The New York Mets had built an impressive roster over the last two seasons.
They brought in players such as Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, David Robertson, Adam Ottavino, Jose Quintana, Kodai Senga, Mark Canha, Brooks Raley, and many others.
The strategy helped them win 101 games last year, but they still fell in the first round of the playoffs.
This year, they approached free agency with a similar mindset, but things have backfired.
After all, most of those players are either old or injury prone, even both in some cases.
Now the Mets are fourth in the NL East and with little hope of making the postseason.
That forced them to become sellers of assets with short-term deals such as Scherzer, Robertson, Verlander, Canha, Tommy Pham, and others.
Many fans are heartbroken because they probably won’t see a playoff run this year.
But given the spot they were in, with an old, injury-prone roster and a negative record, the Mets did well to trade most of the names mentioned in this article and replenish their farm system.
Mets insider Anthony DiComo explains why the strategy is a good idea.
“Those who reject the strategy will dislike this deal no matter what I say. I’ve been called worse than a homer. Those taking a longer-term view can see that the Mets just achieved a years-long rebuild over the course of a week. Some short-term pain to avoid a much worse slog,” he tweeted.
Those who reject the strategy will dislike this deal no matter what I say. I've been called worse than a homer.
Those taking a longer-term view can see that the Mets just achieved a years-long rebuild over the course of a week. Some short-term pain to avoid a much worse slog.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) August 1, 2023
He is referring to the Verlander trade.
The reigning 2022 AL Cy Young was sent to his former team, the Houston Astros, in exchange for outfield prospects Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford.
Both have a high ceiling and are considered top-100 prospects, much like the prize of the Scherzer deal: Luisangel Acuna.
As DiComo states, the Mets achieved a lot in a short period of time.
They might not compete in 2023 or even 2024.
From 2025 on?
They could be a sustainable powerhouse.
NEXT: Mets Get Roasted By The Hometown NYC Papers
