It's time to look back at every team from around the MLB and what they showed us during the 60 game sprint! We are going to explore a few things for each team: Review in-season transactions, what we learned, what we loved, what we didn't love, the most significant need(s), and lastly, the biggest takeaways.
Let's jump over the NL with the New York Mets today. We talked about the Padres, A's, Marlins, Yankee's, Cardinals, Whitesox, Cubs, Twins, Reds, BlueJays, Brewers, Indians, Giants, Phillies, Mariners, Rockies, and Nationals thus far; you can find all posts on the homepage https://www.theballboyblog.com/.
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What moves did the 2020 Mets make?
New York Mets placed RHP Marcus Stroman on the 10-day injured list retroactive to July 20, 2020. Left calf muscle tear.- This move was challenging for Mets fans to swallow as we didn't get much of anything from Stroman in his time with the Mets. With Noah Syndergaard's injury, this was just another blow to the good rotation and a better season.
New York Mets placed LF Yoenis Cespedes on the restricted list.- I was not a fan whatsoever of the whole Cespedes situation, and I hope the Mets move on from him. To recap, he played a few games; he looked decent. He looked like the Mets were finally going to get some value out of him, and then he just cleaned out his locker one day, didn't show up, and was like "COVID" opt-out. Then he was then seen the next day at the mall with family and friends. Real smooth Cespedes.
Texas Rangers traded 3B Todd Frazier to New York Mets for Player To Be Named Later.- The Mets needed some offensive help, and Frazier was available.
Baltimore Orioles traded RHP Miguel Castro to New York Mets for LHP Kevin Smith and Player To Be Named Later. Victor Gonzalez sent to Orioles to complete the trade, 9/20/2020- This trade didn't affect the team as depth pieces moved.
Texas Rangers traded C Robinson Chirinos and cash to New York Mets for Player To Be Named Later.- Catching depth is always essential, and Chirinos helped out there.
What did we love about the 2020 Mets?
We loved the season that we saw from Michael Conforto as he slashed a great .322BA/.412OBP/.515SLG with 65H and looked at my new favorite offensive stat of OBP, the best stat to look at in my opinion. Is it the stat that tells you how often a player got on base and didn't make an out: JD Davis(.371OBP), Brandon Nimmo(.404OBP), Jeff McNeil(.383OBP), and Dominic Smith(.377OBP, .616SLG, 42RBI). Then, of course, on the Mound, we love everything we saw from Jacob deGrom(2.38ERA, 0.96WHIP, 13.8K/9, 104K-18BB, 2.5WAR); what an excellent season for deGrom. We also saw the rebound performance from Edwin Diaz(1.75ERA, 1.25WHIP, 1.3WAR, 17.5K/9) and Robbie Cano(10HR,30RBI, .316BA/.352OBP/.544SLG). The last season that we loved season was also from a former Mariner, Erasmo Ramirez(14.4IP, 0.84WHIP, 0.63ERA).
What did we not love about the 2020 Mets?
I am going to start with the pitching as a unit here for what we did not love. The staff had a 4.98ERA, 1.42WHIP, but with an excellent 10.1K/9, the injuries to the top two guys forced changes early, and those changes didn't work out for the Mets in 2020.
The team as a whole was decent slashing .272BA/.348OBP/.459SLG and a team .807OPS, which tells me that they were above average when it came to getting on base and getting guys in. But the rest of the slash line was barely average. 498K while only getting 197BB. Getting on base part was the hardest thing for the Mets to do as a club. Their star Pete Alonso wasn't helpful; he hit 16HR, 35RBI but only took 24BB, 61K while slashing .231BA/.326OBP/.490SLG. Those numbers do not get it done for your club when you're the best player in the opponent's eyes.
What do I personally not love? I don't love that you aren't using the extra storage space you have in the garage, the shed, the attic, or basement. You could be making money off of it. You could buy 1 $20 storage rack at Lowes and then rent that space out. Do I need to say no more, great! My friends over at Stash-It Self Storage has you covered; use the promo code "YOUNG" when you're done posting to let them know I sent you.
What was the biggest takeaway from the 2020 Mets?
The performance of Pete Alonso was good, but not great when you get deeper into it. The pitching was missing rotation depth, which hurt the team season-long, bringing them to a 26-34 record. But if they would have been healthy and gotten league-average production from more than just deGrom, then they may have finished closer to my prediction of 36-24 at season start.
What is next for 2020 Mets in 2021?
Well, this team will more than likely not see Stroman or Cespedes back next season. Filling out the rotation behind deGrom and Syndergaard will be necessary, and getting more bullpen depth will be required. Now Steve Cohen is at the helm, the front office staff was dismissed, and now we wait and see what Cohen has up his sleeve this winter and going forward. He does expect to win a world series in the next 3-5 years.
Thanks for reading today, I am so grateful for your time reading, and I hope you enjoyed reviewing the winners as much as I have. I also want to thank my partners over at Repp Sports for RAZE Energy. Thanks to this clean and sufficient energy, I can have the intense focus to deliver content to you guys consistently. Click here to save 15% right now with the code "BALL BOY" at check out.