Mets Offseason To-Do List

By Mark Halpern and Michael Rifkin

When Steve Cohen took over last season, there was a ton of excitement around the fanbase. The Mets led the division for 103 days and yet finished eight games under .500 at 77-85, the first team in history to do this. Luis Rojas was fired after the season, and the fanbase is getting impatient. 2015 and 2016 seem like a lifetime ago, and the fans are sick of the losing and organizational failures. 

Since 2003 every team in the National League East has won the World Series except the New York Mets.

To make things worse, the Mets have made it their top priority to hire a President of Baseball Operations and General Manager, yet everyone they like either has not taken the job or declined even having an interview. I will not say who I think should be in these roles because that is too difficult. It should be noted the team did offer the qualifying offer to Right Fielder Michael Conforto and Starting Pitcher Noah Syndergaard. I think Syndergaard will accept the qualifier, and Conforto will not. Here is what I think the rest of the offseason should go for the Mets.

Let’s start with the hiring of a manager. Since Terry Collins retired, the Mets have hired two first-time managers in Mickey Callaway, and Luis Rojas failed to make the playoffs in their four years combined. I think the organization should look to someone with experience. Bob Melvin’s name would have been thrown around had Billy Beane taken the president of baseball ops role, but Melvin decided to take the San Diego Padres job. Three interesting names for me would be Ron Washington, Mike Shildt, and Buck Showalter. Washington, the current third base coach for the World Series Champion Atlanta Braves, managed the Texas Rangers from 2007-14, making the playoffs three straight seasons, including back-to-back World Series appearances. The Rangers had four consecutive 90 win seasons under Washington, who had a 664-611 record. Mike Shildt was fired after this past season after the Cardinals lost in the Wild Card game for a second consecutive season.

The Cardinals went on a remarkable 17 game winning streak to get into the playoffs. Shildt went 252-199 in his three-plus seasons as manager but did spend over 15 seasons in the Cardinals organization and was National League Manager of the year in 2019. Buck Showalter has managed the Yankees, Diamondbacks, Rangers, and Orioles and has a career record of 1,551-1,517. Showalter is a guy who is very good with young talent, and the team usually has some form of success, whether it’s in the record or player development. After being let go by the Yankees, they went on their run of four consecutive World Series titles; after being let go by the Diamondbacks, they won the World Series.. Whoever the organization hires, they have to have the ability to take the big stage of New York and keep this team’s mind and business on the field. Mark’s pick: Buck Showalter. Mike’s pick: Washington but wouldn’t have an issue with any of the 3 

1. Re-sign Marcus Stroman. Who had opted out of the 2020 season and took the one-year qualifying offer. Stroman bet on himself and was tremendous in 2021. His 10-13 record is not indicative of how well he pitched. Stroman had a 3.02 ERA and a WHIP of 1.145. 
2. Re-sign Javy Baez Baez, who in 47 games as a Met hit nine home runs and drove in 22 runs. He also put up a slash line of .299,.371, and .477 in Queens. Baez was more disciplined at the plate as his time in New York went on. He turned it around after the whole thumbs-down situation (which is something else I wrote about). Baez is a shortstop by trait, but this Winter has a star-studded shortstop market. Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, and Trevor Story are all free agents. Francisco Lindor might be able to keep his buddy in Flushing. Having Lindor and Baez up the middle can seriously help the Mets defense. 
3. Re-sign Aaron Loup. Loup was the most consistent reliever the Mets had last season. Posting a 6-0 record with a 0.95 ERA and had 57 strikeouts in 56.2 innings pitched. Would I expect him to put up those same numbers? Loup was so well last season, and the Mets can undoubtedly use a lefty in the bullpen.
4. Trade or buy out the contract of Robinson Cano. Cano missed all of last season due to a second suspension due to steroids. This would be a salary dump for the most part, but maybe a team would take Cano if no takers just buy out the contract. 
5. Sign Starling Marte, Nick Callestanos, Kris Bryant, or Tommy Pham. As I said earlier, the Mets extended the qualifying offer to Michael Conforto, but he has declined it and is free to sign elsewhere. Now, if the Mets were to sign Castellanos or Bryant, they can move him back to third base in his natural position and sign Marte or Pham to play in the outfield and give the Mets some speed at the top of the lineup. Bryant also gives some versatility to play all three outfield positions, third base, and first base. 
6. Sign Dylan Bundy, Zach Davies, Carlos Rodon, Justin Verlander, or Jon Gray. Gray and Rodon do not have a qualifying offer attached to them. But the last two seasons, the Mets rotation depth was tested. Guys like David Peterson and Tylor Megill, who pitched well for the Mets, need some time at Triple-A to season them a bit. With the curious case of Jacob deGrom, the Mets need starting pitching depth. They expect Carlos Carrasco to pitch better. Taijuan Walker had an All-Star first half but struggled post-All-Star break, where he gave up 20 of his 26 home runs.
7. Re-sign Jonathon Villar and Kevin Pillar. Both guys gave the Mets more than what was expected of them due to injuries. But both guys were tremendous and are guys the Mets should bring back.
8. Sign Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo to long-term deals talked about the team’s core earlier, and these two players fit the narrative. Alonso has the making of being the next captain of the team. Nimmo plays the right way, always hustling down the line and has an infectious smile, but he is the engine that makes it go at the top of the lineup. When he was out due to a finger injury, the Mets offensively was offensive to watch, but when he came back, they righted the ship. Having these two plus Lindor long-term is a plan. 
9. Trade JD Davis for a starting pitcher, outfielder, or third baseman. This decision comes down to who you prefer between Davis and McNeil. For me, I would rather keep McNeil because of his versatility. But McNeil has to return to the guy who can hit .330 and not worry about hitting the ball out of the ballpark. So I said if the Mets were to sign Castellanos, he could move to third. But if he or Kris Bryant don’t sign, the Mets should explore the trade market. Oakland has said Matt Chapman is available, and depending on the price, the Mets should make a phone call regarding one of the best in the game. Oakland is selling a ton of other pieces, including members of their pitching rotation. While the Mets do need to upgrade at third base Brett Baty and Mark Vientos are in their system, and depending on how far away the organization feels they are could put a damper on a significant upgrade at the position unless they sign the versatile Bryant or Castellanos to move to the outfield. 
10. Bullpen depth is significant in baseball today. Adding one more explosive arm to Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo, and Trevor May at the backend of the bullpen would be wise. Signing Kendall Graveman, Yimi Garcia, Ryan Tepera, Jakob Junis, or Michael Lorenzen. Jeurys Familia is a free agent, but I don’t think that is a road the Mets want to go down again. 

The fanbase is tired of losing, and it is time for the Mets to turn the ship around. What will the Mets do this offseason? Stay tuned and find out.