Steve Cohen Keeps Daring Us to Dream Bigger

You think I'm done?
Hand me my checkbook

Steve Cohen is giving Mets fans a lesson in what is truly possible with the right owner.

I wrote a piece earlier this week that I liked a lot. I thought I did a good job capturing the euphoria of a lifelong Mets fan (me) responding to Steve Cohen's relentless drive to field a great team. And this was based on all of the signings and what, at the time, was an unsuccessful pursuit of Carlos Correa. As I was finishing up the piece, I saw the information come across that the San Francisco Giants had postponed their press conference to welcome their new star. For a moment, I let myself consider the possibility of Correa becoming available again for Steve Cohen to sign, and then chuckled. This offseason has been a fine antidote to all of us who long suffered under the Wilpons' stewardship of the club, but there had to be a limit — didn't there?

Beyond the Power of Reason

Being a Mets fan often required a good deal of faith, but believing in the franchise is a hell of a lot easier these days.

Things have been progressing slower for Mets fans after the frenetic week of baseball's winter meetings. There have been some press conferences and a surprise near-miss on another huge free agent. The Mets also signed a catcher, ratcheting up the speculation that James McCann won't be back next year. There is still a definite need to procure a productive fourth outfielder. They re-signed Adam Ottavino, but the Mets may also seek to add one more experienced late-inning reliever to the bullpen mix. Beyond that, as the pursuit of Carlos Correa proved, it's unwise to make any assumptions about what the Mets still might do to make a successful offseason even better.

Cohen-Vision

While a former New York Met waxes poetic on the vision of the Rangers' organization, things are looking just fine here with the old club. 

In the olden days, hearing the Mets associated with the name of a premium free agent was almost inevitably a precursor of eventual disappointment, even before the Madoff fiasco crippled the team's finances. One of the factors that made Omar Minaya so popular with the fanbase initially was his signings of Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran during his first winter at the helm. I remember feeling electrified by the news of Beltran's signing, fully expecting Carlos to end up elsewhere that winter.

Abbondanza!

No Mets fan needs to leave Steve Cohen's table hungry just because their ace pitcher shuffled off to Arlington.

Back in the 90s, the Olive Garden restaurant chain ran commercials featuring the Italian word "abbondanza." Translated to English, the word means plenty. For Olive Garden, the philosophy seemed to be, "sure, the food is inauthentic and mediocre at best, but we serve you a lot of it!" They even had a dish dubbed "Chicken Pasta Abbondanza." I ate at an Olive Garden once in my life, and that was only because it was the favorite restaurant of the family of a young lady who I was quite smitten with. I'm sure my beloved Italian grandmother rolled over in her grave over my blasphemous transgression, but that young lady more than made it up to me later that night. Priorities, you know?

Then Came the Last Days of Jake

This one undeniably hurts, even though I'm sure the Mets can successfully move on from Jacob deGrom.

I was going through my email last night when I saw one from the New York Post about Jacob deGrom signing with the Rangers. That's how I first heard the news. I've always understood that deGrom returning to the Mets wasn't a given, even though the chances have been looking better over the past couple of months. I also clearly understand why it might be better for the Mets to have their ace pitcher move on. But still, it hit me like a hard slap to the face. Logic is important, but it's straight emotion that underpins being a fan of a baseball club. That's only more valid for being a Mets fan. If logic ruled, I never would have lasted 5 years, much less more than 50.

There Are Reasons Beyond Money to Be a New York Met

For years, the Mets had to overpay or settle for lesser free agents. Those days are mercifully over.

As I noted in my previous post, baseball media pundits have shifted from a speculative consensus that Jacob deGrom would sign with another team this winter to a much more optimistic narrative (outside of ESPN) that the New York Mets could actually retain their ace. My personal preference has always been for the Mets to retain one of their all-time great pitchers. Not at all costs, however, but rather after making a proper assessment of Jake's future value. After all, no other team in baseball should have a better idea of where deGrom stands medically and how much it is reasonable to expect from him going forward. As long as another team doesn't go way out on a limb with their offer, I hope the Mets re-sign him.

(In)Credible Sources

Wait... what? Now Jacob deGrom doesn't hate New York?

Remember earlier this summer when baseball pundits were tripping over each other to breathlessly report another rumor about where Jacob deGrom really wants to pitch next year? ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted: "There is a perception in some corners of the industry that if Jacob deGrom follows through with what he said in the spring and opts out of his Mets' contract, the Braves will be the favorites to land him." SNY's Andy Martino assured us that Olney's tweet constituted a "highly credible report." Martino reinforced that with some vague prattle about Georgia being closer to Florida, and even more ambiguous rumors that Jake "does not seem to enjoy the extra attention that comes with playing [in New York]."

Small Things

Hiring Eric Jagers is a smart move that could pay big dividends in the future.

Shortly after extending closer Edwin Díaz to a record-breaking deal, the New York Mets hired Eric Jagers as their director of pitching development. The 27-year-old Jagers will oversee the development of all the Mets' minor league pitchers. While the Díaz signing will justifiably garner much more attention from both the media and Mets fans, Jagers will be taking over a job that will be crucial for the club's hopes of taking some of the talented arms in their minor league system and turning them into cheap, controllable major league contributors.

These Aren't the Wilpon Mets

The Mets signing their talented closer to a huge deal so early in the off-season is a welcome change from the parsimony and indecision of the Wilpon era.

Reports are out that the New York Mets have signed closer Edwin Díaz to a five-year, $102 million contract. My first thoughts were about how much the game has changed where even the top closer is worth over $20 million per year. But mostly, I feel grateful that the Mets were able to lock up one of their most important free agents very early. This will allow them to move on to the other consequential decisions they need to make.

Getting from Here to Greatness

It will take some time for the Mets to remake themselves into a great organization. However, there are things they can do right now to help themselves bridge that gap.

The New York Mets have a ton of free agent decisions to make this winter. I took a preliminary look at starting pitching, the bullpen, and position players earlier in the summer. I recently gave them a quick read, thinking perhaps I would update my thinking. But nothing really has changed. It seems likely that the Mets will take a go at re-signing Jacob deGrom, Edwin Díaz, and Brandon Nimmo. Those three will be, by far, the most expensive to retain of all their current free agents. Other decisions as to who to attempt to keep and which other players to pursue will branch off the success or failure of retaining the top 3. And that will greatly depend upon other teams seeking these players and what sort of contracts get tossed around.