While the Giants bogart the bold ink by hiring neophyte Joe Judge as their head coach and the Yankees make the seismic move of the MLB offseason by bagging ace pitcher Gerrit Cole, it's been easy to forget the Mets, who have gotten better without cracking the headlines.
It's easy to forget the Mets finished on a 40-21 run to end the season with a respectable 86-76 mark. It's easy to forget they fired the often-overwhelmed Mickey Callaway and hired the understated Carlos Beltran. It's easy to forget they featured the best pair of rookies in baseball, in Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil. It's easy to forget the Big Apple baseball club that didn't make the playoffs.
But the Mets are clearly, even if quietly, better now than they were in October. By signing Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha they beefed up an already rock-solid rotation. Despite watching Zack Wheeler stroll down I-95 to Philadelphia, they were wise not to fight the Phillies, who overpaid Wheeler with a five-year, $118 million deal.
The Mets also poached Dellin Betances from the Yankees. Though the stalwart set-up man only pitched once in 2019, he should be at his fireballing best in 2020. And just as the Mets inked one-year deals with Wacha and Porcello, they wisely signed Betances to an incentive rich deal that only guarantees him $10.5 million for 2019, with a $6 million player option for 2020 and a $3 million buyout.
As a pitching staff, they were sixth in NL in ERA (4.24), third in shutouts (12), second in quality starts (83), tied for first in complete games (3), and first in strikeouts (1,520)
So just as last year, the Mets pitching pivots on health more than talent, the latter they have added silently, at least compared to their aristocratic cousins in the Bronx. But if Betances flourishes in the eighth inning, they still have one monstrous variable in the ninth.
Enter Edwin Diaz, who came to New York in the splashy trade with Seattle that included Robinson Cano. The former Yankees second baseman was a crapshoot considering his age and wage. But Diaz was the jewel of the deal and he seriously disappointed in Flushing.
The bats aren't so worrisome. Led by Alonso and McNeil, the Mets were sixth in the National League in team batting average (.257), sixth in on-base percentage, sixth in OPS (.770) and fifth in home runs (242).
And while the glittering rookie duo should only improve, the Mets also had a breakout season from JD Davis. The 26-year-old hit .307 with 22 homers, 57 RBI and .895 OPS. Davis also rocked Citi Field, leading the club with a .354 batting average at home, while also blasting 16 of his 22 homers in Queens. Davis also hit .312 against lefties, including 17 RBI and 14 walks. Sneak Starlin Marte onto the squad and they will have some robust lumber in the lineup.
They must fix the Jed Lowrie issue - perhaps package him with Dom Smith in a trade? - but this season won't pivot on players who didn't play last season, with one exception. Yoenis Cespedes, the super-gifted yet wildly enigmatic slugger who found new ways to break limbs and break your hearts. If Diaz can find a fraction of his 2018 traction and Cespedes selfishly flourishes in his contract year, then the Mets could be trouble in the NL East.
Just don't expect to find them in the headlines for a while.
Twitter: @JasonKeidel
