State of the Mets

The Mets have always been and probably will always be New York's "other" MLB team.  Still, when you are playing in the biggest, densest market that's pretty rarified air that most other teams are jealous of.  So, how is it the Mets have had to pinch payroll pennies for lo these many years?  Let me introduce you to the Wilpon family.

Ownership:  Fred Wilpon was a high school teammate of Sandy Koufax and played college baseball.  His wife was once Branch Rickey's secretary.  Wilpon made a lot of money in the bottom-feeder real estate market and bought his first 1% stake in the Mets in 1980 which he gradually expanded to sole ownership in 2002.  Details are murky but depending on who you believe, the Wilpon family invested a lot of deferred money from player salaries with Ponzi schemer, Bernie Madoff as well as in another Ponzi scheme.  This put the team in a financial bind that has haunted it ever since.  As recently as the last 6 months, a deal to sell the team to hedge fund manager Steve Cohen, yes the one who once paid a $1.8 billion insider trading fine, fell through.  BTW, did you know the largest insider trading case in history involved a failed Alzheimer's Disease drug being developed by Eli Lilly?  Look it up.  Recent reports have none other than Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez trying to find enough investors to buy the team.

Grade F.

Management:

The Mets baseball operations were run by Sandy Alderson, one of the better executives in MLB from 2010-2018.  In 2018, the Mets hired a player agent, Brodie Van Wagenen as GM raising eyebrows around the league.  Van Wagenen almost immediately traded his top prospect,  Jerrad Kelenic, to the Mariners for one of his former clients, Robinson Cano, who has a large salary and was clearly well into the downside of his career.  In fairness the trade also brought back the top Closer in baseball, but is widely seen as a disaster trade by most analysts.

The Mets hired Carlos Beltran to be their manager after the 2019 season but he was fired before managing any games due to playing a central role in the Astros sign stealing scandal.  Beltran was replaced by Luis Rojas(Alou), Felipe Alou's son who also has not managed any regular season games due to the COVID 19 shutdown.  Rojas has managed in the Mets farm system since 2006 and is highly regarded.

Grade D+( but with upside).

Current Roster:

Starting Eight:  Wilson Ramos C, Pete Alonso 1B, Robinson Cano 2B, Jeff McNeil 3B, Amed Rosario SS, JD Davis LF, Brandon Nimmo CF, Michael Conforto RF.

Bench:  Tomas Nido C, Dominic Smith IF, Jed Lowrie IF, Jarrett Parker OF, Jake Marisnek OF, (Yoenis Cespedes?).

Starting Rotation:  Jake DeGrom RHP, Marcus Stroman RHP, Rick Porcello RHP, Michael Wacha RHP, Steven Matz LHP, (Noah Syndergaard- TJ surgery).

Bullpen:  Edwin Diaz RHP(Closer), Seth Lugo RHP, Dellin Betances RHP, Jeurys Familia RHP, Justin Wilson LHP, Brad Brach RHP, Robert Gsellman RHP, Chasen Shreve LHP.

Losing Thor to TJ was a big blow, but the overall pitching is still deep and strong.  Pete Alonso came out of nowhere to hit 50 HR's last season. Can he keep that up?  Brandon Nimmo is another rising star.  Despite the loss of Thor, they should contend if we have a season.

Grade B

Farm System:

The Mets top 3 prospects per MLB Pipeline, Ronny Mauricio, Francisco Alvarez and Andres Gimenez, are all million dollar international bonus babies.  Recent drafts have favored high risk/high ceiling HS prospects such as Brett Baty, Matthew Allan and Mark Vientos.  It's a solid system and might be the best in baseball if they still had Kelenic.

Grade B