Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports
It’s been a long time since we were so excited and interested in accompanying the New York Mets during the winter. It has also been somewhat frustrating and surprising that none of the biggest free agents (JT Realmuto, George Springer, or Trevor Bauer) really fell on Flushing.
Both statements can be true. But, from the perspective of this writer (admittedly optimistic), this off-season was a positive net result.
The Mets met a number of escalation needs, they probably weren’t completed, and the improved depth in certain areas – like the initial rotation – will prove to be time and resources well spent. More, Francisco lindor it could easily end up being more valuable than any of the top free agents New York has left to sign if he stays around. Of course, if you go to the Twitter machine, there are many outlets out there saying that these are the “same old Mets”. Some of the recent headlines about Jared Porter and Mickey Callaway nevertheless, they are far from the old Mets.
Setting the expectation
Remember the first press conference after Steve Cohen officially became the new owner? What a glorious day that was. He and Sandy Alderson said all the right things, and I don’t know about you, but I was ready to go through a brick wall when it was over. Among the many memorable catchphrases was the desire to become an iconic franchise, and how to become one is a process that will take several years.
When asked about the current franchises that are the model to aspire to, Cohen did not measure the words in his response:
Steve Cohen: “I like what the Dodgers are doing”.#Mets
– David Lennon (@DPLennon) November 10, 2020
If there is a model franchise to imitate, #Mets owner Steve Cohen says it’s the #Dodgers.
– Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 10, 2020
Becoming an organization like the Los Angeles Dodgers is a good goal, especially since there are only a few months left to win the World Series. But it’s more than that – it’s all they’ve done so far, since the new property took over in 2012.
Between 2000 and 2012, the Dodgers reached the playoffs four times (2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009). In the first two cases, they were eliminated from the NLDS twice and won a total of just one game. They reached the NLCS in the last two instances, but won a total of just two games while they were one step away from the World Series.
Since the new LA property took over, they haven’t missed the playoffs since 2013. The Dodgers have won NL West eight times in a row, and although there has been a little bit of disgust along the way, they have an NL title and two flags because they have always given themselves a chance to reach October consistently.
Dodgers have the money to do what they want, but are usually frugal through a free agency while developing their own talent and making strategic deals. Baseball Operations President Andrew Friedman relied on his own process and it worked. It took the organization much longer than it would like to finally hoist that piece of metal, but it finally happened.
What’s important to players
That kind of reputation is what open market players look at. Yes, the money is obviously good, but the money alone will not always attract a great free agent to subscribe because, for the most part, they are also looking for a place to have a chance to win in October.
There were other things at stake regarding Bauer’s negotiations – mainly because he grew up in LA and went to college at UCLA – but it would be difficult to convince me that the reputation the Dodgers built as an iconic and perennial contender franchise had nothing to do with your decision, too.
Cohen himself said this on Twitter at some point – having money to pay players the best dollar is great, but it goes beyond that. After all, let’s not forget that ball players are human like us, and are motivated / persuaded to do certain things for a number of reasons.
Hopefully looking in the mirror
I see these failed negotiations with Bauer as almost poetic, because what the Dodgers just did is exactly the kind of thing we expect the Mets to do in the near future: to spend a lot of money without feeling the need to outdo others because of their reputation plays a role in negotiations, and without having to explain why.
Getting to that point takes time – Mets won’t be there in just a few months. However, this winter was a step in the right direction. They showed a willingness to seriously pursue the best players available in the game, with the idea of shelling out legitimate money in the process. This will help when we look to future winters and if they go ahead and extend some of their impact players currently on the list, it will only make Queens an even more enviable destination in the future.
Despite all that, there is only one thing that will help New York start to become that iconic franchise that Cohen and Alderson want to be: get on the field and just win, baby. This process starts in a few weeks, and Mets has done a good job in the past few months in terms of putting the squad in a position where they have a chance to make it happen.
Get the job done and trust the process day after day, and eventually the organization will reap the benefits in all areas.
