Welcome to the Dynasty

Who needs George Springer?
I'm Albert Freaking Almora!

Now that the Mets have added Albert Almora Jr, I think that most of us can agree that the future dynasty is complete. Okay, so maybe that was a bit of an overstatement but, at least to me, it was a decent signing. He was once a #6 overall pick in the amateur draft. It doesn't seem likely that he'll ever play up to that level, but if he could bounce back to the level he was at from 2016-2018, he could be a decent bench player for the Mets. There's a little more upside there than with Guillermo Heredia, who's my leading candidate to be replaced on the 40-man, despite the preponderance of pitching on the roster. As I mentioned yesterday, 26 of the 40 spots are currently occupied by hurlers. Barring trades, some of these pitchers are likely to go before opening day, but right now it seems like Heredia is superfluous, although they might want to keep him around into spring training for some OF depth.

Time for Action, Part 2

Before I take a look at where things currently stand with the Mets infielders and outfielders, I'll take a moment to react to Brad Hand signing with the Nationals. The accounts I have read said that the Mets were willing to pay Hand and give him a second year on the contract, but that Hand preferred a one-year deal with the Nationals and the opportunity to close. If the Nats had simply outbid the Mets I would have been ready to write something very uncomplimentary here. I'm still not happy when a Mets free agent target chooses to go elsewhere, particularly to a division rival, but I get that it's tricky to sign someone as a setup man who had been a closer and still wants to close.