So far in the offseason, the New York Mets have replaced cátcher Wilson Ramos with James McCann, inked relievers Trevor May and Aaron Loup, traded for shortstop Francisco Lindor and starter Carlos Carrasco and Joey Lucchesi, signed free agent center fielder Albert Almora and infielder Jonathan Villar, brought back pitcher Marcus Stroman by extending a qualifying offer, and signed lots of depth pieces with upside.
Yet, according to assistant general manager Zack Scott (currently the “acting†GM), the New York Mets aren’t done. They still want to make other upgrades to the roster with spring training just a few days away.
“We’re not done. We want to do some other things,†Scott said to several media outlets via Zoom. The executive, who confessed that he hasn’t gotten a chance to meet Mets owner Steve Cohen or president Sandy Alderson because of the pandemic, said the team still wants to do other things, specifically starting pitching.
Rushing into extension talks with Michael Conforto or Francisco Lindor isn’t one of them, though. “There should be plenty of time to talk through” potential extensions with them, he stated.
The Mets’ plans at third base
The Mets have been having conversations lately with the Chicago Cubs about a potential trade for third baseman Kris Bryant. They have also been linked to A’s star Matt Chapman. The impression is that they want to upgrade from JD Davis at all costs in the hot corner. However, Scott denied that was the case.
“We’re fully comfortable going into the season with J.D. Davis playing an important role,” he said, according to The Athletic’s Tim Britton.
Per Britton, Scott said the Mets also hired Jeremy Barnes to be their director of player development initiatives. “Barnes had been a hitting coordinator for the Astros system. He’ll team with new farm director Kevin Howard to overhaul the Mets’ player development,†the writer explained.