New York Mets: Do they have enough talent to contend in the NL East?
By Ed Stein
John Carroll Jr. – Co-Site Expert, Empire Writes Back
To answer the question bluntly, yes the Mets do have enough talent to compete in the NL East, but it will never be that simple. What helps the Mets more than anything is the fact that despite how it looks with their division rivals, did they really get that much better?
Philadelphia
The Phillies will perhaps look the most changed in the division with additions such as J.T. Realmuto, Jean Segura, and Andrew McCutchen. If they are going to legit contend for the division, they will have to have a formula similar to the World Champion Red Sox and score all the runs to get there, which is easier said than done.
Their rotation doesn’t touch the Mets, though. Aaron Nola is great, but their rotation is relatively weak. Nola would probably be the third starter if he was on the Mets and he is the Phils ace.
Atlanta
The Braves have a great core, but a small sample size. They were humbly knocked out the playoffs by the Dodgers last year and showed they were nowhere close to being ready for a real playoff push. Josh Donaldson could be the player that gets them over the hump, but that is a “could”, not a given. Again, their rotation doesn’t touch the Mets. The Mets staff is established and proven to be legit.
The Braves might have a better lineup on paper, but with additions like Robinson Cano and Jed Lowrie, the Mets added guys who just simply get on base, that closes the gap with the Braves, who could fall off.
Washington
I also feel like the Nationals had a much to gloat about offseason, but still not quite there. If they do lose Harper, where are they? Patrick Corbin does not scare me that much. Even worse Mets teams than the current squad now have been better than the Nats in the Max Scherzer era.
A Juan Soto breakout campaign aside, I do not see how the Nats got much better than the Mets. Once again with them, pitching is the name of the game. If the Mets fire on all cylinders, their rotation is deeper than that which resides in the Nation’s Capital.
Miami
I won’t even talk about the Marlins. They are almost half the 2017 Mets with Curtis Granderson and Neil Walker now at the helm. The Marlins traded away yet another MVP caliber player this offseason in Realmuto and Derek Jeter’s days of once again haunting the Mets are well ahead of him, not anytime soon.
New York Mets
So overall, the Mets might have made the most moves, even if they were not as overwhelming as getting Corbin or Donaldson. With a now improved bullpen and still the best rotation in the division, I don’t see how, if all things on paper go according to plan, the Mets do not compete for the division.
They are not the team to beat, that would the reigning division champion Braves. But to look at all the substance from the offseason, it is tough to look at the Mets and not think they improved the most from their 2018 roster to now.
Did they improve enough is the real question? Everyone did get slightly better. It just answering if the Mets closed the gap enough. With the deepest rotation and most improved bullpen, it seems as if they have.
Of course, because they are the New York Mets, this is all stock. There will obviously be inevitable injuries and long slumps from the sluggers, but maybe the depth is solid enough to overcome it all. After all, depth and versatility are what Brodie Van Wagenen seems to like the most in his roster. This is why they play the games.