MMO Roundtable: What Three Players Should The Mets Target?

Free agency in the MLB kicked off earlier in the week. It’s time to start talking about which players the Mets should acquire, who they should re-sign, or who it’s time to say goodbye to. So, where should they start? Here’s what we at MMO think.

John Sheridan

• Jacob deGrom: Best pitcher in baseball.
• Brandon Nimmo: Only everyday center fielder on the market.
• Seth Lugo: Right-handed reliever who can handle New York.

So, yes, my answer is mostly focusing on re-signing some of the key cast from last year and allowing Francisco Álvarez, Brett Baty, and Mark Vientos to have bigger roles at some point in the 2023 season.

Andrew Steele-Davis

• deGrom
• Trea Turner
• J.D. Martinez

DeGrom is the face of this franchise and, while he hasn’t been able to stay on the field in the past couple of years, he showed during a small sample size in 2022 why he is one of the best pitchers in baseball. Given everything he’s been through with this franchise, the front office should give him his money and the potential rewards outweigh the risks. He should be the main ace for this team.

Turner is a heck of a lot of fun to watch and he doesn’t get enough credit for what he can do offensively and in the field. An absolute speedster who is elite on the base paths, Turner would add a much-needed dimension to this Mets’ lineup and he can put the ball in play, hit for average, get on base and steal bases. Plus, he’s developed and harnessed his power which makes him an all-round threat that would propel this offense to a new level.

Martinez is one of the best well-rounded hitters in the game, and he can provide the kind of big bat in the middle of the lineup that the Mets need. The struggles at the designated-hitter spot in 2022 are well documented and, while the veteran did endure a down year offensively in 2022, Martinez boasts a career .341 OBP and he would bring a lot to the table for the Mets, who need to reconfigure their offense going into 2023.

Chris Bello

• Jacob deGrom
• Trea Turner
• Tyler Anderson

The Mets should re-sign deGrom because he’s been the best starting pitcher in baseball over the last four years. Yes, the injury history is there, but the risk is worth the reward with his generational stuff.

Trea Turner would be an amazing add to the Mets. His bat to ball skills fits perfectly in the Mets’ contact first approach and he provides more pop to a lineup that lacked it last year.

Meanwhile, Tyler Anderson was one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball last year. He finished with a 138 OPS+ and 168 ERA+. He would fill out the Mets rotation nicely and allow for the Mets to sign another starting pitcher.

Michael Garaffa

• Jacob deGrom
• Brandon Nimmo
• Robert Suarez (re-signed with San Diego)

DeGrom is the no-brainer here. While he has had an injury-plagued past, he is still the face of the franchise for the Mets and belongs in the orange and blue. Brandon Nimmo is going to continue to get better and 2022 proved that, as he had incredible seasons both offensively and defensively.

Matt Mancuso

• Brandon Nimmo
• Chris Bassitt
• Taylor Rogers

The Mets’ top-three targets should be Brandon Nimmo, Chris Bassitt, and Tyler Rodgers. Nimmo, a lynchpin in the Mets’ offense during the last five seasons, drastically improved his center field defense last season, adding to an already-robust offensive profile.

Although Bassitt struggled towards the season’s end, his consistency is a necessity for a club that will see 60% of its staff head to free agency. Rogers’ struggles with the Brewers during the second half of the season stemmed from an inflated HR/FB. The spacious Citi Field should help out with that.

James Villani

• Carlos Rodon
• Brandon Nimmo
• Andrew Chafin

My heart says deGrom, and he surely should be a target. Though, if that doesn’t work out Rodon would be a great consolation prize. He has pitched tremendously the past two seasons and is only 29 years old. Nimmo is self explanatory. One of the best center fielders in the game. As for Chafin,  Mets have to completely overhaul their bullpen so there’s going to be a lot of action there. Chafin is arguably the best left-handed reliever on the market and would be a great start.

Dan Quiñones

• Jacob deGrom
• Brandon Nimmo
• José Abreu 

Despite his injury history over the last year two years, deGrom is still the best pitcher in baseball when healthy. The Mets committed big money last winter to make deGrom and Scherzer’s best 1-2 punch. They should be willing to pay their homegrown ace his asking price to keep that due at the top of their rotation. Plus, with all of the iconic starting pitchers the Mets have produced in their history, it is time one of them spent their entire career in orange and blue.

Nimmo has become a top center fielder with his improved defense and ability to get on base at a high rate. He has already proven he can produce in New York, and he has shown a desire to stay. The market for center fielders beyond Nimmo is extremely thin, so it would be wise for the Mets to lock up their homegrown talent.

Finally, the Mets didn’t get nearly enough production from the desiganted-hitter spot in 2022, but Abreu is a perfect candidate to improve the position. Abreu saw his power numbers decline in the second half of last season, but he still slashed .304/.378/.466 with 15 home runs. His high average and career .354 on-base percentage fits the Mets’ approach, and if he can regain some of the power he has shown since arriving from Cuba in 2014, he can take this offense to another level.

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