In the last 5 seasons, the New York Mets have not been on top of the National League East Division. The year 2015 saw the underrated squad from Queens, New York advance to the World Series; they fell short of a red-hot Kansas City Royals club four games to one.
Without the core that led the 2015 run the Mets have been unable to return to a contending level, finishing no higher than 3rd in the NL East since 2017.
Though things may be changing in Queens.
The Mets made the biggest deal of the offseason and the most significant trade in the MLB in recent memory, acquiring star shortstop Francisco Lindor and RHP Carlos Carrasco in a deal with Cleveland.
This puts New York firmly amid NL East competition and could set them up for a postseason run in 2021.
Lindor addition makes the middle of Mets line up dangerous
Lindor possesses a unique skill set that sets him apart from the league’s middle infielders. Range and hands put him among the best fielding shortstops, while his power at the plate is not seen from most middle infielders. His .488 slugging percentage ranks 29th among active MLB players, only behind fellow New York Mets middle infielder Robinson Cano.
According to FanGraphs.com, Lindor will likely bat 3rd, followed by right fielder Michael Conforto and 1st baseman Pete Alonzo. This 3-4-5 trio in their lineup is dangerous for NL pitchers to take on. All 3 finished top 10 of their respective leagues in offensive wins above replacement (WAR). Lindor finished 6th in the AL 2018, Alonzo 5th in NL in 2019, Conforto 10th in the NL in 2020.
Culture change in Queens with new ownership
Fred Wilpon, the Mets owners, had them up for sale for almost a decade, although ties to Bernie Madoff (seriously) cut into the family’s fortune. After failed attempts, hedge fund manager Steve Cohen purchased the Wiplon’s stake in the Mets in September 2020 and officially became majority owner in November.
Accordingly, fans and players were excited for New York Mets baseball to head into a new era. Pitcher Noah Syndergaard tweeted out his support the day he heard of Cohen taking over.
As a result things changed rapidly.
Sandy Alderson, the longtime respected President of the Mets from 2010-2018, was hired by Cohen to oversee baseball operations.
You may know Alderson for his depiction in Moneyball, 2011 film about Oakland Athletics’ front office and analytics revolution. He was the general manager who promoted Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) to advanced scout of the A’s. In real life, Alderson is credited with teaching Beane the ways of advanced scouting and introduced him and the baseball world to analytics the way we know them now.
Now back with New York, Alderson brought in Jared Porter this past December to be the team’s general manager. Porter, a former scouting director for the Red Sox and Cubs, learned from Theo Epstein, one of baseball’s best executives. Most recently, he worked with the Arizona Diamondbacks as the assistant GM.
Also, Alderson and Porter worked to complete the blockbuster acquisition of Lindor in their short time together.
“A player like Lindor, it is one of the hardest things in baseball to find,” said Porter, talking to Yahoo! Sports, “A shortstop, superstar player in his prime, charismatic energy and a guy who makes his teammates better.”
The ownership, management changes, and acquisitions gave the Mets fan base something it has not had for a long time; optimism.
