Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns. (USA Today)
What should be the most pivotal week of the offseason for the New York Mets and around Major League Baseball begins on Monday down in Nashville with the 2023 Winter Meetings kicking off.
This is as direct as negotiations in pro sports can get. Front-office brass from all 30 teams will be on hand to talk trades with each other while representation of the top free agents available will also be on hand for negotiations, as well.
The Mets are expected to be a busy bunch down in Tennessee as new president of baseball operations David Stearns continues the start of his franchise build. He’s already made a couple of notable moves in the last week, bringing on former All-Stars in infielder Joey Wendle and starting pitcher Luis Severino — both of whom are expected to provide depth at their respective positions.
Mets 2023 Winter Meetings primer
Biggest areas of need
Starting pitching: The acquisition of Severino provides New York with a No. 4 or 5 option in their starting rotation, although the right-hander provides a significant wild card factor with his arrival. Injuries have derailed his career and he’s coming off his worst season yet where he dealt with pitch-tipping issues.
As it stands, he joins Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana as the only veteran arms that hold the promise of consistency — though the latter two proved much more dependable last season. Senga was an All-Star and finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting while Quintana was strong following recovery from spring-training rib surgery.
Neither is a bona fide ace, though, even as Senga exhibited one of the most dastardly strikeout pitches the game has seen in recent memory with that ghost forkball.
It’s why Yoshinobu Yamamoto is deemed the top priority for the club this winter. The Japanese superstar just won his third straight Nippon Professional Baseball MVP and Sawamura Award (the equivalent to the Cy Young Award)…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply