On December 3, the New York Mets traded three prospects along with veterans Jay Bruce and Anthony Swarzak to the Seattle Mariners for lights out closer Edwin Diaz and All Star second baseman Robinson Cano. That step brought the Mets closer to possible contenders in the NL East.
But what would happen in the weeks to come almost guaranteed that the Mets would be a threat to win their Division.
Over the past few weeks, the Mets had been in talks with the Miami Marlins for the services of catcher J.T. Realmuto, and it seemed they were willing to part ways with either Michael Conforto or Brandon Nimmo. Then the New Yankees came into the mix and it was reported that Noah Syndergaard would become a Bronx Bomber in a three team trade.
During the time that these rumors were being discussed all over social media and amongst many concerned Mets fans, New York signed free agent pitcher Jeurys Familia, who will return for another stint with the Mets as he will pair with Diaz to make the back end of the rotation even stronger.
Then on December 18th, the Mets took their offer off the table for Realmuto and decided to keep their young studs and instead sign free agent catcher Wilson Ramos. For the meantime, it reassured that the team would not part ways with Conforto, Nimmo or even Syndergaard. It would have been interesting to see if the Yankees would have required Syndergaard to cut his long blond locks, ending his “Thor” resemblance. But as for now that is not something that Mets fans will have to worry about.
Now what does this mean to the 2019 Mets. Well it means that they still have their 1-2 punch in the rotation in Jacob deGrom and Syndergaard, with Conforto and Nimmo still roaming the outfield, while also showcasing their offensive skills.
The Mets will have some competition brewing during Spring Training as Top Prospect Peter Alonso will be vying to take over 1B and over at 3B veteran Todd Frazier may have to hold off Jeff McNeil from taking away his spot. That may be a long stretch for McNeil as the Mets will owe Frazier $9 mil in 2019 and highly unlikely Frazier will be coming off the bench. But McNeil is a very important piece to any Mets title run so finding ample playing time for the rookie will be key.
The Mets have some other needs, and outfield is one big one as there isn’t a real timetable as to when Yoenis Cespedes will return to the field, but in the meantime, and barring any other moves, exciting baseball is looking very likely to be returning to Queens, NY.
Being a die-hard Mets fan, I am thrilled that the Mets didn’t give up their young stars for one guy and solved that problem by signing a viable catcher from the free agent market. Now its time to add other needed pieces and build this team to last beyond just one good season. Mets fans are ready to be spoiled, and we all know we deserve winning baseball again.
Only time will tell and games need to be played, but as I see it now, 2019 looks to be an exciting year to be a Mets fan.
David Conde
David is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Legends On Deck®, as well as a Co-Host on Legends On Deck Podcast. David was a Senior Editor for MetsMerizedOnline.com, MetsMinors.net and Contributor for Hardballchat.com that spanned from 2010 to 2014. David made his MLB Debut as a writer in June 2014, while covering the NY Mets at Citi Field, for MetsmerizedOnline.com. David also coaches baseball for ages 13-15, a Babe Ruth League team in his local community. David's passion is coaching the game he loves to the future Legends of Tomorrow as well as making available a website that people can have fun sharing and reading. David is also passionate about his career as a Mortgage Loan Officer which allows him to help many families reach their dreams of owning a home. Connect with David via his Social Media pages as he loves to chat all about baseball.
You must be logged in to post a comment.