For the second straight day during the MLB Winter Meetings in San Diego, Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen met with the media.
Tuesday's topics included how the team will respond to other moves being made within the division, players have specific nutrition plans, and how the team may use their 26th spot on the active roster.
Here are four takeaways from Tuesday's availability:
Sticking to the plan
The Mets' NL East rivals have been among the most active teams to this point in the offseason. The Braves have added Will Smith, Cole Hamels, and Travis d'Arnaud. The Nats have brought back Stephen Strasburg and Howie Kendrick, and the Phillies have acquired Zack Wheeler and now, reportedly, Didi Gregorius.
Despite all of those moves, Van Wagenen says the Mets are solely focused on their own plan, and they won't change their ways based on what other teams are doing.
"We have to stick to our plan," Van Wagenen said. "I think that we're here to try to win games. Other teams are going to try to compete against us, and we have to try to do the best we can to win more games than they do. At the end of the day, there are a lot of different ways to do it, but we're not going to have other people's moves influence the things that we're trying to do.
"I think our plan still has the same core focus. We want to create depth in our starting rotation, we want to create depth in the bullpen, but we also want to rely on the good players that we have. We have a core group of players from Wilson Ramos behind the plate, Pete Alonso at first, (Robinson) Cano at second, Amed Rosario at short, Jeff McNeil at third with Jed Lowrie as a utility infielder. Michael Conforto, JD Davis, Brandon Nimmo, and Yoenis Cespedes in the outfield is a pretty good group, with Jake Marisnick playing elite defense. I think we like our club."
Video: Van Wagenen dives deep into Mets current roster
Nutritional plans for players
Earlier in the day, Carlos Beltran noted that Jeurys Familia has already lost 20 pounds this offseason.
Asked about Familia and about Edwin Diaz specifically, Van Wagenen said that the team gave offseason nutritional plans to every player on the roster, and the club has been checking in to see that the plans are followed.
"We had a group - I won't get into the specific names of people - but we sent nutritionists, we sent physical therapists, strength and conditioning folds, and we put a very specific action plan in place early in the offseason so that we'd have a long runway to see the results.
"We had player plans for all of our players heading into the offseason," Van Wagenen added. "We've had home visits with some of the players as well."
On players having one primary position vs. the value the versatility
The Mets roster features players like McNeil, Davis, and Lowrie, players who have proven to be able to play multiple positions in the field.
Van Wagenen spoke about what that versatility brings to the Mets, but also said that certain players simply play better when they have a more defined role.
"Well, I think we have to factor in if players aren't comfortable playing certain positions, than it's going to impact their performance," Van Wagenen said. "So yes, we have to consider that when we look at which players are versatile versus players that need to be positioned in one spot.
"I think there are players that over time have proven that they can play multiple positions, and those players are rare and they're valuable, and we're fortunate to have a couple of them."
On having a 26th roster spot
Starting in 2020, MLB teams will be allowed to carry an extra player on their active rosters. Teams will be capped at 13 pitchers, but how the Mets elect to use that 26th roster spot is yet to be decided.
"I think that we're capped at 13 pitchers, so I think that we'll have a decision to make in terms of whether we're carrying 12 or 13 pitchers at any given point in time, and then depending on how that plays out would dictate how we use the 13 or 14th position player on the roster," Van Wagenen said. "But I think that having players that can potentially be a third catcher, players that can provide speed off the bench, or players that can be more of a situational hitting, platoon roles, more so than everyday players."
