Are the New York Mets a better team than they were at the end of last season? Well, they couldn\u2019t be much worse. But really, it\u2019s difficult to know how their dramatic transformation will play out.<\/p>\n
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns set out this offseason to improve his clubhouse and his defense. His revamped roster appears more in line with his vision, even with third baseman Bo Bichette and first baseman Jorge Polanco playing new positions. But the Mets also have the look of a team hastily patched together, with defensive concerns, injury concerns and perhaps chemistry concerns, too.<\/p>\n
Club officials are high on the makeups of the players they acquired. Yet, even if all of the Mets\u2019 New York newbies make seamless transitions to perhaps the game\u2019s most pressurized market, don\u2019t be surprised if it takes this team time to jell. The Opening Day roster figures to include at least eight new players, a turnover of more than 30 percent.<\/p>\n
The good news? Per Fangraphs, the Mets\u2019 projected WAR total now ranks third in the majors<\/a>, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. In the NL East, the Mets project better than the Philadelphia Phillies, who are bringing back largely the same roster, only a year older, and the Atlanta Braves, who have made a series of interesting moves, but remain a starting pitcher short.<\/p>\n The Mets\u2019 failure to qualify for the postseason with the game\u2019s second-highest payroll last season more than justified Stearns\u2019 gutting of the roster. On paper, Stearns has compensated for the free-agent defections of first baseman Pete Alonso and closer Edwin D\u00edaz and trades of left fielder Brandon Nimmo and infielder\/outfielder Jeff McNeil. And his acquisition Wednesday night of right-handers Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers<\/a> from the Milwaukee Brewers addressed the team\u2019s one remaining need, a top-of-the-rotation starter.<\/p>\n Stearns\u2019 predecessor, Billy Eppler, was the head of baseball operations in 2022 when the Mets drafted the two players they traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, right-hander Brandon Sproat and infielder\/outfielder Jett Williams. But Stearns in two-plus years at the helm has instituted processes to help make the Mets\u2019 farm system one of the game\u2019s best.<\/p>\n While Sproat and Williams cracked Baseball America\u2019s latest top 100 prospects<\/a>, the Mets placed four others on the list, tying the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians for the most of any club. At the major-league level, none of the Mets\u2019 additions has come with a commitment of more than three years, creating room for the club to integrate young talent.<\/p>\n The flip side of Stearns\u2019 short-term strategy is that Peralta and Bichette could be gone after one year. The same goes for new center fielder Luis Robert Jr., if he proves unworthy of the Mets picking up his $20 million club option. Polanco and reliever Luke Weaver signed for two years. Reliever Devin Williams took three, and the Mets exchanged five years of Nimmo for three of second baseman Marcus Semien.<\/p>\n Future turnover, then, is inevitable. But that\u2019s a matter for another day. The bigger immediate concerns are whether this team can stay healthy, and whether it will improve as much defensively as Stearns envisioned \u2013 and in that area again, the Mets couldn\u2019t be much worse. They ranked 21st in Outs Above Average<\/a> last season and 22nd in defensive efficiency<\/a> (converting batted balls into outs).<\/p>\n Stearns trumpeted the idea Wednesday that the Mets\u2019 infield will include four players who began their careers as shortstops. Polanco began working at first last season with Seattle, so it\u2019s not difficult to picture him being at least as good as Alonso. Bichette\u2019s arm at third is a question, but he will have all spring to adapt to different throwing angles. Semien, meanwhile, is coming off a Gold Glove season at second with Texas. The bigger question with him is whether at 35 he can rebound from back-to-back, sub-.700 OPS seasons.<\/p>\n The improved up-the-middle defense also includes Robert, presuming he can stay on the field. The Mets\u2019 dream for Robert is that playing in a winning environment will unlock him, and that he can return to the 38-homer, 20-stolen base sensation he was in 2023. That season, he played in 145 games. In his four other full seasons, he averaged 94.<\/p>\n Polanco, 32, averaged 101 games from 2022 to \u201924 due to hamstring and knee issues, then played 138 last season, recovering well from left knee surgery in October 2024. Bichette, who turns 28 in March, has been on the injured list five times in the last three seasons for leg issues.<\/p>\n Past injuries are the best predictor of future injuries. Alonso and Nimmo have been among the most durable players in the game. Cody Bellinger, who averaged 139 games the past four seasons, was perhaps a better fit for the Mets than any player they\u2019ve added, thanks to his reliability and versatility. But Bellinger agreed Wednesday on a five-year, $162.5 million free-agent contract<\/a> with the New York Yankees \u2013 a term Stearns probably considered too long for his liking.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a world in which the Mets are haunted by their fragility, including in, ahem, their starting rotation. But there\u2019s also a world in which they get 90th percentile outcomes from most of their new players and improvement from others. Offensively, the exchange of Alonso, Nimmo and McNeil for Bichette, Polanco, Robert and Semien could work out in the Mets\u2019 favor, and in a big way.<\/p>\n A little more than a month ago, the Mets lost Alonso and D\u00edaz on back-to-back days, creating a near-meltdown among their fans. Stearns\u2019 plan, if he indeed had one, appeared in disarray. In some ways, it still looks a bit disjointed. But by increasing their payroll to $365 million, second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Mets appear to have at least bought themselves a contender.<\/p>\n Start from there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Are the New York Mets a better team than they were at the end of last season? 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