Have you ever let $ 105 million burn a hole in your pocket?
Then you can relate to the Mets.
Okay, that’s a little misconception of what happened Friday. What is clear, however, is that Steve Cohen still has money to spend on his Mets for 2021 and after doing his best for Trevor Bauer, offering the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner $ 105 million and seeing him opt for a lower bid ($ 102 million) from his hometown Dodgers.
Here are the most viable and sensible options left to the Mets to invest in their club:
1. Start pitching
Right now, the opening day starting rotation of the Mets consists of Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, Carlos Carrasco, David Peterson and Joey Lucchesi, with Noah Syndergaard aiming to return mid-season after Tommy John’s surgery. Keeping in mind that teams will adapt from a 60-game 2020 season back to the standard 162 games (they hope), more depth is required. The market for starting pitchers has shifted position the least during this off-season. Among those still available are Jake Odorizzi, James Paxton, and Taijuan Walker.
2. Midfield
It would get hairy if the Mets defensively imported a central fielder superior to Brandon Nimmo and the National League failed to deploy the designated hitter, as you’d move Nimmo from midfield to left field, Dom Smith from left field to first base and Pete Alonso from first base to … the bench? Obviously, platoons would play a part. Common sense, however, says the DH will return to the Netherlands this year, and how well would free agent Jackie Bradley Jr. whether the Brewers’ Lorenzo Cain, a potential Milwaukee salary dump, looks like patrolling the middle of the Citi Field outfield?
3. Third base
JD Davis, who defeated the Mets in arbitration on Friday (he will earn $ 2.1 million), remains a defensive liability in the hot corner. Could Sandy Alderson convince his favorite mistake, Justin Turner (who is still a free agent), to return to Queens? A trade for the Cubs’ Kris Bryant seems less likely.
4. Extensions
Two of the Mets’ best players, homegrown Michael Conforto and recently acquired Francisco Lindor, are in their tenure. Lindor was open to circumventing freedom of choice, as long as it takes place early in spring training. A package in excess of $ 300 million is possible. Conforto, whose agent Scott Boras usually takes his clients to a free agency, probably needs more than $ 100 million to stay put.