Omar wasn't terrible. But Sandy is a very good GM, he's just not being given the resources to supplement the home-grown guys he has.
It's not as if he didn't want to sign Nelson Cruz or Cano the year before. He can't. He's hamstrung.
He is? Great, now maybe he can sit out for 6 weeks and let someone with baseball ability take over. Can't stand his smart ass smirks and comments. (city of panic)
Definitely too harsh. The Mets are in terrific shape the next 6-7 years. Not only is the core of starting pitchers all 24-26 (deGrom oldest at 27, Thor youngest at 22) with very few innings on their arms (mostly due to Tommy John surgeries all-around), but the bullpen is also very young and extremely promising. Familia is a flat-out stud: 2-0, 1 hold, 22/24 in save opportunities, 1.16 ERA, and only 25 years old. Mejia induced some panic last year, but he was something like 33/36 in save opportunities in his first year as a closer and is only 25 and will be back this week. Vic Black was automatic last year and he's only 27. Gilmartin is very good and only 25. Edgin is just 29. Leathersich is a top prospect out the of the pen will only be 25 this month. Logan Verrett is 25 and has only let one run in his last six appearances (12.1 innings) and has a 0.96 ERA with the Mets this season. Almost verything Alderson touches in the bullpen turns to gold.
People are crazy to discount Flores, as I've been saying forever now. The kid is 23 with three seasons of MLB experience and already has one of the best bats of any shortstop in all of baseball and can play a very good defensivesecond base as well. .260 average right now and he's be the most clutch hitter we've had this season. 25-30 homers and a .280 average with average defense when he hits his prime is nasty for a short stop.
Lagares is locked up for a long time under a great deal. Herrera, I feel, will be an all-star in 2-3 years (or sooner) and is only 21. Conforto is a lock to hit .290+ and 20 homers. Nimmo looks better every year.
The Mets just need one legit All-Star caliber bat this season.
I love your optimism. It is quite unusual in a fellow Met fan. A few thoughts. Once the starting pitchers become arbitration eligible will the Wilpons be willing to pay them. I don't think you can count on relievers long term as it is a very transient position. Vic Black is a good example. I don't see Flores hitting 25 home runs and if Dilson Herrera becomes an All Star I will send you a fruit basket. Conforto is a great prospect but seems to be more of a line drive hitter then a home run hitter. This is one of the worst hitting Met teams and I have been watching them since the mid 1970's. I hope you are right.
The Mets will be shedding a lot of contract space by the end of this season (or before) with Colon (11 mill), Niese (7 mill this year, 9 next), Gee (5.3 mill), Parnell (3.7 mill), and Murphy (8 mill). David Wrights's 20 mill dials down to 15 and then 12 in 2019 and 2020, respectively. It's worth noting that the Mets insured his contract so that they would only have to pay 25% from the date he missed 60 straight days until he started playing again--which is now in effect. Cuddyer (12.5 mill) falls off after 2016 and Granderson (15 mill) falls off after 2017 in favor of younger, less expensive options like Conforto and Nimmo.
Alderson did a really good job of staggering the veteran contracts and timing the expiration of those contracts with the emergence of the youngsters, while also staggering the debuts of the young stars to make it manageable to sign everyone. That gets overlooked by most fans. That is why we didn't see Thor last year, why Conforto has been slow-played, and why we won't see Nimmo (and possibly Conforto) until mid-April in 2016. No way they wanted Matz, Thor, Nimmo, and Conforto to hit free agency together in 2021.
As for Flores, he is showing more pop that Fonzie (my favorite Met of all-time) did his first three seasons at the same ages. Fonzie only had 18 total homers his first three years (385 games) but then hit 17, 27, and 25 the years he turned 26, 27, and 28 when he grew into his body. Flores has 17 homers in his first 181 games, albeit at a lower average than Fonzie (who was .278, .261, .315, and .278 his first four years).
Hererra was the #1 ranked 2B prospect and #46 overall prospect by Baseball American entering the 2015 season:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/2015-top-100-prospects/
(Thor #11, Matz #33, Nimmo #45, Hererra #46, Plawecki #63, Conforto #80, and Rosario #98).
When he puts on 20-30 pounds and grows into his body around 26-28...look out. + glove, + speed, ++ power, +hitting for average. He just needs a little seasoning and maturity at the plate.
