New York Mets: Offseason Outlook

Jay Bruce (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

The 2016 MLB season is in the books. And what an ending with the Chicago Cubs defeating the Cleveland Indians in seven games to end the 108-year drought.

But now that the season is over, that means the offseason is upon us. And the New York Mets will have quite a few decisions to make. They have already picked up the $13 million option for Jay Bruce, and the option for Jose Reyes. The 33-year-old infielder will make just over $500,000 next year.

The Mets will not exercise the option for Jonathan Niese.

But the big question is: what on earth does Sandy Alderson do with Yoenis Cespedes since the outfielder will opt out of his contract? Do they give him a big contract to lock him up for a few years? Do they let him walk? That’s obviously up for debate.

In addition to holding on to Bruce, the Mets also return Juan Lagares, Michael Conforto, and Curtis Granderson who is on the last year of his contract. So there isn’t a whole lot of space in the outfield for Cespedes.

If the Mets were to resign Cespedes, Conforto might not get consistent starting time which would not be good for his development. The Mets might try for a fifth outfielder in free agency. Some notable names are Matt Holliday, Colby Rasums, Jose Bautista, Angel Pagan, Mark Trumbo, Josh Reddick and others. So, Alderson might not want to overpay for Cespedes when he can find an outfielder for less money.

The Mets will also have a tough decision at second base. Neil Walker is a free agent this offseason and there really aren’t too many others on the open market. The other notable free agents are Stephen Drew, Sean Rodriguez, and Chase Utley (gasp!).

None of the top prospects in the farm system are true second basemen. They have a few shortstops that in theory could play second, but who knows if they are major league ready. Free agency seems like the most likely option for the Mets.

Finally, they will need another pitcher. Harvey, deGrom, Matz, and Wheeler should all be healthy by the time opening day comes around. Syndergaard will obviously be the fifth. But if things go the way they went last year in the injuries department, they will need depth at pitching. The good news is that Bartolo Colon, who is a free agent, wants to play one more year in the majors and both Colon and the Mets have mutual interest. So it looks like Mets fans will get to enjoy one more year of “Big Sexy”.

The 2017 season looks to be a promising one as all of the starting pitching appears to be healthy and ready to go by April. If they are good as we all think they will be, the Mets can absolutely contend for a World Series. But they have to do well in the offseason first so they can solidify their offense.