To recap an eventful winter: The Mets pulled off one of the great trades in franchise history, obtaining a superstar shortstop and a front-of-the-rotation starter, in addition to improving their problematic defense in key spots and rounding out the roster with a bevy of needed depth signings.
In short, there was a lot to like in going through the exercise of grading their offseason. Just not quite enough.
Let me explain in this context:
If the goal was to simply establish a foundation for long-term success in Steve Cohen’s first offseason, with the understanding the new owner will be dedicated to bulking up all areas of the organization from analytics to scouting/player development, then, yes, I’d give the Mets the highest of marks.
But to a point I’ve made repeatedly, that can’t be the only goal when you have the best pitcher in baseball in Jacob deGrom and the clock is ticking on his presumed ace status as he turns 33 in June.
It’s not as if the Mets have a stable of top pitching prospects, circa 2014, so if the ultimate goal is to win a championship, they should be trying to do it while deGrom is still at the top of his game.
But before delivering a final verdict, here are my individual grades for the key moves -- and non-moves -- of this offseason.
The Blockbuster
Turned out Sandy Alderson was head-faking everybody when he repeatedly said publicly that the Mets were more likely to spend on free agents than give up prospects in a trade because he wanted to protect his thinned-out farm system.
Or maybe the price for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco simply fell to a point that was too good to pass up. But either way, the Mets got a steal thanks to their willingness to take on Lindor’s $22 million salary, knowing he can be a free agent after the ’21 season.
As a rival executive told me: “Going into the offseason I would have thought the package Cleveland wound up getting was what it would take for Lindor alone. For the Mets to get Carrasco too made the deal lopsided in their favor. And Cleveland has smart baseball guys, but they were just in a very bad position and the Mets took advantage of it.”
Yes, the Mets managed to get a superstar shortstop and a No. 2 starter without giving up any of their blue-chip prospects, surrendering pitcher Josh Wolf and outfielder Isaiah Greene, as well as their two major league shortstops, Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez.
Of course, the Mets need to lock up Lindor long-term to cash in completely on the deal, but it’s hard to believe Cohen won’t get that done.
GRADE: A+
Settling for No. 2
In this case, No. 2 meaning the second-best catcher on the free-agent market in James McCann. He’s not J.T. Realmuto, yet the move seemed to make sense, in part because Realmuto’s asking price was going to take weeks/months to resolve, and in part because McCann seems to be trending in the right direction, vastly improved offensively the last couple of years and very solid defensively.
There was another smart angle to the signing, as the four-year, $40 million contract for McCann would allow the Mets to spend big money elsewhere, presumably on one of the other top free agents on the market. However, that didn’t happen.
They did splurge on the Lindor/Carrasco trade but more was expected.
GRADE: B
Striking Early
Many Mets’ fans may well have greeted the first free agent signing of the Cohen era by saying: “Trevor Who?”
No, Trevor May isn’t a brand-name reliever, but when Alderson moved quickly -- as baseball signings go, anyway -- to sign May for two years, $15.5 million in early December, with virtually all of the free agent relievers still available, the move was widely endorsed by scouts and executives.
After being converted from a starter by the Twins in 2016, May quietly developed into one of the more effective set-up relievers in baseball. And after overhauling his slider in 2019, giving it much more vertical tilt, the right-hander had one of the highest swing-and-miss rates in all of baseball last year.
GRADE: A
The Big Whiff
I still don’t get it. George Springer was the perfect fit for the Mets in so many ways, yet the Mets decided to draw the line on what they thought he was worth, essentially passing on him as he signed with the Blue Jays for six years, $150 million.
Springer was the guy who finally would have ended their long-time need for an everyday center fielder while giving them a right-handed masher as the perfect complement to their lefty-leaning lineup.
And let’s not forget the Mets were a team that didn’t hit nearly enough in the clutch last year, which may or may not be significant going forward. But either, way Springer’s October pedigree as a proven clutch hitter could well have been a difference-making element.
In the aftermath, many fans have insisted the price was too high, but I’d argue that value shouldn’t be the deciding factor for such an important player, especially when Cohen can afford to overpay.
With that in mind, I’ve spoken to many scouts and execs who were also puzzled by the Mets’ reluctance. I could quote any of them anonymously but I thought former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd summed up the argument nicely on MLB Network earlier this week after the Mets signed Kevin Pillar to help solve their center field problem.
“I can’t figure it out,” O’Dowd said. “Springer for me is a true center fielder for the next three years, at least. He’s a Top 20 player in all of baseball, and he’s the best big-game player in the game.
“He grew up in Connecticut and the perception was that he wanted to play for the Mets. If you’re them I don’t know how you don’t sign George Springer.”
It’s still not clear why the Mets wouldn’t go the extra mile, especially when we all learned in subsequent weeks during the Trevor Bauer negotiations that Cohen was willing to exceed the luxury-tax threshold.
Whatever the reason…
GRADE: F