The Mets’ challenge for 2024 in the MLB

The Mets need a lot of pitching. And to do it, to the level of being able to challenge the Braves and Phillies, and attract fans to Citi Field, they will have to take out their wallets and spend big.

   Citi Field in Queens attracted more than 90,000 fans last weekend, who had a tremendous party and consumed everything on sale at three invalid exhibition games between two teams from the Dominican Republic.

“It’s the kind of energy we want to have here over the summer,” an executive with the New York Mets, who averaged about 33,000 fans per game during the 2023 season but never generated the level of energy they expected, told ESPN Digital. Águilas Cibaeñas and Tigres del Licey permeated the installation of the series Titanes del Caribe.

Last season, the Mets led the major leagues in spending with a payroll of $343.6 million, according to Spotrac.com. Nearly $77 million was spent on players on the injured list, one of the reasons, but not the only one, why New York went from winning 101 games in 2022 to being eliminated for half the schedule and finishing second to last. place in the league. National League East Division, with a record of 75-87, in 2023.

As a result of the poor performance, the Mets decided to trade important pieces in the July market and basically rethought their immediate future.

Pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, outfielder Mark Canha, Venezuelan infielder Eduardo Escobar and reliever David Roberson, among others, were traded between June and July. Venezuelan pitcher Carlos Carrasco entered free agency at the end of the World Series.

For 2024, Japanese Kodai Senga and Colombian José Quintana are seeded in the starting rotation and Puerto Rican closer Edwin Díaz will return, who missed the previous season due to injury in the World Baseball Classic.

New Mets baseball boss David Stearns pointed out the obvious: The Mets need a lot of pitching. And to do it, to the level of being able to challenge their biggest division rivals, the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies, and draw fans to Citi Field, they will have to take out their wallets and spend big.

Japan’s Shohei Ohtani (pitcher and hitter) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and National League Cy Young winner Blake Snell are the best free agents available, but, logically, they are the most expensive. Very expensive.

The Mets have a lot of money, but also a commitment of $204 million, which leaves little room before reaching the Competitive Balance Tax threshold of $237 million in 2024. Of course, exceeding the tax is not something that is scary. its billionaire owner Steve Cohen, but how far it can go is the more precise question. Right-handers Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray, Brandon Woodruff, Marcus Stroman, Cuban Yariel Rodríguez and Dominicans Frankie Montas and Luis Severino and left-handers Jordan Montgomery and Venezuelan Eduardo Rodríguez are less expensive options to complete the top or back of the rotation .

Nor should we rule out any internal option for a fifth or sixth spot in the rotation, but covering the positions that Scherzer and Verlander had on the last opening day is the main mission of the central office.

On offense, New York has defined the catcher (Venezuelan Francisco Álvarez), 1B (Pete Alonso), SS (Puerto Rican Francisco Lindor), 2B or LF (Jeff McNeil), CF (Brandon Nimmo) and RF (Dominican Starling Marte). Rookies Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio are expected to get plenty of opportunities at multiple positions.

One or two minor signings of players with more depth in the squad that will be handed over to rookie coach, Venezuelan Carlos Mendoza, is almost automatic.

But the Mets’ biggest problem is pitching. In addition to his boss’s large portfolio, Stearns will have to be very creative to find the weapons a demanding market team needs, without compromising too much the organization’s financial future. Good luck trying.