The Mets have already had a whopper of an offseason, using big bucks to sign big names as they remade their starting rotation, retained two key stars and enhanced their bullpen. But as a win-now club with monster expectations, they shouldn’t be done just yet.
Even a roster that has enjoyed nearly $470 million of additions still has departments that could use an upgrade. The Mets clearly think so, which is why their latest move was to agree to a deal with Omar Narváez and plug him into the catching mix, which already includes (for now, anyway) James McCann, Tomás Nido and, perhaps, uber-prospect Francisco Álvarez.
Obviously, there’s still some sorting to be done behind the plate and perhaps any future move there – trade McCann and whatever they can shed from the $24.3 million he’s owed over the next two seasons? – could help either their offense or bullpen. Regardless, those are two areas the Mets should still address and hitting might be the bigger of the two.
Earlier this week, GM Billy Eppler noted that most of the winter’s “heavy lifting” was done. But he pledged to be “opportunistic,” too. Here’s hoping he can pull that off by adding power to the lineup from a free-agent group that still includes Adam Duvall, Trey Mancini, Michael Conforto and Brandon Drury or by exploring the trade market.
First, let’s be clear – the Mets were a mostly successful offense in 2022, averaging 4.77 runs per game, which was tied for fifth in Major League Baseball with the Cardinals, according to baseball-reference.com. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers, Yankees, Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays averaged more runs; the World Series champion Astros were eighth at 4.55.
But another home-run threat would be a boost. The Mets were eighth in slugging percentage (.412) last year, but tied for 15th in homers (171, three below the league average total).