It's finally here (almost). After months of wondering whether there would be a season, Opening Day in Major League Baseball is days away. We've already previewed the upcoming season for the Yankees and Red Sox by asking the five questions both teams need to answer this year. Now it's time for the Mets, who went 86-76 in 2019 and had an eventful offseason. Mickey Callaway was fired as manager after one year, Carlos Beltran was brought in, then fired after his role in the Astros scandal came to light, and Luis Rojas is now in as the second-youngest manager in baseball. Now there are all the rumors swirling about the sale of the team.
It's been three years since New York has made the postseason. In order to get back in the shortened 2020 in a difficult division, here are the five questions the team must answer:
1) What does the rotation's back-end look like?
Obviously there's no question atop the rotation, where Jacob deGrom has back-to-back Cy Young awards and has a case as the best pitcher in baseball. Beyond him, even with Zack Wheeler now in Philadelphia, there are a lot of choices. Marcus Stroman is likely the No. 2 option after he was acquired midway through last season, but as an impending free agent he could be a bargaining chip in a trade as he continues his return to form. Noah Syndergaard is finally healthy (career high 197.2 innings pitched last year) and his place isn't in question.
That leaves three men battling for two spots. The incumbent is Steven Matz, who was decent last year in 30 starts (11-10, 4.21 ERA) and at 29 is the youngest in the group. This winter Brodie Van Wagenen brought in two veterans in Michael Wacha and Rick Porcello. Wacha burst onto the scene with St. Louis, but struggled with injuries in 2016 and 2018, and after a brutal start to last year was moved to the bullpen. Porcello, meanwhile, has a Cy Young award to his name and was a valuable member of the 2018 World Series champion Red Sox, but was awful in 2019. His 5.52 ERA was the worst among qualified starters in all of baseball.
2) What will Yoenis Cespedes bring to the table?
He played 81 games in 2017 (hamstring issues), 38 games in 2018 (surgery on both heels) and missed all of 2019 (fractured ankle). Now the 34-year-old is a free agent this winter and has numerous financial incentives to have a bounce-back 2020. The addition of the designated hitter to the National League will certainly help, as the Mets will almost certainly use him in that role more often than not. He was spectacular in the 2015 run to the World Series and was an All-Star in 2016. After New York set a franchise record for home runs in a season (242) and had five players hit at least 20, the addition of Cespedes could be what helps push them over the top.
3) Will the bullpen be improved?
The splash signing of the offseason came in the form of Dellin Betances, who signed a one-year "prove it" deal after injuries wiped out his 2019 season. One of the most dominant relievers in baseball since his debut in 2014, he began last year on the injured list with shoulder discomfort, came back in September and after 2/3 of an inning tore his Achilles. Now he's expected to bolster a bullpen that last year couldn't ever stick with a closer.
The bullpen's collective 4.99 ERA was third-worst in the National League with 27 blown saves. A better season is expected from the likes of Edwin Diaz (5.59 ERA) and Jeurys Familia (5.70), who combined for 132 appearances. With their track records prior to last season, plus the addition of Betances and another good season from the lone bright spot in Seth Lugo, this should in theory be a strength, not the glaring weakness it was in 2019.
4) Will the defense get better?
The bullpen rightfully took a lot of flak for the team missing the postseason despite having a Cy Young winner in deGrom and Rookie of the Year in Pete Alonso. But don't overlook a woeful defense that was worst in the NL in defensive runs saved. Per Baseball Info Solutions, New York's defense cost them 86 runs in 2019, with only Seattle and Baltimore performing worse. Of the nine position players with at least 700 innings played in 2019, only three (Alonso, Todd Frazier and Juan Lagares) had a positive DRS. The other six cost the team runs. Cespedes' return could help in theory, as he has a Gold Glove to his name, but again he's more suited for a DH role at this stage of his career. Even a marginal improvement to the bullpen and to the defense could turn an 86-win team into a playoff contender.
5) Can they overcome one of the hardest schedules in baseball?
The regionalized schedule didn't do the Mets any favors. The 60-game schedule will see New York play all four division rivals 10 times each. That means that's 10 games against the defending World Series champion Nationals and 10 against the 97-win Braves, with some of the brightest young stars in baseball.