Success or Failure: Review of the Mets offseason

It may not look it outside, but the 2021 baseball season is underway in Florida and Arizona as Spring Training has begun. No team, outside the San Diego Padres, garnered more headlines this winter than the New York Mets. Both good, bad and indifferent, the Mets were a consistent headline maker this year. The question that a lot of Mets fans have, did the team do enough to compete for the NL East crown! Let the debate begin! 

Mets add Pillar to Congested Outfield

 Ever since the Mets lost out on George Springer, who signed a $125 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, they have been trying to go bargin bin shopping to fill their holes in the outfielder. 

Last week they signed former Chicago Cub Albert Almora Jr. to a deal, and now have inked former Blue Jay Kevin Pillar to a one-year deal with options for 2022.  Both Pillar and Almora are natural center fielders, creating an obvious platooning situation in the outfield with mainstays Brandon Nimmo and Dom Smith. 

Most know that neither Smith nor Nimmo are skilled defensive outfielders. Pillar was once a solid defensive outfielder, however his glove set has declined in recent seasons. If the Mets had to choose between Pillar and Almora, Pillar would get the first crack as the teams fourth outfielder. 

This is not to say that Pillar is not a good addition, he is. Two years ago he hits 21 homers and drove in 87 for the San Francisco Giants. Last season he hit .288 with six homers and 26 RBI between Boston and Colorado. He can certainly hit, and contribute to the ballclub. The concern is the Mets truly don't have a center fielder, and they really don't have a left fielder either. 

The Mets would love to have the DH in the NL this year and move Smith, a natural first baseman, into the DH spot and move Nimmo to left, but it doesn't look likely. 

Jackie Bradley Jr. who could have solved a lot of issues for the Mets after they took the L on Springer, is still a free agent, but with the Pillar and Almora signings it would be surprising to say the least that the Mets suddenly go out and ink a long term deal with the former Boston Red Sox in Bradley, who is a better defensive outfielder than anyone on the Mets roster. 

This is a the mess the Mets created. They could have gotten into a bidding war with Toronto for Springer, but chose not to. Whose fault that is between Steve Cohen and Sandy Alderson is anyone's guess, but the Mets were willing to put up $40 million a year for a headcase in Trevor Bauer before he took his sideshow act to LA and the Dodgers. 

After a solid start to the off-season,  it ends in a wimper as the Mets try to fill out the glaring holes that remain on their roster as camp opens up. 

Yankees Add Former Met Justin Wilson to Bullpen

 The Yankees bolstered their bullpen, while delivering a blow to their crosstown rivals. On Monday, the Yankees signed lefty reliever Justin Wilson to a one-year deal with a player option for 2022. 

The deal re-unites Wilson with the Yankees for whom he pitched back in 2015. Wilson was 5-0 with a 3.10 ERA in 74 appearances as a Yankee back in 2015 before he was dealt to the Detroit Tigers for Luis Cesa. 

Wilson spent the last two seasons in Flushing, pitching well as a lefty-specialist for the Mets. In those two seasons, Wilson was a combined 6-3 with four saves in 68 games and a 2.91 ERA. He is going to be missed by the Mets, who desperately need pitching depth out of the bullpen after losing Seth Lugo to elbow surgery. Wilson was one of the few signings that ex-Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen got right during his tortured two year stint. 

Now Wilson joins a loaded bullpen in The Bronx that features Aroldis Chapman and Zach Britton, as well as recent free agent signing Darren O'Day. 

The Yankees also added former Mets back-up catcher Robinson Chirinos to a deal, creating an interesting situation behind the plate for the Bombers, because Chirinos was Gerrit Cole's personal catcher when they were together in Houston. In fact Cole had a 1.57 ERA when pitching to Chirinos. Does this mean current back-up Kyle Higashioka is on notice? Or does it mean the Yankees are making plans to get Gary Sanchez out of town after two horrible seasons and a off-season full of whining from the Yankees catcher?  This will be a position to watch this spring.

Trevor Bauer Decision Could Come Down to Mets or Dodgers

 Maybe its the distraction that Sandy Alderson and Steve Cohen believe the Mets need after several weeks of bad PR? Maybe it's just flat out hubris? Maybe a combination of both? Whatever the reason, the Mets are still very much in the mix to land free agent starting pitcher Trevor Bauer, and according to his agent, Rachel Luba, it's down to two teams. 

Those two teams, many expect are the Mets and the LA Dodgers. 

According to John Heyman, the Mets and Bauer have been engaged in talks, and expect to hear an answer within 24-hours.  CBS is also reporting that Mark Feinsand of MLB.com that the Mets are involved in the process along with the Dodgers. 

Bauer is coming off the best season of his career, albiet a shortened 60 game season, where he went 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA and a WHIP of 0.795. He recorded 100 strikeouts, two shutouts and two complete games. He is a bulldog both on and off the field -- we'll get to the off-field part in a moment. 

The question is how much would it take? On the Michael Kay Show, hosts Michael Kay, Don Lagreca and Peter Rosenberg debated whether Bauer would get a deal close to the $36 million a year he was asking for. Perhaps the Mets come in a little lower at around $30 million. Would there be player opt outs every year? 

And that leads to the next question: is Bauer worth it? Is a pitcher who before the OVID-shortened 2020 season, held a career 4 ERA, worth $30 million a year? The short answer of course not. No pitcher is worth that much, and if the Mets give Bauer that much, their staff ace Jacob deGrom should scream poverty in that case. 

Then there is this: Has Bauer turned the corner? Is he on his way to becoming one of the games most dominant starters at age 30? That is a huge question, and another reason why risking a mega deal on him for such a hefty price is a gamble. 

Then there are the off-field issues.  Bauer loves to spout off on social media. He has his own YouTube channel, is a constant presence on Twitter, and even got in trouble for reportedly harassing a female college student in a twitter battle back in 2019. 

These should be concerns to a Mets franchise that has been bit by bad social media PR lately. First there was Jared Porter's sexual harassment texts to a foreign female reporter that ultimately got him fired by the Mets 37 days into his tenure as GM.  Weeks later five women claimed ex-Mets manager Mickey Callaway had harassed the, with lewd photos. In between we had owner Steve Cohen get into a Twitter war with David Portnoy and fans over his contribution to the GameStop controversy. 

Adding Bauer's headaches would not help. In fact it would paint the Mets as the cartoon show they always wanted to avoid. 

Bauer is no stranger to the spotlight, in fact he craves it, which makes his presence in New York a fascinating episode to watch if indeed he signs with the Mets. 

Are the Mets willing to gamble on Bauer? Apparently the are, but is Bauer willing to gamble on them over the World Champions.

Callaway Suspended for Sexual Misconduct

 Former Mets manager and current Anaheim Angels pitching coach Mickey Callaway has been suspended by the Angles as both they and Major League Baseball conduct a full investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. 

It was reported Monday night by The Athletic and later picked upby ESPN and SNY that Callaway had sent lewd messages and nude photos of himself to five women who worked in the sports media industry. This was behavior that goes back to his days as pitching coach in Cleveland, and included his days as Mets Manager. 

In a very bizarre statement Callaway said of the allegations, "Any relationship in which I was engaged has been consensual, and my conduct was in no way intended to be disrespectful to any women involved. I am married and my wife has been made aware of these general allegations." 

The Athletic obtained text messages allegedly from Callaway to one of the five women where he describes to the woman about sleeping naked. 

One woman using the fake name "Samantha" called Callaway unrelenting. Another named "Laura" said that Callaway thrust his crotch into her face during a one-on-one interview shortly after being named Mets manager in 2018. 

What makes matters worse from the Mets standpoint is that SNY reported Monday that the Mets were aware of Callaway's incidents before hiring him. That is a direct hit on President Sandy Alderson, who denied having any knowledge of such allegations when it came to hiring Jared Porter as team GM just weeks before he too was outed for sexual misconduct. 

The "ole Boys Club" mentality that has permeated baseball for years, but has locked up as a deep, dark secret is now starting to come out, and we call all thank the brave young woman from another country who ousted Porter. 

Others will follow. 

More importantly it is bringing into question the judgement of someone like Alderson who hired two men with checkered histories and didn't blink. As if the Mets needed anymore bad news this winter after the Porter mess, and the Steve Cohen vs. David Portnoy over GameStop fiasco, this, a form of guilt by association doesn't sit well.

Ex-Mets manager Mickey Callaway Accused of Sexual Harassment

 Another day, another Mets-related scandal. It's becoming all too common lately. 

First it was Jared Porter's sexual misconduct scandal that cost the 39-year old his job as General Manager, then it was owner Steve Cohen's involvement in the GameStop controversy that led to a Twitter war with David Portnoy of Barstool Sports. 

Now former manager Mickey Callaway is in hot water over sexual harassment allegations by five women. 

The women were interviewed by The Athletic on a condition on anonymity, all had worked in sports media when they had confrontations with Callaway, dating as far back to his time as pitching coach of the Cleveland Indians. Callaway, allegedly, would comment on their appearance, send lewd pictures  -- including photos of himself shirtless, and apparently asked for nude photos of them in return. 

There is even an allegation Callaway thrust his crotch into the face of one woman. 

This is now the second time the Mets have been caught with an employee accused of such conduct, only unlike Porter, Callaway did this while working for the Mets. In fact, SNY reports that the Mets were aware of Callaway's behavior before hiring him. The man that hired him? Sandy Alderson. 

The story is disturbing, but, sadly it's not surprising. It speaks to the "Ole Boy's Club" atmosphere that has enveloped clubhouses for years. In today's society where women are more involved in sports, sports coverage, such behavior is unacceptable. Heck, it should never be allowed. Ever. 

It also speaks to the culture the Mets have developed, and brings new scrutiny to their front office. As mentioned, Callaway was an Alderson hire before his initial retirement as GM in 2018. Alderson recently hired Porter who was found guilty of similar behavior. Are the Mets aware of such actions, or are they turning a blind eye. 

It's a behavior that the Mets, owner Steve Cohen, has to diagnose and rid of from the clubhouse as soon as possible.