Mets 2021 Outlook
The New York Mets are arguably the most improved team going into the 2021 season. With the Wilpon family selling the franchise to hedge fund manager Steve Cohen, the Mets were bound to spend money. Cohen kept that promise. Cohen started with some small moves bringing in relief pitchers, Jacob Barnes, Sam McWilliams, Nick Tropeano, and Trevor May, but he turned up the heat by re-signing Marcus Stroman through a qualifying offer. Cohen continued to heat things up, bringing in catcher James McCann to a 4 year $40 million deal. The Mets weren’t considered the real deal until Cohen and Alderson made a blockbuster trade acquiring Shortstop Francisco Lindor and Pitcher Carlos Carrasco from the Cleveland Indians. Cohen and the Mets would continue to make some smaller moves addressing other needs. He brought in Jonathan Villar, Kevin Pillar, Jordan Yamamoto, Taijuan Walker, Aaron Loup, as well as a ton of arbitrations avoided.
NL East
The N.L East is going to be a tough division in 2021 as the Mets will go up against the Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies, and Miami Marlins.
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are one of the top teams in the MLB led by young superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. and 2020 NL MVP Freddie Freeman. The Braves have re-signed Marcell Ozuna coming off of a great year. They also have Ozzie Albies for second base. On the pitching side, Max Fried has come off of a great year. With Mike Soroka coming back from surgery and recently signed Charlie Morton, the Braves are one of the top teams making a push for the world series.
Washington Nationals
Although it might not seem like it, the Washington Nationals are still a very good team. Although they finished last in the division last year, Stephen Strausburg is coming back from surgery. The Nats still have Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin giving a very solid rotation. They also addressed the bullpen issues signing Brad Hand. On the hitting side, they have Juan Soto who is arguably an MVP contender, Trea Turner, and Victor Robles who is very young. Although the Nats aren’t a World Series contender like 2019, they are still a solid team that can make a run for the Wild Card.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies have a solid core of players but due to some money issues, their future is a little undetermined. The Phillies re-signed J.T. Realmuto at catcher. They also have Rhys Hoskins at first base and Alec Bohm at third coming off of a Rookie of the Year type Rookie Season. The Phillies also have Bryce Harper in the outfield. The pitching side is very weak. Aaron Nola is a very strong pitcher, but the bullpen needs to be addressed. If the Phillies want to make the playoffs they need to continue to address their pitching needs. However, the problem is that they have spent a lot of money on Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto.
Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins have come off of a great year, making the playoffs for the first time since 2003. The Marlins season could be good or bad due to a very young core of Jesus Aguilar, Brain Anderson, Sandy Alcantara, Sixto Sanchez, and more. Overall the N.L. East is very tough and the Mets will have to perform well in division games if they want to win the division or at least make the Wild Card.
Jacob DeGrom
You can’t talk about the top starting pitchers and not mention Jacob Degrom. Jacob Degrom has been one of the top pitchers since 2018 winning two Cy Youngs and finishing third in one. DeGrom had a 2.17 ERA in the past three seasons with a .94 WHIP and a 12.1 K/9. DeGrom is throwing harder than ever and continues to find ways to improve and exceed people’s expectations.
Francisco Lindor
The Mets have improved their team immensely by acquiring Francisco Lindor in a blockbuster trade. Francisco Lindor is arguably the best shortstop in the MLB. In the past three years, Francisco Lindor had a batting average of 273 with an 825 OPS and a 35 home runs average on a 162 game scale. Although these numbers might not seem scary, Francisco Lindor is very fast and very strong defensively. He continues to get tons of stolen bases and is one of the best fielders in the game. Lindor is naturally a very explosive and exciting player. He is a leader on and off the field and brings a sense of excitement that other players can’t.
Pete Alonso
The 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion had one of the most exciting rookie seasons in a while. Although he had a down year in 2020 if Pete Alonso can have a bounce-back year the Mets will improve immensely. In Pete Alonso’s two-year career, he averaged a 252 batting average with a 51 home run average and a 909 OPS. Pete Alonso is easily one of the best power hitters in baseball and he is capable of having a great year in 2021 if he fixes the issues from 2020.
Michael Conforto
Michael Conforto was one of the Mets’ bright spots in 2020 with a breakout year. In the past four years, he averaged a 275 batting average, with a 33 home run average and an 879 OPS. In 2020, he hit for 9 home runs with a 322 batting average and a 927 OPS. Conforto is still a somewhat young and very talented player. If he can replicate his success from 2020 he can do some great things for the Mets.
Probable Starting Lineup
Position Players
Catcher: James McCann
First Base: Pete Alonso
Second Base: Jeff McNeil
Shortstop: Francisco Lindor
Third Base: JD Davis
Left Field: Dominic Smith
Center Field: Brandon Nimmo
Right Field: Michael Conforto
Starting Pitching Rotation
From First to Last
Jacob DeGrom
Carlos Carrasco (depending on situation)
Marcus Stroman
Noah Syndergaard (depending on the situation)
Taijuan Walker
David Peterson (if Syndergaard doesn’t return)
Joey Luccesi
Potential Starting Lineup
From First to Last
Brandon Nimmo
Jeff McNeil
Francisco Lindor
Michael Conforto
Pete Alonso
Dominic Smith
JD Davis
James McCann
Pitcher
Bench
In No Particular Order
Catcher: Tomas Nido
1B/RF: Jose Martinez
2B/3B: Luis Guillorme
2B/SS/3B: Jonathan Villar
CF: Kevin Pillar
CF: Albert Almora Jr.
CF: Khalil Lee
Unaddressed Issues
Bullpen
Although they made some improvements, they failed to improve the bullpen enough to make a difference and failed to bring in any major relief pitchers. The Mets had the chance to bring in Liam Hendriks, Alex Colome, Brad Hand, or Trevor Rosenthal. Any of those relief pitchers would have pushed the Mets bullpen to something more than just blowing leads.
Center Field
Although, Brandon Nimmo is a solid center fielder, that isn’t his natural position. The Mets haven’t had a centerfielder in a while that can both hit and field. The Mets have had great fielders in the past such as Juan Lagares who won the 2014 Gold Glove but can’t hit. Playing center field can put strain on one’s body and if Brandon Nimmo played the natural position at either Left or Right Field, he would be much better.
Overall Outlook
If the Mets players can play to their potential and the Mets bullpen can hold onto enough leads, the Mets have a very good chance at being a serious playoff contender. My prediction is that the Mets will win 93 games but finish second in the division behind the Braves. I think the Mets will be a Wild Card team but can easily make a push for something more.