The New York Mets are struggling this winter, only a year after investing heavily to become what many predicted would be World Series contenders.
The Philadelphia Phillies have been very quiet so far this offseason when it comes to trades and free agency signings, but for the rival New York Mets? It’s true that nothing is going well right now.
For those following the Mets offseason activities, they failed to sign Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, were just slammed with a $101 million luxury tax, and have made no progress in extending their deal with All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso.
Jim Bowden, a former MLB general manager and co-host of SiriusXM’s Inside Pitch, recently spoke on the Foul Territory podcast alongside Scott Braun, Eric Kratz, and A.J. Pierzynski. During their conversation, Bowden expressed his disapproval of the Mets’ offseason decisions thus far.
On Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s lack of signing by the Mets
After being introduced by primary presenter Scott Braun of Foul Territory, Bowden launched into his criticism of the “mediocre Mets.”
“I love the fact that they [Mets] made the run at Yamamoto,” said Bowden. “They made the greatest offer to purchase him. Unfortunately, Yamamoto was raised as a Dodgers fan, so the Dodgers took advantage of the opportunity to match the [Mets’] offer.”
Regarding the rotation of the Mets as a glaring weakness
Bowden was less forgiving of the Mets’ third through fifth starters after expressing his belief that Kodai Senga is a genuine No. 1 starter.
“You have thirty-five-year-old José Quintana, soft-tossing lefty,” continued Bowden. “You bring in Sean Manaea [for] two years, $28 million, another soft-tossing lefty, [Luis] Severino who has had shoulder problems and watching him last year, really inconsistent, not the guy he was at one point.”
In the NL East, where does Bowden believe the Mets will end up in 2024?
After last season’s disappointments, the Mets’ prospects of winning in a challenging division with playoff-caliber clubs like the Phillies, Atlanta Braves, and Miami Marlins were already poor, but Bowden predicts an even worse outcome for the Mets this year.
“I look at this rotation and I say to myself, ‘This a fourth-place team,'” Bowden said. “And watch out for Washington [Nationals] because they might go past them [Mets]. This is not a contending team for me; it’s not a Wild Card team.”
It is evident from the Mets’ inability to acquire another strong starter in the summer that many baseball experts have low expectations for a team that was predicted to contend for the World Series only a year ago.
According to recent sources, the Red Sox and the Mets are vying for 2023 NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, a valuable free agency starter. In the event that they are unsuccessful in this endeavor, it will be difficult to ignore Bowden’s parting remarks.
“It’s all of a sudden an aging team,” concluded Bowden. “I just don’t think that they’ve done enough in the starting rotation to be competitive this year.”
The rival Mets appear to be doomed in 2024, but there’s still plenty of time to make changes before the season begins.