People are generally critical of a team that underachieves, especially in a large media market like New York. Are the New York Mets underachievers? Definitely not; perhaps you can make a case that talent at the major league level has taken a step back every season since 2011. All Stars like Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, RA Dickey and Francisco Rodriguez have all been traded with the likes of Ruben Tejada, Lucas Duda, Shawn Marcum and Frank Francisco all brought in to replace them. Yes, the acquisitions of Zach Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard make the future very bright and of course with Matt Harvey give fans reason to be excited for what could be another Seaver, Koosman, Gentry or Gooden, Darling, Fernandez. Of course, the nightmare scenario happened in 1998 when the Mets young trio of Isringhausen, Pulsipher and Wilson never materialized so there should be some caution.
The major thing that has bothered me over the last three plus seasons is the lack of depth at the major league level. The trade of 1B Ike Davis to the Pirates guarantees another Mets player, Lucas Duda, an every job. Don't worry Lucas, you do not have to look over your shoulder as there is not another 1B in the Mets organization that is on the verge of making an impact in the big leagues. All he has to do is ask Ruben Tejada, or Travis d'Arnaud for that matter, if they feel any footsteps in regards to their job security.
The rebuttal of my statement would probably have to do with the thought of giving a player a chance. In my opinion, only d'Arnaud has not been given a complete chance to prove what he can do. Tejada is entering his 3rd season as the hands down everyday SS and Duda was a regular in the 2nd half of 2011 and was the given a starting job on opening day in both 2012 and 2013. Once again, no safety net is in place in case Duda does not perform.
I apologize for not being able to find the actual stats, but I would assume the Mets have to be near the bottom of MLB in player trades, free agent signings (MLB contracts) and waiver claims since Sandy Alderson has taken over as Mets GM. I do know that the since Alderson was named GM on October 29, 2010, the Mets have made 14 trades, signed 14 free agents to MLB deals and claimed 5 players on waivers. They have also taken three players in the Rule 5 draft. The total trades, MLB FA signings and waiver claims for the Mets is 33.
What does that mean? How does this compare to the other teams in the NL East? The Miami Marlins, since 10/29/2010, have made 20 trades, 14 MLB FA signings and 7 waiver claims for a total of 41. The Atlanta Braves made in the same time 25 trades, 12 MLB FAs and 5 waiver claims for a total of 42. The Philadelphia Phillies made a total of 24 trades, 13 MLB FA signings and 7 waiver claims for a total of 44. Finally, the Nationals made 28 trades, 10 MLB FA signings and 8 waiver claims in the same period for a total of 46.
And lets break down these "so called" trades. Two of the trades involved Collin Cowgill; first to the Mets from Oakland and then from the Mets to LA. Another was the big acquisition of Chin-lung Hu from the Dodgers for LHP Michael Antonini and this is also counting the trade of Omar Quintanilla in 2012 to the Orioles for cash. Finally, one trade saw the Mets deal RHP Elvin Ramirez to the Nationals and the Athletics dealing infielder Brandon Hicks to the Mets.
With the limited free agent signings, this includes the 2013 signings of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Rick Ankiel. Among the 5 waiver claims, they did get Anthony Recker and Jeremy Hefner.
Maybe you have reached a point of reading this where you just want to know what to the point of this is. When I am talking about making roster additions, it does not have to be about money. Or maybe it is. Has the cheapness hit an all time low where the amount of players who will be on the MLB roster will be limited just to save a couple of bucks. Lack of competition means there is no chance the Mets could overpay a player who is not playing everyday, right? Is that what it has come down to?
I admire the trades of Carlos Beltran and RA Dickey because of the potential of Wheeler and Syndergaard. Other than those two moves, Sandy Alderson has not put his stamp on this team. How many other GMs will be on their 4th season with a team and still run out more players that were signed or acquired by the previous GM? Maybe thats why the MLB team will be a second division team for the 6th straight season.
The major thing that has bothered me over the last three plus seasons is the lack of depth at the major league level. The trade of 1B Ike Davis to the Pirates guarantees another Mets player, Lucas Duda, an every job. Don't worry Lucas, you do not have to look over your shoulder as there is not another 1B in the Mets organization that is on the verge of making an impact in the big leagues. All he has to do is ask Ruben Tejada, or Travis d'Arnaud for that matter, if they feel any footsteps in regards to their job security.
The rebuttal of my statement would probably have to do with the thought of giving a player a chance. In my opinion, only d'Arnaud has not been given a complete chance to prove what he can do. Tejada is entering his 3rd season as the hands down everyday SS and Duda was a regular in the 2nd half of 2011 and was the given a starting job on opening day in both 2012 and 2013. Once again, no safety net is in place in case Duda does not perform.
I apologize for not being able to find the actual stats, but I would assume the Mets have to be near the bottom of MLB in player trades, free agent signings (MLB contracts) and waiver claims since Sandy Alderson has taken over as Mets GM. I do know that the since Alderson was named GM on October 29, 2010, the Mets have made 14 trades, signed 14 free agents to MLB deals and claimed 5 players on waivers. They have also taken three players in the Rule 5 draft. The total trades, MLB FA signings and waiver claims for the Mets is 33.
What does that mean? How does this compare to the other teams in the NL East? The Miami Marlins, since 10/29/2010, have made 20 trades, 14 MLB FA signings and 7 waiver claims for a total of 41. The Atlanta Braves made in the same time 25 trades, 12 MLB FAs and 5 waiver claims for a total of 42. The Philadelphia Phillies made a total of 24 trades, 13 MLB FA signings and 7 waiver claims for a total of 44. Finally, the Nationals made 28 trades, 10 MLB FA signings and 8 waiver claims in the same period for a total of 46.
And lets break down these "so called" trades. Two of the trades involved Collin Cowgill; first to the Mets from Oakland and then from the Mets to LA. Another was the big acquisition of Chin-lung Hu from the Dodgers for LHP Michael Antonini and this is also counting the trade of Omar Quintanilla in 2012 to the Orioles for cash. Finally, one trade saw the Mets deal RHP Elvin Ramirez to the Nationals and the Athletics dealing infielder Brandon Hicks to the Mets.
With the limited free agent signings, this includes the 2013 signings of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Rick Ankiel. Among the 5 waiver claims, they did get Anthony Recker and Jeremy Hefner.
Maybe you have reached a point of reading this where you just want to know what to the point of this is. When I am talking about making roster additions, it does not have to be about money. Or maybe it is. Has the cheapness hit an all time low where the amount of players who will be on the MLB roster will be limited just to save a couple of bucks. Lack of competition means there is no chance the Mets could overpay a player who is not playing everyday, right? Is that what it has come down to?
I admire the trades of Carlos Beltran and RA Dickey because of the potential of Wheeler and Syndergaard. Other than those two moves, Sandy Alderson has not put his stamp on this team. How many other GMs will be on their 4th season with a team and still run out more players that were signed or acquired by the previous GM? Maybe thats why the MLB team will be a second division team for the 6th straight season.
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