2020 record - 26-44, 5th place in NL East
Key Addition - Francisco Lindor
The Mets have been very active this offseason under new owner Steve Cohen who took over full control in September.
They made some excellent acquisitions to strengthen right across their roster. Starting pitching depth improved with the signings of Taijuan Walker, Carlos Carrasco & Joey Lucchesi. Their bullpen got a boost with Trevor May and Aaron Loup. They also added Jonathan Villar, Kevin Pillar, Albert Almora Jr and others to give them a deeper and more versatile bench.
But there really is only one answer for their key addition of the winter; Francisco Lindor.
Lindor has developed into a true superstar, he plays at a premium position and he's a fan favourite. All of which means that he'll be a much loved player in Queens.
Lindor already has an impressive resume in his 6 seasons in the Major Leagues; 4 All Star appearances, 2 Gold Gloves, 2 Silver Sluggers and received MVP votes in 4 of the last 5 years.
The best part for Mets fans is that they didn't have to give up too much in order to acquire him and that he only has 1 year remaining on his contract is a big reason why. All the signs point to the Mets signing Lindor to an extension similar to that the Dodgers extended Mookie Betts. But that hasn't happened yet. So lets look at this trade as things stand right now.
They gained a superstar shortstop in Lindor and add Carlos Carrasco to an exciting starting rotation. They gave up Andres Gimenez a 22 year old contact hitting shortstop with excellent speed, Amed Rosario who didn't hit well last year and two former 2nd round prospects in Josh Wolf & Isaiah Greene - neither of whom have pitched above rookie ball.
This trade immediately makes the Mets a much better team and for their fans who have suffered through bad trades and underperformance in the past, that is all that really matters. That they didn't have to give up any of their top prospects to do so is even better for them.
We think that Lindor has another huge season in Flushing and he hits .280 with 35 home runs in 2021. And that the Mets will like what they see so much they extend him for the long term.
Just missed out - Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker
Key Departure - Justin Wilson
The Mets had a ton of players become free agents at the end of last season, but other than Marcus Stroman who accepted their qualifying offer and will be returning to Queens, there aren't many players leaving who they haven't been able to replace.
But there are two possible exceptions to that. First, Wilson Ramos put up good hitting numbers for a catcher but there are questions around his defence and game calling. The signing of James McCann as their primary catcher is a great one. They should see similar offensive numbers and a nice improvement in defence.
Justin Wilson is the other. He has been outstanding out of the bullpen for the Mets since he signed as a free agent 2 years ago. In New York, Wilson had an ERA under 3 and 10.3 K/9. But their signing of Trevor May more than adequately fills that gap at the business end of their bullpen.
May has been excellent in Minnesota after returning from Tommy John surgery in 2017. Since then, he has a 3.19 ERA, 12.2 K/9 and has a fantastic 4.03 K/BB.
So while they may have lost a lot of players, the Mets have done well to find very good replacements. Their team starting this season looks a lot stronger than the one which finished 2020.
Just missed out - Wilson Ramos
Notable rookie cards - Andres Gimenez, David Peterson
The New York Mets have 2 rookies included in the 2021 Topps Series 1 set.
As we mentioned above, Andres Gimenez was traded to Cleveland this offseason. We think that Gimenez will start the season as the main shortstop for the Indians and will hit around .250 with 10 home runs for them.
David Peterson was a 1st round pick for the Mets in the 2017 draft and he really impressed in his debut season last year. He started 9 games for the Mets in 2020 and finished the year with a 6-2 record with a 3.44 ERA. He didn't light up the radar gun with his velocity but he showed good control of his 4 pitches and had a very admirable first season.
We think that Peterson is pretty much guaranteed to start the year in the rotation for the Mets and he will stay there at least until Noah Syndergaard returns from injury.
We think that a seasons where he pitches 100 innings with an ERA below 4 is well within his grasp this season.
Predicted 2021 Team MVP - Jacob DeGrom
Every team that has postseason ambitions covets an ace. In Jacob DeGrom and - when healthy - Noah Syndergaard they have two legitimate aces.
Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Michael Conforto all have genuine shots at being the MVP in Queens this season, but we can't look past DeGrom and how good he has been.
DeGrom has arguably been the best pitcher in the Major Leagues over the last 3 seasons. He became one of only 11 pitchers to ever win consecutive Cy Young awards, he has led the NL in strikeouts for the last 2 years and had a league leading 13.8 K/9 last season.
Quite simply, he is incredible. And we think that this is the season when the Mets give him some run support and he wins a ton of games for them. The numbers from the last 3 years are just ridiculous. DeGrom has pitched 76 games over the last three seasons with a 2.10 ERA and a WHIP below 1. But over that period, he has just a 25-19 record.
We predict that this year he wins 18 games - which would be his career high - and finishes the year with an ERA around 2.50.
Just missed out - Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Michael Conforto
Player to watch for the future - Ronny Mauricio
Mauricio is the number 2 prospect for the Mets and the 67th overall according to MLB Pipeline. The shortstop was signed as an international free agent in 2017 and he has impressed in his time in the minor leagues.
Between rookie and A ball, Mauricio has hit .270 with 51 extra base hits in 173 games. Although his power numbers might not look like much, Mauricio is still only 19 years old. He's already shown that he's a really good hitter, but as he gets more experience and stronger as he ages, we think that he can become a 20 home run guy in the big leagues.
We think that he starts the year with the A+ Brooklyn Cyclones and that it'll be a couple of years until Mets fans will get the opportunity to see him play at Citi Field. We'll be watching his numbers closely to see whether his in-game power starts slowly rising like we think it will.
Just missed out - Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, Matthew Allan
Storyline to keep an eye on - Will the Mets sign any of their 2022 free agents to extensions?
Just like last year, the Mets have a number of players in the final year of their contract. The big difference is that this time around, there are a lot more big name players approaching free agency.
Francisco Lindor, Noah Syndergaard, Marcus Stroman, Dellin Betances and Michael Conforto are just a few of the players in the last year of their contract. These are big name players who would leave big holes to fill should the Mets not extend or re-sign them.
Under the new ownership of Steve Cohen, the Mets have shown that they are willing to make aggressive moves in order to be competitive which is great to see. Especially when so many other teams are looking to spend as little as possible right now.
So it's hard to believe that the Mets let all of these players go without a fight. Of the players we listed above, we think Lindor has the best chance of being extended with Michael Conforto not far behind.
A lot will depend on how Marcus Stroman and Noah Syndergaard pitch this year as neither pitched in 2020 - Stroman opted out and Syndergaard is recovering from Tommy John surgery. If they pitch well and show that they are healthy, we think that they have a really good shot at being re-signed too.
Prediction for 2021 - 2nd in the NL East
The NL East is shaping up to be one of the most competitive divisions from top to bottom in 2021 and we expect that the improved Mets will jump up the standings to 2nd place and reach the postseason as a wild card.
We think that the Mets have a really good chance at reaching 90 wins and challenge for the top spot all season long, but ultimately that they will have to settle for a wild card berth.
We love how the Mets have improved their team and we think that they will have a very good season, especially if they can have a healthy Stroman and Syndergaard in their rotation. Not having Syndergaard to start the season might just be the difference between 1st and 2nd place though.
Do you agree with our predictions? Or have we got them horribly wrong?
Let us know in the comments or on twitter.
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