In nearly every aspect, it's been a banner offseason for the Mets. They signed one of the most coveted free agents in MLB history to the largest contract in North American sports. They brought back a franchise cornerstone their preferred way: a short-term deal that doesn't run the risk of overcommitting long-term. They re-signed the lefty who carried their rotation in the season's second half in what looks like a potential late-blooming breakout. They grabbed one of the most underrated relievers not just in this year's class but throughout the sport in general. Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Sean Manaea and A.J. Minter make for a terrific quartet of headline additions, with a broad-reaching swath of depth moves also on the books.
Keeping Manaea was an undeniable boon to Carlos Mendoza's rotation, even if it came at a generally steep cost. As shown in MLBTR's Contract Tracker, Manaea is one of just five starters in the past decade to secure a $25MM AAV over three or more years beginning in his age-33 season or later. Teams generally are loath to commit this type of money in a pitcher's mid-30s, but the left-hander's performance and the bull market for starting pitching early in the winter coalesced to land him (and 35-year-old Nathan Eovaldi) a rare contract for pitchers in this age bracket.
The rest of the Mets' moves in the rotation, however, have been lackluster. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns came to Queens with a reputation of eschewing long-term deals from his time heading up the Brewers' baseball operations department. There was some question as to how much of that stemmed from Milwaukee's perennially bottom-third payroll and how much was a philosophical directive from Stearns himself. The two offseasons with Stearns at the helm for the Mets don't represent a large enough sample to say he simply won't go long-term for a pitcher under any circumstances, but signs point to the likelihood that his avoidance of large-scale pitching contracts in his Brewers days wasn't solely a product of owner Mark Attanasio's frugality.
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The Mets have had a very good, maybe excellent off-season, but you can never have enough pitching.
mets havent done anything with their rotation
they invested 38$ mil in clay who has never been a SP
they invested 34mil in aging injury prone frankie montas
senga missed entire 2024 reg season + was a disaster in the playoffs
mets shoulda signed flaherty
now they’re gonna depend on david peterson, griffin canning, tyler megill and paul blackburn? yikes
What you just described was the Mets doing a lot with the rotation. Apparently you just don’t like what they’ve done. I’m mixed about it myself. The stuff about Senga is ridiculous though. He pitched a handful of innings in the postseason and obviously he wasn’t healthy enough. With a full off-season, he’ll be fine. The rotation is good, but it needs another front end starter to be really good.
I think the Mets as constructed have a decent chance of getting one of the wild card spots. You’d think they would at least add some SP help at the deadline but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
You’re probably right. It’s probably them or the Dodgers
The rotation is fair, not even good. Who do the Mets have to throw up against a Spencer Strider or a Zach Wheeler in a must-win game?
PoisonedPens:
Didn’t they do that last season and come out just fine? I’m not saying I wouldn’t like to add a top of the rotation starter, but let’s not act like they’re not capable of winning with this kind of rotation. They made it passed both the teams you mentioned last year, including knocking Wheeler and the Phillies out.
Doesn’t mean you catch lightning in a bottle twice – in my estimation this year’s rotation is a step back from last year’s, which benefited from some matchup good fortune.. ATL with Strider and Acuna back are going to be more formidable and it took until Monday to knock them out last year.
It’s pretty easy to see the roadmap to the playoffs in the NL and then you still have to contend with the Dodgers. I just don’t see how the team spends that kind of money and leaves the rotation with a bunch of #3-4 starters.
PoisonedPens:
So you’re calling these moves lightning in a bottle. They didn’t make the moves they made last year by throwing darts against a board. It’s based on their evaluation, the same way they made moves this off-season. Stearns is very good at evaluating pitching and I trust him until he proves otherwise. I can’t say if this rotation is better or worse than last year but what tells you it’s worse? To be fair, you wouldn’t have liked last year‘s rotation going into the season either as many of us didn’t, but we saw the end result. It’s hard to judge the end result of last season to the rotation of this season that hasn’t even pitched yet. I’m not sure what “benefited from some match up good fortune even means.” Sounds like a way of trying to take credit away from what they were able to achieve. I can’t predict the health of the Mets, but you can’t protect the health of the Braves or any other team either. I wouldn’t automatically assume Acuna is going to come back and stay healthy. He might, but again you can’t take all the favorable scenarios of other teams and the worst scenarios of the Mets and assume those things are going to happen. The truth will be somewhere in the middle. There is no statistical evidence that Senga is a three or four starter. His only full season in the majors was excellent. He was hurt last year so we can’t evaluate him based on that. I do agree they could use a top of the rotation starter, but I have no doubt you are underestimating the ability of this rotation. I’m not saying it’s the best in baseball, but it will perform to be a solid rotation.
How on earth is it not good fortune to be the last team in MLB to make it into the playoffs on a make-up day? Senga is at best a good #2 and an excellent #3, based on 2023. But it remains to be seen what kind of innings he can give as he did 166 IP in his only full season. Frankie Montas has not had a season above 1.0 WAR since 2021, and has exactly two such seasons in his career. Holmes is an experiment with a player that had a lot of tread come off his tires last year.
It’s just the leaving things undone part. The Mets clearly need an experienced ace, have a President that had an existing relationship with the top free agent starter and still probably also needed a two to drop both Senga and Manaea back a spot where they’d be preferential. They spent over $800M in the off-season, but have a glaring hole at the top of the rotation, and also in bullpen depth, depending on where Holmes ends up. I just don’t get it. And it’s not just me, the sportsbooks have them currently at third in the NL East for 2025
Poisoned that would be the Braves who got last playoff spot and also Sportsbook? Really? Sportbooks is not how they think teams will finish but by how the money is distributed. Actual sites that use WAR and other statistics put Mets in 2nd behind Braves but not by much.
Well, someone always has to take every playoff slot. The fact that it’s a make up day has nothing to do with anything. That’s specious reasoning and I think you know that. Yeah, I agree Senga might give 165 innings. I wasn’t saying he’ll give 200 or more. And don’t go to Montas because I’ve acknowledged many times Montas is just a number five crapshoot guy. And Holmes is an experiment. I’m talking about the other guys in the rotation who are solid pitchers with recent good track records. That should not be ignored by anyone using facts and data. Listen I enjoy the debate with you. And I actually totally agree. They need an ace. The Mets are very well set up for pitchers two through five. They need a top of the rotation starting pitcher. I will not argue that. But the rest of the rotation should not be denigrated because of that. I disagree about the bullpen. Bullpens are always kind of a crapshoot and they have added to the bullpen. Their bullpen is not an issue. But top of the rotation starter is the one glaring thing they need. And you say the sports books have them as third in the division but who cares about that? Baseball is no longer about divisions and where you finish. It’s about are you going to make the playoffs and they are predicted to make the playoffs. Where did they finish last year? Did the teams above them advance further than them? We have to get away from this mindset that positioning in divisions matters. Baseball has become more like the other sports.
They did in fact come out ok last year. And they did it with reclamation projects in the rotation. And Manaea and Severino both worked out. Great. That said, trying to replicate that magic trick this year with Holmes and Montas is borderline idiotic. There were front line starters out there and we retained one and got none of the others. This makes no sense.. The Mets couldn’t figure out 2/$35m for Flaherty? Really?
More importantly, while I like the willingness to jettison players who can’t play, I do not like the number of them last year that were Stearns idea. Joey Wendle and Zack Short? He traded for Hauser. Did we really need Tonkin, twice (as if the first go round wasn’t enough).
Seems Stearns is a little too committed to shop at the clearance rack at the Dollar General. .
Agreed it wasn’t darts but yes lightening in the a bottle.
Lets be real: Manaea and Severino worked out – great.
Recall though that the same great pitching evaluations brought, ,by trade no less, Adrian Hauser; and got us Tonkin, not once but explicably twice, And Yohan Ramirez also twice. And out a ton of eggs in the Jake Diekman basket. And lets not forget our glove throwing clown-show.
So lets not anoint Stearns as the world’s greatest pitching mind just yet.
Today:
Is Flaherty a frontline starter? Go look at this guy’s career. He has as many terrible years as good years. What makes you confident that you know what a team is going to get out of him? And what the Mets did last year was not lightning in a bottle. Because you or I almost didn’t expect it to work out well we were just wrong. If they had a plan and executed it and we were wrong, we have to acknowledge we were wrong and maybe they know more than us. Not find reasons why it wasn’t legitimate. Yeah Adrian Houser didn’t work out, but he didn’t have an unbelievable track record to begin with. He was more a depth guy and they easily moved on from him. Some of those guys in the bullpen didn’t work out, but they were able to completely rebuild the bullpen on the fly. So in the end, they knew what they were doing. I still want another top starting pitcher and think Stearns needs to be more flexible in terms of signing pitching long-term. However, until they’re proven to not be able to pitch build a pitching staff the way they have, I can’t fault them or act like I know better.
@Today what does that have to do with anything, almost every team brings in reclamation projects. Most fail, but you’re counted on the ones you can turn into success. Let’s not act like he didn’t do the same things with Brew Crew. During his tenure they only had 1 year outside the top 15 in team ERA. And that lone year they were ranked 16th.
That’s not really a factor in the teams ultimate success. Like having Joey Wendle or a Nick Madrigal on the AAA/MLB fringe doesn’t inhibit your team one single iota.
It’s about raising the floor of the organization, not it’s ceiling.
“The Mets clearly need an experienced ace”
That’s pretty vague.
There’s like 9 ACEs in the league, who SPECIFICALLY did you think the Mets slept on?
Cost and market permitting they’ll get one but they’re not gonna sell the farm just to get one, it’s not like we’re looking at a closing window of opportunity…
You can think their rotation is good…until you compare it to what other teams have and then it looks very very iffy.
Joel from NY:
I don’t really need to compare to other teams. I look at Senga. I look at Manaea. I look at Peterson. These are all guys who have had a recent track record of success. Montas is meh, but whatever he’s a fifth starter. Holmes really is the key to elevating this rotation further or not.
@miken31
not tryna be rude
but you’re delusional
please stop. seriously enough alredy
johncoltrane:
Don’t worry about being rude because, no offense, I can’t exactly say I respect your opinion enough to be offended by that. You’re like a lot of posters on this board who don’t use any evidence or data. You’re entitled to your opinion like everyone else but that’s all it is if you’re not providing anything to support it.
Why are you dragging Montas, Clay and Senga when Flaherty is no sure thing either. He’s certainly not a top line starter that everyone is saying the Mets are missing so he doesn’t help much, we have depth. They are better off trading for a pitcher at the deadline than signing Flaherty.
Montas hasn’t been an average SP (ERA+) since ’22, who signed at 2/34M (inc. 17M player option for ’26). Flaherty got a 2/35M (with an opt out) deal from DET coming off a renaissance year in DET/LAD with a 127 ERA+. His pre-AS Break numbers were immaculate. I wonder what they’d look like if he was never traded to LAD, but alas. Montas benefitted from signing early, while Flaherty most likely lost some from signing later. Montas should be better than he was, while in NYM, but Flaherty has a higher floor and more upside, imho. The Clay experiment is interesting.
I don’t disagree with this analysis overall, RunDMC. But let’s take it with a grain of salt, as the Flaherty portion is cherry-picking. Its worth pointing out that Flaherty’s deal is frontloaded to pay him $25M this year, not $17.5 as the cumulative numbers imply. Referencing his 2024 numbers ignore is inconsistency, overall.
The wild card that none of us is capable of assessing is that we don’t know what the Mets’ pitching lab and analytics people are telling Stearns about what more they might get more out of Montas (and Holmes).
Exactly.
Question is who would u rather have next year ? Flaherty or Montas ?
I don’t think anyone would say Montas.
Personally I think the Mutts would have been better off w Flaherty + Tanner Scott vs Montas n Polar Bear.
Adding Scott or even Yates to that pen really shortens the game for there 5- 6 inning starters along w there never say never offense.
I do think the Polar Bear is goinf to bounce back next year though. Just having a professional hitter like Soto is going to rub off on all the other hitters esp the youngsters.
2026, the Mets will have like 4 starters making arbitration n pre arbitration money and will get that ACE they need.
SHEEET….. THEY MAY EVEN get him in May/ June from the marlins. Adding a recent cy young winner to that rotation makes this a legit 3 headed monster for that division
@Showtime
Why does everybody bring up Scott like we even had a chance? He wanted to close, end of discussion we couldn’t offer him that. Nobody and this is coming from a Mets fan is picking us over the Dodgers right now.
The reason Flaherty and Polar Bear were on the market for so long is cause they wanted longer term deals originally so would you be okay giving him 4-5 year deal at 20MM AAV with his history?
I agree Montas was awful last season for the Reds.
@rey
As dmc said, clay is an experiment. I woulda loved to see him setup for diaz. As a SP he’s a ?
Montas & flaherty got the same deal. No one on earth is gonna prefer frankie to jack under the circumstances. I like senga, but after a yr off who knows what youre gonna get
Lots of what ifs and maybes and alotta “hope he bounces back”
Rotation today generally doesn’t inspire confidence. Neither does BP but thats another conversation
All that being said, stearns outsmarted everyone in ‘24
Mayb he’ll do it again
@ John
Flaherty is signed for 25MM this year it’s essentially a 1 year deal with option/escalators to get that up to 20MM next season. Holmes is a perfect candidate to see what he’s got as a starter and if not he beefs up the BP. As currently constructed Mets have a very solid BP so not sure why you say that. Pretty much every move Stearns has made has paid off with the Mets so I’m not gonna start second guessing him after last season. They need another front end SP no doubt but I think he’s gonna wait till in season to address. Pads could possibly trade Cease or King. Marlin/Sandy, Houston/ Framber, Mariners/Castillo, DBacks/Gallen, Brewers/Peralta (although they may wait till offseason with the option). It just depends on what teams are in or out but there are options out there.
@rey
Cease, king, castillo would all look great in a mets uni. I thought mets might make a move for 1 of them during offseason, why wait til july
But like i said, stearns could tap into the magic again. im not 2nd guessing i’m questioning the thought process. Its time for a parade , like seriously overdue for 1
For 1 thing they would cost less in terms of prospects.
2. You can gauge how they’re pitching that year and choose which suits your needs.
3. Pretty much all those teams besides Marlins have a good shot at playoffs.
4. You can get by half the year with an average rotation, you really just need the top end SP for playoffs mainly.
Castillo will come at the lowest acquisition cost IMO but will definitely require a young position player who can slot on immediately
There’s a real good chance the Mets starting staff flops bigtime and Stearns loses his reputation as a guru.
Joel
There’s a real chance that they’re fine, Mets have a fine year, his additions were fine and then in 2026 when they attempt another reclamation project there will still be people here saying “what an idiot he is! Why didn’t he go and overpay for X pitcher?”
Like this guy can’t win unless he signs every top agent, for pennies, and all those guys pitch even better than projections. There’s no team like that.
Joel from NY:
Why? Because you said so? What data or evidence do you have to support that. Don’t you think that Stearns knows quite a bit more than you or me about this? Don’t you think there was a ton of research into these moves. I’m pretty sure you haven’t looked too deeply into anything statistically. You’re entitled to your opinion, but it’s only that. There’s not a “good chance” of what you’re saying happening. There’s always a chance, but I’m not sure what you’re basing the “good chance” on.
The evidence has been cited by many others quite a few times, but here we go: Montas? Hasn’t been good for years. Manea? Had best year of his career last year. What are the grounds for thinking he’ll duplicate it? Senga? Last year was a zero. What are the grounds for thinking he’ll repeat what he did in ’23. Holmes? When was the last time he was an effective starter? The answer is never. Petersen? One good year. Should we be confident he can repeat it? Megill? Flashes of brilliance and then he gets lit up. Stearns vs. Me: If baseball fans didn’t question the moves made by GMs (who, by the way, have all presumably done a heap of research and know more than fans do) there wouldn’t be any need for comment sections, no? In summary, the Mets are hoping that things break right for all of these guys. Too optimistic.
Intentionally negative representation
Joel from NY:
That’s not evidence. That’s conjecture. I agree Montas is nothing special. He’s a fifth star. The grounds for Manaea is that he completely changed his delivery to mimic a pitcher who’s had great success and he shared that success. Is it sustainable? I don’t know, but there are grounds to thinking that it might be. As far as Senga, last year was a zero as you say because he was injured the whole year. It wasn’t about effectiveness or not pitching well. What would be the reason he couldn’t replicate what he did two years ago if he’s healthy? Again that’s not evidence what you’re saying. The evidence is that he pitched very well when he was healthy. Unless he’s not healthy, there will be no reason to think he couldn’t do that. Holmes is a wild card. I can’t say one way or the other what he will be. As far as Peterson, he’s had five years in the league, and three of the years have been above average. So you ask whenever he’s been good before last season, go look at the other two seasons. Granted his rookie season was shorter. Megill is just rotation depth and there’s nothing special there. See what you did was not give evidence. You just took the worst case scenario of every pitcher and said what if that happens. The truth probably lies somewhere in between but somewhere in between still will make for a solid, but not spectacular by any means, rotation. And yes, we are here to give our comments, but I asked for the data and evidence that supports the Mets won’t have a good rotation. You just took basically the worst case scenario of every guy. I can go back to Peterson, Senga, and Manaea in their last full season of pitching which is last year for Manaea and Peterson and two years ago for Senga and those were all above average years. The data supports more what I’m saying than what you’re saying. Again the truth probably lies somewhere in between. That’s not optimism. That’s reality.
#johncoltrane You called in right JC; don’t get it. So obvious.
Wish they spent that money they gave the Polar Beer on pitching.
It’s not a money issue. It’s about value. They can still go and trade for a starter right now.
I’m not particularly high on their pitching moves either, but I notice you left manaea out of your breakdown altogether.
I like the wait and see approach. They have a ton of SP’s projected on their roster, which injuries and performance will narrow that down. There’s always the trade deadline mid-season for them to strike since they have as many trade pieces to make the big move happen.
atleast get your facts straight.
Clay ran through the minors and started his major league career as a starter but was moved to reliever. during his first year.
He didn’t say the Mets didn’t do anything. He said the Mets didn’t do enough. I would agree. While Manaea’s breakout is very believable, and there is reason to believe Senga will make 25+ starts, it is an exceptionally steep drop-off from there. I know what to expect from Montas and Peterson, and if Clay Holmes is not a success story, the Mets will have some serious SP woes by the end of May. Someone like Flaherty would have gone a long way towards stabilizing a very shaky Mets’ rotation.
stevetampa:
If you’re referring to someone else and I am misunderstanding then I apologize, but if you’re talking about the poster johncoltrane, his first statement was literally that the Mets haven’t done anything with their rotation. Those are his exact words. If you’re talking about the guy who wrote this article then yes I agree that’s what he said. They haven’t done enough.
Milken – I just thumbed up the post from johncoltrane after initially misreading it. Thanks for pointing that out . . .
stevetampa:
Oh ha ha no problem
Kind of amazing that any team would depend on Canning or Blackburn. And I can see Manaea regressing to his #4 or #5 mien.
@ view
Me too
$75mil is an overpay for him
Pete’s view: “depend on Canning or Blackburn”
That’s just not true.
Senga, Manaea, Peterson, Holmes, Montas, Megill, Butto, BLACKBURN, CANNING.
@johncoltrane
can you tell me what the braves did for their rotation? They lost 2 out of their top 3 last season pitchers and will have their best pitcher out for atleast 1/3 to 1/2 season in strider and thats on the hopeful side? The remaining pitcher just completed their first year as a starter and the other ace who yes won the cy young but the last time he cobbled together 2 back to back seasons of 25+ starts was before everything got locked down.
If my recollection is correct they have not signed one replacement for any of the losses and they barely tied the mets last season with what most said (including me) an iffy mets rotation. I think the rotation is about the same as last season with senga replacing severino, manea back peterson back, and any of the rest is better than houser. The only piece that hasnt been replaced is Quintana which he was the number 4 pitcher.
Flyby:
You are 100% right. When people are hating on the Mets or any team, they will focus on the weakness of that team. They will not focus on the weaknesses of other teams.
I think it will be better than most are thinking, but not among the top staffs by any stretch. They’ll make a deal for a frontline arm at the deadline.
Which is an unfortunate approach to adding a TOR.
1) in a close race for either a wildcard or for the division, by waiting until the Deadline you’ve forfeited 2/3 of that starter’s value in adding wins, meaningfully increasing your chances of spending big on this starter but missing the postseason altogether. Also…
2) you never get that starter for just 1/3 of the price you’d pay had you picked him up during the offseason, meaning you’re overpaying for a decreased amount of performance, and
3) given he’s a TOR, which the Mets lack, likely headed for FA he’s much less likely to sign an extension with just two months to go before free agency than if you’d picked him up with six months of the season still ahead.
Jack:
I think Stearns is very smart, but he seems stubborn to a fault. There’s an opportunity to add Cease right now, or King. The Padres obviously have to cut salary, but Stearns hugs these prospects so tight. Adding a starter like that to the rotation makes all the difference in the world. And like you’re saying, then at the deadline, you don’t feel so much pressure to add a starter because you had him all season.
You have no idea what the asking price is for Cease.
Well, yeah, I didn’t say I did so…
The point is If the Padres asking price is too high for essentially a rental, Sterans holding onto the prospects is the right decision.
ManInThePlanet:
Yeah, I don’t disagree with that. Of course. However if they really are strapped and feel like they need to trade him then unless someone goes overboard on an offer, they will have to lower their demands. Unless they really don’t have to cut that salary.
Sign and trade! Sign and trade! I wouldn’t send a fat package of prospects for a rental.
@Miken31 Hey Mike, I’m increasingly thinking that point’s right, that Stearns has some characterological rigidity that’s not going to serve the team well, particularly when the time comes that the farm’s producing regularly and the Mets need to go a little nuts in free agency in order to acquire premium FA’s in order to hang with the best teams.
Strange–it’s difficult to find out if “trade and sign” is still something teams can do. The Mets didn’t do it with Lindor, instead bidding against themselves for almost three months after the trade with Cleveland before he agreed to the 10-year extension.
Even if he’s reluctant to do a one-year rental trade, Trade and Sign should be the kind of arrangement Stearns is willing to work for the right ace. The Mets did it with Santana, and if they couldn’t agree he would have gone back to the Twins. It was about the most frenzied three days I can recall for Mets fans. I’d hate to see the Mets only have a rotation most years as good as they can put together from their farm supplemented by gambles like Severino, Montas, Canning, Holmes, and the like.
JackStrawb:
Yes, I can understand philosophically Stearns thoughts on signing pitching and not signing guys over 30 to very long-term contracts. However, you’d only have to be that rigid if you didn’t have the resources to spend over mistakes. Occasionally, you can take a gamble because when you have Cohen‘s wealth, if a free signing doesn’t work out, it’s not the end of the world as it would be with a team like the Brewers. Obviously you don’t want to make mistakes and have to spend over mistakes, but you can make some gambles occasionally and those gambles might end up with a pitcher that dominates on the way to a World Series victory.
@Miken31 Couldn’t agree more.
I’m hoping it’s because Stearns knows he can’t move the needle all that much with the current Mets team—a team that’s older than average that has yet to get much from the farm on any kind of regular or reliable basis—without saddling future rosters (2026, 2027… etc) with old FAs who will weigh those teams down with expensive declines.
Still, there are intermediate moves he could have made. Flaherty would probably have been a better pickup than Pete, given their comparative contracts and who they’re supplanting in 2025, so I’m not all that sure Stearns isn’t going to continue to be hobbled by the creative limitations you’ve mentioned.
Jack
What about Flaherty makes you feel like it was a mistake to not acquire him?
I don’t see Cease signing an extension now or July.
I don’t think they trade for a top of the rotation SP in July either.. Stearns will find something in July to trade for and he will help more than fans expect.
I think the asking price for cease or any TOR is high right now, and to Jack’s point, will stay high in July even though over the half the season will be done.
If Alcantara comes back at a high level thats who i could see them try to trade for.
@CleaverGreene You’re probably right (hence the preference for a “trade and sign” form of deal). The Mets will have to be willing to do something like what Cohen did with Lindor—back their judgment with cash and supplement the willingness to trade significant prospects for a guy like Cease with a market level contract, in what they agree is what Cease would get if he was already a FA.
Granted that adds to the Mets’ risk, but it seems like a risk worth taking for a rich team that really does need a #1 SP if it’s the case that Trade and Signs are really done any more, for whatever reason.
(Fwiw I’m constrained to note that Stearns’ 2024 deadline pickups flamed out—negative 0.3 bWAR combined for August and September, though Stanek and Winker were helpful in the postseason. _Still,_ the Deadline moves didn’t help the team get to the postseason.
How won’t he go long term for a pitcher when they offered Yamamoto the same contract the Dodgers gave? He won’t go long term for an older pitcher.
The Mets got very lucky with that bandaid pitching staff last season. Severino didnt breakdown like past seasons with the Yankees, Manae had a career year, Quintana was lights out in August and September and Peterson matured and had a good year. Now there banking on a healthy Senga and a repeat performance by Manea and Peterson. You can’t count on bums like Montas, Blackburn, McGill and Canning. I just think it’s a bad idea to wait for the trade deadline but this is how Stearns operates.
Stearns has made the playoffs 6 of the last 7 years, it’s not luck at this point. He knows what he’s doing, when are people going to stop second guessing every move he makes.
The problem with Stearns is that the Brewers never made it to the World Series. He is too passive in his approach to recognizing what his team needs to go to the WS. We needed another SP last year with Senga being a ? but chose to pick up Winker who really did not do much.
The Dodgers have the band aid pitching staff.
Had
Didn’t McGill used to be a shyster lawyer?
Your comment is on the money. I’d only differ that Megill has flashes of brilliance so I wouldn’t put him on the dungheap just yet. As someone else posted, Stearns is stubborn to a fault.
They’d better score a ton of runs because they’re going to allow a ton.
Ridiculous comment. This is such an over exaggeration. They’re pitching staff isn’t bad. It just lacks a number one starter.
Ridiculous reply. They lack a one, two, and essentially a three. They’re knee deep in 4’s and 5’s.
Then you lack sense if that’s what you think. Kodai Senga was excellent two years ago. How is he not a number 1, 2, or 3? Just because he was injured last year? That’s absurd. Sean Manaea was one of the best pitchers in baseball in the second half of last season. But yeah, he’s not at least a number three either huh? David Peterson had a sub three ERA last year. Try using some facts and common sense please.
“Ridiculous reply. They lack a one, two, and essentially a three. They’re knee deep in 4’s and 5’s.”
Any stats AM21 or is this just based on feelings?
“They lack a one, two, and essentially a three.”
The guy who finished 7th in Cy Young voting in 2023 is not even a three in your eyes? Bias and incorrect.
PiazzaParty:
100% based on his feelings. And his feelings are about 0% accurate.
rct:
Excellent reply.
Let’s put some money in this, clown. Maybe you can dig up a few more guys with your Wayback machine and add them to the rotation.
AM21:
You just keep making a fool out of yourself. You don’t provide any data or facts, just your half baked opinion. And your opinion is half baked.
All you’ve said is how some of these guys had a good season a few years ago. Maybe I overstated it a bit, but if you think this rotation is a top ten rotation as is, you’re setting yourself up for some serious disappointment.
No, not a few years ago. If you read what I wrote, I talked about the seasons Manaea and Peterson had LAST YEAR. I also didn’t make any comment about a top 10 rotation, but I wouldn’t think they’d be too far out out of that if they are out of that. Clay Holmes is very much a key here. If he falters as a starter then obviously the rotation looks a lot worse. But if he transitions and is actually successful in that role well then that rotation looks a whole lot better. Hard to know what will happen with that, but obviously the Mets felt he could make that transition so time will tell. OK, we can agree to disagree. The season will tell who’s right.
You pick 3 instances of pitchers at their best and then you go ahead and express confidence they’ll repeat it. Take your own advice, sir!
@am21
maybe 4’s if they pitched in the mexican lg
in the majors these guys are 7’s and 8’s
Joel from NY:
No, I’m looking at recent data. You don’t think there’s maybe something to the fact that these guys were at their best coming to the Mets who’ve invested a ton of money in a pitching lab and have a highly regarded pitching coach? I guess you’re the kind of guy who wants the grab on to the worst seasons and say oh that’s who the pitcher is just to prove your point. Again, I’m looking at recent data.
A healthy senga is easily a 2. Hes had one healthy season and one injured. Let’s see if he can stay healthy this year. If he can, he has TOR stuff.
@Miken31 Hey, Mike. Interesting to stumble on this thread several weeks after it was first posted, with the Mets having lost their #2 and #5 for the time being.
I shared the original opinion, that the Mets had an above average rotation—though not a great one, of course, but with plenty of upside and some very useful depth that would put a floor on how far the bottom was likely to fall out.
Now, though, we’re looking at a 6-man rotation of Senga (5 innings last year), David Peterson in the #2 slot (he’s never gone as much as 125 MLB innings), reliever Holmes in #3, then (yikes) Megill, Canning, and then Blackburn coming off a serious surgery.
I know what Stearns has had to say, but it feels like a real mistake not to take advantage of Megill’s option and add Quintana. There may be a roster crunch if Montas and Manaea both come back, but Megill can be optioned and he’s probably better in any case than the current last man in the bullpen, according to the depth chart, and the Mets lack of iron men in the rotation suggest using Megill’s multi-inning talent where possible..
It’s not so much that the rotation depth is being tested, but more that it’s gone, and all it takes is one more injury and they’re either limping along with a 5-man rotation that’s sorely below average if the injury is to Senga or if Holmes just can’t cut it—or hoping that Tidwell is competent or that Sproat’s development isn’t harmed by rushing him. That’s not a great way to run a team.
It would be a shame for the Mets to get buried in advance of the Deadline and with a $325m payroll just because Cohen was too stubborn to go to $333m.
JackStrawb:
Hey Jack! Yeah, since these injuries, I’ve been saying Quintana seems like a perfect opportunity. We know he can pitch decently in New York and I would think he would be had for a reasonable price at this point. Yes, I’ve thought too of the roster crunch once Montas and Manaea come back, however, these things usually find a way of working themselves out. I think for now they’re probably just going to go to a five man rotation hoping Manaea can come back in April. I don’t know if that’s realistic with the oblique injury, which can linger. However, they seem to think he can come back in April. And the young guys are getting closer, but obviously not there yet. I know the ceilings are questionable but Sproat, Tidwell, Tong, and McLean all have very interesting arms.
McLean keeps moving up lists bc of the movement on his pitches and hes 100% dedicated to pitching now. He even cracked Baseball Americas top 100.
I’m actually high on santucci and am excited to see how he does first year in minors.
Facts, throw in a Dylan Cease or Sandy Alcántara (if healthy) and it’s easily a top 10 rotation.
@AM21 It’s not a serious contender for the WS once in the postseason unless they add a TOR _and_ Senga is healthy, but otherwise yours is a silly remark.
The rotation projects to be respectably above average, What it lacks in #1 starters (which Senga was in 2023, btw), by quality it has four starters perfectly capable of and likely to put up above league average ERAs in 2025. It also has 5’s and 6’s much better than that of most teams. It would be a stretch to even say it’s an ‘average rotation,’ but to say they’ll give up a ‘ton of runs’ is inane.
If there was any sense that this offseason was more than the usual chaos accruing from Cohen taking over wrt two major moves, the best you can say about the Mets picking up Alonso is that it makes at least two and probably all three of Acuna, Mauricio, and Baty irrelevant to the Mets in 2025 and quite possibly in 2026 and after, giving them more young players to trade for a TOR before the season begins.
We’ll see how that goes, but as solid if uninspired as their pitching is, there’s still room for significant improvement in the next several weeks. I’ll be disappointed if they don’t at least bring in Montgomery for nothing but cash.
Remember the 2015 Royals rotation anyone?
It’d be great if the Mets had a Wheeler/Burnes type true ace to head the rotation. Barring a trade for Cease or King I don’t see that happening.
The Mets do have a lot of rotation depth of capable starters. Stearns made sure of that.
I definitely agree that the rotation has some room for improvement but throwing King’s name around like he’d be some type of ace seems a bit ludicrous to me. On the one han, Holmes has as much potential to be an ace, since King too was a reliever until last year. or if you’re just looking at last year’s numbers, then Peterson is as much of an ace as King. I’m not really even sold on Cease being an ace with his 3.7 ERA and flaky track record. Maybe I could get behind a Castillo trade though.
It’s impossible to be kinder than to say, You don’t understand even the basics.
King’s already an ace. One of the top K rates in the game. Very, very good control. Strong hit and HR suppression, and a very good WHIP.
2.79 ERA, 3.10 FIP fr 2022-2024, 2.88 ERA as a starter in 2023-2024 with a 146 ERA+. He was essentially a lights out reliever who transferred his rate states to starting with very little drop off.
Do that long enough and they put you in the HOF, As for Cease, who knows what you can possibly be thinking.
Cease ultimately melted down during the playoffs, but a true ace needs to shine in those spots. People yell “small sample size” but when the pressure is on and you can still pitch lights out, that proves a lot to me. Same thing if you fall apart in those situations.
ISOB – sounds like you are describing Clayton Kershaw?
You know, Tom Seaver wasn’t all that “ace like” — in terms of bringing home wins — in the 1969 playoffs or World Series. Koosman was. In 1973, Seaver’s most impressive start (Gm 1 LCS) was a 2-1 loss on two late HR’s. Koosman and Matlack were the ones who brought the ’73 team to the cusp of taking out the As. And Seaver did not close the deal in Game 6.
Of course, if Cease or King or Alcantra or Castillo brings them close to the silver trophy with a good season and a mediocre playoff, I would hope they could otherwise end the 39 years and counting. My point is, gotta get there first.
Yeah, you’re right. Kershaw, an ace? Nah, the bum was imperfect in the postseason. No Hall of Fame for you!
The Mets have had an outstanding off-season thus far. They have addressed their key needs well. That said, the rotation needs to be further addressed if that are to compete with their primary competitors, the Dodgers. Fortunately, the off season is not yet over. I think it is time for David Stearns to ring up A.J. Preller and swing a deal for Michael King. Carlos Mendoza knows well how effective a pitcher King can be, and I hope he pushes the front office to make this trade and not one for Dylen Cease.
Don’t you think their primary competitors are the Braves and Phillies? I think the Dodgers are a secondary concern, who you don’t need to worry about until the postseason.
Cut/paste from exactly 12 months ago. It’s not flashy but no reason to believe Manaea and Peterson were flukes any more than say Lopez or Schwellenbach or a host of others who had breakout seasons. And I think ATL is still #1 in NL east but my point is there’s no reason to believe Senga won’t be fine just as there’s no reason to think Strider won’t be back and dealing
Atlanta won’t even make the playoffs. Acuna isn’t coming back until July. Strider will be throwing a couple miles slower. Albies and Murphy aren’t that good anymore. They have wholes in their rotation and bullpen.
I was extremely disappointed by the Montas signing at the time and I like it much less now.
Same. I hope the pitchlab and Hefner have some leftover magic and they didn’t use it all on Severino
On a totally different note, The A’s filed their permit to build a stadium in Las Vegas and it doesn’t include the required parking garage. Clark County Code requires the new stadium to provide a 7,650-space parking lot. The building permit will be denied.
The A’s tried to argue that because the ballpark is in the Resort Corridor that the requirement is excessive, but they were unable to get a variance.
Each day that this is delayed makes it less likely that a stadium will ever be built in Las Vegas.
Another aside, the Oakland Roots sold more tickets for their home opener on March 22nd than the A’s did for theirs at the same venue in Oakland. You can still buy tickets in nearly every section for the A’s home opener vs the Cubs in Sacramento today.
web – I’ll bet on that stadium project moving forward. And have you ever looked at how little on-site parking there is at Allegiant?
There are 13,000 spaces at multiple lots controlled by the Stadium. There are another 22,000 at neighboring businesses that have agreements with the Stadium Authority to provide parking for games.
Allegiant stadium holds 10 games per season. The baseball park will hold 81.
Being a realist you will understand that Allegiant has 1 parking space for every 2 tickets available and the baseball ballpark would have 1 per 8 tickets available according to the permit application. Huge difference.
And why do you suppose that the baseball stadium won’t ultimately make similar arrangements?
I don’t find the “number of games” argument persuasive, because Allegiant needs the use of parking on some of the busiest days in the year for the Vegas Strip (fall weekends). If Allegiant had also needed to find available spaces on (less busy) weeknights, it wouldn’t have been a big issue: they did the tough part.
You are making very definitive statements that the A’s stadium project won’t start – “the building permit will be denied”.
Have you looked at Allegiant as a precedent for that? Here’s a March 2018 article about how the Raiders were still figuring out details of the parking plan, months after stadium site construction work had begun in fall 2017 – lvsportsbiz.com/2018/03/01/raiders-finalizing-land…
In short, here’s my take as a “realist”: this Vegas baseball stadium project, which has worked through the far more politically contentious issue of getting $300+ million in public financing, *isn’t* going to be derailed by the amount of on-site parking in the A’s current plan. They’ll figure it out and move forward.
(Wish I knew you in IRL just so that we could place a friendly wager on this one.)
It’s mentioned briefly but I fully expect Sproat to be a part of the rotation. If he has a good start in the minors, they’ll call him up. They didn’t hesitate in bringing up Christian Scott and won’t with Sproat.
With their offense, they don’t need a rotation of aces. Scored the 7th most runs in baseball last year and added Soto. They made some nice bullpen upgrades. I think they’ll be fine.
Who said Soto couldn’t pitch.
Enough ammo in the farm to make a mid season move if necessary. The way vientos played last year stocks intriguing on some of these guys that otherwise would have doubts against them for the field
Disagree about Montgomery as last year was such an aberration
His body of work is a clear 3 on a contender
Sandy alcantarra is a guy they should be targeting as well if cease isn’t on the table
Montgomery from 2021-2023 is a clear #2 on a World Series winner. By your assertion there would be something like five #1 starters and fifteen #2’s in all of MLB.
Montgomery’s ERA+ was 120 those three seasons. Bracketing that, for his career John Smoltz was at 125. Tom Glavine was at 118. To get a lot better than that tier you have to go to Greg Maddux at 133 or the likes of Johan Santana.
Monty missed one or two starts, at most. He was essentially a HOF-caliber pitcher those three seasons. That’s not a #3 on a contender. Add in his postseason numbers those three years, a 2.67 ERA in 5 GS in 33.2 IP, and you have a guy whose results would have looked just fine as the #1 SP on a WS winner.
DM me your venmo
Two words. Sandy. Alcantara.
Two more words. Prospect. Capital.
“They signed one of the most coveted free agents in MLB history to the largest contract in North American sports. They brought back a franchise cornerstone their preferred way: a short-term deal that doesn’t run the risk of overcommitting long-term. They re-signed the lefty who carried their rotation in the season’s second half in what looks like a potential late-blooming breakout. They grabbed one of the most underrated relievers not just in this year’s class but throughout the sport in general.”
———————————————————————-
1) That’s not actually a good thing—Soto’s deal was an obscene overpay for a player who didn’t even crack MLB’s top 5 by WAR, another example of the fatback _grossero,_ Cohen, hijacking the offseason, as is 2).
2) Alonso, if he ever was a ‘franchise cornerstone,’ hasn’t been since 2019. Call it as late as 2022 if you’re feeling extremely generous. Did anyone call Santander or Chris Carter or Adam Dunn a ‘franchise cornerstone,’ especially in their decline phases? And the signing wastes $30m far better spent on the top of the rotation arm that’s currently missing from this putative WS contender while blocking the Mets current crop of young players most likely to step up and contribute in 2025.
3) Manaea didn’t carry the rotation in the 2nd half. If anyone that was Peterson and his 2.79 ERA after the ASB. In any case, Manaea’s second half hung entirely on the freak luck of his .191 BABIP his last 10 starts.
4) Minter’s “underrated”? By whom, exactly? Who is it you think underrates a reliever coming off three years of a 150 ERA+ and a 2.89 FIP for one of the best teams in MLB?
—-MLBTR, please find someone who can write about the Mets without the kind of pointless hyperbole that at best misleads and that typically, routinely paints an inaccurate picture of the team. Thanks,
“fatback, grossero” ??
Why does he have such a hatred of Cohen? I don’t even know what that phrase means but he’s seething with contempt for Cohen like Cohen maliciously refused him a job. It seriously colors his otherwise pretty good analyses.
Right? It almost sounds personal. Like he’s really personally chagrined by this guy, down to his very bone marrow.
Isn’t the obvious answer here Nick Pivetta?
But the grammar is godawful. You’re a one tool player.
Are you saying he only has 1 tool and he is playing with it?
Manaea, Peterson, Megill and Senga (over two years) have all pitched to an ERA+ of 105 or better. Their rotation should be a good bit above average next year.
That said, it is not quite the rotation I’d like to see in the playoffs.
this rotation, such as is it, will get clobbered against the Dodgers.
Superb in-depth piece! I’ll say it again: Stearns has got to come off his stance of refusing to give 4-5 year deals to star starters who are 30, 31, 32. Otherwise, you’re losing out…it’s just the way the market for starting pitching stands, like it or not. I’m frustrated that the Mets made zero effort to sign Snell, Fried, or Burnes. Mr. Stearns: I doubt if you think Soto will hit much at age 39 but you gave him a 15 year deal because you had to. Same holds true for the above group of ace starters.
I’m happy to pay the small fee for reading this excellent article.
Mid season acquisition of half your rentals will be less costly. At some point you have to give an opportunity to Sproat and the rest of the younger guys on the team to prove themselves. If a marquee picture is needed, then get them at the trade deadline.
The rotation is barely average and only because of Manaea and Senga (even Senga is a ?). Way too many ifs in this rotation behind those two and it will tax the bullpen as well if they cant go at least 6 innings….Sproat needs to be ready to be called up to help it a bit but thats not ideal to rush him..
Why would Sproat be rushed up? They have 6 starting pitchers between Senga/Manaea and Sproat;
Peterson, Montas, Holmes, Blackburn, Butto, Megill
Holmes may or may not work as a starter, Peterson is a #4, Montas, Blackburn and Megill are crap. Butto is a better reliever than starter. Need a #1/#2 type starter that goes deep in games and misses bats….
That’s inaccurate and unfair to Peterson who had a sub 3 ERA and 2.9 WAR despite not coming up until June (!) …… and he STILL threw 121 IP. That’s better than the average #4 starter by a country mile.
It’s not a secret that better pitchers perform better. I can’t believe I have to say this but David Stearns is aware of that.
“Holmes may or may not work out”
That’s a fact for Holmes as much as it is for every player in the league. Nobody is absolutely fail and injury proof. There’s no guarantee anyone has YOY success and remains healthy.
Landing a guy on an “ace” deal requires extending that risk over a longer and more expensive timeline … all while making it less likely to sneak back under the closest luxury tax threshold and reset the tax.
Ideally we’re filled with Dylan Ceases and Walker Buehlers but under team control and not as FA acquisitions. That’ll happen but not 12 in the first 12 months of Stearns taking over. RN he’s just trying to get as many quality innings as possible without stifling the future with an albatross and with as little of it hinging on any one individual player.
Peterson is 29 and all of a sudden hasnt figured it out! He is what he is and shouldnt be counted on as a full time starter because of last year! Holmes is a reliever and not a starter, so thats not like every other player in the league lol. This team needs a true #1 starter to compete with the big boys. On a positive note, the lineup looks pretty decent and the bullpen is good, especially if Nunez and Minter can be healthy for the whole season. Im not a Stearns fan but this year will tell a lot more about his supposed genius. Mets could win 80 or up to 90ish. See what happens
Dude, absolutely not.
29 is when you START your prime as a pitcher. He had amazing numbers after returning from surgery he had pre-season. He had a great year and established himself as a solid rotation piece going forward, any other interpretation is objectively wrong.
Why is Holmes a reliever and not a starter? Because you say so? Because he was a reliever last year? What about Garret Crochet? He was a reliever and look at him now, he’s a top 10 starter.
Lol, 29 is the prime for a player but Peterson has yet to put it together up to this point. You forget that the Mets drafted him and have been waiting for him to develop for a long time. I cant believe you compared Holmes to Crochet lol. Hes a solid not spectacular reliever and walks too many batters. Theres a reason why the Yanks didnt sign him. You havent convinced me yet in any of your points. Also, the fact that the Mets are still interested in Cease, tells me that even small market Stearns isnt totally sold on his rotation. Facts are facts
“Peterson has yet to put it together up to this point”
Do you realize how good you have to be to have a 2.91 ERA across 121 innings pitched?
He missed April and May but still threw 121 innings! He had a nearly 3 WAR season in 4 months!
Seems like you’re writing this comment from 2023 and didn’t watch any of the 2024 season. Doesn’t seem you have the perspective to appreciate the season he had.
Also get real with Holmes: an ERA+ over 150 each of the last 4 seasons. He’s got a stellar sinker that gets more ground balls than any other pitch in the league. What were crochets numbers as a reliever?
I noticed you don’t use any stats in your arguments, just your feelings. It’s hard to convince people you’re speaking intelligently if you’re just using your emotions. See if you can find data to support your opinions.
“Also, the fact that the Mets are still interested in Cease, tells me that even small market Stearns isnt totally sold on his rotation. Facts are facts”
You legitimately don’t know the difference between a fact and a rumor…. Here on mlbtradeRUMORS.com
Lol, are you impressed that Peterson pitched 121 innings with a 2.9 era for 1 season? You are really reaching for positives there. Hes a back end starter and nothing more. Come back when he does it for a few seasons! Holmes had all his success as a reliever not a starter. We will see hiw he fares as a starter. Some of you Mets fans are delusional when talking about this team. The facts are that this rotation is very average and the lineup is its strength. Other than some Mets fans (you), who is impressed with this rotation?? Derp
I noticed you still cannot support a single one of your claims with statistics. That’s usually a sign that you don’t have much of an argument to make.
“Other than some Mets fans (you), who is impressed with this rotation?? Derp
Before you changed topics to “who is impressed” we were talking about Peterson. Changing topics is usually a sign that you don’t have much of an argument to make.
It’s a trite and banal opinion on here to say “The Mets should have gotten a #1 pitcher! How stupid they are!!!”
Like who are you talking about? Where do you go find this Ace? There’s maybe 9-10 aces in the entire league and I’d argue the only TRUE ace is Wheeler (200k, 200IP, sub 3 ERA). Can you make a specific suggestion or, like the use of independently reviewable statistics, do you have truly nothing of substance to say?
Also FWIW I love how you’re like “we need to see Peterson have sustained success before we know if he’s any good” like 2 comments after saying we should bring up Sproat. Amazing disconnect there.
Sproat already has a better arsenal than Peterson and a projected #2 starter if all goes right. You seem to be banging his drum loudly over a 2.9 era lol for a bit more than half a season.How many years have the Mets been waiting for him to break through!? What do i have to backup?? Go look at Petersons stats and Holmes stats. They speak for themselves! You talk about Peterson like he is DeGrom lol.Holmes is a solid reliever but, we will see if he can pitch 150 innings and give under a 4 era as a #4 ish starter. I see that you are one of these guys that think they are smarter than the rest of the posters. We will revisit the Peterson argument in August/September.he is a backend starter and one small sample of success doesnt make him a sure bet. Ive been a fan of this team since ’84 and the Mets always seem to be a couple players short of a championship caliber team. Cohen is a great owner but Stearns hasnt earned my respect yet.
“Go look at Petersons stats and Holmes stats.”
Um, I did? I literally typed them for you too. You don’t understand them. There’s nothing I can do with someone who doesn’t understand something and doesn’t care to learn.
“Sproat already has a better arsenal than Peterson and a projected #2 starter if all goes right” // “How many years have the Mets been waiting for him to break through!?”
Ok so we’re going to discount the already established careers in favor of projections? Where’s the logic in that?
“Ive been a fan of this team since ’84 and the Mets always seem to be a couple players short of a championship caliber team.”
This has nothing to do with anything but its on par with the rest of your comments as far as usefulness and relevancy to the topic.
“I see that you are one of these guys that think they are smarter than the rest of the posters.”
Just the ones who try to argue that their feelings and emotions are more accurate than data, especially when presented with data then go on to discount it to suit their narrative, like with “Come back when he does it for a few seasons”.
A good measure of intelligence is capacity to change opinion when confronted with conflicting data or facts.
Just to recap with you and why I’m not really gonna go back and forth with you further. You speak largely in hyperbole: “You talk about Peterson like he is DeGrom lol” // “blackburn and megill are crap”.
You don’t use data and discount data when its contrary to your point “are you impressed that Peterson pitched 121 innings with a 2.9 era for 1 season? You are really reaching for positives there.” // “he is a backend starter and one small sample of success doesnt make him a sure bet.” Thats just a weird one man.
Also you are very emotion-driven which is good for fandom but bad for designing a starting rotation or anything really where you have to be objective and practical.
Lol, you must be a computer geek to go totally by stats! U cant calculate ambition, talent, determination by the numbers! Fans like you are the reason why the game has changed so much. U might prefer to sit home and play MLB on your PS 5 and determine results that way. Peterson should be filler at the back end just like Montas, Blackburn, Butto etc…if the Mets are serious about contending, this rotation is subpar and there is no arguing it. Im done with you but lets see how these starters end the season, shall we?? As you were, boy
Ok well me and the other computer geeks, including this very website, the collective analytics departments of all 30 MLB teams, and the rest of the educated world will continue to learn, adapt and evolve while you, like actual polar bears, are left behind. At least ACTUAL polar bears aren’t patronizing on the road to extinction.
The future is now, old man.
I’ve been listening to crap like this for decades now and for decades it fails to promote anything good.
Now we are down to 6 inning pitchers who can’t stay healthy and can’t pitch, and hitting trends equally bad. Sprinkle into this the general lack of talent in the same to cover all the teams and the screwed up rule changes… not only are we not getting better players but the game is almost unwatchable.
go pound your drum on so other sport… Basketball maybe.
BTW Peterson is a mediocre pitcher at best and he has plenty of innings under his belt to prove it.. He is 28 years old and threw 454 innings to a crappy 99 ERA+
That is EH. He is a middle reliever.
They don’t seem to learn or adapt. They seem to burn out pitchers, reduce contact and zone control and can’t get decent fielders,
They didn’t do much with the pitching and it makes me worry. The Dodgers threw 32 scoreless innings in the playoffs. This team has no pitching plan at all right now.
Imagine in 2015 they went to the WS with Harvey, Degrom, Wheeler, Synderguard, Lugo and Matts,
Sterns is not a pitching guy and it not only makes me nervous, but I don’t think you can beat the leading teams in the MLB this way,
That’s inaccurate and unfair to Peterson who had a sub 3 ERA and 2.9 WAR despite not coming up until June (!) …… and he STILL threw 121 IP. That’s better than the average #4 starter by a country mile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not on a team with WS expectations. and he is not young. He is what he is… cannon fodder who can squeeze out some decent innings if he is being used wisely
There are too many guys like this on the Mets, actually..
I would trade him. Maybe some sucker like you will give me something decent for him while his value is maxed out.
Lmao you switched to an alt? Bro
“The Mets were aggressive with short-term targets early on, seemingly unwilling to target pitchers seeking long-term deals and unwilling to risk waiting out the market and being left wanting.”
The Montas signing in particular feels eerily reminiscent of the Mets’ decision to sign James McCann early on to a $40m / 4 year deal, seemingly because of their unwillingness to pursue better options (*Realmuto*) available in the 2020-2021 offseason.