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By Jeff Todd | at
Email a copy of 'Offseason In Review: New York Mets' to a friend
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cxcx
“it’s worth noting that [signing Cespedes] may never even have been a possibility were it not for the fact that outfielder Michael Cuddyer surprisingly retired, taking most of his $12.5MM salary off of the books.”
In an interview with Mike Francesa, Sandy Alderson or John Rocco or J.P. Ricciardi (this was months ago so I don’t remember) said that the Cuddyer retirement had no impact on the Cespedes signing whatsoever, that with such a big, franchise-altering contract it was all about getting that deal done at the right price rather than making other marginal moves to make the books balance around it (kind of like the anti-Diamondbacks.)
He did say, however, that the Cuddyer retirement did allow them to spend on other less necessary and impactful pieces that they wouldn’t have otherwise spent on, specifically Bastardo.
Jeff Todd
Right – that statement is actually included in the link in the passage that you cite. Not that I don’t believe them, but I guess I’m not just taking that directly at its word.
DanzigInTheDark
Might have the Mets fan bias here, but I really think they hit all the right notes this offseason. The rotation is basically set, so you bring back Colon on a holdover deal; the only useful bullpen piece that left was Clippard, so you sign Bastardo and luck into Henderson there. Murphy leaves, so you take your 6th/7th starter and flip him for another 2B who hits well and grades out about the same defensively. You’re not convinced on Flores as your everyday SS so you get Cabrera. Then, after you pick up de Aza as your 4th OF, you find a way to bring back the big bat of Cespedes.
There’s still questions defensively, especially middle infield; but when you look at who they had playing there in 2015 versus Walker & Cabrera it’s mostly a wash.
So overall, you see a team replace or upgrade at every position they lost a regular at after making a run to the World Series. Expectations might be high for the first time in a decade, but the front office put in the work to make sure the pieces are there to make another run.
baseball guy
I agree but I also have met fan bias
samny
Great offseason! They’ve got good depth overall. Slow start but they’ll get going soon
chri
Exactly. Big Mets fan here but I realize every team will go through offensive stretches like this.
It just is unfortunate that it happens in April because people will panic now
stan l.
Same old problem, can’t hit the long ball.
hojostache
Signing Cespedes was as much about proving that the Wilpons will spend money (albeit most likely a 1yr deal), as it was about improving the lineup.
I’m not a fan of Reed/Bastardo/Cabrera, but they could have done worse. I wish they signed Soria or O’Day instead of the three guys above because the Mets alreafy have the young arms to compete in the pen. A pen of Familia, Soria, Robles, Blevins, Henderson, Gilmartin, and Montero/Verrett would have been better.
Btw, Henderson was a great buy low option. Trading Niese for Walker was also a solid deal. I’ve been a Verrett fan for a couple of years, and he is more than a serviceable replacement for Niese. Being able to replace Murphy’s production and get a pick next year…that’s solid. If all goes well Bartolo will slide into the pen when Wheeler returns and Verrett goes from a spot starter back to swing/long-man.
All and all I gave the Mets a B, mostly for Ces, Walker, Henderson and bringing back Blevins. de Aza, Cabrera, Bastardo, and Reed…meh
KoRKDoLLaRs
The loss of Daniel Murphy will prove to be detrimental to their offense. In a lineup full of .240 hitters, Murphy wAs the grinder who always got that clutch hit. The only true upgrade would have been zobrist. But after they missed out on him, they took the cheap route which will prove costly in 2016. Additionally they failed to address one of their major issues which was a stopgap to familia. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a mets fan. But between Collins’ unmotivating and questionable management approach, inconsistent hitting and no pen upgrades, I think they will miss the 2016 playoffs. What a shame.
metsoptimist
I am SO tired of the word “cheap” being thrown around. Cespedes was signed to a contract that is likely to be $27.5 million for a year, the payroll went up about $25 million, and complaints still persist. I also disagree that there is a problem with the bullpen, and I strongly disagree with your thoughts on Terry Collins. How exactly do you know that he’s “unmotivating”?