Are the Mets done?

Dad asked me a simple question the other night: Are the Mets done? I didn't get a chance to answer it then, so I'll do my best to weigh in on it here.

I haven't written too much in this space about the Mets' offseason moves, but I'll sum up my general feelings by saying that I am extremely happy with the team that the Mets have become and excited about the upcoming season (moreso than the 2001 campaign). Steve Phillips has redeemed himself, in my eyes, for an offseason of inaction that was a prelude to the dismal 82-80 record last season. He also seems to be "getting it," statistically speaking, by playing up the OBP factor in the Vaughn deal. Management has raised the payroll bar at the behest of fans to almost completely overhaul the bastard redheaded stepchild of the vaunted Yankees.

The Mets have had over 50% roster turnover from last season, but amazingly, rumors persist that there are still moves to be made. Phillips has downplayed these rumors, but he's held his cards close to his chest all offseason. Two notable potential transactions come immediately to mind:

• Trade Steve Trachsel for Rick Reed: I have always been a big Rick Reed fan; he came up from obscurity and was one of the few good things to happen thanks to The Strike. That said, I see no reason to bring him back to the Mets. He's 36 years-old and is due to make $7 million in 2002 and $8 million in 2003. Compare this to a 31 year-old Trachsel scheduled to make around $4 million in 2002 (source: Major League Baseball Player Contracts). I don't really foresee Reed pitching appreciably better than Trachsel in the upcoming season, especially considering their opposing trends at the conclusion of last season.
• Signing David Cone: Bad idea unless he would be restricted to the long reliever/spot starter role. A rotation of Leiter/Astacio/Estes/Trachsel/Chen/Cone actually looks pretty good so long as Cone comes cheap (he likely would). All things equal, however, I don't see Steinbrenner letting such a thing happen; he'd sign Cone just to get the headlines back. So, although I am a lukewarm advocate of a David Cone signing, I don't really think it'll happen.

As for the Mets' offense, I'd say the moves are pretty near complete. The only thing that worries me here is the fact that Gary Matthews is our current 4th outfielder, with Timo not far behind. I'm not very familiar with the minor league system (apart from it being pretty barren), so I'm not sure if we could get help from there or not.

Pitchers and catchers report in a few short weeks, and I'm pretty confident that the Mets will begin the season with the roster that they have today. I see no need for any further overhaul.

January 24, 2002 - 10:32 AM