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Mets Are Finally “Exploring All Options” To Improve Roster

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While this winter’s hot stove has moved at a predictably slow pace overall, we can thank the New York Mets for keeping us entertained as best as they can.

The blockbuster trade that netted New York both Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco will certainly end up being one of the offseason’s biggest deals. While Sandy Alderson’s front office hasn’t dished out cash at the unrealistic rate we were all dreaming of when Steve Cohen’s purchase of the club became official, they’ve done plenty so far and aren’t done yet. James McCann, Marcus Stroman, and Trevor May all scored noteworthy (and deserved) paydays in advance of the 2021 campaign. What’s been just as impressive — or, maybe even more impressive — though, is the sheer number of available players the Mets have been connected to this winter.

At the start of the 2019-20 offseason when free agents like Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon were at the top of the market, former general manager Brodie Van Wagenen tried saying New York could play in the big sandbox (while dancing around certain questions, of course). Here are a couple of quotes from a 2019 SNY story:

“At this point, we’re going to explore all options with the roster.”

And the longer one:

“We have the ability to make right decisions and I think there’s a lot of ways to reconfigure our roster. As I said earlier, we like our team. We’re bringing back a Cy Young Award winner, we’re bringing back Noah Syndergaard, we made a big acquisition over the summer to bring back Marcus Stroman. We certainly will continue our dialogue with Zack Wheeler. But we’re going to put the best players on the field and I think ownership has shown to me over the course of last year they’ve been willing to let me make some bold decisions.”

Of course, those bold decisions led to Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha for the rotation, which didn’t work out well.

Did any of us actually believe the old regime would’ve pulled the trigger on massive free-agent deals? Or, a huge extension for a player like Lindor if they traded for him? Doubtful, and it definitely would’ve been in the “I’ll believe it when I see it” category. Obviously, it never actually happened. We haven’t seen a big financial expenditure with regard to on-field talent (yet) from the Cohen-led Mets, but we’ve already seen how the security of having an owner with deep pockets and a willingness to spend has allowed this front office to explore a laundry-list of opportunities.

Since it feels like the Mets have been connected to an incredibly large number of players this winter, I went down an MLB Trade Rumors black hole back to the beginning of November to make a list of players New York has either reportedly been interested in or connected to in some way via the rumor mill for its big-league roster.

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Outside of the actual acquisitions (Lindor, Carrasco, Stroman, May, Jose Martinez, Joey Lucchesi, and Sam McWilliams), here are the names I’ve found, in no particular order (go grab a Snickers and find a comfy seat):

J.T. Realmuto, Liam Hendriks, Brad Hand, Trevor Bauer, George Springer (single tear), Jackie Bradley Jr., Enrique Hernandez, Trevor Williams, Sonny Gray, Eugenio Suarez, Kyle Seager, Jeremy Jeffress, Anibal Sanchez, Julio Teheran, Corey Kluber, Albert Almora, DJ LeMahieu, Kris Bryant, Jake Odorizzi, James Paxton, Tomoyuki Sugano, Ha-Seong Kim, Nolan Arenado (kinda sorta), Yadier Molina, and Marcell Ozuna.

Again, this doesn’t include guys signed to minor-league deals, like Jose Peraza, Jerad Eickhoff, Jerry Blevins, Mallex Smith, and many more. This list of potential major-league roster additions likely isn’t an exhaustive one, but you get the message — it’s 25 guys deep! And yes, the “Yea, well they didn’t/haven’t signed/traded for any of them” crowd will likely make that point abundantly clear rather immediately. But still, was BVW’s front office publicly tied to this many dudes all across the market? While they were likely working on a bunch of different permutations behind the scenes we’ll never know about, this wasn’t a thing, at least from what I can remember.

This is another case of new ownership and those in charge saying they’re going to do something and actually following through with that particular statement. I’m reminded of Alderson’s comment during his (re-)introductory press conference when he mentioned the value of focusing more on the idea of acquiring a player, instead of what it would cost the organization.

Not all inquiries and negotiations will end in the Mets’ favor (see Springer, George), but they’re not just hanging it up after missing out. They’re still in the running for Hand and will shift to other center-field options, along with continuing to build pitching depth. Even if the outcome of some pursuits isn’t optimal, it looks like the Mets are actually investigating all ways they believe the roster can be improved. And that’s a comforting thought.

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