FanPost

AAOP: The Core Is Here

I started by looking at what we have going in:

• Four-fifths of a strong rotation (DeGrom, Thor, Stroman, Matz)
• A few reliable bullpen pieces (Lugo, Wilson)
• A few questionable bullpen pieces (Diaz, Gsellman, Familia)
• Human beings that exist and occasionally pitch in real games from the bullpen Tyler Bashlor / Paul Sewald / Daniel Zamora / Drew Gagnon / Jacob Rhame / Chris Mazza (aka Bash-se-am-agno-am-azza)
• A strong lineup with defensive versatility in place of defensive excellence (Ramos, Pete, Cano, Rosario, McNeil, JD Davis, Nimmo, Conforto)
• A solid bench with some additional versatility (Jed, Dom, Nido, Guillorme)
• Carlos Beltran in place of Mickey Callaway at manager.

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So Long Mickey.

The core of this team that was 20 games over .500 after the all-star game is back for 2020.

Sure we’ll miss the Toddfather’s leadership, veteran presence and ability to remind everyone to take real estate financial matters seriously. We’ll also miss Zack Wheeler. For this exercise, I assume he declines the QO. I’d love to have him back but the financial constraints of this contest force me to move on from him. It will be tough seeing Wheeler in another uniform. Let’s hope he accepts the QO and we can trash this AAOP.

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We wish you well, Zack Wheeler.


Anyway, this team was good and damn it, they were fun. I don't want to break this team up. I want to keep this group together. And now we got Carlos Beltran? Before we even start to make moves this team is likeable and fun!

I would love to add Mookie Betts but I don’t want to break up the group. Why would anyone suggest trading Syndergaard or Conforto? These are our guys.

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Trading Thor would create too big of a hole in the rotation.

Also, have you seen our minor league system?

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Live from St. Lucie

The Mets shouldn’t go nuts to get Mookie Betts for one season. But they should be all-in on Mookie in 12 months when he hits free agency. But that’s a topic for next year’s AAOP.

So I figure the only way I can fill in the holes this off-season is with free agents.

1. Sign Rich Hill ($9M/1 year)

I looked at a few pitchers in the 2 WAR range that were available. Honestly, I could've picked any number of them but chose Rich Hill because if we are going with "this team is fun" then let's bring in a dude fun enough to go by the nickname Dick Mountain. That's a no brainier.

2. Sign Brad Brach ($3M/2 years)

Brad Brach was a solid in-season pick up last year. Let's bring him back. He was excited to be here and that attitude is one of the things that helps the team get through slumps and losing streaks. It may even work better than threatening reporters.

3. Sign Gio Gonzalez ($16.5/3 years)

Frankly, there are probably half a dozen dudes that could go here. In late January to early February there will probably be plenty of available free agent starting pitchers of Gio’s caliber that don’t have a team yet. Take advantage of this. Go for 2-3 years and that pitchers will jump at a lower AAV in exchange for multiple years. I also think that would alleviate any concern about starting the season in the bullpen. Especially if the Mets can get this sixth starter plenty of work while the starting five are healthy. Let him pitch three or so innings once or twice a week in situations outside mop-up duty to stay fresh and stretched out.

We’ll probably still need a few emergency starts by a few AAAA guys (Oswalt, Lockett, Flexen), but this move is long term injury insurance and adds improvement in the bullpen in the meanwhile for a reasonable price.

4. Sign Billy Hamilton ($3.5M/2 years)

For CF depth there are not many options available. A trade for a quality piece doesn't make much sense if we are going to keep Nimmo, Conforto and JD Davis or Dom Smith in the lineup. Billy Hamilton obviously provides good speed and defense. Plus he is the perfect late game sub. Not only can he go in as a pinch runner but he can bunt in a one-run game if someone with decent speed like Rosario is already on base.

This plan doesn’t address every issue, but I figure there will be more moves to make in-season. Every season has emergencies and unexpected injuries or roster issues to deal with. Plus, I want to give opportunities to the in-house roster to improve through experience and coaching.

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Who knows what kind of challenges will emerge in-season.

And although I am not relying on a certain outfielder for any production, we won’t know for months if we will get that production or not. And when we do know we can have a update the plan and adjust mid-season.

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Why, yes that would be quite a nice surprise.



Either way, I think this season will be fun!

Let's get to Spring Training already. What are we waiting for?

Thanks for reading. Let's Go Mets!

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