The New York Mets have done a fine job so far this offseason of addressing their needs.
Their biggest concern from a year ago, the bullpen, has been taken care of exceptionally well so far. Between the re-signing of Edwin Diaz, the signing of David Robertson, and the trade for Brooks Raley, the Mets have worked to improve this aspect of the team.
The starting rotation has had as much invested into it as possible. With already nearly $60 million committed to between Max Scherzer and Carlos Carrasco, the Mets went out and acquired another three arms. They signed the ace they needed in Justin Verlander to fill the role Jacob deGrom had. The middle of the rotation was improved with the additions of Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana.
Lastly, with the lineup, the Mets came away with one of the top bats on the market with the re-signing of their own, Brandon Nimmo.
However, for this baseball team entering 2023 with World Series expectations, this is still not a perfect roster. Two particular needs can still be addressed by Steve Cohen and Billy Eppler, which will be discussed below.
- Could Mets star infielder’s big game vs. Giants help him break out of early hitting slump?
- 3 Notes from the Mets’ series loss to the San Francisco Giants
- Mets could sign veteran catcher to help spell for the injured Francisco Alvarez
The Mets’ two biggest remaining needs:
1. Power in the lineup:
The consistent issue the batting order of the 2022 Mets had that only magnified down the stretch when they threw away an opportunity to win the division.
While the re-signing of Nimmo was an exciting and necessary move, this lineup still needs a bat and one who brings power.
It is absolutely fair to expect highly-touted prospects in Francisco Álvarez, Brett Baty, and Mark Vientos to give this lineup some pop next year. However, in win-now mode, the Mets need more sure, proven commodities.
The options are somewhat limited, but there are still some power bats remaining on the market. Whether it be Trey Mancini, Michael Conforto, Brandon Drury, Adam Duvall, or another, the Mets have got to find a way to get one more bat with the ability to hit home runs added to this lineup.
2. One more relief pitcher:
As noted above, the Mets surely got off to the best possible start with Diaz, Robertson, and Raley. That being said, this unit was such a weakness a year ago that it still could use one more solid asset.
Bullpen options still on the free agent are Andrew Chafin, Taylor Rogers, Adam Ottavino, Mike Fulmer, Brad Hand, Craig Kimbrel, and Aroldis Chapman. Depth is surely out there for the Mets to add one more piece.
If so, with the top three they already have, the Mets’ bullpen could take a drastic step.