Mark Vientos
At the trade deadline, the New York Mets acquired Cedric Mullins from the Baltimore Orioles. While widely praised, it was a move that did not really improve the Mets.
The Cedric Mullins of 2021-2022 was a star who left an impression. Truth is, he was only at that level for two years. The subsequent two years he went to serviceable to a bench level player this year.
The player the Mets acquired has a 0.1 WAR, 101 wRC+, and a 2 OAA. This is the player the Mets acquired due to the season ending injury to Jose Siri and the struggles of Tyrone Taylor.
With respect to Taylor, he has a 0.6 WAR, 55 wRC+, and a 4 OAA. As we saw, it was diminishing returns at the plate for Taylor. He is much better suited as a defensive replacement and platoon bat against left-handed pitchers.
Seeing that, the Mets moved Jeff McNeil to CF. The results have been quite positive. In limited duty in center, he has a 0 OAA. He’s already made some highlight plays.
Offensively, he has a 123 wRC+. He gives the most value at the plate for a Mets offense that seemingly can’t get out of their own way.
McNeil was holding his own in center and improving. That said, he was obviously better defensively at second where he has a 3 OAA. He’s excellent there, and moving him off the position creates a problem.
The Mets solution was Brett Baty. Baty has a -1 OAA at second, and he has a 96 wRC+. This right here is the problem.
With Taylor’s struggles, the Mets have overplayed Baty. With consistent playing time, Baty has shown himself to be a below average bat and below average defender at second base.
The bigger issue with Baty is he’s slipping defensively as evidenced by his 10th inning costly error against the Cleveland Guardians. He was once at a 4 OAA, and he’s slipped to a 2 OAA.
Like Taylor, the Mets needed to find a way to get Baty out of the everyday lineup. The answer could have been Ronny Mauricio, but the Mets didn’t fully go that route.
Mauricio has been superior to Baty with a 104 wRC+ and a 6 OAA at third. With his slow foot speed, he’s actually worse at second than Baty.
Mark Vientos has started hitting again, and he is one of the few bats in this lineup that can carry the offense. He’s been hitting well since July 10, and he’s had a number of clutch hits.
Given his defensive limitations, he should be the primary DH with occasional spells at third. That should leave third for Mauricio.
That is what the Mullins trade afforded the Mets. They can put their best team on the field. It’s now up to David Stearns and Carlos Mendoza to do it.
McNeil is the everyday second baseman. That improves the lineup and defense. With Mauricio at third and Mullins in center, Baty moves to the bench.
That defense with Vientos at DH is the Mets optimal lineup. Against left-handed pitchers, they can pivot by getting Taylor into the lineup, and even with Mauricio being a switch hitter, they can play Vientos at third with Starling Marte as the DH.
But make no mistake, the Mets are a better team with Baty as a quality bench player. He can provide late inning defense or a pinch hitting opportunity when needed. That’s when he is at his best.
This is what the Mullins trade afforded the Mets. They can now optimally use their roster. It’s now just time the Mets started doing that.
Through the proverbial first half of the baseball season, the New York Mets lineup has been top heavy. Fortunately, the Brandon Nimmo – Francisco Lindor – Juan Soto – Pete Alonso top four has been so awesome that the Mets are only a half game out of first place.
If the team wants to get to that next level and back to the NLCS, they’re going to need more help. It can’t just be Jeff McNeil as the only capable hitter past that “Fab Four.”
There are two reasons the bottom half of the Mets lineup hasn’t clicked. First, Jesse Winker has been out most of the year with injuries. Mostly, it has been the struggles of Mark Vientos and Francisco Álvarez.
For both Vientos and Álvarez, injuries have played a part. Vientos had a slow start and then a hamstring injury. Álvarez opened the year on the IL, which complicated his trying to adapt a new swing at the plate.
For Vientos, the slow start and injuries saw him lose the third base job to Brett Baty. With inconsistent playing time, Vientos just couldn’t get back on track.
After Starling Marte and Winker hit the IL, the Mets had no choice than to give Vientos consistent playing time. He’s responded going 7-for-19 with two doubles, a triple, and three RBI. That included that bases clearing go-ahead RBI double.
Vientos gets hot this time of year. Last July, he hit .283/.330/.554. In the second half, he hit 15 of his 27 homers. He carried that forward to that monster postseason he had.
With respect to Álvarez, his struggles led the Mets to send him to Triple-A Syracuse. Not only was the new swing not working, but he was also carrying the offensive struggles behind the dish. Essentially, he regressed in every area of his game.
Well, it appears Álvarez’s new swing is no longer a work in process. He’s now absolutely destroying baseballs.
He’s homered in three straight games, and he’s hit eight homers over his last 13 games. Over his last 12 games, he’s hitting .326/.392/.848 with three doubles, seven homers, and 15 RBI. That’s the slugger we expected him to be.
For Álvarez, it’s more than the offense. The work behind the plate has improved as well. Notably, we’ve seen Brandon Sproat take off while working with Álvarez. Nolan McLean has had consecutive 10 strikeout starts with Álvarez behind the plate.
Certainly, Álvarez is rounding back into form, and he should soon find himself back in the majors. When he does, he will replace Luis Torrens, who has struggled mightily at the plate since taking over primary catching duties.
With Álvarez back and Vientos back to form, the Mets lineup is suddenly lethal. Instead of a Fab Four, it’s a Slugging Six. With McNeil, it’s seven All-Star caliber hitters (McNeil is a two time All-Star). They can have Baty and Tyrone Taylor be in the lineup just for their defense.
Ultimately, the Mets lineup is going to be deep and lethal, and they can lead the Mets to the World Series. It just took much longer than we all expected it would.
Mark Vientos was drafted in 2017, and he’s now on his seventh general manager. Maybe that’s part of the reason the Mets keep pushing him aside for other less producing players.
When Vientos was drafted as a shortstop, he was almost immediately moved to third base. He hasn’t been great there defensively, which is a large part of his problem.
The biggest issue for Vientos was Brett Baty being drafted in the first round of the 2019 draft. It was a new regime, and they identified their third baseman of the future.
The other issue has been Ronny Mauricio. In 2017, he was given a then Mets record signing bonus. Mauricio is blocked at his natural shortstop, and the question has been where does he eventually land.
Of these three players, Vientos is the only one with any success at the Major League level. Last season, he was a monster with 27 homers and a 133 wRC+.
Vientos was arguably the Mets best hitter in the postseason. Over the Mets 13 games, Vientos hit .327/.362/.636 with five homers. That included three homers in the NLCS.
We hoped Vientos would springboard from that. Unfortunately, he’s having a lost season.
Typically a slow starter, Vientos had a bad start to the season. Then, he was injured. Somehow he got Wally Pipped by Baty and Mauricio.
Baty has a 92 wRC+. Since June 1, he’s hitting .198/.257/.330. The Mets are pushing him over Vientos for this complete lack of production.
Mauricio has been better with a 107 wRC+. Like Baty, he can’t hit left-handed pitching with a .118/.167/.118 batting line. That is despite the fact Mauricio is a switch hitter.
Since Vientos returned from the IL, he’s started just five games over an eight game stretch. He’s become a short-side platoon option.
Last season, Vientos had a 127 wRC+ against right-handed pitching. That’s far better than the numbers Baty and Mauricio are producing. More than that, it’s just solid proof and evidence Vientos can hit right-handed pitching.
It’s gotten real bizarre. In the series finale against the New York Yankees, Carlos Mendoza lifted Vientos for Mauricio. It did work in the short term as Mauricio and Baty would get back-to-back pinch hits.
Now, it needs to be noted it worked in a vacuum. Those consecutive pinch hit singles were part of two run inning which saw the Mets pull within 5-4.
Yankees left-handed reliever Tim Hill allowed a single to Mauricio. That was just his second hit in 18 at-bats against left-handed pitch. Baty, and his 39 wRC+ against left-handed pitching, followed. He hit into a double play ending the Mets last real chance of the day.
The Mets would lose 6-4. It’s just one loss for a team that is having an otherwise very good year. That said, this loss highlighted the Mets biggest problem.
They gave up on Vientos.
Vientos has struggled, and he’s not forcing the Mets to play him. He’s being treated as a short side platoon option, and it’s hurting the team.
Make no mistake, Baty has not been good this year. Mauricio has shown flashes, but he’s still limited. Unlike Vientos, both players are just platoon options.
The Mets have a massive hole at third base. Their lineup is shallow. Both of these issues are directly related to Vientos.
Vientos started the issue by struggling and getting hurt. The Mets made it worse by giving up on him for a player in Baty who continues to show he’s not a starter at the Major League level.
It’s time to give Vientos some run. Let him get back to last year’s form (the same player he was in the minors). If they invest in him, the Mets lineup will be complete, and they will have their best postseason hitter from last year ready to help the team on another deep run.
On June 4, Francisco Lindor was hitting .279/.353/.490, and the Mets were 39-23. In that game, Los Angeles Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin hit Lindor in the foot. As a result, Lindor broke his right foot.
After Lindor broke his toe, he got a day off. The Mets did lose to the Dodgers, and they followed that with a sweep of the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals.
Over that stretch, Lindor wasn’t great. Part of the reason is he pushed it. In his first start, he was 3-for-5 while stealing two bases.
Maybe it was pride. Maybe it was proving to Carlos Mendoza he was good to go. Whatever the case, he pushed it, and he hasn’t been good since. Neither have the Mets.
Since that 3-for-5 game, Lindor is hitting .163/.218/.288 with four doubles and two homers. He hasn’t attempted another stolen base.
Over that stretch, the Mets are 7-14 with embarrassing sweeps to the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates. They went from 4.5 games up in the division to 1.5 games back of the Philadelphia Phillies.
What is all the more frustrating is this is happening while Juan Soto has been a monster. He arguably had the greatest offensive month in Mets history, and it still couldn’t prevent the annual June Swoon.
Now, this isn’t all Lindor. The rotation is falling apart. In this month alone Kodai Senga, Griffin Canning, and Tylor Megill went down, and Sean Manaea had a setback in his rehab.
That has led to more starts/appearances for Paul Blackburn and Blade Tidwell. It’s exhausting the bullpen, and they’re faltering.
Mark Vientos is working his way back, and Francisco Álvarez is trying to rediscover himself in Triple-A. There are issues top to bottom.
We can list the excuses and reasons. Fact is all of these excuses were present last year. Things were far worse. Much of that changed when Lindor turned his season around and became a legit MVP candidate.
The Mets are their best when Lindor is at his best. Problem is Lindor is wounded and struggling. So are the Mets.
It’s a delicate balance, but the Mets need Lindor to be Lindor now. Once he gets going, a lot of the ills should go by the wayside. Hopefully, it’s just a matter of days and not months because the Mets can’t afford another month like June.
In the series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies, Luisangel Acuña was inserted into the starting lineup. It was his first start since June 15th.
It’s malpractice to take a 23 year old top prospect and not start him for a week. Problem is, it gets worse the more you look at it.
Acuña has only started four games in June. He has started only three games since Mark Vientos landed on the IL. He’s been a forgotten man since May.
In that time, Brett Baty started 12 games in June and 10 since Vientos’ injury. In the month of June, he’s hitting .145/.213/.255. For the season, he has an 87 wRC+.
When Vientos landed on the IL, Ronny Mauricio was recalled. Even though he was raking in Syracuse, by all accounts, Mauricio was rushed back from the ACL injury.
While true, the bigger issue was the plate discipline. Whatever the issue, Mauricio has been bad hitting .180/.241/.347 (59 wRC+). He has started in 14 games.
Look at that again. Baty has been bad, and he’s started 12 games in June. Mauricio has arguably been worse, and he’s started in 14. Somehow, Acuña only started in four.
Keep in mind, this hasn’t been completely about Jeff McNeil’s return from the IL. Since June 1, Baty has three starts at second, and Mauricio has one. There were at least some opportunities.
Yes, Acuña was struggling. After being named the National League Rookie of the Month for March/April, Acuña hasn’t hit. Since May 4, he’s hit .154/.191/.154.
Make no mistake, he did not earn more playing time with his bat. The problem is the players who got the playing time over him also did not earn it.
When you have three players not performing at the plate, you should be looking to what else the player gives you to justify playing time. All told, Acuña has more impact on the game than Baty or Mauricio.
He’s a better fielder at second or third than Baty or Mauricio. He’s faster and a better base runner. He’s just a more complete baseball player.
Of course, the defense and base running makes Acuña a weapon off the bench. We saw him utilized multiple times as a pinch runner, and he’s made a difference.
That’s just not a role for a 23 year old rookie. Thats the job for a 34 year old journeyman. That’s why demoting Acuña for Travis Jankowski made sense.
Acuña should be getting daily plate appearances. Looking at his solely through that prism, sending him to Syracuse made sense. It was the right decision.
However, the Mets need to do some soul searching. They need to decide why Baty was yet again getting playing time over a better performing younger player. Why are the Mets force feeding a Mauricio when he’s never had Major League success.
Acuña is very likely the best player amongst these three, and he will be the best of these three in the future. Pushing him to the back of line made zero to no sense.
The Mets forgot about Acuña. They played Baty and Mauricio over him, and those two players did not earn their playing time.
In their tenure, David Stearns and Carlos Mendoza have been phenomenal in their decision making. They haven’t gotten the big decisions wrong. This is the first time they have.
Hopefully, this is just a blip and not indicative of a problem in the future. We should be confident this is a blip, but we should watch how they handle these three players for the rest of the season.
Since being drafted, it was clear the New York Mets organization preferred Brett Baty over Mark Vientos as the third baseman of the future. There were very valid reasons for this, and the Mets organization was far from being alone in that opinion.
That opinion flipped last year. Baty struggled again. Vientos forced his way to the majors and then the starting lineup. He had 27 homers in just 111 games.
He followed that with a great postseason. He hit .327/.362/.636 with two doubles, five homers, and 14 RBI. By and large, it looked like Vientos was going to be the Mets next great power hitter.
Well, Vientos has always been a slow starter, and this year was no exception. Couple that with nagging injuries and a hamstring landing him on the IL, and the door was open for Baty to Wally Pipp him.
Baty had a strong spring, and he had a promising start to the year before an unfortunate demotion to Syracuse. That was a pure numbers game, but we’d see him called back up after the Jesse Winker injury.
In his first 15 games after the call up, Baty hit .326/.356/.698 with a double, five homers, and 13 RBI. He started to take over the third base job from Vientos. Again, with Vientos’ injury, Baty had a chance to claim the position for good.
Things haven’t quite worked out that way.
After that first 15 game stretch, Baty followed that with a 14 game stretch that saw him hit .170/.231/.277 with a triple, homer, and six RBI. Those numbers are worse when you consider that includes six games against the Colorado Rockies, who are making the 1962 Mets look like the 1927 Yankees.
We can argue those are just two different stretches – a hot streak and a cold steak. That’s a fair point. However, the broader picture isn’t promising for Baty.
On the season, Baty has a 97 wRC+. His career is a 77 wRC+. Even with that brutal error against the Dodgers, he’s been good defensively. However, to carry his bat, he needs to be Gold Glove caliber, and he’s certainly not that.
This isn’t to say he’s not a Major Leaguer. He is one. There’s a spot for his ability to play second and third and for him to hit against right-handed pitching. It seems his ceiling is the strong side platoon, and to reach his full potential, he will need to learn some outfield and possibly first base.
Complicating things for Baty is Ronny Mauricio. Mauricio was hitting .515 in Syracuse before he was recalled. After an initial 0-for-11, he’s red hot going five for his next eight with a double and homer. He also walked twice and stole two bases.
Notably, Mauricio was a shortstop in the minors, and the Mets still aren’t sure where he should play at the Major League level. At the moment, third base is the only open spot.
With Mauricio being a switch hitter, he doesn’t need a platoon partner. While he’s swinging a hot bat, he should be in the lineup.
With Jeff McNeil also swinging a hot bat, it looks like we will be seeing less and less of Baty. With the Mets getting good news on Vientos’ hamstring, it looks like Baty has missed his chance.
It’s now Mauricio’s turn. He has his own issues, but those can emerge and be discussed while we wait on Vientos.
We don’t know when Vientos will get healthy or get back to his 2024 form. What we can say is Baty hasn’t taken advantage of his opportunity and may never be the player we’d hope he’d be.
In the end, the New York Mets never walked away from Pete Alonso. They offered him one of two deals allowing Alonso to pick one.
Rather than take the three year $71 million deal, Alonso chose the two year $54 million deal with an opt out after the first year.
Looking at it, it’s effectively a one year deal unless Alonso completely craters. Alonso gets $30 million the first year, and he can repeat this process again.
We know Alonso already bet on himself once and lost badly. That seven year $158 deal is gone forever. Maybe if he’s great this year, he could beat it.
Here’s the thing, the 2025 season will likely be it for the Mets and Alonso.
We already know the Mets were actively pursuing Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. on the trade market. They’ve always been pursuing him.
They almost signed him in international free agency long ago, and instead settled for his cousin Gregory Guerrero. During the last IFA, they signed his half-brother.
The worst kept secret in baseball is the Mets will be all out for Guerrero like they were for Juan Soto this offseason. It’s the right decision for the Mets as Guerrero is younger and better than Alonso.
With Guerrero not available for now, the Mets opted for Alonso. It was either him or move Mark Vientos to first so they could pursue Alex Bregman. That plan never materialized, and in reality, was not seriously pursued.
The Mets are giving Alonso the chance to surpass Darryl Strawberry for the team’s all-time HR record. With Alonso behind by 26, he should move to the franchise lead.
Mostly, the Mets are giving Alonso the chance to win the World Series. This should be the best Mets team of his career. If he repeats his postseason heroics, the Mets just might win in 2025.
The Mets are also allowing Alonso to rebuild his value with a safety net. They’re giving him a large pay raise in 2025 to allow him to save some face.
Mostly, the Mets sent a message about the type of organization this is. They could’ve easily walked away and left Alonso in a lurch. Instead, they showed their loyalty and willingness to take care of their own. That probably goes a long way in the future as they pursue other free agents.
Ultimately, the 2025 season should be the last one for Alonso and the Mets. Hopefully, Alonso has a better contract year this time. More than that, let’s hope he leaves with a World Series.
Multiple things can be true at once. In no way should anyone expect Jose Iglesias to repeat his 2024 season or come even close.
That said, the Mets should bring him back for the 2025 season.
Iglesias was a shocking revelation in 2024. In 85 games, he hit .337/.381/.448. That was good for a career best 137 wRC+.
Most of his damage came against left-handed pitching. Over 101 plate appearances, he had an astounding 184 wRC+ against left-handed pitching.
It’s a small sample size for sure, but Iglesias has always fared well against left-handed pitching with a 110 wRC+ over his career.
It’s an important consideration with Jeff McNeil struggling against left-handed pitching in his career. McNeil had a 78 wRC+ against lefties last year and a 104 over the past three years.
Iglesias has been better against left-handed pitching than McNeil. Having both allows Carlos Mendoza to have a platoon and/or late game flexibility. He can find the matchups he wants by having both players.
There’s also the Pete Alonso factor. Right now, Alonso is unsigned, and the way it looks now, he will not be a Met in 2025. As part of the planning for that potentially happening, Mark Vientos will likely move to first.
If the Mets cannot make another move, it would mean yet another chance for Brett Baty. If he fails, maybe Ronny Mauricio, who is returning from a torn ACL. Maybe not.
Whatever the case, Iglesias is a nice insurance policy. He can be a right-handed bat who shields the young players from the tough lefties. He could also take over at third if needed.
Iglesias has always been a very good fielder. He can absolutely handle third as a stop gap until the Mets add someone at the trade deadline. If Iglesias hits somewhere close to a 100 wRC+, he could hold the position all year.
There’s also his presence in the clubhouse. He was a very well liked player by teammates and fans alike. The OMG song and sign was a massive part of the 2024 success story.
It wouldn’t feel right seeing him taking that to another team. It’s forever part of Mets lore, and the good vibes there should carry forward for at least another season.
If Alonso returns or leaves, theres a role here for Iglesias. The Mets would benefit from his presence and more OMG. Iglesias was a significant part of the success story of the 2024 season and can be that again in 2025.
Everywhere you listen, they say Pete Alonso is a must sign for the New York Mets. The theory is he’s the big bat who can protect Juan Soto in the lineup.
The protection theory is all well and good, but we need to stop pretending Alonso is anywhere near the level of Aaron Judge. For the rest of his career, Soto will never have the level of protection he had with the New York Yankees.
Taking a step further, Alonso is in no way going to force teams to pitch to Soto. They’re not taking their chances with Soto to avoid Alonso.
Put another way, Soto is not your excuse for Alonso.
That’s not to say Alonso wouldn’t help this team. He’s a 40 HR bat who would slot in well in the lineup. With as studious as he can be, he may well benefit from being able to share notes with Soto.
That said, we can’t pretend Alonso is the only option remaining this offseason. For a point of reference, he’s coming off a 121 wRC+, and he had a 122 wRC+ the previous season.
Internally, Brandon Nimmo has a 119 wRC+. If teams are pitching around Soto to get to Nimmo, they know have a pitcher not throwing strikes facing a hitter with a great eye. Soto followed by Nimmo is an instant rally.
If you want the power quotient, look no further than Mark Vientos. He’s coming off a breakout season with a 133 wRC+. In fact, he was a better hitter than Alonso and may very well continue to be that for the next decade.
Of course, the Mets need someone at either first or third. Vientos would be better at first giving the Mets some other options.
Alex Bregman is still a free agent. Over the last three years, he has a 122 wRC+, and he’s a far superior defender. In an overall picture, the Mets don’t lose with the bat, and they get better in the field.
On the trade market, Nolan Arenado is still available. He also presents a superior glove, but he has slipped offensively with a 104 wRC+ over the past two years.
With Arenado, we’re obviously looking at Vientos and/or Nimmo as protection in the lineup for Soto. The Mets can also have the option to move Nimmo back to lead off with Francisco Lindor as Soto’s protection.
There’s also the possibility Francisco Álvarez emerges. Of course, while the Mets would like for that to happen, they can’t make hope their plan.
The plan should be something concrete. There are definite options beyond just Alonso.
For Alonso, the real question is what is he thinking? He turned down a seven year $158 million offer, and he doesn’t seem to be able to reach anything near that this offseason.
There’s also the rumored three year $90 million deal he turned down from the Mets. The discourse is he wants more years but also wants to remain a Met.
At some point, there’s just no avenue for Alonso to be a Met anymore, and maybe, it’s just pride. He can’t handle accepting fewer years, or he wanted better money. Who knows?
Whatever the case, he may feel it’s better to take a short term deal for a high AAV with another team. This way, he’s not taking less from the Mets that they once offered.
Put another way, the Mets need to prepare for Alonso being too frustrated and accepting a deal elsewhere. They need to fully assess all of their options and do what is best for 2025 and beyond.
Whatever the case, it’s not Alonso or bust. It’s whatever makes the Mets better. Fortunately, there are still plenty of good viable options.
The commentary when the New York Mets signed Francisco Lindor was he was grossly overpaid. That was a narrative screamed all over the airwaves, and it was at its most intense during Lindor’s early season slump.
Of course, the narrative was always false, and as usual, it had a twinge of #lolMets to it. With his near MVP season leading the Mets to the NLCS, Lindor shut that narrative up . . . for now.
Enter Juan Soto.
Soto received a MLB record 15 year $765 million contract. That carries a $51 million AAV. It’s a staggering number, and when he’s paid more than Shohei Ohtani, you’re allowed to question the disparity.
We can point out Soto is four years younger and just now entering his prime years. We can discuss Soto’s durability against Ohtani’s injury history. There’s more to contemplate, but it’s all a pointless exercise.
Determining whether or not Soto is overpaid is directly tied to the value he brings the team.
Each offseason had its own trends, but over the past six seasons, teams have paid roughly $7.6 million per 1 WAR. As a result, for Soto to be worth the deal, he would have to produce a 6.7 WAR per season.
On that note, Soto is coming off a season with a 7.9 WAR. Two of his past four seasons have exceeded 7.0 WAR. If Soto produces at this level during the peak years of his deal, he’s exceeding the AAV paid to him.
Of course, the $7.6 million is an average. We have twice seen the value surpass $9 million. At a $9 million valuation, Soto would only need to average a 5.7 WAR to be worth the deal.
Of course, this presumes WAR/$ doesn’t increase with increased revenues in baseball. As the WAR/$ increases, Soto’s production need not be at the 5-7 WAR value to be worth the deal.
Of course, the Mets signed him to be exactly that. As seen with pure hitters like Yordan Alvarez, Edgar Martinez, and Frank Thomas a hitter of Soto’s caliber can absolute produce that value.
Yes, this presupposes Soto will hit like a Hall of Famer. That’s what he’s done in his career, and there is zero expectation he will suddenly cease being that.
Look, the Mets signed Ted Williams. With apologies to Darryl Strawberry, the Mets finally landed the next Ted Williams.
There’s knowledge that comes with being that level of a hitter. As Soto discussed in his press conference, his discussions with Aaron Judge made both better.
Notably, it was the best years of Soto’s and Judge’s careers. It’s a relationship Soto can now have with Lindor. Moreover, think of the impact Soto can have on Francisco Álvarez and Mark Vientos.
There’s also the message adding a player like Soto sends to the rest of the league. Look at the Mets back at Pedro Martinez in the 2004 offseason. It paved the way for Carlos Beltran and eventually Billy Wagner.
Was Pedro worth his contract? Well, partially thanks to Jeff Wilson, certainly not. However, it was a move which made the Mets relevant, and it led to helping the Mets acquire players which would nearly lead to a pennant.
The Mets arguably already had that with Lindor. However, acquiring Soto pushes things even further. It puts the team on par with the Los Angeles Dodgers and their three MVPs.
The Mets are at a completely different level now. They haven’t been here since the 1980s. The Mets are now set to have a decade plus run as a World Series contender.
Lindor brought relevance. Soto takes the Mets to a new level entirely. Yes, Soto’s production will mostly likely be worth $51 million per year. The extra intangibles he brings means he will assuredly be worth every single last penny of the deal.