November 28, 2015, Queens, NY After a magical season coming to a disappointing end, the New York Mets have some work to do in order to make another appearance to the World Series and potentially win it this upcoming season.
The Mets acquired former Home Run Derby champion Yoenis Cespedes at the trade deadline this past season, and he became a huge presence. He played a major role in the Mets offense, defense, and was a great leader with some of the other veterans in the Mets’ locker room.
Cespedes, who is 29 years old, is looking for a contract worth six years. Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson won’t give a contract any longer than four years at $60 million dollars. Cespedes tells mlb.com, “This is something I can’t control. I don’t know what the front office is thinking about. But what I see so far, I would love for everything to work out and stay as a Met for a long, long time because I like the atmosphere.”
Since joining the Mets he played in 57 games, and batted (.287) with (17) home runs. Cespedes joined the Mets right after the trade deadline, and within a month, he was in the M.V.P. conversation. Going into the All -Star Break, the Mets were sitting in second place behind the Washington Nationals, but were in last place in almost every offensive category. Cespedes played a major role in leading the Mets to their first postseason appearance since 2006, and their first World Series since 2000. In the postseason, he batted .222 and hit home runs. Re-signing Cespedes can help the Mets win consistently, and as the Mets are a young team, he can be a good mentor for the up-and-coming rising stars.
Since Sandy Alderson took over as General Manager, it was his plan to rebuild the Mets through the farm system. Alderson has developed many good young starting pitchers such as Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Jacob deGrom. Noah Syndergaard came in a trade from the Toronto Blue Jays. Although the Mets had a poor bullpen the past few years, the bullpen improved in the 2015 season. Going into the season, Jenrry Mejia was pegged to be the closer, and Jeurys Familia was going to be the Mets set-up man. Mejia was suspended twice by Major League Baseball for violating the drug policy.
Mets manager Terry Collins moved Familia into the closer role, and he performed admirably. He finished the 2015 season with (49) saves. While the Mets are okay with starting pitching and a strong closer, the Mets will need a couple extra arms in the bullpen. Bobby Parnell, whom the Mets drafted, is now a free-agent. The problem with Parnell is he couldn’t stay on the field. Who can the Mets sign to add another arm in the bullpen? Matt Thornton, who is a 12-year veteran, can potentially be a good fit for the Mets’ bullpen and be another leader in the locker room. Thoronton, last season with the Washington Nationals, posted a record of 2-1 with an ERA of 2.18.
After a record setting postseason for Daniel Murphy, he turned down an offer by the Mets which makes him a free agent. Murphy last season batted .281 with 14 home runs. It’s Murphy’s magical postseason that’s caught the rest of the league’s attention. As of November 26th, the New York Yankees are the leading candidates in getting the National League Championship Series M.V.P. To replace Daniel Murphy, the Mets are in the mix in signing utility man Ben Zobrist.
While the Mets have always had great young pitchers in their farm system, the Mets have other strong prospects who are position players. Mets’ prospect outfielder Michael Conforto played a big role in the team’s success. Like Cespedes, he was a factor both with his bat and glove.
The Mets are on the verge of bringing up prospect outfielder Brandon Nimmo. Nimmo was drafted in the first round in the 2011 draft. Nimmo has worked his way through the farm and is now in Triple A Las Vegas which is the last stage before the Major Leagues. Nimmo, in his minor league career, has posted a batting average of .268 with 25 home runs.
The Mets are looking to repeat their magical season. Their payroll is making their job harder as it’s getting difficult to resign and sign players that can help make the Mets a possible contender. The Mets are going to open up their 2016 season Friday, April 8th, against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Twitter: @BrandonGlogau23