The trio’s arrival in Queens complicates matters for Jeff McNeil, J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith, whose paths to playing time are now murkier. Even if the Mets don’t add any more pieces, there is no clear path to regular at-bats for any of them. Having too many competent hitters is a good problem for a team that scored the fourth-fewest runs in the majors last season.
These additions may help the club’s run prevention as much as it does the offense. The Mets had fielders playing out of position frequently last season, with McNeil and Smith frequently manning the outfield. Though a primary third baseman throughout his career, Davis is not strong defensively, and Escobar should represent an upgrade at the hot corner.
Those defensive improvements should help attract more pitching, which the Mets assuredly still aim to do. The team is reportedly eyeing Kevin Gausman as a priority, as well as Jon Gray after missing out on Steven Matz (much to the chagrin of owner Steve Cohen).
The offseason is still in its early stages, but with this trio of acquisitions, the Mets have now spent $124.5 million on major league free agents, while the rest of the National League East has spent a combined $8 million—all of which went to new Braves catcher Manny Piña. As things stand, the defending champions are surely the team to beat in the division in 2022, but they are not without their major question marks this winter.
And it’s not as if Atlanta had a stranglehold on the East all season long—quite the opposite, in fact. The NL East, as a whole, was perhaps the most disappointing and least formidable in the league. In being aggressive on the free agency market, the Mets have positioned themselves to be the best-equipped club to give the Braves a run for their money. Given the need for depth across multiple positions, the decision to add Marte, Canha and Escobar for the money it would likely have taken to sign somebody like Kris Bryant appears to be a wise decision.
New York still has lots of needs, and these moves are not without their fair share of risk. But the Mets went from looking like a rudderless, captainless ship to a team with a semblance of a plan over the course of Black Friday. Given how the second half of the season collapsed like a house of cards, that’s progress enough.
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