Scott Long
1/14/21
Despite being located in New York just like the Yankees, it’s been a long time since the Mets were viewed as anything less than a little brother to the Yankees. Much of this has to do with championships, but it has even more to do with being a big market team and showing a willingness to spend money. The Yankees have earned the title of the “Evil Empire” because they poach top free agents away from teams due to their ability to sign them to huge contracts, yet the Mets were tied to an ownership group fronted by Jeff and Fred Wilpon who fans constantly complained were unwilling to spend. However, this all changed when the Mets were purchased by Steve Cohen, who Mets fans were ecstatic to see as the owner in hopes that he would change the way the team was run.
Mets fans are seeing right away that Cohen is willing to spend and make whatever moves he and Sandy Alderson deem necessary to win, while also being smart about how they make the deals. Cohen started off the offseason with a very underrated signing, inking relief pitcher Trevor May to a two-year deal worth $15 million. May has immense upside, good velocity, and good break on his breaking pitches, and is being reunited with his old pitching coach, Jeremy Hefner, who Cohen believes will get the best out of May. Shortly after this signing, Cohen shifted his focus to the catching position, which has been a huge hole for the Mets, since Paul Lo Duca left in 2007, and is pretty weak across the league. Despite pressure from the fanbase and many analysts to make the move for J.T. Realmuto, the top ranked free agent catcher, Alderson and Cohen decided that it would make more sense to sign James McCann to a four-year deal worth $40.6 million, so that the team would still have money to make additional moves that would help the roster.
And that is just what they did when Cohen and Alderson shocked the baseball world pulling off a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Indians to acquire not only Francisco Lindor, but also Carlos Carrasco, which filled a huge need for the team, who will likely be without Noah Syndergaard for the early part of the season. The full trade was Lindor and Carrasco for Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez, Josh Wolf and Isaiah Greene. While the loss of Gimenez will sting, he would’ve been blocked by Lindor anyway, and Rosario has tailed off after a promising start to his career, but perhaps a change of scenery will suit him well. As for Wolf and Greene, both are intriguing prospects, however, the Mets were able to hang onto their top prospects such as Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, Francisco Alvarez and Matthew Allan, which is a huge win for the front office considering the star power they acquired. The team will likely look to extend Lindor whose contract expires after the season and has Carrasco under contract for the next 3 seasons at a very team friendly $38 million, checking in at a little over $12 million per season.
However, Cohen has voiced that he and Alderson are not done yet, and will look at outside players, as well as looking to lock up some of their own players’ long term. Michael Conforto, Lindor and Syndergaard seem the most likely options, with Alderson even mentioning the hope to get Conforto and Lindor signed long term several times. Locking up integral players like these three long term would be huge for the Mets who already have Jacob deGrom, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith and others signed for the next few seasons.
In addition to signing players to extensions, the team has also been linked to looking for help in centerfield, with players such as George Springer. However, Cohen has insisted that while he is willing to go over the luxury tax threshold he would prefer not to, which makes players like Jackie Bradley Jr. and Albert Almora much more likely options, so that the team can also afford to sign players to extensions, and so the team can possibly sign a little bit more pitching help. The team has also been linked to Corey Kluber and Brad Hand, but Hand seems to be the more likely option, given the team’s need for a left-handed pitcher in their bullpen. While signings like this are possible, another thing to watch out for is the signing of experienced veterans to minor league deals for depth for when injuries ultimately arise. Cohen and Alderson have already begun on signing players for depth inking both Jose Martinez and Brandon Drury to minor league deals, and both can play multiple positions.
While it remains to be seen how it will work out on the field, Cohen has clearly brought a buzz back to Queens, where fans are truly excited about the Mets again. Through his willingness to spend money, and his increasingly growing social media presence, which has allowed him to interact with fans, he’s quickly become a beloved owner. If the Mets are able to live up to the hype, and he can bring back the black jerseys that he’s so frequently hinted at, he will only become more beloved by fans.