If you are a Citi Cardmember, you have the exclusive chance to go out and purchase Mets tickets before they go on sale to the general public on November 17th.  Essentially, the Mets are really encouraging fans to go out there and start spending their hard earned money at a time when they are cutting payroll.

No, payroll doesn’t win championships; players do.  But look at the current state of the Mets roster and ask yourself whether the requisite talent is present. Look at it this way.  If the Mets do not make another move, here is Opening Day defensive alignment:

C Travis d’Arnaud
1B Dominic Smith
2B Wilmer Flores
3B Asdrubal Cabrera
SS Amed Rosario
LF Yoenis Cespedes
CF Juan Lagares
RF Michael Conforto

It’s not exactly a group the Mets are excited about themselves.  In 2016, they explored trading d’Arnaud, and when they couldn’t move him, they got him a catching guru.  Sure, d’Arnaud was better, but he wasn’t exactly the All Star we all hoped he could be.

The reports are also that the Mets have soured on Smith, and they are not only looking to have him start the year in Triple-A, but they may actually pursue a first baseman in free agency.

With respect to Flores and Lagares, the Mets have long since determined each are platoon players.  That could be where Brandon Nimmo finds a role as a platoon partner.  However, that’s only if he’s not the starting right fielder, which is dependent on when Conforto will be ready to play again.  That will also depend on whether Cespedes has a healthy season.

And by the way, the Mets have a massive hole in their pitching staff.  The team does not believe enough in AJ Ramos to be the primary set-up guy leaving them looking for another reliever.  Truth is, they probably need two or three.

In the rotation, the Mets have Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom.  After that, there are a number of question marks.  This means the Mets could use another starter.  If the Mets truly want to contend, they would get a top tier pitcher like Yu Darvish, but more likely, the team will be looking at fifth starters.

When you look at all these holes, the $30 million the Mets have to spend is nowhere near enough.  And by the way, this also doesn’t address what promises to be a weak bench.  Based upon past history, that bench will be weak with Sandy Alderson only being interested in building depth if the Mets promise to be good.

So, with the Mets having all these problems and them not looking to spend the money that is required to fix the roster, the question to Mets fans is this: Why are you in a rush to give them money they won’t fully invest in becoming the postseason contender this team was just a year ago?