2016 Final Mets Report Card

Fortunately like last year, this year’s report card is late because the Mets extended their season. Unfortunately, it is only a few days later rather than a month. I only gave grades for players who were with the Mets for a majority of the season (except for key mid-season trades), so while they helped save the season, there are no grades for the likes of Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo. Maybe next year. Stats are for the regular season only. Oh, and stats for those for mid-season acquisitions are what they accomplished with the Mets.

Yoenis Cespedes: A
.280, 31 HRs, 86 RBIs
Key Stat: 26-10 (Mets record after he came off DL in August)
Just like 2015, the Mets would have been nowhere without Cespedes this season. Time after time he came through in the clutch with game-winning hits, often home runs. Too bad he missed a month with injury or his stats would have been even better. The Mets must find a way to keep him for the long haul.

Bartolo Colon: A
15-8, 3.43 ERA, 128 Ks
Key Stat: 1 (Home run)
How does he do it? With the Mets rotation stocked with young guns, all Colon did was lead the team in wins. His 3.43 ERA was good for 13th in the league. Oh, and did we mention he hit that home run? For a guy everyone thought would be traded in the middle of his first season, he will likely spend his fourth year in Flushing next year.

Jeurys Familia: A
3-4, 2.55 ERA, 84 Ks, 51 Saves
Key Stat: 51 (saves, new Mets record)
Familia followed up his disastrous 2015 World Series by not blowing a save for the first four months or so of the season. Of course, then he served up the game-winning home run in the Wild Card game. Can he be trusted in future postseasons? Let’s hope we find out.

Noah Syndergaard: A
14-9, 2.60 ERA, 218 Ks
Key Stat: 48 (stolen bases allowed, most in MLB)
For someone who all the geniuses thought would need Tommy John surgery by this time, Syndergaard was brilliant in his first full season. He finished second third in the league in ERA and tied for fourth in strikeouts. And then that masterful Wild Card game. What a future for this guy.

Asdrubal Cabrera: A-
.280, 23 HRs, 61 RBIs
Key Stat: 23 (homers, new Mets record for shortstops)
Many eyebrows were raised when the Mets have Cabrera a two-year deal. Well, he surpassed all expectations. His 23 home runs is a record for Mets shortstops, including that stretch in late August when he seemed to homer every game. And he was solid in the field.

Addison Reed: A-
4-2, 1.97 ERA, 91 Ks, 1 Save
Key Stat: 91/13 (strikeouts to walks)
Reed was sensational in his first full season with the Mets. He provided a stable eighth inning bridge to Familia for the ninth for one of the best one-two punches in the game. He helped make the bullpen one of the strengths of the team, a main reason they got to the postseason.

Jacob deGrom: B+
7-8, 3.04 ERA, 143 Ks
Key Stat: 2.11/4.16 (home/road ERA)
deGrom had another fine season, pitching much better than his record. However, late-season injury and surgery limited him to just 24 starts and 148 innings, missing the playoffs. Maybe the elbow problem is why his velocity was down. Let’s hope so.

Jose Reyes: B+
.267, 8 HRs, 25 RBIs
Key Stat: .380 (batting average as righty)
While virtually every Mets fan was happy to see Reyes back in a Mets uniform after four years of exile, we all wondered what type of player he would be. While he has lost a step, he is still the spark plug of old. And he did a nice job at third, considering he had never played there before.

Neil Walker: B+
.282, 23 HRs, 55 RBIs
Key Stat: .330 (batting average against lefties)
Walker was smoking hot before his season ended in late August with surgery on his back. He had an interesting year — he started out hot, went ice cold, then hot again. He could be back in 2017, provided he takes a one-year deal to prove his back is healthy. Or maybe the Mets just move on.

Jerry Blevins: B
4-2, 2.79 ERA, 52 Ks, 2 saves
Key Stat: .255 (batting average against lefties)
Blevins was another dependable arm out of the bullpen for the Mets in 2015. For a lefty specialist, he wasn’t very good against lefties. They hit .255 against him, compared to .182 against righties. The whole lefty/righty thing is overrated, anyway.

Wilmer Flores: B
.267, 16 HRs, 49 RBIs
Key Stat: 0 (on-field crying incidents)
Flores had a tough act to follow — his own. He became a folk hero after the tears and home runs of 2015, but he was able to produce and keep the fans on his side. He missed the Wild Card game with injury, though. With Dilson Herrera no longer the heir apparent at second, maybe Flores finally gets a chance to play every day in 2017.

Kelly Johnson: B
.268, 9 HRs, 24 RBIs
Key Stat: 9/1 (homers with Mets/Braves)
It was baffling that Sandy Alderson let Johnson walk away during the off-season. But he corrected it with another mid-season trade for him. And just like in 2015, Johnson delivered when called upon. Hopefully he will finally play a full season in Flushing next year.

James Loney: B-
.265, 9 HRs, 34 RBIs
Key Stat: .173 (batting average against lefties)
When Lucas Duda went down, Alderson went out and plucked Loney from the Padres minor league system. It was an excellent move. Loney provided a professional bat and decent defense at first when the Mets really needed them.

Steven Matz: B-
9-8, 3.40  ERA, 129 Ks
Key Stat: 2-7 (won/loss record after 7-1 start)
It was a disappointing year for Matz. He landed on the disabled list a couple of times and only made 22 starts, pitching a total of 132.1 innings and missing the playoffs. Still, his ERA was a respectable 3.40 and he averaged nearly a strikeout per inning.

Curtis Granderson: C+
.257, 30 HRs, 59 RBIs
Key Stat: .152 (BA with RISP)
After an excellent 2015, Granderson reverted back to his 2014 form this season. He did have 30 homers, but they somehow only translated into 59 RBIs. He did come on strong at the end. Still, it will be interesting to see what the Mets do with him in their crowded outfield in the final year of his contract in 2017.

Rene Rivera: C+
.222, 6 HRs, 26 RBIs
Key Stat: 29% (caught stealing)
Rivera supplanted Kevin Plawecki as the backup catcher and ended up starting 10 fewer games than Travis d’Arnaud. Rivera was not great, but he was a solid backup who came up with some timely hits. He could be back next year.

Jim Henderson: C
2-2, 4.37 ERA, 40 Ks
Key Stat: .185 (batting average against with RISP)
Henderson missed two months in the middle of the season. Did anyone even realize he was even gone? Henderson was not particularly good, although he did not seem to have any glaringly poor outings. Just a classic forgettable middle inning reliever.

Hansel Robles: C
6-3, 3.48 ERA, 85 Ks, 1 save
Key Stat: .179 (batting average against lefties)
Robles started well, but had some bad outings down the stretch. He had twice as many walks as he did in 2015 and overall was not nearly as effective. He still struck out more than a batter per inning and is only 26 years old, so he could bounce back.

Logan Verrett: C
3-8, 5.20 ERA, 66 Ks
Key Stat: 6.45 (ERA as starter)
Verrett split his time between the bullpen and the starting rotation. Early on, he had a few good starts, but then he hit the skids. He was much better out of the pen, where he had a 2.84 ERA. Verrett will likely compete for a spot in 2017.

Michael Conforto: C-
.220, 12 HRs, 42 RBIs
Key Stat: 2 (trips to las Vegas)
Conforto was arguably the biggest disappointment for the Mets in 2016. After he exploded on the scene last year, Conforto had the look of a budding superstar. Instead, he got pull happy and was not the same hitter. He still has a bright future and will hopefully learn from this lost season.

Lucas Duda: C-
.229, 7 HRs, 23 RBIs
Key Stat: 47 (games played)
Duda hit the disabled list on May 23 with a stress fracture in his lower back and returned in late September, saving him from an incomplete. Did anyone miss him when he was out? As a power threat in the batting order, yes. But his actual production? Not really. Duda is a non-tender candidate in his final year of arbitration.

Erik Goeddel: C-
2-2, 4.54 ERA, 36 Ks
Key Stat: 2.18/7.80 (home/away ERA)
Goeddel rejoined the Mets in June and had an up and down season. He had some good stretches and some bad stretches. Just like Henderson, he was not glaringly bad — just part of baseball’s revolving door of middle inning guys.

Jay Bruce: D
.219, 8 HRs, 19 RBIs
Key Stat: 4 (homers in last 8 games)
A late surge saved Bruce from a failing grade. It also answered the questions that started to be asked during his horrendous slump — will the Mets pick up his option for 2017? But Bruce came to life when the Mets needed him most; a nice feeling going into the off-season.

Alejandro De Aza: D
.205, 6 HRs, 25 RBIs
Key Stat: .190 (batting average with runners on base)
Sandy Alderson just can’t seem to master the art of the backup outfielder. Chris Young, John Mayberry, Jr. and now De Aza. His second half was better than his first half, but that wasn’t too difficult. Can’t wait to see who Alderson digs out of the scrap heap this off-season.

Matt Harvey: D
4-10, 4.86 ERA, 76 Ks
Key Stat: .302 (batting average against)
Harvey had a season to forget. He was awful until he needed surgery in July for thoracic outlet syndrome. Is it why he pitched so terribly? Did he pitch too much in 2015 following Tommy John surgery? Will he even regain his swagger? All questions for 2017.

Juan Lagares: D
.239, 3 HRs, 9 RBIs
Key stat: .197 (batting average at Citi Field)
Another step backwards for Lagares. He lasted until July 29 when he tore a ligament in his left thumb, returning in late September as a defensive replacement. Lagares is signed for three more years and he is virtually untradeable, so he will likely he back and serve mostly as a late-inning defensive replacement in center.

Travis d’Arnaud: F
.247, 4 HR, 15 RBIs
Key Stat: 75 (games played)
There’s no way around it — d’Arnaud was a failure in 2016. Once again, he could not stay healthy. And when he was in the lineup, he was awful. His power seems to have disappeared. After trying and failing to get Jonathan Lucroy at the trade deadline, the Mets may have decided d’Arnaud is not the catcher of the future.

David Wright: Inc.
.226, 7 HRs, 14 RBIs
Key stat: 37 (games played)
After playing just 38 games in 2015, Wright followed it up with one fewer this year before being lost for the season after surgery on his neck. It remains to be seen if Wright will ever be an effective player again. It really is sad — he was destined for Met immortality, if not Cooperstown. Not anymore.

Terry Collins: A-
87-75
Key Stat: First (Wild Card slot)
Just like he did in the lean years early in his tenure, Collins held this team together, this time through all of the injuries it endured. As usual, he made several head-scratching decisions, a few of them possibly costing the Mets some wins. Still, he is the best manager for this team.

Sandy Alderson: B+
87-75
Key Stat: First (Wild Card slot)
Once again, Alderson made a huge deadline deal designed to put the Mets over the top. Acquiring Bruce did not work out as well as Cespedes the previous year, but that was hardly Alderson’s fault. He deserves credit for making the bold move, as well as putting the rest of the team together.

Mug Shots Courtesy Ultimate Mets Database, http://ultimatemets.com/mugshots.php