2021 Mets Season Preview & Roadmap To The Playoffs

The Mets are arguably the most talked about team heading into the 2021 season. With a lot of hype and excitement surrounding new team owner Steve Cohen and new superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor, the fanbase is excited. After decades of suffering under Fred and Jeff Wilpon, and Saul Katz, the team has competence again. The team has an owner who has shown a willingness to spend money, and to acquire talent, right out of the get-go. I could argue that Lindor is the best acquisition by the Mets in the last 20-years, and it is without question the best that I have seen as a Mets fan.

For the first time since 2016, some consider the Mets to be a shoe-in to make the playoffs this year. Some experts even see them winning the NL East. And I have high expectations for this ball club as well, but I just want to see a playoff birth. It would be very disappointing if this team were to miss the playoffs, and they should strive to take the division title because San Diego or the Dodgers will be a tough Wild Card matchup for anyone frankly.

Projected Lineup:

Brandon Nimmo: CF

Francisco Lindor: SS

Michael Conforto: RF

Pete Alonso: 1B

Dom Smith: LF/1B

Jeff McNeil: 2B

J.D. Davis: 3B

James McCann: C

The Mets did a great job at upgrading the offense this offseason. With guys like Kevin Pillar, Jonathan Villar and Albert Almora, the Mets have added some great depth to the roster. While Pillar’s defensive skills have diminished over the last couple of years, he’s still pretty solid out in CF. He also showed a lot of promise with his bat during Spring Training. While Almora didn’t live up to the hype with the Cubs, he’s still a solid OF with some pop. Villar on the other hand is a perfect guy to have on the bench. He’s one of the best base runners in the game, and can be very helpful late into games as he’s speedy, and can play multiple INF and OF positions.

Now let’s get to business. The Mets signed James McCann to a 4-year contract worth roughly $40M, and he’s already the best catcher I have seen in a Mets uniform… Besides Mike Piazza of course. While McCann isn’t as flashy as guys like J.T. Realmuto and Salvador Perez, he’s not too shabby! He improved a lot defensively over the last 2-years with the White Sox, particularly with his framing ability. Teammates love him, mainly the pitchers as White Sox star Lucas Giolito even made him his personal catcher. I expect a tremendous upgrade at catcher for the Mets, and he’ll really do a great job at protecting his pitchers.

The acquisition of Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco will hopefully continue to be astronomical for the franchise for years to come. The Mets finally found their replacement for Jose Reyes, after nearly 10-years of searching. The days of running out guys like: Ruben Tejada, Omar Quintanilla, Wilmer Flores, Asdrubal Cabrera and Amed Rosario are over. Lindor is a 27-year-old phenom whose arguably the best SS in the game, definitely top two, and he provides the Mets with all around greatness at the position. Which had definitely been one of their weakest positions for nearly a decade. Exciting times await for the Mets as Lindor and McCann enter Queens, and the fans can finally take a breather as their two biggest areas of weakness for years, are suddenly a major strength.

Projected Rotation:

Jacob deGrom

Marcus Stroman

Taijuan Walker

David Peterson

Joey Lucchesi

(Carlos Carrasco will be back sometime in April, while Noah Syndergaard will be back in late May-early June)

That’s some amazing depth, once everyone is all healthy. A potential rotation of deGrom, Carrasco, Stroman, Syndergaard, and Walker, Peterson or Lucchesi… Seems like a dream. The one hitch about the Mets over the years, both offensively and defensively, has been their depth. Heading into the offseason team President Sandy Alderson and owner/CEO Steve Cohen both noted that depth would be their area focus, and they did a really great job at fixing it. For the first time in years, the rotation seems like it’ll be a crucial component to what this team can do, headed into Opening Day.

Like so many others, I have Jacob deGrom as the Cy Young front runner for the National League. I also have deGrom as a dark horse candidate for NL MVP. Now before you laugh or skip ahead… Here is a mind-blowing fact for you. If deGrom were to have received 3-runs or more of run support over the last 4-seasons, deGrom would’ve eclipsed 20-wins in each of those seasons. Is there some universe within the multiverse where deGrom did just that and won an MVP award or two? I guarantee it. New York’s lineup is improved, and their bullpen has drastically improved as well, so I expect deGrom to get near 20-wins this season. And if he does… He’ll receive a bounty of MVP votes.

Stroman and Syndergaard both have a lot to prove this year, as they’re both set to be free agents after the season. Syndergaard will have less time to prove his worth since he’s coming off of Tommy John Surgery, and he should by no means be rushed to come back. His presence both on and off the mound is something that this team can’t lose. Extending him a qualifying offer might be the route to go, but I have a feeling he’s going to want to break the bank during the offseason.

Stroman on the other hand is coming off of a 2020 season in which he opted out, garnished a lot of hate from both Mets and MLB fans, and cashed in by accepting the $18M qualifying offer. He has the most potential of any Mets pitcher besides deGrom, and hasn’t really lived up to the hype over the years. While he’s definitely a great player with immense talent, he needs to prove it. He can “talk-the-talk” perfectly, but let’s see him perform in a Mets uniform before even talking to him and his reps about a contract extension.

I’m a huge fan of Taijuan Walker signing. The righty has been injured throughout his career, but had a really solid 2020 campaign which saw him pitch to a 2.70 ERA, 50 Ks over 53 innings, and a career best 4.56 FIP, over 11 starts. Having him in the backend of the rotation is pretty exciting, as the once top prospect will now be relied on the least of his career, as deGrom, Stroman, and eventually Syndergaard and Carrasco, will be pitching ahead of him. The pressure is off of Walker, now let’s see if he can perform.

Peterson and Lucchesi were both given a blessing when it was announced that Carlos Carrasco would be out for a few weeks to start the season. Both of whom were battling all throughout Spring Training for the #5 spot in the rotation. Now they’re set to be the 4-5 in the rotation for nearly a month, and can “battle” when games really matter. Peterson had a promising rookie season in 2020 by leading all MLB rookie pitchers with 6 wins. He looked great and definitely proved his worth heading into the offseason. Now we’ll see if he can recapture some of his 2020 form, if not more, and have a spot in the rotation for the foreseeable future.

Left hander Joey Lucchesi has a changeup/curveball pitch, nicknamed the churve, in his arsenal and it’s pretty lethal. Lucchesi’s churve can reach upwards of 85 MPH, and has been his claim to fame over the years. While Lucchesi hasn’t been dominate at the MLB level, he’s been pretty productive nonetheless. His 2018-19 seasons were very underrated pitching to a 4.14 ERA, 18-19 record, and 303 Ks in 293 inning across 56 starts. With 4-more years of control, that makes him all the more valuable, even if he ends up becoming a left-handed arm out of the bullpen.

Projected Bullpen

Edwin Diaz: Closer

Trevor May: Setup man

Miguel Castro: Setup

Seth Lugo

Jeurys Familia

Aaron Loup

Dellin Betances

Jacob Barnes

Robert Gsellman

Edwin Diaz gets a bad rep from the majority of fans, and I don’t see why. While yes, we traded a top 5 prospect in Jared Kelenic for Diaz and Robinson Cano, that shouldn’t be why Mets fans seem to hate him. His second half of 2019 was great, and his 2020 season was nothing shy of amazing. Granted there weren’t any fans in the stands last year and he couldn’t hear any boos at times, but I’d like to believe that Diaz will recreate some of his 2020 magic which saw him be one of the premier relief pitchers in the entire sport.

Trevor May was Steve Cohen’s first free agent signing as Mets owner, and I love it all around. He has a great relationship with Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, who was his pitching coach during the majority of his Twins days. Miguel Castro came over in a trade last season, and did a really solid job with in orange and blue. He looked great during Spring Training, and seems like a candidate to get some meaningful opportunities in 2021.

Lugo will be out for a month or two but, thanks to the Mets front office, they have the depth to withstand his injury. Familia I don’t think will be a Met for much longer. Due to his near $13M price tag this year, I see him as being expendable. He could be used in a trade package to facilitate a decent return come the July 31st trade deadline. Due to so many teams being crippled with money thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, teams in the offseason when making a trade, would try to get the money being moved around to match up.

Loup and Barnes are both guys who pitched really well during Spring Training, particularly Barnes. Barnes was claimed off waivers by the Mets from the Angles mere days before the sale to Cohen went through, on October 30, 2020.

Then there’s Dellin Betances who had a horrid Spring Training, and injury plagued/awful 2020. Frankly, I expect him to be DFA’d by May. With Shane Greene, and now Steve Cishek being free agents, I don’t understand why the Mets don’t cut ties with Betances in place of one of them right now.

Playoffs or Bust

With all the Mets did this offseason, it would be a huge disappointment if they were to miss the playoffs. At the end of the day though, I’m picking the Braves will win the NL East, and for the Mets to be a wild card team… But that’ll change in 2022. They’d most definitely be facing off against either the Dodgers or the Padres. In a matchup of deGrom-(Snell or Davish) and deGrom-(Buehler, Bauer or Kershaw)… I’m taking deGrom any day of the week. Yes, the Padres have arguably the best lineup in the game, and the Dodgers isn’t far behind them. The Mets on the other-hand have a top 6 lineup in the game as well, and a bonafide leader in Francisco Lindor… Whose title hungry after losing the World Series in 2016.

What I’m trying to say is, either matchup would be closer than nearly every fan would assume, and if the Mets can take down either in the wild card game, it would be huge. The Mets beating either team in a 1-game playoff matchup would frankly, be my prediction. deGrom has playoff/World Series experience, as does Lindor, Conforto and Nimmo. McCann also has brief playoff experience. And that’s just the hitters. This team is comprised with five crucial players who are seen as leaders by their teammates, WITH playoff/World Series experience. So don’t brush the Mets off when the playoffs begin. They have a top 5 rotation, top 5 bullpen, and a top 5 offense in the sport… Headed into the season. As the season goes on, we’ll see how the Mets play, and trades can happen. Third base should be their top area of need, IF Davis proves the naysayers correct by July 31st.

2020 and 2021 been awful on multiple accounts. But baseball is back, and MLB fans can rejoice! Maybe what all we need is a moment of calm. A dose of “slow paced” baseball, might be what the world needs in order to relax.