2014 Review:
2014 was an odd year for the New York Mets. Expectations were mixed in Queens, though the overall perception was that they would miss the postseason for the eighth straight year, which they did. New York’s season had its highs and lows. The Amazin’s started the season off strong with a 15-11 record in April and finished strong with a 15-10 record in September. They showed signs throughout the year of being a winning ball-club (including an 8-2 home-stand in July). It just never came together for the Mets to make a deep run in 2014 as they finished 79-83 (tied for 2nd place in the NL East).
Most of the Mets’ success in 2014 came from their outstanding starting pitching. Jacob deGrom emerged this year as a front-line starter in the National League, likely on his way to being named the 2014 National League Rookie of the Year. deGrom was called up to the big leagues to join the Mets’ struggling bullpen in May, but joined the starting rotation almost immediately. The 26-year-old right hander never looked back going 9-6, with a 2.69 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 140.1 innings (22 starts). deGrom is just a part of this young Mets’ core of starting pitching. Matt Harvey recovering from Tommy John surgery obviously hurt the club this season, though fellow hard-throwing righty Zack Wheeler improved and showed a lot of promise. Wheeler, only 24, was 11-11, with a 3.54 ERA and 187 strikeouts in 185.1 innings (32 starts). Wheeler had trouble with his command and, therefore, high pitch counts throughout the year, but still progressed from his rookie season.
Additionally, the Mets’ veteran starters had mixed seasons. When healthy Jonathon Niese was very good, pitching with an unlucky 9-11 record. Niese had a 1.27 WHIP and a 3.40 ERA in 2014. Another veteran who had success in the Mets rotation was 41-year-old Bartolo Colon. Colon won 15 games and had a 4.09 ERA in 202.1 innings (31 starts) for New York. Filling out the rotation was Dillon Gee, Rafael Montero and occasionally Daisuke Matsuzaka. Coming off the best year of his career, Gee had a rough 2014. Montero was very inconsistent at the major league level, but did show signs of promise. Dice-K was as durable as it gets for the Mets this season pitching in basically any role a pitcher could pitch in (he even recorded a save).
The fifth starter to begin the season was Jenrry Mejia, though he faltered, which sent him to the bullpen. Mejia re-established himself with the Mets as a crafty closer with nasty stuff. He recorded 28 saves in his 2014 campaign. Jeurys Familia, Vic Black, Josh Edgin, Carlos Torres, Buddy Carlyle and Dana Eveland also were lights out this year in a revamped Mets’ bullpen.
On the offensive side of things for the Mets, there were only a few bright spots. Lucas Duda broke out after the Mets traded Ike Davis to Pittsburgh. Duda had 30 home runs and 92 RBIs in his best season as a professional. After a horrible start to 2014, and a demotion to AAA Las Vegas, Travis d’Arnaud became a huge part of the Mets lineup, hitting 13 home runs in 108 games behind the plate. Daniel Murphy was an All Star for the first time in his career. The Mets’ second baseman hit .289, and would have finished close to 200 hits, had he not gotten injured in September. Finally, Juan Lagares was arguably the Mets most valuable player, playing elite defense and a developing offensive player.
As for the rest of the offense, it was not a fun year in Queens. David Wright and Curtis Granderson had their worst years as professionals. The Mets struggled at the shortstop position (Ruben Tejada and Wilmer Flores) and in left field (Chris Young, Eric Young Jr., and Matt den Dekker).
Guaranteed Contracts for 2015: David Wright, Curtis Granderson, Bartolo Colon, Jonathon Niese
Arbitration Eligible Players: Bobby Parnell, Daniel Murphy, Eric Young Jr., Dana Eveland, Dillon Gee, Ruben Tejada, Lucas Duda, Buddy Carlyle, Jenrry Mejia
Costless Agents: Daisuke Matsuzaka and Bobby Abreu (retiring)
Team Needs:
Power - The obvious need for the Mets to address this offseason is power. The Mets only hit 125 home runs in 2014 for ninth in the National League. One of the main reasons for the Mets lack of power was the terrible seasons of David Wright and Curtis Granderson. Wright hit only eight homers, the worst mark in his 10-year career. Granderson did hit 20 home runs, though the Mets expected more since he had 30+ home run seasons (two 40 home run seasons) three times in the last six years. The Mets received almost nothing in the power department from all around the diamond except first base.
On the costless agent market, Michael Cuddyer is an interesting fit to throw in the outfield mix. On a two-year deal, Cuddyer would be a nice bat in the middle of the Mets lineup, with fellow Virginia Beach-native David Wright. Another bat to look at through costless agency is Nelson Cruz, but he may ask for a lot more than what the Mets may want to spend.
A Shortstop - If the Mets do not find a major league shortstop this offseason, they will be in deep trouble for 2015. Wilmer Flores showed a little bit of promise at the end of last season, but he seems to profile as more of a second or third baseman. New York cannot go into another season relying on Ruben Tejada. Tejada has hit only .224 combined over the past two seasons. He provides average defense and a well below average bat.
The Mets will need to take a look at their shortstop situation this offseason.
New York has plenty of options for the shortstop position in costless agency and trade. The obvious move would be through a trade. The Mets seem to match up with teams like the Cubs (Starlin Castro, Javier Baez, Addison Russell), Diamondbacks (Didi Gregorius, Chris Owings), and Mariners (Brad Miller, Chris Taylor), who have an overload of young shortstops. Some of the Mets young pitching should be intriguing for teams looking to make a deal. The costless agent market also has a couple options that include Hanley Ramirez, Jed Lowrie and Asdrubal Cabrera.
A Healthy Matt Harvey - Mets fans everywhere are on the edges of their seat waiting to see this team’s dominant young pitching staff. That starts with the ace, Matt Harvey. Harvey was out for the whole 2014 season, recovering from Tommy John surgery. Harvey burst on to the scene in 2012, and had an even better 2013, which included starting the 2013 All Star Game for the National League. A healthy Matt Harvey is a key for the Mets to anchor down their young rotation.
2015 Direction:
2015 is the year for the Mets to break out. All of the young pitching, including Matt Harvey, is ready to go, so all New York needs is just enough offense. By making a costless agent acquisition or trade for a solid left fielder, the Mets should be able to get by. Left field is a must, with a new shortstop being a need, as well. It all depends on what general manager Sandy Alderson has in mind. Will he stick with internal options at shortstop (Flores, Tejada, Reynolds), or make a move? Alderson is also depending on Wright and Granderson to turn it around. If he makes the necessary moves to put them over the hump and Wright and Granderson have better seasons, the Mets will be right in the thick of the wild card race in 2015 thanks to their dominant pitching.