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Grading New York Mets’ 2015-16 Offseason Thus Far

If you polled New York Mets fans, most would probably describe the team’s offseason thus far as disappointing, as the front office has declined to throw large sacks of money at prominent free agents. However, if you can get past the fact that the Mets are not going to spend freely and overpay for big-name players, New York has had a solid and productive offseason up to this point.

It starts with what the Mets haven’t done, which is choosing not to re-sign Daniel Murphy or Yoenis Cespedes. The loss of those two players leaves a sizable hole in the lineup, but re-signing either would not be worthwhile financially or in the best long-term interest of the team. To help fill the hole left by Cespedes, the Mets will play Michael Conforto in left field every day and hope he emerges as a star after providing a spark the second half of 2015.

The Mets will also be hoping for a bounce-back season from Juan Lagares, although they signed Alejandro De Aza as a potential platoon partner for Lagares. De Aza may be fine in a complementary role, but one mistake the Mets did make this offseason is being too quick to sign him before the outfield market had a chance to develop. This prevented them from signing a player like Denard Span or Gerardo Parra, both of whom would have been better options than De Aza but more of a threat to Lagares getting a chance to redeem himself in 2016.

To handle the loss of Murphy, the Mets have completely restructured their middle infield by signing free agent shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and trading Jon Niese for second baseman Neil Walker. Cabrera is a more sure-handed defensive shortstop than Wilmer Flores and may be able to provide nearly as much pop offensively. Meanwhile, Walker is not as accomplished a hitter as Murphy, but he will undoubtedly be an upgrade defensively and could provide more power. Overall, the Mets made modest but meaningful upgrades to their middle infield.

On the pitching front, the Mets traded away Niese but made the wise choice of re-signing Bartolo Colon to fill out their rotation until Zack Wheeler returns mid-season, as well as protect against injuries to any of the team’s other starters. New York also filled their need for a left-handed reliever by re-signing Jerry Blevins. However, the Mets still need to sign one more competent setup man to complete their bullpen, and thus far they appear hesitant to pay up for one of the better options remaining on the market, namely Antonio Bastardo or Tyler Clippard.

All things considered, the Mets have had a nice offseason. They haven’t made a huge splash with any major acquisitions, but with the deepest and arguably best starting rotation in baseball, they didn’t need to. With a reliable bullpen and an average offense in support of their rotation, the Mets can be among the best teams in the National League in 2016. For a solid if unspectacular offseason filled with modest upgrades and only minor mistakes, the Mets deserve a decent grade.

Grade: B-

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