During the offseason, many Mets fans, myself included, had implored the Mets to go out on the free agent market and address the real needs this team had.  Instead, the Mets went out, looked for bargains, and they signed more Major League free agents than they had during Sandy Alderson’s tenure as the Mets general mananger.

On the surface, it must be working out because the Mets are 17-9 and in first place.  With the salt and pepper shaker bit, the Mets seem to have built a strong clubhouse and a strong team who is in good position to make the postseason.

However, if you dig a little deeper, you will see of all the players the Mets signed this past offseason, Todd Frazier is really the only one producing.  While we are dealing with small sample sizes, here is the respective WAR for each of the Mets free agent signings:

Adrian Gonzalez-0.3 WAR
Jay Bruce 0.0 WAR
Jose Reyes -0.2 WAR
Jason Vargas -0.3 WAR
Anthony Swarzak 0.0 WAR

Combined, these free agent signings have accumulated a -0.8 WAR. Now, there are bound to be some caveats to this, and one of those caveats is injuries.

Vargas and Swarzak have both spent time on the disabled list. With Swarzak, his being on the disabled list has prevented him from contributing.  With Vargas, his injury limited him to one start, and in that one start where he allowed nine runs on nine hits in 3.2 innnings, he was arguably rusty.  At least you hope Vargas was rusty.

With respect to Bruce, he has been hampered by plantar fascitiis.  As a result, the Mets have not seen the player who got off to a terrific start last year.  Instead, this looks more like the Bruce of 2014 – 2016 who averaged a 0.1 WAR.

Bruce’s injury and Gonzalez’s ineffectiveness have had it’s impact on the Mets which go far beyond their recent 7-8 streak.  No, their presence on the team has limited Brandon Nimmo‘s playing time.  Nimmo has started the season hitting .313/.488/.563 with a double, two triples, a homer, three RBI, and a stolen base.  If this were a true meritocracy, Nimmo would be leading off and playing everyday.

Instead, because he made the mistake of being born in the 1990s instead of the 1980s, he’s on the bench.  As a result, the Mets are not fielding their best team each and every day.

Speaking of which, it is still baffling how Reyes is still on this roster.  Last year, he had a -0.6 WAR, 94 wRC+, and an MLB worst -26 DRS among infielders.  Basically put, he couldn’t hit and couldn’t field.

As for the argument he’s a mentor for Amed Rosario, then he’s failing at that job too.  Rosario has an unfathomably low 4.3% walk rate, a  high 25.3% strikeout rate, and a -2 DRS.  Overall, he’s hitting just .238/.282/.325 with five doubles, a triple, no homers, eight RBI, no stolen bases, and two caught stealings. The end result of that is Rosario having a -0.2 WAR.

Looking at Rosario’s numbers, he’s nowhere close to living up to his potential.  Rosario is a truly gifted player, and the Mets have a lot invested in him and his development.  So far, whatever Reyes is telling him, just isn’t working.  And if Reyes is playing poorly and isn’t helping Rosario along, you need to again question why Reyes is here.

The good news is we should reasonably expect Bruce and Vargas to improve.  Sooner or later, Swarzak will return and be a real shot in the arm for the bullpen.  To that extent, the Mets could be a significantly better version of the 17-9 team they are right now.  Of course, part of being a better team is putting their younger players like Nimmo and Rosario in a position to succeed.  To that end, the Mets may need to re-look at the players they signed this offseason and cut bait where appropriate.

Editor’s Note: This was partially adapted from the 3 Up, 3 Down piece published on MMO