MLB.com picks the New York Mets as the fifth most likely team to win the World Series

Jul 14, 2019; Miami, FL, USA; New York Mets left fielder Jeff McNeil (6) celebrates his home run against the Miami Marlins in the first inning at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

A lot of New York Mets fans don’t believe they have a good team. And that’s understandable, to some degree: they have had quality squads in the past, only to end up in disappointment one way or another. However, I’ll get it out of the way early in the article: not only is the Mets’ roster good. It is great.

And, guess what? I’m not the only one who is high on the Mets for the 2020 season. As it turns out, Will Leitch and Mike Petriello of MLB.com ranked the league’s favorites to win the World Series from 1 to 30.

Unsurprisingly, the first team “drafted” were the New York Yankees. Leitch said: “I’m not going to overcomplicate this. They’ve got that incredible lineup — is Luke Voit really going to bat ninth? — that billion-dollar bullpen and, now, at last, the ace they’ve been missing. (Importantly so, since James Paxton will miss a few months and Luis Severino is shut down with right forearm soreness.) The Yankees famously didn’t make a World Series for the whole last decade. With the Red Sox apparently taking a step back, the Astros in limbo and the Twins (maybe the second-best team in the AL right now?) forever getting kicked around in The Bronx come October, it has been a long, long time since they were more primed to win one than in 2020.”

Next in the ranking are the Los Angeles Dodgers, as the first team from the National League in World Series odds according to MLB.com’s pair. The Houston Astros were picked third despite their rocky offseason, and the up-and-coming Minnesota Twins were fourth in the ranking.

Guess who is fifth in the ranking? You guessed it, the New York Mets!

Analyzing the Mets’ odds

While Leitch noted that there is a big gap between the top four teams and the Mets, and that is “crazy” to pick them, he rationalized his decision.

“I think they’re the best team in the NL East. You’ve got to pick a division champ before you start grabbing any Wild Cards, and the first four teams picked look like solid chalk for division champs. But the NL East and NL Central? Who knows? Mets fans deserve this. Darn it, Mike, they need it. You gotta have a team every year that you’re higher on than everyone else. For me, that team this year is the Mets,” he explained in their funny exchange.

Heck, Leitch even joked that he would speak with the editor to make the article disappear in six months. But there is something about these New York Mets that make them bonafide contenders.

They have a strong lineup highlighted by Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil, J.D. Davis, Brandon Nimmo, Wilson Ramos and the up-and-coming Amed Rosario. They have the ace in Jacob deGrom, the rotation depth, and, believe it or not, the bullpen. The Mets also have the depth and the possible return of slugger Yoenis Cespedes.

The NL East is going to be a four-team race that could go until September. But the Mets have more than just “a chance.”