Article Written By: Julian Beck
New York Mets
2013 Record: 74-88 (3rd place in NL East)
Key additions: Curtis Granderson, Bartolo Colon, Chris Young
Key loses: LaTroy Hawkins, Frank Francisco (unsigned), Tim Byrdak (unsigned), Aaron Harang (unsigned), Johan Santana (unsigned)
Key players for 2014 season: David Wright, Curtis Granderson, Daniel Murphy, Zach Wheeler
The New York Mets are a team on the rise, with money to spend and a good deal of young talent at the big league level and on the cusp of contributing. That said, they still look to be at least a year away from legitimate contention, as there are still a number of holes in the roster.
Since they had money to spend this off-season they decided to fill some holes they had. A major hole they needed to fill was in the outfield. Signing Curtis Granderson and Chris Young should help impact this offense and defense. Granderson had a great stint with the New York Yankees, hitting for power and playing great defense. The Mets are hoping he can continue his production and help David Wright in the middle of the order. When Granderson is healthy he is a threat in the batters box. He is able to reach base in any form and has the speed to take the extra base. After Chris Young was traded out of Arizona his career has taken a steep decline. He has a lot of pressure to produce like he did with the Diamondbacks. He will be able to start on a consistent basis now and will reap the benefits of playing for a young team on the rise.
The Mets have some talent in the rotation. Dillon Gee, Jonathon Niese, Jenrry Mejia, Zach Wheeler, and Matt Harvey. Bartolo Colon was signed to help ease the loss of Matt Harvey, who will miss 2014 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Each pitcher had their up and downs last season but have the talent to create a strong starting rotation that can compete with any team. Wheeler will be called upon to be the ace of this team. He is one of the best young pitchers in all of baseball. Wheeler has the ability to win 15 games, but will have to cut down on his walks. Gee and Niese will be relied upon to go deep into games to help relieve stress of the bullpen. Mejia is the wild card that has a high ceiling. He has a great pitching arsenal and will have to watch Colon very closely all season to learn how to control his pitch count and have his defense help with getting batters out.
The leader of this team is David Wright, and when healthy he is a top 5 player in all of baseball. He has all the tools of a Super Star and doesn’t back down to it. He has been able to produce stellar numbers even with a team that doesn’t have much talent. Daniel Murphy will be relied upon heavily this season as well. Murphy is a great hitter that can hit to all fields and reach base on a consistent basis. Last season he was the focal point of the offense after Wright got injured and Marlon Byrd was traded. This season he won’t have as much pressure on him thanks to signings of Granderson and Young.
A lot will have to come down to the pitching rotation since Harvey will be missed all season. Each pitcher will be battling for the ace spot and should bring out the competitiveness of each other. Wright will help mold all the young players into confident veterans as time passes. If the Mets can stay healthy and have the young guys play at a consistent level they could be factors for the wild card.
