Reliever Trevor May, as Mets’ first newcomer this off-season, had a complete view of the transformation of the team’s squad.
And he hopes that new owner Steve Cohen is not finished, with the possibility of hiring George Springer still imminent. Springer, 31, remains the best free-field player on the market and would give the Mets a right-handed bat and better defense in the center field.
“I’m going to keep my fingers crossed and just wait for that to happen,” May told The Post on Thursday. “I think it would be – I don’t even want to call it a cherry on top, because I don’t know if they would be finished at that point – but [Springer] it would be phenomenal. I can’t imagine what the excitement in the Mets world would be like with fans, I can’t even understand it. “
The Twins’ field player when May was with Minnesota was Byron Buxton, who provided the Gold Glove caliber defense.
“One of my favorite players of all time,” said May. “So when you get that kind of defense, what Springer definitely has and I don’t think we can say enough about his strokes and how big the threat is. that it represents in the box. Having a really dynamic central defender is important for a team and [Springer] it is one of the best there is ”.
So far, in this off-season, Mets has added May right-handed in a two-year deal worth $ 15.5 million and James McCann in a four-year deal worth $ 40.6 million. Last week, the Mets ended a highly successful deal that brought Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco from Cleveland. The rotation was also reinforced in November, when Marcus Stroman accepted the Mets’ $ 18.9 million qualification offer.
May meets Lindor and Carrasco for competing with them at AL Central. He expects both players to update the Mets talent level and club.
“[Lindor] is a leader, he’s a winner, ”said May.“ He was on the team that went to the World Series [in 2016], and maybe teams that were not so talented that found a way to win and he’s a big part of that.
“Cookie is the same way. He was there for the not-so-good teams in the Cleveland Indians and then he grew up on a rock in that rotation and the word around the league is that they are two of the best guys out there, so it’s going to be really great. “
With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report on February 17 for spring training, May said he was not too concerned that the pandemic would disrupt the season.
“Making adjustments is easier now than last year, so the things I would be concerned about are not such a big factor,” said May. “I spent so much brain power on this last year, getting excited about things I didn’t I have this more in me, I just want to play baseball. I’m leaving the excitement of being part of this team to replace that at the moment. “
The focus from May until the beginning of spring training will be the Fan Controlled Football League, in which he recently became a partner of Zappers, one of the four teams in the league – with former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel as a defender.
The league, which debuts on February 13 with games broadcast on Twitch, presents itself as the first professional sports league that allows fans to make decisions, including decisions in real time through a mobile app. Fans have already selected logos and color schemes for the team.
“A lot of things will be decided by the fans,” said May. “These people are in five fantastic football leagues and they love rooting for all the guys on all teams for whatever reason, because they are on their teams and they want to have more control over their targets , they now have that control. “