We do not know when the Major League Baseball (MLB) season will begin. What we do know is that when it starts, the New York Mets will be without their star pitcher, Noah Syndergaard. Snydergaard underwent Tommy John surgery to repair a torn elbow ligament on Thursday, March 26, in West Palm Beach, Florida and will most likely not return until at least April of the 2021 season. Last year, Syndergaard had the worst season of his career, posting a 4.28 ERA, though it’s possible that his elbow was a reason why. Syndergaard had a lot of potential when he came into the league in 2015, but has not quite lived up to the expectations.
Though the Mets will be without Syndergaard for the 2020 season, they still have a very solid rotation, led by the two-time defending Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom. Along with deGrom, the pitching staff will include Marcus Stroman and Steven Matz. The team also wanted to focus on adding starting pitching depth, which General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen did by signing Michael Wacha and former Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello to round out the rotation.
Originally, one of those two starting pitchers was going to be the odd man out and have to come out of the bullpen. Now that Syndergaard will be out this season, they will both be starters.
There is still hope for the Mets this season even without Syndergaard in the picture. To start, the team will get another full season from the reigning National League Rookie of the Year Pete Alonso. He was arguably the biggest prospect the Mets had since they signed Syndergaard.
Alonso certainly lived up to those expectations last season, breaking Aaron Judge’s 2017 rookie home run record of 52. Alonso finished the season with 53 long balls, one more than Judge. The “Polar Bear” quickly became a fan favorite in Queens and will try to repeat his performance this season.
Along with Alonso, there are a few other young players on the team who should take another step forward this season, such as Jeff McNeil, Michael Conforto, Amed Rosario and J.D. Davis. All of these players were key to the Mets second-half success last season and should improve with another year under their belts.
Another player to watch for this season is Yoenis Céspedes. Mets fans remember Céspedes for his heroics when he was acquired at the Trade Deadline in 2015 and led the team to the World Series. He has not been the same since then, however, after dealing with multiple injuries. He played in just 38 games in the 2018 season after having surgery on both of his heels and did not play at all last season after a mysterious injury in which he fractured his ankle.
As a result of the latter injury, Céspedes and the Mets agreed to reduce his salary for this season, which is the last year of his contract. A healthy Céspedes with a reduced salary in a contract year will certainly have ample motivation to perform well this season.
Another reason for hope is the improved bullpen. Along with adding depth to the starting rotation, Van Wagenen made it clear that the Mets also had to address the bullpen, which has been another issue the last few seasons. There was not a strong market this offseason for relief pitchers. However, one of the biggest names was former Yankee Dellin Betances, who missed most of last season due to multiple injuries. The Mets were able to sign Betances, a four-time All-Star who is considered one of the best relievers in baseball when fully healthy, to a one-year deal.
In addition to Betances, the Mets have some other key pieces in the bullpen. Among those is closer Edwin Díaz, who was part of the trade with Robinson Canó from the Seattle Mariners last offseason. The Mets had high expectations after Díaz lead the league with 57 saves in the 2018 season. But last season was the worst of Díaz’s young career. He only recorded 26 saves on 33 opportunities and had an atrocious 5.59 ERA. He also gave up 15 home runs. Díaz eventually lost his closer role to Seth Lugo, who has quietly been one of the best Mets relievers since he came into the league in 2016. Díaz is hoping for a bounce-back season and to regain the trust of Mets fans.
After an exciting finish last season, the Mets are in good shape for when this year’s baseball season resumes.
Photo courtesy of Rich Schultz
