Mets Go Out with a Whimper

Some postmortems take longer than others to write. This one took five days. The New York Mets season came to a crashing end Sunday night at the hands of the San Diego Padres at CitiField. They didn't just lose the Wild Card round, they were humbled.

The team with the highest payroll in major league baseball was held to exactly one hit and one walk en route to a 6-0 game three drubbing. And while their bats were stymied, their supposed vaunted starting pitching was lit up like a pinball machine in two of the three games. Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt surrendered a combined 10 earned runs in 8 and 2/3 innings pitched. Scherzer's performance was particularly brutal, given the $43 million annual salary the Mets are paying him. All seven of the earned runs he allowed came via the long ball. He looked like he was throwing batting practice out there.

There's no way to sugar coat what happened. This was an epic fail, pure and simple. Yes, the Mets won 101 games, but their flaws were apparent pretty much all season long. You would've had to be blind not to see them. Inconsistent hitting and a bullpen that, sans Edwin Diaz and Adam Ottavino, was unreliable most nights. Why else do you suppose Buck Showalter brought in Diaz in the 7th inning of game two with a one-run lead? He literally had no one else he could count on.

As I wrote earlier, this is all on Billy Eppler. The GM knew there were holes in both the lineup and bullpen and yet, at the trade deadline, he acquired players who did little more than patch them up. Daniel Vogelbach was the cream of the crop, batting .255 with 6 home runs and 25 RBIs over 55 games, but was virtually useless against lefties. Tyler Naquin was supposed to provide Showlater with badly needed outfield depth, but batted .203 with 4 homers and 13 RBIs in 49 games. Not to be outdone, Darin Ruf literally brought up the rear, batting a putrid .152 with zero HRs and only 7 RBIs in 28 games. For the beleaguered bullpen, Eppler's sole acquisition, Mychal Givens, never got untracked. In 19 appearances, he gave up 24 hits, 6 walks and had an ERA of 4.79. 

So, where does Eppler go from here?

Well, for starters, he has some decisions to make about what to do with several of his own free agents. Even though the Mets had the highest payroll in baseball, it will undoubtedly need go up. How much will depend on who they keep and who they let walk. Let's take them in order.

Jacob deGrom: The two-time Cy-Young award winner missed the second half of last season and the first half of this one. He made $33.5 million in 2022 and was set to make $30.5 in 2023, but elected to opt out of his contract. How high Steve Cohen will go to retain the most popular pitcher the franchise has had since Tom Seaver remains to be seen.

Edwin Diaz: The best closer in baseball made $10.2 million this season and will command a very hefty pay raise over the winter. Cohen must not let him skip town, even if it means overpaying.

Brandon Nimmo: The center fielder was a reliable leadoff hitter this season and has outstanding range. He made only $7 million so Eppler should be able to re-sign him for a manageable number.

Then there are the players who are arbitration eligible.

Pete Alonso: The popular first baseman tied Aaron Judge for the most RBIs in the majors at 131 and made a paltry $7.4 million. Figure around $15 million for 2023 gets it done.

Jeff McNeil: The National League batting champ made only $3 million and, like Alonso, will see his salary double.

Now for the players under contract who are owed increases.

Chris Bassitt: Overall, Bassitt had a good year, but wilted in his last two starts against the Braves and Padres respectively. He made $8.65 million this season and is due to make $19 million in 2023. Eppler could include him in a package for Shohei Ohtani over the winter.

Starling Marte: At $14.5 million, Marte was one of the better signings the Mets have made in quite some time. Even at the $19.5 million he is due to make next season, he is still a good value. I doubt Eppler will move him.

Carlos Carrasco: At best, Carrasco is a fourth starter whose salary will increase from $12 million to $14 million. There are cheaper options out there that Eppler can and must explore over the offseason.

If the Mets can work out a deal for Ohtani, it would behoove them to do so. Ohtani kills two birds with one stone. He gives the Mets a solid power hitter who could smack 35 plus home runs per season and who makes the lineup deeper and less vulnerable to the types of ups and downs that plagued it throughout the season. As solid a season as Alonso had, there were too many times he struggled at the plate. Having Ohtani batting fifth behind him would force pitchers to throw him more strikes.

As a pitcher, Ohtani went 15-9 with 219 strikeouts in 166 innings pitched and a 2.33 ERA on a really bad Angels team. Imagine what he could do on a winning team. He just signed a $30 million contract extension for 2023, so if the Mets do acquire him, they would have to move out some contracts. That's why I think it's very possible that deGrom has pitched his last game as a Met. The money he would command could easily go to Ohtani.

But if there's one thing Eppler must do, it's fix the bullpen. A team with championship aspirations cannot let the likes of Tyler Megill (5.13), Trevor May (5.04) and Joley Rodriguez (4.47) take the mound next season. Showalter desperately needs relievers he can rely on. Just look at the job the Cleveland Guardians pen has done. In four postseason games, it hasn't allowed an earned run.

Bottom line, the way the Mets went out with a whimper will stick in the craw of the fans, as it should. If Cohen is serious about his commitment to make this team a legitimate contender, he needs to prove it. It is simply unacceptable for this franchise to have only two World Series championships in 60 years.