So, finally the Mets bogart the bold ink.
In one swift signing of ace pitcher Jacob deGrom, the Mets cherish the twin-joys of locking up the best player on their team, while also sending a good vibe out into the MLB either. By securing deGrom for the foreseeable future, the Mets dispel their rancid rep as a cheap team in a rich town. It tells other Mets looking for cash soon - most notably Noah Syndergaard - and potential free agents that they can live large in the Big Apple.
For too long the Mets have been the back-page stepson to the Yankees, who have the name, game, and cash befitting their locale. Maybe one contract doesn't change that, but it feels like the Mets at least passed puberty today and became grown-ups. Until deGrom finally got his five-year, $137.5 million contract, the most notable deal the Mets had was with Bobby Bonilla, whom the Mets are still paying $1.2 annually until 2035.
And unlike last year, the Mets look like a pretty good ball club this year.
Pro Baseball, like other pro sports, is a zero-sum game, measured by the cold calculus of wins and losses. By that metric, this season should be better than last, which ended at a woeful 77-85. Indeed, Las Vegas has the Mets winning 85 to 86 games (depending on the sports book).
They are deeper and more talented in 2019. They still have enough resided from the pitching staff that set MLB on fire in 2015 and fueled them to the World Series. Syndergaard rolled lineups in spring training, looking every bit like Thor. Perhaps the forgotten pitcher in that forest of arms is Zack Wheeler, who posted a 1.50 ERA in his nine starts after the 2018 All-Star Game, surrendering two or fewer runs in eight of them. In his final 12 outings, Wheeler went 10-1 with a 1.96 ERA. Even Steven Matz set career highs in starts (30) and innings pitched (154) in 2018.
Matz and Wheeler combined for just 52 starts from 2016-'17. They started 59 last season. Jason Vargas, who had a galling first half of last season, finished the year by going 5-3 with a 3.81 ERA and is a quite capable fifth starter. Overall, the Mets starters posted a 3.54 ERA, the fourth-best in the NL (according to MLB.com). If all remain healthy - a king-sized variable for the Mets - this rotation can be as good as any in the sport.
Speaking of the injury bug that bites so hard on so many Mets, the club left for Syracuse with only two players, infielders Todd Frazier (oblique) and Jed Lowrie (knee), are expected to miss Opening Day tomorrow against the Nationals in Washington.
Their new second baseman, Robinson Cano (who knows something about playing in Gotham) blasted the baseball in Florida, batting .418. Star prospect Pete Alonso batted .368 with four home runs. Of the nine Mets who had at least 40 at-bats in spring training, five of them - including Dominic Smith, Amed Rosario, and Jeff McNeal - hit over .300.
Spring stats don't count until they count in the standings. But there's no doubt the Mets have an edge, a retooled roster freckled with new faces. Much of that is due to rookie GM Brodie Van Wagenen. Not only has he never run a club, he's never worked for an MLB franchise. Yet he parlayed his role as a player agent into an adroit personnel man. More than anyone Van Wagenen has given the Mets their cool motif.
Of course, the Mets will start the season without their best hitter, Yoenis Cespedes, who figures to return from injury before September. Maybe. So on Thursday, they will likely trot out some mutation of Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, Robinson Cano, Michael Conforto, Wilson Ramos, Pete Alonso, Dominic Smith, Juan Lagares, and Amed Rosario. (Either Alonso or Smith will play first base, of course, with the pitcher batting ninth.) Those bats automatically make the Mets better than last year, when deGrom somehow posted a 1.70 ERA in 32 starts yet won ten games.
The Mets have questions in the bullpen. Their sophomore manager, Mickey Callaway, carried that new skipper smell way too long last summer. But he deserves the same, objective look the entire club will get this young season.
Besides, it's Opening Day. The Mets will have deGrom - the best pitcher in this solar system - on the mound to face the Nationals sans Bryce Harper. If they can score two runs on Max Scherzer they can start the season with one win. Then who knows what happens?
Twitter: @JasonKeidel
