This is the final edition in a series to see how the NL East has changed and how those changes may impact the Atlanta Braves in 2021.
Over the past several years, the New York Mets have been under the thumb of Fred Wilpon’s ownership and under the knife as multiple seasons have been derailed by major injuries.
A lot has changed over the past year, though, and that means big changes in Queens.
The Brodie Van Wagenen experiment is over. The Wilpon era is closed. The David Wright contract is gone. They now have an owner who doesn’t really care about having a profitable team… just a winning team.
The Mets even caught a weird break: Robbie Cano popped positive for PED use — again — and will miss the entire 2021 season. The Mets don’t have to pay him… and yet the Mariners still have to send them a check for their portion of his salary. The baseball operations staff appreciate that donation.
At the same time, the old has become new again: after multiple hiring hiccups, Sandy Alderson has been in charge for most of the Winter, even as their official Front Office Directory page says “Check back soon for updated information”.
In 2020, the Mets stumbled to the finish line with a 26-34 record, tying the Nationals for last place in the NL East.
But don’t rely on that to make any guesses for 2021: this is now a much different club. In fact, one reason this review has taken so long to produce is that we wanted to make sure the Mets had finished making their impact moves.
So let’s see what’s happened… and it’s a big list.
SUBTRACTIONS:
- RF Ryan Cordell (DFA; assigned to AAA Syracuse)
- C Wilson Ramos
- C Robinson Chirinos
- 3B Todd Frazier
- LHP Justin Wilson
- RHP Rick Porcello
- C Rene Rivera
- RHP Erasmo Ramirez
- RHP Michael Wacha
- 2B Eduardo Nunez
- CF Jake Marisnick
- 2B Jed Lowrie
- RHP Jared Hughes
- LF Yoenis Cespedes
- 2B Robinson Cano (placed on restricted list)
- LHP Chasen Shreve
- RHP Paul Sewald
- RHP Ariel Jurado
- RHP Luis Oviedo claimed, then traded to Pirates (cash considerations)
- RHP Ryder Ryan traded to Rangers
- 2B Robel Garcia DFA; claimed by Angels
- C Ali Sanchez DFA; traded to St. Louis (cash)
- RHP Brad Brach
- CF Guillermo Heredia DFA, claimed by Atlanta Braves
ADDITIONS:
- 2B Robel Garcia claimed (waivers/Reds)
- RHP Nick Tropeano claimed (waivers/Pirates); later elected free agency
- RHP Jacob Barnes claimed (waivers/Angels)
- RHP Arodys Vizcaino signed (minor lg. contract/spring invite)
- SS/2B Jose Peraza signed (minor lg. contract/spring invite)
- 2B Michael Tolman signed (minor lg. contract/spring invite)
- CF Mallex Smith signed (minor lg. contract/spring invite)
- RHP Oscar De La Cruz signed (minor lg. contract/spring invite)
- 2B Jake Hager signed (minor lg. contract/spring invite)
- RHP Jared Robinson signed (minor lg. contract/spring invite)
- RHP Trevor Hildenberger signed (minor lg. contract/spring invite)
- RHP Sam McWilliams signed
- RHP Trevor May signed
- C James McCann signed
- LHP Tom Windle signed (minor lg. contract/spring invite)
- LHP Jerry Blevins signed (minor lg. contract/spring invite)
- RHP Jerad Eickhoff signed (minor lg. contract/spring invite)
- SS Wilfredo Tover signed (minor lg. contract/spring invite)
- 3B Brandon Drury signed (minor lg. contract/spring invite)
- THE TRADE: Mets acquire SS Francisco Lindor and RHP Carlos Carrasco from Cleveland in exchange for SS Andres Gimenez, SS Amed Rosario, RHP Josh Wolf, and OF Isaiah Greene.
- LHP Stephen Tarpley claimed (waivers/Miami)
- OF Jose Martinez signed (injured over the weekend: torn meniscus)
- TRADE 2: LHP Joey Lucchesi to Mets from Padres with C Endy Rodriguez going to Pirates.
- TRADE 3: LHP Stephen Matz to Blue Jays for RHP Josh Winckowski (see below), RHP Sean Reid-Foley, and RHP Yennsy Diaz
- LHP Aaron Loup signed
- TRADE 4: Mets acquire RHP Jordan Yamamoto, sending SS Federico Polanco to Miami
- TRADE 5: As part of the Andrew Benintendi deal, CF Khalil Lee traded to Mets with PTBNL and RHP Josh Winckowski going to Boston.
- LHP Mike Montgomery signed (minor lg. contract/spring invite)
- RHP Tommy Hunter signed (minor lg. contract/spring invite)
- RHP Taijuan Walker signed
- CF Kevin Pillar signed
- C Caleb Joseph signed
OTHER:
- RHP Marcus Stroman accepted a Qualifying Offer and remains with the team
- Tim Tebow got a Spring Invite… then retired.
- RHP Noah Syndergaard is on the 60-day injured list (TJ surgery recovery)
I think that’s about it for now…