As baseball heads into the postseason, the New York Mets are faced with an offseason of intense decision-making. During the break, there are plenty of problems that need to be addressed but fortunately, this time, there’s plenty of money available to transform the squad.
Plenty of positions need firming up: the outfield is lacking a real big hitter; General Manager Sandy Alderson needs to decide whether Ike Davis or Lucas Duda can hold down first base; the New York Mets are in the market for a new shortstop according to Alderson; and, despite Matt Harvey’s intense rehab, there’s no prognosis on when his shoulder injury will heal so a replacement veteran starting pitcher might be in the mix.
Those are the obvious holes that need plugging. Beyond that, the New York Mets need to look for players who might exploit the quirks of Citi Field. The stadium’s flaws, particularly its disadvantage to hitters, have been much publicized with Jeff Francoeur once describing it as a “damn joke”. This shouldn’t be too much of a problem with over $50 million coming off the books at the end of the season, while the top teams head into the play-offs (for great odds on the MLB postseason keep an eye on the live betting at Nordicbet).
This money will come from the expiring contracts for Jason Bay, Frank Francisco and Johan Santana. The New York Mets only have two long-term contracts, one of which belongs to David Wright who has commented on the boost in finances by saying: “It’s a big step forward anytime you have the financial flexibility I think we’re going to have coming into the offseason…My expectations are, whether it’s through trades or free-agent signings or a combination of both, that this team is significantly better next year than it was this year.”
The freedom of the New York Mets to enter the free-agent market with a lot of money to spend has also led Wright to believe that this offseason will see a lot of trades and free-agent moves go down. They will possibly be looking at the Reds outfielder Shin-Soo Choo and the Tigers’ Jhonny Peralta as a replacement for the increasingly out-of-favour shortstop Tejada.
There has also been talk of the club creating more financial leverage by absorbing large contracts from other teams during potential trades in the hope of bringing in more young talent. There isn’t enough money to go out and sign every free agent they desire, however, and some gaps will need to be plugged from within.
Despite the potential for splurging on new talent, there is a school of thought that the current team needs to be consolidated and Alderson needs to get to the bottom of why the New York Mets ’ home form has been so abysmal this season. Their record so far is 32-48 at home and 41-10 on the road. This trend again harks back to the issues with Citi Field.
It’s all about finding the players who can perform in a particularly exposed outfield and feel comfortable in the New York Mets setting. And fit into the team personality-wise. Here’s hoping Alderson and his team can do that.