Well let’s try to understand that while the Mets played some exciting and dramatic baseball during the summer of 2024, it was not a team without flaws. A lot of teams across MLB suffered from unexpected (obviously) and exhaustive injuries. A lot of teams across MLB underachieved and greatly disappointed their fan bases. So the door was opened.
It has to be said that Francisco Lindor has proven that the Mets won the shortstop sweepstakes – a few years ago - and they pulled off a huge steal of the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians). And would anyone rather have Amed Rosario and/or Andres Gimenez right now? Lindor has been everything a team could hope for both offensively and defensively…and as a leader. And he doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
With the exception of Lindor, the Mets accomplished what they did with underwhelming performances from Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, Francisco Alvarez, and Edwin Diaz…as well as a host of others from the bullpen carousel.
Alonso had some good numbers. But those numbers were a bit deceiving. He was not the Alonso of the past seasons, rather, he was chasing more bad pitches than usual and he often failed in clutch situations…adding to the frustration of the Mets fan base.
Nimmo made his mark as an on-base machine. True, he was not a base-stealer in the traditional sense. But he always seemed to get on base, and made pitchers work extra hard. Now his home run totals are up and his on base percentage is way down. So what made him so important to the Mets offense is now no longer a part of his game. He is just another average outfielder who hits 20 homers and strikes out well over 100 times.
McNeil won a batting title. That’s a couple of years in the rearview mirror. Yes, he was injured part of the season. But that didn’t do him in. He, too, got away from doing what he did best which was spray the ball to all fields. Now he has too many pop ups and weak grounders to the second baseman. He is a valuable player as a utility player…a Ben Zobrist type…but he is not the superstar that he believes he is.
Alvarez was believed to be the rising star after his 2023 performance but got hit with the sophomore jinx. He was injured and had to play through that, but looked awful. He is still so young and can return to his ’23 form, but hopefully he was not a product of overhype that has often plagued the Mets in the past.
And then there is Diaz. The question is…is the real Diaz the Edwin Diaz of 2022 when the Mets fans made him into a folk hero or the Edwin Diaz of pre-2022 who frustrated Mets fans and often booed him? After sitting out the 2023 season due to that ridiculous injury, he was going to have to ease back in to form. Clearly he was not as dominant and had trouble keeping in his arm slot that made him so effective in ’22. And remember, relievers are more often “one hit wonders” these days rather than “Mariano Rivera.” Long careers are not very common.
Oh yeah, let’s not forget the nice season Mark Vientos had after Brett Baty failed. But no matter how good Vientos was…the Mets have in no way given Vientos any reason to feel that he is being counted on for the future. They seem to be cautiously avoiding committing to him in any capacity.
Surprisingly good was the starting pitching, especially Sean Manea and Luis Severino, as well as Jose Quintana…all of whom are now free agents. Speaking of free agents…there is no bigger free agent at the conclusion of the 2024 season than Alonso.
The dust has settled and now is the time for decisions.
What will the Mets do with Alonso? He is a home-grown lifelong Met. He has been a truly great player and fan favorite. Do they treat him the same as David Wright and make him a Met for life? Of do they let him go at this stage of his career? We all know what happened after the Mets did the right thing by Wright.
Do the Mets bring back all or any combination of those starting pitchers…Manea, Severino, or Quintana?
Who do they make available in a trade?
Who do they hold on to?
And who do the Mets throw big money at in this free agent market?
Stay tuned.
