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The eyes of the baseball world will be on Shohei Ohtani on Thursday, November 10 when free agency opens in Major League Baseball, with the two-way player expected to fetch the biggest contract in the history of a sport that is defined by enormous deals.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (11:30 mark) reported that the Dodgers remain the front-runner to acquire Ohtani’s unicorn-like services but he cannot rule out the Mets and owner Steve Cohen being in the mix, either.
Cohen and the Mets should rule themselves out.
The are a number of factors to consider with the Ohtani deal that have very little to do with what goes down on the field. There is the media attention, sponsorship opportunities, and ad revenue that the team could benefit from. There are the primetime games, all of the preseason buzz, and investment from fans of the player himself who otherwise may never have visited a ballpark before.
On the field, he is one of the most dominant hitters in baseball and a more than adequate pitcher who can sit the league’s best down in succession.
As appealing as all of that is to an owner like Cohen, who loves baseball and is seemingly genuine in his desire to field the best team for its fans, sinking $500 million into a player who will be coming off UCL surgery and will not be able to pitch until 2025 is not what this Mets squad needs right now.
Cohen tried the big-name free-agent approach, bringing in what should have been a lethal one-two punch of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. It did not work. The 2023 Mets were demonstrably worse than the year prior, falling well short of expectations and landing outside the playoff picture.
The rotation is a mess, save for the one major free-agent acquisition that did pan out in Kodai Senga, and the bullpen is not in much better shape. Collectively, the Mets had an ERA of 4.29, gave up the seventh-most home runs in baseball (82), and walked the sixth-most batters (588).
The consistent command was nonexistent and allowing 663 earned runs will not get anyone to the postseason.
The team needs pitching. Quality pitching. Not necessarily big names that will win headlines and sell jerseys, but guys that will vastly improve both the rotation and bullpen. If the Mets want to generate some excitement, bring in an Alex Cobb from San Francisco or Eduardo Rodriguez from Detroit. Take a look at Michael Lorenzen.
Do not overpay, but gauge Blake Snell’s interest in coming to the Big Apple on the heels of one of his career-best seasons with the Padres.
The aforementioned UCL surgery is going to keep Ohtani off the mound until 2025 while still paying him considerably to hit as soon as next season. While any team would love to benefit from his long-ball hitting, the Mets already have Pete Alonso, who is the face of the franchise and facing his own long-term contract questions with the team.
Signing Alonso should be a priority, as should the continued commitment to the franchise’s youth movement.
Catcher Francisco Alvarez was electrifying at times this season, thanks to raw power hitting that saw him take opposing pitchers deep 23 times. Third baseman Brett Baty struggled at times and was sent down to AAA, but a full offseason with the organization and renewed confidence should help him.
Mark Vientos was solid and really found his bat late in the season, accumulating 10 home runs, while Ronny Mauricio showed flashes of what excited the organization about him in the first place.
There is a talented young core there. Add in veterans such as Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and 2022 batting champ Jeff McNeil and you have a roster that can compete against any team in the National League.
Would Ohtani bring renewed excitement to a team that woefully underperformed this season? Sure, but would he make them considerably better?
He played his entire career with the Angels, on the same team as fellow great Mike Trout, and the team did not win. It never made the playoffs and, while much of the fault for the postseason futility rests on the shoulders of management, it is an observation that cannot be ignored.
The Mets should stay the course, add the necessary pitching to avoid a repeat of this year’s disastrous performance on the mound, and get ready to make noise next spring.
If Rosenthal is correct, and the Dodgers are the front-runners to acquire the services of a player who may be the best of all time before all is said and done, it will likely be because that team is more win-ready right now and, logistically, is on the West Coast, where he already resides.
They have established stars in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, a young rotation that is already starring, and a playoff window nowhere near closing.
That is a better fit for a star of his magnitude who is looking to win now and showcase his abilities in Major League playoffs that, to this point, have eluded him.
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