The Mets landed the biggest fish of the offseason in Juan Soto after coming just two wins short of a pennant, and Sal Licata says that means expectations have drastically changed in Queens.
Last year’s feel-good story is over, and now, if last year’s result repeats itself and the Mets bow out in the NLCS against the eventual World Series champs, that is not the conclusion of an unforgettable season. This time, it would simply be a failure.
“They got Juan Soto, the biggest free agent in the history of sports...it’s go time,” Sal said. “The results, to me, anything less than a World Series win is a disappointment. It’s a fact.
“If you don’t win a World Series - much like the Yankees - it is a disappointment. That’s it. That’s where the Mets should be.”
If that is the goal now that Soto is in the fold, then Sal says the Mets have a lot more work to do this offseason, as the he sees the rotation and bullpen as mainly similar in potential to last year’s group, and while Soto is an obvious offensive upgrade over Pete Alonso, they need to bring Alonso back to beef up the middle of the order. The euphoria of last season and signing Soto has now evolved into the expectation that it’s time for results under Steve Cohen’s ownership, and those results being championships.
“How many times can we go in thinking this team is a 75-80 win team, and then exceed expectations?” Sal said. “Last year was more of an outlier where everything came together and they got hot at the right time...that’s not sustainable.
“The idea of the little engine that could overachieving, that’s over...getting to the NLCS next year is just not good enough...in the end, if it falls short of a World Series win, it’s a failure.”