August and Everything After

In balancing the needs of the present with those of the future, the Mets are doing right by their fans.

Things have been fairly hectic for me lately. I haven't been able to post here as often as I would wish. More on that later, but first, let's catch up on some Mets thoughts. My last post was a week before the trade deadline. Although I did expect the Mets to make a stronger push for a left-handed reliever, I wasn't surprised that the Mets didn't make a huge splash in the deadline market. The brain trust had pretty well telegraphed their thinking ahead of time, and it was clear they weren't going to trade top prospects for rentals.

A Very Early Look at Mets Position Players

When last I posted here, I took an early look at the Mets pitching*. This included the additions of Chris Bassitt and Adam Ottavino, but still pending the almost certain addition of at least one late-inning caliber lefty. Today we'll move on to the position players, whose ranks have been substantially overhauled this off-season. Eduardo Escobar will be picking up most of the 3B ABs this year, while Starling Marte and Mark Canha will be joining lone holdover Brandon Nimmo in the outfield. Barring a last-minute change of course, Michael Conforto will not be returning after seven mostly solid seasons in New York.

With the Present on Hold, We Look to the Future

It was good news that negotiations between MLB and the Players Association resumed Sunday, but I fear we're still a considerable distance from playing major league ballgames this season. Still, the only way this will ever resolve is if the two sides continue talking to each other. Meanwhile, the only baseball being played in spring training camps is with minor leaguers who are not on the 40-man roster. Players on the 40-man, even if they haven't played an inning at the major league level, are still part of the MLBPA and are locked out along with major league ballplayers.