It's been a while, a long while, since I wrote or discussed anything related to Major League Baseball, the Mets or the Yankees.
It pains me to even admit that, but considering the Mets waived the virtual white flag at the Trade Deadline on August 1, and the Yankees have been toiling in fourth place since July, the season has felt over for months.
Now it officially ends.
And not a moment too soon.
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| Pete Alonso breaks a bat over his knee. Getty Images. |
Now we can get on with an off-season that is sure to answer as many of our lingering questions as possible. It will be an off-season that could carry the fates of both New York franchises for the rest of the decade. No, I am not being facetious either, it is liteary one of the most important off-seasons in the history of both the Yankees and Mets.
For the Amazin's we know that David Stearns is taking over as President of Baseball Operations, and that General Manager Billy Eppler will remain as his underling. The big question is will Buck Showalter stay? Will he get fired? Will he retire? If Buck is no longer the Mets skipper, who will it be? Craig Counsel?
Counsel has been rumored to be a potential replacement for Showalter mainly because of his connection to Stearns, the former GM and President of Baseball Ops in Milwaukee. Counsel is in the midst of a playoff race with the Brewers. He is a free agent once Milwaukee's season ends, and there is not 100 percent certainty that Counsel even wants to manage in 2024. Some suspect he might take a year off.
Then there is Pete Alonso and his contract.
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| Will Buck be back? Getty Images. |
We know via reports from Sports Illustrated that Alonso and the Mets have had discussions on an extension. They are apart of the years, if you believe that story fully. Eppler tried to put cold water on the story after it published.
Bottom line is the Mets can ill afford to lose Alonso. He has one year left on his deal. If the don't sign him this off-season, and it drags deep into Spring Training, Alonso's future will be the topic of the 2024 season. Nobody wants that. I don't care who the manager is. Nobody wants that hanging over the team.
Signing Alonso, as flawed as he is as an overall ballplayer is a must. He provides plenty of pop (46 homers and counting) and, despite rumors to the contrary, many have confirmed that Alonso is a great teammate.
Aside from Alonso, the Mets must fix their starting rotation. They need to sign at least two guys to bolster the rotation. They need to add to a bullpen that will welcome back Edwin Diaz.
They also need to answer the Ohtani question. Shohei Ohtani is the biggest name on the market. However he won't pitch next year due to Tommy John Surgery. He can still hit in 2024. Do the Mets want to hand out a $500+ million deal to a two-way player who will be a DH for a year?
Then there are the recent rumors the Mets might jump back into the Juan Soto sweepstakes. A move that would not only cost the Mets prospects, who would have to go back to the San Diego Padres, but could affect them in the Alonso sweeps.
It's something to watch, because the Mets were heavily linked to Soto before he was dealt at the 2022 trade deadline last year.
Meanwhile over in the Bronx, the Yankees have a lot of questions to answer. How is that a team with the Yankees pedigree not make the playoffs?
Hal Steinbrenner is bringing in outside auditors to help figure that out. What that means for Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone is the biggest question of all. The assumption is that Cashman is safe. Boone is up in the air, but recently there seems to be a push for Boone to stay.
The players like Boone. They play hard for him, and he always has his players backs. That has to account for something.
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| An animated Aaron Boone. Getty Images. |
I know the fans don't like Boone, but a lot of the problems that hit the Yankees in 2023 was not his fault.
Nobody expected Aaron Judge to miss 50 games in the middle of the year when the wheels came off the 2023 season.
Not to mention, the Yankees have been unable to keep their rotation healthy. Nestor Cortes missed most of the season; Domingo German was a headcase and sent to rehab for alcohol abuse just weeks after tossing a perfect game in Oakland. Carlos Rodon has been a total disaster pitching to a 6.80 ERA; another free agent signing indictment of Cashman.
The Yankees tried to break in some of the young kids. Anthony Volpe, despite hitting a lot of homers has struggled mightily this year. He's batting only .207.
Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera have had minor contributions. Austin Wells has shown pop, but his average is down since getting called up. Jasson Dominguez is out until at least next August.
In short it doesn't look good right now for the Yankees heading into the off-season.
That is why many want the Yankees to make wholesale changes. That might be easier said than done. If the Yankees can add to their rotation; maybe even find someone to take Giancarlo Stanton off their hands, it would be a step in their right direction.
So good bye to this miserable baseball season. Steve Cohen and Hal Steinbrenner, you are both on deck.
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