Next year will mark the 60 year anniversary of the 1964 New York World’s Fair. It also marks the first year the Mets played their home games in a stadium all their own, Shea Stadium. Doesn’t time fly. Would you believe it if I told you the Mets have won only 2 World Series championships since that time? If you know anything about the Mets or being a Mets fan I imagine you’d have some idea. Let’s get this team back to the playoffs, alright? Without further ado let’s take a journey through the 2024 New York Mets World’s Fair! Here we go!

Japan Pavilion!

Mets sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 8 year, $200 million contract.

Mets sign Yariel Rodriguez to a 3 year, $37.5 million contract.

Not surprisingly, the Mets need to rebuild their pitching rotation once again. Carrasco is gone, Verlander and Scherzer netted some neat position player prospects but unless one of them is JD Davis I presume none of them will be able to help in the rotation.

I’m bringing the hammer down.

It’s Yoshi Time. The Mets sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 8 year, 200 million contract that keeps him in a Met uniform until 2030. Player opt-out after Year 4. Pencil him in for the #1 spot in the rotation.

Another player coming over from Japan (though not through the same origins as Yamamoto) is Yariel Rodriguez. I would argue that Rodriguez should carry almost the same level of interest and intrigue as Yamamoto simply because he has experienced broad levels of success both as a starter and as a reliever. A full-time reliever with the Chunichi Dragons in 2021 and 2022, Rodriguez also excelled as a starter earlier this year pitching in the World Baseball Classic. Current projections have Rodriguez somewhere in the $40-70 million range. I’m going for slightly less than that, but a 3 year, $37.5 million contract seems fair and a short-term contract such as that gives Rodriguez the opportunity to have a massive payday if his first few years in the MLB are successful. Player opt-out after Year 2.

General Motors/Ford/Detroit Pavilion!

Mets sign Jeimer Candelario to a 2 year, $15 million contract.

Mets sign Eduardo Rodriguez to a 4 year, $90 million contract.

The "what?" Hey, the Motor City gave us Motown! I’m not only a huge fan of Motown, but I’m a fan of these current and former Detroit Tigers for whom I’m about to write.

No, not that kind of Motown.

Eduardo Rodriguez opted out of his contract with the Detroit Tigers like everyone expected he would. Now, he’s looking for a decent payday up from the 5/$77 he received from the Tigers. In the 3 years since the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he’s averaged 25 starts/year with a 3.70 FIP and 400 strikeouts in almost exactly 400 innings. Pencil him in as the #3 starter behind Yamamoto and Senga. What the Mets need most out of the back end of the rotation is consistency and stability and Rodriguez will provide exactly that for a contract that won’t break the bank and is in step with the scaled-back approach the Mets will appear to be taking this off-season.

The Mets trade Mark Vientos for UT Matt Vierling.

This is a minor 1:1 swap that I have the Mets doing with the Tigers. It’s a scenery change for each player. Vientos probably won’t be able to play the field but the Tigers might be intrigued in taking a flier out on a kid who’s still only 23 and has the chance to hit a lot of home runs if given regular playing time for the right team.

Vierling is a bit older but he can play all over the field, hits for less power but is arguably a better all-around utilityman than what the Mets had on their bench in 2023.

Candelario serves as a hedge in case Baty doesn’t work out. Candelario can mentor Baty as he continues to learn to play third base. You may be asking yourself, "NBM, but the third base job is supposed to be up for grabs between Baty and Ronny Mauricio? Where’s Mauricio?" Well, that brings us to the next pavilion in the 2024 New York Mets World’s Fair…

Bourbon Street pavilion!

I call this Bourbon Street because you have to be drinking bourbon for what I’m about to sell you on. Remember how I said the Mets would appear to be taking a scaled-back approach this off-season? Well I lied. Stearns is on record as saying that they will spend for the right player.

Juan Soto is that player.

The Mets trade Luisangel Acuna, Ronny Mauricio, and Brandon Sproat to the Padres for Juan Soto.

Liberty Bell Pavilion:

The last major move I have the Mets making is signing Rhys Hoskins to a 3 year, 48 million deal to leave the City of Brotherly Love to don the pinstripes. After lost season for Hoskins in 2023 in which he missed the entire season, Hoskins figures to get a deal similar to the deal former Met Michael Conforto received from the Giants after missing the entirety of 2022. However, with slightly higher AAV and years as Hoskins is arguably the superior player to Conforto. He also serves as a hedge in case the Mets and Pete Alonso do not sign an extension between now and the 2024 off-season (which I do not predict the Mets doing - either in my AAOP scenario or real life). I do believe the Mets will sign Pete to a new contract once he hits free agency next year but that is irrelevant for the purposes of this AAOP. But I digress.

Souvenir Shop Pavilion:

Other additions:

RHP Chris Devenski: 1 year, $1 million

RHP Jordan Hicks: 4 years, $30 million

RHP Brent Suter: 2 years, $8 million

Recap Pavilion:

The FA additions:

RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto: 8 years, $200 million

RHP Yariel Rodriguez: 3 years, $37.5 million

RHP Eduardo Rodriguez: 4 years, $90 million

DH/1B Rhys Hoskins: 3 years, $48 million

RHP Jordan Hicks: 4 years, $24 million

RHP Brent Suter: 2 years, $8 million

3B Jeimer Candelario: 2 years, $15 million

RHP Chris Devenski: 1 year, $1 million

The trade additions:

RF Juan Soto: 1 year, $30 million

UT Matt Vierling: 1 year, $740,000

The subtractions:

DH Daniel Vogelbach - Non-tender

RHP Trevot Gott - Non-tender

RHP Jeff Brigham - Non-tender

INF Luis Guillorme - Non-tender

DH/3B Mark Vientos (for Matt Vierling)

INF Ronny Mauricio (for Juan Soto)

SS Luisangel Acuna (for Juan Soto)

RHP Adam Ottavino

2024 Mets total payroll figures:

26-man $300,330,000.00

40-man $317,230,000.00

Carried $49,621,859.00

TOTAL $349,951,859.00

The Conclusion Pavilion:

So yeah - lots of subtractions and lots of additions. The lineup remains mostly the same, but the pitching rotation has been completely revamped for both the short and long term, the Mets have filled out the bullpen with tried-and-true workhorses and they have contingencies in case of injury on all fronts, as well as adding a few valuable utility players. And of course, adding a generational player in Juan Soto to bring this 2023 Mets off-season to a fitting close.

From World’s Fair to the World Series. Magic!