An offseason like no other for the New York Mets this year. The signing of free agents such as catcher James McCann, reliever Trevor May, and reliever Aaron Loup; trading for a top-three shortstop in baseball in Francisco Lindor, a solid starting pitcher in Carlos Carrasco; trading away their longest tenured player in Steven Matz; firing their newly-hired General Manager, Jared Porter, after accusations of sexual assault; and most importantly: the savior Steve Cohen has arrived.
“Uncle Stevie” set the record straight in his introductory press conference. The quote below from his introductory press conference surely excited the Mets’ fanbase.
“But if I don’t win a World Series in the next three to five years – I would like to make it sooner – then obviously I would consider that slightly disappointing. I’m not in this to be mediocre. I want something great.”
Based on Cohen’s mindset, many MLB insiders speculated that the Mets would be trying for at least two of the major players available this offseason (Springer, Bauer, Lindor, LeMahieu, Realmuto). With Lindor already in blue and orange, is it possible that Bauer is next in the Big Apple?
As a Mets fan myself, I keep on going back and forth on this topic. Yes, he is coming off an amazing, Cy Young winning campaign. But in a 60 game season? With two games against the Tigers, Pirates and Cubs? Three games against the Brewers? One game vs the Royals and White Sox? There is no way to tell if this was just an easy year for Bauer, especially since this is the first time he has put numbers up as good as this in his entire career.
Another risk of signing Bauer is the fact that he is looking for a long term deal, around four to six years. Since Bauer is expecting this type of money based on a shortened season where he only played mediocre teams, there is no way of knowing if he will keep producing as he did this past year.
But there is always potential for reward when taking a risk as well. While Bauer may go back to being an average pitcher, there is still a pretty good chance that he maintains his dominance in New York. The thought of a healthy rotation consisting of Jacob deGrom (who was just voted as the no. 1 pitcher in baseball), reigning Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer, Noah Syndergaard, Carlos Carrasco, and Marcus Stroman is a VERY scary sight. This would almost undoubtedly be the best rotation in baseball, along with a lineup that would be very capable of putting up many runs per game.
The other thing to consider is how much of a risk this really is. As a Mets fan for 17 years now, there is always the part of me that is scared of committing to a player, paying them a ton of money, and having them bust or get hurt. But now I am able to enjoy the peace that Steve Cohen brought to this organization. To him, this team is a hobby that he could throw as much money at as he pleases. With the Wilpons, if the team signed a big-name FA and they got hurt, the team was screwed. But money is not that much of a factor anymore. I am now able to enjoy the luxury that the crosstown rivals in the Bronx have enjoyed for as long as I could remember.
The question is definitely difficult to answer. But if I am Zack Scott, Sandy Alderson, and Steve Cohen, I am doing everything I can to bring Bauer’s talent to New York.
Photo: Yardbarker
