The New York Mets began this offseason with a splash that almost went unrecognized. That move was the signing of Michael Cuddyer for 2 years with a payout of $21 million. Considering they desperately needed an outfielder, they got a pretty good one. Now they have filled the hole in the outfield as long as everybody stays healthy out there. Moving onto the infield. The first thing to point out is the great season that Lucas Duda had at 1st. He is the starting first baseman for 2015, there is no doubt about that. Also the catcher Travis d’Arnaud showed some promise. At second base is one of the most underrated players in the league today (Daniel Murphy) as his numbers do the talking for him; just an all around solid player just like his fellow teammate at third. David Wright may seem like he is not healthy, and that is the case except, there are no worries as reportedly rehab is going well. Off course he has all winter to heal so he should be ready to go in April; plus its his non throwing shoulder so that is a great thing. David being healthy and ready to go will be key if the Mets do decide to go with their young stud shortstop Wilmer Flores. Wilmer has shown all of the signs that he is ready to take over the starting role, but is that the right move if the Mets are stating that they are ready to contend in 2015?
Considering that there is a whole lot of other young talent on the squad, they are only ready to compete for the wild card, nothing more; unless they are trying to repeat history of 1969. With a young pitching staff and catcher, the only way for the rotation to compete with the veterans like Zimmerman, Wainwright, and Bumgarner is a veteran shortstop that can back up a young pitcher on the mound. Trading for a Tulowitzki like the rumors suggest, would be great, but is not needed. There are names out there on the market like Jed Lowrie, Stephen Drew, and Asdrubal Cabrera. Any one of those guys would be the perfect fit to help Flores develop into the starter for 2016. There are also some descent veteran catchers out there on the market like a Nick Hundley, who would be the perfect fit for a year to go hand in hand with Travis as Nick has the experience of catching young pitchers in San Diego.
With the addition of a $12 million veteran catcher and shortstop, the Mets could very well be the National League version of the Royals next year, especially with that great young pitching staff who already has a couple of veterans. The only problem they would still have left to deal with is the depth on the bench. Overall though the Mets are very very close to contending considering they have the pieces and a manager with all the experience in the World in Terry Collins.
Are you sure the Mets are deep enough in the bullpen to contend? What’s the story there?
Their two closers Jenrry Mejia and Bobby Parnell are both really solid. Mejia had 28 saves with a 2 era this past season while Parnell was injured almost the whole season, but when Parnell is healthy he usually puts up a good 2 era and has the ability to put up some saves. As for the rest of the bullpen they made need to add a few small contract relievers from the free agent pool. Since Terry Collins’ strong suit is pitching that certainly is a positive since he can make the bullpen look better than the numbers say.