When individual game tickets were made available to the general public, the Mets began a real push towards hyping up the fan base.  There were any number of rumors linking the Mets to trade targets Mets fans have coveted like Jason Kipnis and Dee Gordon.  But it was more than that.

The Mets were also indicating they were not settling.  Juan Lagares and Brandon Nimmo may very well be a terrific platoon in center field next season, but the team was at least going to inquire on Lorenzo Cain.  Not only were the Mets interested in Shohei Otani, they were also interested in signing Jacob deGrom to a contract extension.

There were even reports Dominic Smith, who struggled during his brief stint in the majors, was not guaranteed a spot on the Opening Day roster.   The big name mentioned there was Carlos Santana who the Mets labelled as a difference maker.

Many Mets fans, like myself, were skeptical, especially given the timing.

Well, when it comes to the New York Mets, the skeptics were once again prove to be correct.

As shoppers looked for their Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, the Mets themselves began to look for deals themselves on the free agent market.  Put another way, the Mets rumors have begun to shift away from Ian Kinsler and Eric Hosmer type of free agent acquisitions and now we are really at the point where many believed the Mets would be all along.

Recent rumors have the Mets interested in Neil Walker to play second base and signing Adam Lind to play first base.

When it comes to Walker, the reunion makes sense even if it is not exactly awe inspiring. He was one of the rare players who was able to elevate his game in a Mets uniform. Walker was not only able to handle the pressures of playing in the New York market, but he was also able to thrive in it.  Even with his injury history, you can justify this move with his solid clubhouse presence and the Mets depth at the middle infield position with Wilmer Flores and T.J. Rivera.

And yes, you can more than justify Lind.  This was a guy who hit .303/.362/.513 for the Nationals last year in part-time duty. The left-handed hitter abuses right-handed pitching making him a natural platoon partner with Flores at first base.  He’s not a great defender at first base or left field, but he is arguably capable making him good depth in the event Smith actually does win the job in Spring Training.  Even if Smith doesn’t win the job, Lind would not stand in his way in the event the former first round draft pick figures things out.

So yes, Walker and Lind are justifiable moves that will make the Mets better in 2018.  However, they are not the big ticket items the Mets were hyping when tickets first went on sale.

Most fans anticipated this being a Walker and Lind type of offseason.  If the Mets really addressed their bullpen where they had shut down relievers from the sixth or seventh inning on, Mets fans would have bought in.  There would have been some excitement for the 2018 season especially with a healthy deGrom and Noah Syndergaard all season.

Instead, the Mets sold us a false bill of goods to artificially try to get a push for people to purchase individual game tickets when it went on sale.

If you are inclined to disagree with this premise and don’t find the timing suspicious at all, ask yourself if you truly believe the Mets are bringing in one or two big names this offseason.  If the answer is no or the Mets do indeed fail to bring in the big names, can we then agree to stop giving this organization any benefit of the doubt?