Ever since hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen took over the New York Mets a couple of years ago, they showed they won’t hesitate to invest heavily on a player they like.
Before last season, they traded for shortstop Francisco Lindor and gave him a $341 million contract, and during the 2021-22 offseason they signed Max Scherzer to a three-year, $130 million deal just a few months ago, and they also added Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Eduardo Escobar recently.
The Mets, however, may not be done spending.
Their pitching rotation could use some more help, since they lost Noah Syndergaard and Marcus Stroman to free agency, and Joey Lucchesi had to go under the knife last season and will likely miss the whole 2022 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
But even though their offense is currently loaded with talent, they may make a couple of extra additions.
They certainly have the financial power to bring in more stars if they want to.
They May Pursue Two Power Bats
According to SI.com’s Pat Ragazzo, the Mets may go after old friend Michael Conforto and Kris Bryant after the lockout is lifted.
“Industry source l spoke with sees Kris Bryant or Michael Conforto as the 2 most realistic bat options for the Mets since both are solid defenders and neither tied to QO. Door isn’t shut yet on KB or Conforto,” he said via Twitter.
Industry source l spoke with sees Kris Bryant or Michael Conforto as the 2 most realistic bat options for the Mets since both are solid defenders and neither tied to QO. Door isn't shut yet on KB or Confortohttps://t.co/PhloY3aPFv
— Pat Ragazzo (@ragazzoreport) February 19, 2022
Conforto will likely depend on the price tag: he didn’t have a good 2021: he had a .729 OPS, but has a .824 career mark and has surpassed .900 two times, in 2017 and 2020.
Bryant, however, has long been a Mets’ favorite, as they pursued him in last season’s trade deadline.
He hit .265/.353/.481 with 25 home runs between the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants and can play both infield and outfield corners.
Only time will tell if the Mets will land one of them or both, but their lineup could go from very good to top of the league in a hurry with either one of them.
NEXT: Mets Players Leading The Charge At Lockout Meetings
Alex says
Conforto or Bryant? Hope so. More likely McCutcheon or Joc Peterson.