Mets Talk: It's Over Brodie, Time to SELL

NY Mets new GM Brodie Van Wagenen (left) posing after the trade of top prospects Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn among others for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz (center). Jeff Wilpon joins them (right). Photo Credit: YouTube

I'll be the first to admit that I liked a lot of the offseason moves Brodie Van Wagenen made in his first year as general manager. I liked the value addition of Jed Lowrie. I liked passing on Bryce Harper and Manny Machado (who I think are over-hyped and overpaid... numbers so far would say I'm right about that). I thought Justin Wilson was a decent reliever signing and while I preferred we go after Adam Ottavino rather than Jeurys Familia, I didn't think a pitcher who only had an ERA over 4.00 once since 2014 would have an ERA of 7.81 this season. I enjoyed the depth we gained from acquiring JD Davis, Keon Broxton, and Adeiny Hechavarria (two have had successful seasons, one is already gone). I was overjoyed when we finally got a real catcher in Wilson Ramos, even though I did want Grandal more, and he has been better. I even defended the trade above, praying that the Mets knew what they were giving up in Jarred Kelenic, praying that our scouts would tell Brodie is he was an untradeable talent (he looks like the next superstar outfielder of the league, go figure), praying that Cano still had a few good years left in the tank and more so that Edwin Diaz would continue his dominance as a top closer. I mean at least we shed bad contracts in Jay Bruce and Anthony Swarzak, right? Only Swarzak has become a solid RP again somehow and Bruce now terrorizes us with homers in the Philly bandbox. So I was wrong too, not just Brodie, and a lot of you Mets fans out there may not admit it, but so were you about some of these things if not all of them.

Now I'm not defending the GM for his arrogance and his press conferences, or his moves since the offseason, but I am defending the offseason which looked okay, we actually did much more than 75% of the MLB. No one could have predicted all the things that have gone atrociously wrong in 2019, even the most pessimistic of fans. You wouldn't have expected that Jed Lowrie is yet to play a game in uniform. You wouldn't have expected that the big four starters (DeGrom, Syndergaard, Wheeler, and Matz) would have a combined ERA of 4.29 at June 28 (that would be higher if not for DeGrom at 3.25). You wouldn't have expected Cespedes to fall off a horse during rehab and injury himself even worse than before. You wouldn't have expected Brandon Nimmo to completely lose all ability to play the game of baseball from one year to the next (batting under .200 most of the year before getting hurt). You wouldn't have expected young arms like Drew Smith (tommy john surgery in Spring after a breakout reliever second half in 2018), Corey Oswalt (12.15 ERA), Tim Peterson (4.91 ERA), and Daniel Zamora (5.68 ERA) to all be unusable this season. Maybe you would have expected the bullpen to have 20+ blown saves, maybe, but you probably wouldn't have thought Diaz, Gsellman, and Lugo to combine for 11 of them. You wouldn't have thought that if Pete Alonso gets called up and has 27 home runs plus 61 RBI's, and at the same time Jeff McNeil and Dom Smith hit .346 and .336 respectively, the Mets would still be 37-45!!! The absurdities of this season have been absolutely RIDICULOUS... and it's frustrating for us fans, no doubt about it. Sure, there are plenty of moves I would have made that we didn't. I would have definitely bid for Keuchel or Kimbrel, I was higher on Keuchel (which I said in an article back in May), but I would have been in on both and tried to sign both if we were seriously talking about a World Series like Brodie and the Wilpons said we were. I would have stuck with younger players like Davis and Smith, getting them more at bats over guys like Frazier and Cano. I probably wouldn't have fired Dave Eiland before Mickey Callaway. The list goes on, but even so I won't call for Brodie's head just yet, like many fans have. Now is a key moment for the green GM though, it's the moment of humility. The moment where you realize you have no shot at a championship with this current roster, and the moment that you turn all your current trade assets in to a future we can look forward to.

I'm not sure if Brodie is ready to admit to his failures just yet, but if he can, here's what he should do starting NOW:

1. Our team is built the wrong way in the modern day MLB. A core that relies on starting pitching over hitting may work in the playoffs, but it won't get you there. The MLB has clearly juiced the baseballs (check out my article on this scandal), ERA's are up all around the league and home runs are easier to hit than ever before. It makes sense that Diaz, DeGrom, Syndergaard, Wheeler, Matz, and more are struggling... they're not the only ones! Pitching is struggling everywhere, and I've noticed that the guys having the most success are the soft tossers. Breaking ball pitchers (like Vargas for the Mets) have been okay this year, not great, but okay. The hard-throwers pretty much have to strike everyone out, otherwise that juiced ball is going to FLY off that bat. To deny it means you haven't been watching. I'm not complaining, but I am saying the Mets need to adapt before they are left behind. We should keep DeGrom and Diaz (I know Edwin is public enemy number one after last night's debacle but he did throw a ton of innings in Seattle last year which could be affecting his play... let's give him a well-rested second half of the season and have him geared up for 2020). Every other pitcher should be ready to pack their bags. I'm not saying trade them just to trade them, but if we get offers with really solid value, these guys got to go. Syndergaard should be the most attractive piece, but I also think Lugo and Matz will drum up value. Lugo has top-notch stuff and can go plus innings out of the pen, Matz is a lefty (always value there). Wheeler might get you less being that he's a free agent at the end of this season, but that's even more reason we should trade him because I do not see him resigning after this mess of a season. Even Gsellman and Vargas might get you something positive, if they can pitch well before the deadline (but I would keep Gsellman, he's 25 and has shown he can pitch in clutch moments). All of the players ages are older than you would like (besides Syndergaard), and it just feels like end of an era where a fresh start is what is needed most. The returns should focus on prospects that are in double and triple A already, or even younger major leaguers for the players like Noah (MLB-ready talents for 2020 and on).

2. This leads me right into point two... build around the core hitters of the future. Jeff McNeil is 27, I'm aware that's not fresh out of college, but he should still be considered youthful for his age in only his second MLB season. Pete Alonso has been all we could have hoped for and more, he looks like a future MVP candidate and a player who surpasses the sky as the limit. Dom Smith has looked really really good as well. I have discussed the Mets trading him when we were competing in 2019, but now I'm unsure. It's unfortunate that he plays the same position as Alonso, but with his capable performances in left field and the inevitability of a DH in the National League, I see no reason not to keep them both for now. The only way I would trade Smith would be if it was in a deal for a similar type of young talent at a different position. Amed Rosario, Michael Conforto, and Brandon Nimmo have more question marks attached to them than the other three, but if you're rebuilding there's no sensible reason to trade players that are 23 (Rosario) and 26 (Conforto/Nimmo) years of age. If anything, let them play for now and then in 2020 if you're competing for the playoffs, one them might get you pitching help at the deadline, because that's the new MLB. Build around young everyday position players who can HIT, and then acquire pitchers from sellers at the deadline. Just look at the Cubs World Series team, the Astros and Yankees now, the Braves in our own division, and the Dodgers out West. All perfect examples of teams that slug it out in the regular season, and worry about pitching later on usually trading for veterans when the time comes (Verlander move ring a bell?).

3. Open up playing time for youth. Cano is a dead spot, and we may want to keep Ramos just because we have no decent catchers in the minors either. Nido will continue to see starts and we can only hope that Cano gets suspended for PED's again, otherwise he'll probably be played way too often. The rest of the veterans that can be moved, should be moved. We talked about pitching already, but Todd Frazier will likely be dealt, or at least he should be. I would also deal Hechavarria and Juan Lagares if there's anyone that wants defensive help off the bench (both 30). If the older players go, the lineup would likely look something like this... Ramos/Nido (C), Alonso (1B), Cano (2B- although I would bench him or attempt to rid myself of him which is probably impossible), Rosario (SS- for now, if we really are out of it why not try him in CF like the rumors, more on that in a moment), JD Davis (3B), Dom Smith (LF), Conforto (CF), McNeil (RF). If Lowrie ever comes back (likely too late to trade him), he can be a utility man. Nimmo can be a backup outfielder upon his return. Guys are still out of position, I understand that, but let's at least see what we got here and then if the cogs don't fit, we can try and move one or two of the uneven pieces for players that do fill our needs on defense as well as offense. This lineup could also add players through trades that force there way into the new starting lineup. In terms of prospects, the reason Rosario doesn't fit at short is that his defense sucks and our best minor league star is Andres Gimenez. We won't see him this year, but eventually he should be the starter at this position. Ronny Mauricio and Shervyen Newton (two more promising SS prospects) could also been in the conversation at middle infield in 2020 or later, so we have the depth to move Rosario to another position, or another team. Mark Vientos is a notable prospect at third if Davis doesn't perform in the everyday role, but McNeil and Lowrie could also spell there. The pitching staff would be much more wide open. We've seen guys come up and down with little success (Tim Peterson, Ryan O'Rourke, Corey Oswalt, Walker Lockett, Tyler Bashlor, Stephen Nogosek, Daniel Zamora, Jacob Rhame), but I say keep them up here. It may be hard to watch but if we're tanking the rest of 2019 anyway, let em play and see if any of them can gain some consistency. The ones that don't, move on from, the ones that do can be a part of the future. As always, this list includes any players we trade for this season. Competition should hopefully weed out the ones who have no shot at success, while helping us determine which of them actually do, if any... hopefully one or two at least haha. Anthony Kay is the closest starting pitching prospect who's worth a damn. He dominated double A, but has struggled so far in triple. There's a chance the Mets could have him pitching in 2019, but he's definitely an option for the 2020 staff. I would also like to see Franklyn Kilome at some point (got him for Asdrubal Cabrera last season), but he's also out with tommy john for the time being. We can fill the gaps with guys like Wilmer Font where needed, but the focus should be on giving younger players a chance to prove themselves.

4. Time for Callaway to go. Really it should have happened by now. I'm not even sure Mickey wants to be here anymore with his recent tirades at the media. Put the old dog down as they would say, he's done. If you want to let Jim Riggleman close out the season as interim manager, fine, but I agree with the sentiment that we should go old school success in our next hire. Brodie may bring in another guy that he can control, but this is a mistake! Brodie please, get someone in here that can save your job for you, because we all know you can't save it yourself. Joe Girardi and Dusty Baker would be the obvious candidates, but I'm sure he would have a whole selection process being that his job may be on the line in 2020 and 2021. I like Chili Davis as the hitting coach, I hope he sticks around for the time being.

The things I'm saying really aren't brain surgery. Sometimes you have to admit when you're wrong, like I did at the top of this article. Now it's your turn Brodie! Let's see the youth play!

P.S. I didn't discuss ownership because it's like beating a dead horse. Yes the Wilpons are cheap, selfish, know-nothing owners that don't seem to give a hoot whether this team ever wins or not... so long as they make their bottom line. Unless the MLB steps in (unlikely), a huge scandal emerges which ousts them from the league, or the fans actually all band together as a unit and stop attending home games as well as buying merchandise (causing them to lose money and maybe decide to sell the team... a movement like this is also never going to happen), we're stuck with them. You could always root for someone else, I couldn't, but the option is always there. As for me, I'll just keep dreaming of better days to come.