The New York Mets are entering a pivotal offseason, and many folks have high hopes for the team’s plans.
Naturally, Mets fans want to see the club add some superstar players.
That might happen, but it’s always good to have secondary expectations.
There are some good free agents in the upcoming class that aren’t superstars.
Here are a few mid-level players that would be interesting additions for New York.
3. Luis Garcia – RP
There are some relatively big-name relievers set to hit free agency this offseason.
New York might try to pursue some of those players, but the team doesn’t necessarily need to add a superstar reliever.
The Mets have had a really solid bullpen all season.
They might lose a couple of relievers to free agency, but if they re-sign Aaron Loup, then any other potential losses would be pretty easy to stomach.
They’d still be wise to add one or two relief arms in free agency, though.
Luis Garcia comes to mind as an interesting option.
The righty has spent the entire 2021 season with the St. Louis Cardinals and has had one of the best years of his career.
He has a 2.84 ERA, 2.31 FIP, and 0.98 WHIP across 32 outings.
Luis García on middle/away pitches to righties this year:
35 called strikes
14 swinging strikes
28 fouls
40 balls in play
Only 3 hits (and only 1 of those hit over 90 MPH)🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/wSaLRrRMxb
— Codify, Inc. (@CodifyBaseball) September 28, 2021
Not many folks saw this coming from the 34-year-old, as he posted a 5.26 ERA from 2018 to 2020.
But he has certainly figured things out this year.
He’s worth rolling the dice on this offseason, and he would likely come at a reasonable price.
2. Michael Pineda – SP
If Marcus Stroman walks in free agency, then New York will have no choice but to sign one of the many superstar starting pitchers who will become available this offseason.
But if Stroman stays, then the Mets will have one less thing to worry about.
Still, even if Stroman sticks around, the team should plan on adding a mid-level starting pitcher.
There are too many question marks surrounding Jacob deGrom’s health and Noah Syndergaard’s post-surgery ceiling as a starter (assuming he re-signs with the team).
For those reasons, the Mets should consider a player like Michael Pineda in free agency.
Pineda has had a solid 2021 season, pitching to a 3.73 ERA, 4.33 FIP, and 1.23 WHIP across 21 outings (20 starts).
He has been a fine back-of-the-rotation arm for his entire MLB career, and he’s still capable of playing that role at his current age of 32.
He would likely be an affordable option for the Mets.
1. Eduardo Escobar – INF
Most Mets fans have their sights set on superstars like Kris Bryant or Carlos Correa when it comes to addressing the team’s need for an infielder, but those are some high expectations.
Should New York choose to spend its money elsewhere (i.e. the rotation or bullpen), there are plenty of solid mid-level infielders available in the upcoming free-agent class.
Eduardo Escobar is one of them.
He’s capable of playing any infield position, and he’s a very serviceable player offensively.
The 32-year-old has a .775 OPS and 107 OPS+ this season.
He has homered 28 times, doubled 21 times, and tripled five times.
Eduardo Escobar goes DEEP in his home debut.
(MLB x Spectrum Solutions) pic.twitter.com/hPzI6Hq4r2
— MLB (@MLB) August 3, 2021
The veteran earned his first career All-Star selection earlier in the year.
He’s no Bryant or Correa, but he’s a very good player.
NEXT: Re-Signing Aaron Loup Needs To Be A Priority For Mets This Offseason
Mets Fan says
I think you are on the wrong track here in terms of pitching. I certainly agree that signing Loup is a must, but there is not much of a chance that the Mets will be willing to pay the astronomical sum it will take to sign Stroman, even with a bit of a hometown discount. I do think they will get a deal done with Syndergaard for one or two years, and that still leaves deGrom, Carrasco, Walker, Megill and/or Peterson. Rich Hill has actually pitched quite well and could be a worthwhile value-driven signing for 2022. With some additional depth from Yamamoto and Oswalt, the starting staff is pretty attractive.. The move that might make the most sense is to institute a six-man rotation. With deGrom, Thor, Carrasco and Peterson coming off injuries and Megill pitching way more frames than he has ever pitched before, 2022 is the perfect time for such a scenario, which should take starters much deeper into games and utilize less relief arms and innings.. The stats show that most Mets hurlers are more effective with five days rest anyway. Japanese baseball has always had starters pitching once each week for good reason.
The bullpen is pretty set with Diaz closing and May/Castrro/Loup as the primary setup guys. If Familia can’t be inked to a new deal, then Luis Garcia could be an option, but he is 34 and has had one really good season. The Mets also have Lugo for another season and Trevor Williams has looked pretty good as a long man. They also have Drew Smith, Reid-Foley and Jeff Reed in the mix. And if they want another southpaw, they certainly have the inside track on Brad Hand. So, outside of what should be easy signings of Thor and Loup, and very respectable potential signings of Familia, Hand and Hill (who can also be a swing man), the Mets are loaded with pitching.
What the Mets need is offense and speed. If they can sign any two of these players: Castellanos, Marte or Baez; Or trade for the likes of a Bryan Reynolds or Cedric Mullins to play CF, which would move Nimmo to LF, the Mets would improve the offense. They have plenty of trade chips in Dom Smith, McNeil, Davis, Gsellman and others to get one stud. But if they keep Conforto, McNeil and Smith, where do they plug in fresh blood to generate more offense. Time for a monumental shake-up. Escobar, at 33 years of age, is not the answer. Villar is probably a better all-around option—even more versatile, much more speed, better defensively and a switch-hitter.
The elephant in the room is will there be a universal DH? As much as I hate the concept, it seems inevitable and MLB has to make the decision by the close of the World Series, at the latest. The Mets will likely be relegated to a platoon of Cano with Davis (or Drury) as the right-handed compliment. I’d prefer Blackmon (a FA) from the left side, but we may have to live with Cano for two seasons and $48M. And so it goes.