceetar]

Frazier is/was good. Swarzak is/was good.

I guess it depends on how you define good.

Vargas, compared to other 5th starters is technically 'good' as well.

[Edgy MD]

Cabrera was good. Walker was good-ish.

Alejandro de Aza was not so good.

[Guest 86-Dreamer]

How about we say Very Good then?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Yeah, I think CF's point is that it's been a long time since we got a "Holy Shit!" kind of guy. Like Beltran. Or Santana.

[Ceetar]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Yeah, I think CF's point is that it's been a long time since we got a "Holy Shit!" kind of guy. Like Beltran. Or Santana.

how often do those come along? There weren't even any available last year (well one, but it wasn't the Mets fault he choice the Angels)

[Benjamin Grimm]

The Yankees got one of those guys last year in Giancarlo Stanton.

[Ceetar]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: The Yankees got one of those guys last year in Giancarlo Stanton.

Trades are a different animal, and they traded nearly as much value in order to afford him.

[Guest 41Forever]

Centerfield wrote: Get someone good. Have one of those "put a new jersey on over your suit" press conferences without people snickering in the back.

Hey now! People snickered about Todd? Not the year we expected, but a fair signing.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Ceetar wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: The Yankees got one of those guys last year in Giancarlo Stanton. Trades are a different animal, and they traded nearly as much value in order to afford him.

Santana was a trade too. I think the point was about getting a top player, not necessarily signing a top player.

[Centerfield]

A few Put on the Jersey Over Your Suit guys that have moved the past few years off the top of my head:

2018 (well they're available anyway)
Bryce Harper
Manny Machado
Patrick Corbin
Dallas Keuchel
Craig Kimbrel

2017:
JD Martinez
Giancarlo Stanton
Shohei Ohtani
Christian Yelich
Lorenzo Cain
Wade Davis
Eric Hosmer
Jake Arrieta
Yu Darvish
Carlos Santana

2016:
Chris Sale
Edwin Encarnacion
Aroldis Chapman
Justin Turner
Kenley Jansen
Mark Melancon
Dexter Fowler

I'm not saying that the Mets should get (or should have gotten) everyone on this list. But it would be nice to play in this arena.