Mets 2015-16 Offseason Thread

['7']

I don't see why he wouldn't sign in DC. Up and coming team, good farm, they spend money, Harper in the lineup, BIGGER CONTRACT. sh!t I know it's not Broadway but the Nats are probably going to get themselves to a WS by hook or by crook one way or another within the next 5 years. What are you going to get from us other than not spending enough, hitting in a lineup where David Wright chokes and gags all the damn time, and then down the line eventually losing all of your best pitchers because you can't afford them

Sign in DC and be done with it.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Three of those starters are under control for a while though.   And the Mets have the better rotation.  I don't think the Nats' window of opportunity is better than the Mets.  

I wonder if the Nats get to the point where they say "Here's the offer, you sign it by X or we take it off the table."

Edited January 22, 2016 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[capo]

I had in my head a deal like the ESPN one mentioned. The Mets really only want him for one year. So if he kills it, he's bound to make a killing in the offseason next season. The key is he wants to be in NY. If he blows up and hits like 50 bombs next year you know he'll get a killer deal from the Yankees.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

He's not hitting 50 HR and probably not even 40 next year.  I'm guessing 25-30.  A lot of people aren't fully convinced by last season...if he finds a way to repeat it or come very close to it, then he's got a good shot to get the deal he wanted this season for next season. 

And ironically, I think I'll probably see it the same way if he did repeat 2015 with the Mets in 2016...let him opt out, be glad for the strong year-and-a-half you got out of him, and call it a day.  I'm fully on board with 3-4 years with an opt-out after one or two (preferably one)...even though there's still a lot of warts there. 

['7']

fwiw It's being rumored that the DH may be coming to the NL soon, which would be a potential place that we can rotate in guys like Duda, Wright, or possibly d'Arnaud. Of course it would mean our pitchers would have to work harder too...but so would everybody else's. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Never been a DH guy myself.  I'll hate it, but I'll live with it. 

[capo]

The DH is a game changer for the NL.  I freaking hate the idea but it's inevitable. I think its completely bs when comes to pitchers safety being a reason for bringing it in. Plus, some pitchers are pretty damn good hitters and hitting is a  part of the game. I never liked the DH. I always felt that if you don't have a position on the field you don't get a bat. Anyway, it's going to change the way rosters are constructed which could have something to do with why the Mets brass is a little more interested in bringing back Cespedes.

[NJDevs4978]

22 minutes ago, capo said:

The DH is a game changer for the NL.  I freaking hate the idea but it's inevitable. I think its completely bs when comes to pitchers safety being a reason for bringing it in. Plus, some pitchers are pretty damn good hitters and hitting is a  part of the game. I never liked the DH. I always felt that if you don't have a position on the field you don't get a bat. Anyway, it's going to change the way rosters are constructed which could have something to do with why the Mets brass is a little more interested in bringing back Cespedes.

While I'm also a traditionalist there's I think an underlying mindset that the NL's at a competitive disadvantage when they go to AL parks cause the AL has real hitters while the NL has bench players DH'ing or replacing guys getting a rest.  Maybe that's why their owners suddenly seem open to the DH.  Not to mention there are fewer 'traditionalists' now and more sabes guys.

['7']

Cespedes signs. 3 years, 75 million. Opt out after year 1.

Edited January 23, 2016 by '7'

[NJDevs4978]

Whatever you think of him as a player this is a good day, for all his flaws he could well swing the balance of power in the division if he went to the Nats.  Plus RH power doesn't grow on trees and you at least kind of know he can handle and even thrive in NY, which you wouldn't know if this was Justin Upton.

And I wouldn't worry too much about payroll flexibility considering they only have Wright and Granderson signed to big-money deals through the start of next year, plus Cespedes might opt out.  If he doesn't (and he's got 50 million reasons not to) well we'll kick that tire down the road when it comes but three years is ideal in any scenario, the money not so much but signing him had to hurt somewhere.  It beats the bigger hurt of having him go to our biggest division competitor.

Edited January 23, 2016 by NJDevs4978

[NJDevs4978]

Right now it looks like the team's pretty much set atm

SP - Harvey, deGrom, Thor, Matz, Colon (IR - Wheeler)

Relievers - Familia, Bastardo, Reed, Robles, Blevins, Gilmartin, Goddell

Lineup - Granderson, Wright, Cespedes, Duda, Walker, Conforto, d'Arnaud, Cabrera

Bench - Flores, Tejada, deAza, Lagares, Plawecki

['7']

47 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

Whatever you think of him as a player this is a good day, for all his flaws he could well swing the balance of power in the division if he went to the Nats.  Plus RH power doesn't grow on trees and you at least kind of know he can handle and even thrive in NY, which you wouldn't know if this was Justin Upton.

And I wouldn't worry too much about payroll flexibility considering they only have Wright and Granderson signed to big-money deals through the start of next year, plus Cespedes might opt out.  If he doesn't (and he's got 50 million reasons not to) well we'll kick that tire down the road when it comes but three years is ideal in any scenario, the money not so much but signing him had to hurt somewhere.  It beats the bigger hurt of having him go to our biggest division competitor.

Losing Murph AND Ces to the Nats would've been a psychological blow very difficult to overcome (even with our pitching) with Cespedes now I think the division is back to being sight edge Mets

Granderson-Wright-Cespedes-Duda-d'Arnaud-Walker-Conforto-Cabrera-Pitcher

Lagares/DeAza/Tejada/Plawecki on the bench. Flores will get a ton of AB's and be subbing everywhere so I won't consider him a true bench player.

Lineup could also feature Walker batting in the 2 hole. If Conforto "gets it" quickly they will likely move him up.

About as good a lineup we've started a season with in a very long time. This team has no business winning less than 88 games. 90 wins should be likely, with a top end of 93-95 or something like that.

I think this lineup is set and barring major injuries this is what we'll roll with all year. The only upgrades we will see in season will probably be bullpen or god forbid if a starter gets hurt.

Edited January 23, 2016 by '7'

[NJDevs4978]

8 minutes ago, '7' said:

Losing Murph AND Ces to the Nats would've been a psychological blow very difficult to overcome (even with our pitching) with Cespedes now I think the division is back to being sight edge Mets

Granderson-Wright-Cespedes-Duda-d'Arnaud-Walker-Conforto-Cabrera-Pitcher

Lagares/DeAza/Tejada/Plawecki on the bench

About as good a lineup we've started a season with in a very long time.

The 2006-08 Mets had a monster top two thirds of a lineup though the bench was clearly lacking.  This team even theoretically has a good bench, or at least a much better one than they had last year.

Edited January 23, 2016 by NJDevs4978

['7']

10 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

The 2006-08 Mets had a monster top two thirds of a lineup though the bench was clearly lacking.  This team even theoretically has a good bench, or at least a much better one than they had last year.

Oh definitely. It was beastly at times, still I never trusted Wright/Reyes in a big spot. That was a bully lineup. Either they wipe you out 12-2 or they go down meekly 2-1 and show no fight. I guess Walker is TBD, but this team has shown they can scrap through 2-1 games as well as bully teams.

Edited January 23, 2016 by '7'

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

At the end of the day, the Mets managed to get Cespedes back on their terms.  And Cespedes proved that he really did want to be a Met (well, he showed he wanted to be in New York, anyway...it helped greatly that the Yankees didn't jump in).  

Like I said before, from a pure baseball standpoint, this is not a slam-dunk.  From a PR, rebuild-the-relationship-with-the-Met-fanbase perspective, it's a grand slam.  There's a very good chance that this will effectively turn out to be a one-year deal, and we'll probably go through all of this again, but that's something to worry about in 2017.  Even with the warts (this team is going to be VERY vulnerable against better pitchers), I can't quibble too much about about Cespedes coming back, especially on relatively Met-friendly terms.  For many Met fans, there's now a lot more excitement about 2016.  I'd say less than 10% of the fanbase thought the Mets would step up and find a way.  Gone for now is the feeling of "Yep, same ol Mets, same ol Wilpons". 

Duda and Mejia avoid arbitration and agree to one-year deals.  Duda signs for $6.725 million, Mejia to $2.47 million.  Mejia still has 99 games to serve on his suspension, so he won't be paid anywhere near the full value of his deal.  He'll actually be much like a mid-season, low-cost acquisition.  Still not thrilled about him getting another chance, but he could turn out to be a decent depth signing.  

Team looks like it's pretty much set.  I think the offense will be fine against mediocre-to-poor pitching, but will be dominated (and VERY K-prone) against the top arms.  2016 will about the pitching staff.  If it's as good as we all think it can be, and the team doesn't suffer any serious long-term injuries, they should win 90-95 games fairly easily...and that includes not expecting much from Wright.  

 

 

[NJDevs4978]

The funny thing is IF Cespedes does opt-out the Mets can give him a QO and get another first rounder

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Met payroll now up near $140 million.  Considering that it was about $100 million or so at the beginning of last season, they HAVE pretty significantly increased the payroll (and done it pretty smartly).  Still money to offer one of the young arms a nice contract when the time comes.

I fully believe that the fanbase drove Cespedes being re-signed (much like they did with the Mets dealing for Piazza)...I think the Wilpons are truly up against it with this payroll, but they're taking a calculated gamble that the collective enthusiasm of the fans (which is now as high as it's been in some time) will lead to a lot more ticket and merchandise sales.  This is a big roll of the dice for them...Mets probably have to go deep into the playoffs again to make this pay off.  But it's better this than fans going into 2016 being pissed off and ambivalent and taking a "wait and see" approach for the first month or two.  Obviously April and early May can be really sh!tty months to get to ballgames in this area, but Cespedes coming back should mean a nice increase in attendance for that time period.

Edited January 23, 2016 by Colorado Rockies 1976

['7']

I for one would also like to thank Michael Cuddyer for helping make all this possible

I think the Mets are probably done for the offseason...but I wouldn't mind them re-signing Uribe. Seems like a good leader, he's a winner, and a good righty bat off the bench. A player you always find on championship teams.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Agree '7', would love to see Uribe re-signed.  I'm guessing that Sandy would like to have some money to make a deal in-season though. 

Going to be interesting to see how the outfield situation is handled.  It's suddenly a bit crowded out there.  Gotta think that Sandy didn't think he was bringing Cespedes back when he signed De Aza.  Lagares is looking like he's going to be a very expensive late-innings defensive replacement heading into spring training.  His bat simply isn't good enough to warrant playing time ahead of Grandy, Cespedes, Conforto, and De Aza.  He might not get much more than 225 ABs in 2016 unless someone gets hurt.

[MadDog2020]

Very happy to see the Mets bring back Cespedes. I really didn't think it was gonna happen... Glad they found a way to make it happen. 

Edited January 24, 2016 by MadDog2020

['7']

Mets announced today that Mike Piazza's # will be retired Saturday July 30th against the Rockies. I was thinking...well why not Sunday July 31? 31 retired on the 31st? But that a 1:10 start.

Shocked Fred didn't do it when the Dodgers were in town (late May)

[NJDevs4978]

33 minutes ago, '7' said:

Mets announced today that Mike Piazza's # will be retired Saturday July 30th against the Rockies. I was thinking...well why not Sunday July 31? 31 retired on the 31st? But that a 1:10 start.

Shocked Fred didn't do it when the Dodgers were in town (late May)

They already have the '86 Championship weekend celebration set for that series.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

With Piazza's jersey retirement talk, Carton was trying to make a case for John Franco being deserving of that honor.  I don't really see it...I know he compiled a lot of numbers (424 lifetime saves, 276 as a Met) and somehow managed to outpitch a lot of mostly ordinary peripherals (he was much more of a tightrope-save closer than a mow-em-down-one-two-three guy), but I just don't feel it with him.  The Mets probably could've have retired Piazza's jersey earlier (one theory has it that the Wilpons were waiting to see what cap Piazza would wear into the Hall before deciding to retire his number...definitely sounds most Wilpon-like), but I do like that they don't just bestow that honor cheaply.

It's fair to say though that not many arguments can made for anyone else.  Doc and Straw are not worthy, and that's really on them.  Hernandez is closer in my eyes (he was that first piece and I think the most important one...was just what the team needed and was more than a just a player).  No to Carter, who sadly and quickly declined after 1986. 

I'm guessing that the next guy (and probably one real sure one) will be David Wright.  In a way that will be a shame, because though he'll likely compile his way into setting benchmarks that no one is likely to reach as a Met (300 HR and 1300 RBI), he'll have done it being a shell of the player he was in the first half of his career.  What would be REALLY nice is that even if he's nowhere near the player he once was, he starts coming up big when the Mets need it...what sucks now is that THIS version of Wright is not only very meh, but that he seems so easily dispatched in big moments.  He needs to find that knack that some guys have.  It will be a bittersweet ceremony if all anyone remembers is constant failings in the clutch when the Mets had a window of opportunity to win big. 

Edited January 26, 2016 by Colorado Rockies 1976

['7']

1 hour ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

With Piazza's jersey retirement talk, Carton was trying to make a case for John Franco being deserving of that honor.  I don't really see it...I know he compiled a lot of numbers (424 lifetime saves, 276 as a Met) and somehow managed to outpitch a lot of mostly ordinary peripherals (he was much more of a tightrope-save closer than a mow-em-down-one-two-three guy), but I just don't feel it with him.  The Mets probably could've have retired Piazza's jersey earlier (one theory has it that the Wilpons were waiting to see what cap Piazza would wear into the Hall before deciding to retire his number...definitely sounds most Wilpon-like), but I do like that they don't just bestow that honor cheaply.

It's fair to say though that not many arguments can made for anyone else.  Doc and Straw are not worthy, and that's really on them.  Hernandez is closer in my eyes (he was that first piece and I think the most important one...was just what the team needed and was more than a just a player).  No to Carter, who sadly and quickly declined after 1986. 

I'm guessing that the next guy (and probably one real sure one) will be David Wright.  In a way that will be a shame, because though he'll likely compile his way into setting benchmarks that no one is likely to reach as a Met (300 HR and 1300 RBI), he'll have done it being a shell of the player he was in the first half of his career.  What would be REALLY nice is that even if he's nowhere near the player he once was, he starts coming up big when the Mets need it...what sucks now is that THIS version of Wright is not only very meh, but that he seems so easily dispatched in big moments.  He needs to find that knack that some guys have.  It will be a bittersweet ceremony if all anyone remembers is constant failings in the clutch when the Mets had a window of opportunity to win big. 

I don't see it either for Franco. He compiled some nice numbers for a bad to sometimes mediocre team who only became good towards the end of Franco's effectiveness here when he was ceding duties to Benitez. I would give credit to Franco he survived that tightrope more than he should've, so I think it was more a method to his madness (he had a good tricky screwball). Also...as much as he's a Wilpon darling that they love to trot out everywhere, the guy was never really truly beloved by Mets fans. He was always just...there...doing his job, but never overly embraced.

Hernandez was at lest here to spearhead the Mets revival, but his tenure here was overall fairly short. Hernandez you almost have to look at in a total package type of way now too as he's become as beloved a color analyst as he was a player. The guy is truly in the Mets family. To a different generation of Mets fans (those that came of age in the 80's) He's their Kiner.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

You nailed Franco perfectly...I was actually going to say the same exact thing.  He was just kind of there, which was kind of odd given that he was reasonably effective, and a NY hometown guy to boot.  He just wasn't the kind of guy who got people excited, and I think part of that was the way he got it done...kind of ugly. 

Hernandez was terrific for his first 4 1/2 seasons as a Met and obviously a massive part of the Mets no longer being laughingstocks, then tailed off big-time in his final two seasons here due to almost overnight decline/breaking down.  Yeah, with his being a Met broadcaster, and having been such a huge part of 86, he's definitely in the family.  I think cases can be made for and against retiring his number...usually if that's the case, you lean towards NOT doing it, and with 15 players having worn #17 since Hernandez last did, it's pretty anticlimactic at this point anyway.