In 2015, the New York Mets finished the regular season with a 90-72 record. It was a major step forward for the Mets, who won just 79 games the previous season and had endured six consecutive losing seasons. Believe it or not, New York has a chance to continue its upward trajectory in 2016 and win even more than 90 games.
Part of the reason for the Mets’ high win total in 2015 was their dominance within their division, as New York won a league-high 47 games against intra-division opponents. Not only did the Mets win their season series with the second-place Washington Nationals, but they also dominated bottom feeders like the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies. With the Braves and Phillies still in rebuilding mode, the Mets are set up well to beat up on bad teams in their own division, which should do wonders for their overall record.
Beyond the teams that they’ll play, the Mets will have a full season of service from several notable players who were not around for the entirety of the 2015 season. On the pitching front, the Mets are hoping to get 30-plus starts out of both Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz after the two combined for just 30 starts during the 2015 regular season, 24 of those belonging to Syndergaard. The Mets also don’t have to worry about limiting the innings of Matt Harvey, potentially giving him a few more starts in 2016 than he had last season.
With regard to position players, New York is hoping for a full season out of both Yoenis Cespedes and David Wright. Of course, Cespedes didn’t join the Mets until August, and having him in the lineup every day for a full season should help prevent the poor offensive numbers that plagued New York for a significant chunk of 2015. In Wright’s case, the Mets understand that he may need frequent days off to rest his back, but if he’s able to avoid a four-month stint on the DL like he experienced last season, the Mets should have Wright available to them for more than the 38 regular season games he played in 2015.
Simply having more availability from a slew of key players than they had last year will put the Mets in position to increase their win total from a year ago, even if injuries pop up along the way. With an even better starting rotation than the team had last season and more at-bats from the likes of Cespedes and Wright, not to mention the fact that New York plays in a division that’s incredibly weak at the bottom, the Mets are set up to finish the 2016 season with a record of 96-66.
