Quietest Off-Season Ever for Mets?
Man, this has been a quiet off-season for the Mets, perhaps the quietest in recent memory. Even when Sandy Alderson was doing nothing in his early years with the team, at least there was some noise; speculation about possible trades that never happened, minor free agent signings. This year, virtually nothing.
Sure, Yoenis Cespedes signed early, which was huge. And there has been talk about trading Jay Bruce or Curtis Granderson or acquiring a reliever. But nothing happened and the talk died down.
So what gives?
Well, first of all, the Mets are almost a complete team. They really only needed to make a couple of moves this winter, and with the big one already done, the other ones will come eventually.
Then there is the matter that almost all of baseball is in slowdown for some reason. It took Edwin Encarnacion, for example, two months to sign a shorter deal than he was seeking. A superstar like Andrew McCutchen is readily available and no trade can be made.
It seems like teams are being really careful about spending money on players who are a little bit older (in Jose Bautista’s case, a lot older). Which is weird because there is more money in baseball than ever before. But so many teams seem content with building from within and eschewing the big free agents.
Perhaps they see teams like the Dodgers, spending $1 billion on salaries over the past five years with exactly zero championship parades in sunny Los Angeles. Or they are watching the way the Yankees, perennial spenders, are retooling with home-grown talent and prospects acquired in trades.
As for the Mets, don’t worry about the lack of action — they are already close to the promised land. A couple of tweeks, five healthy arms and a little luck will put them on the Canyon of Heroes in November.
It seems to me they’re going backwards. They lost a World Series in an embarrassing display, then barely got to the post-season in a one-and-done fashion last year. They have not added a single player to the roster from what they had since the season ended, but lost a lot of innings from Bartolo Colon, plus two bullpen arms.
The Nationals who appear to want to win have obtained Adam Eaton, Derek Norris and a few minor pieces. They still need a closer, but at least they’re making strides to improve. The same can’t be said for the guy who perceives himself as the smartest guy in the room. The longer you wait, the less there is out there from which to assemble a winning roster.