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The Mets Not Making Any Big Offseason Moves Will Once Again Come Back to Screw Them

By Scott Rogust

The Mets' lack of big offseason moves will come back to haunt them in 2020.
The Mets' lack of big offseason moves will come back to haunt them in 2020. / Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Despite a second-half resurgence last year, the New York Mets missed out on the postseason. Even so, the team has high expectations heading into the 2020 campaign, where PECOTA ranked them as the favorites to win the NL East.

However, there's one thing that will derail the hopes and dreams of the Mets organization, and that's the lack of big offseason acquisitions.

For new GM Brodie Van Wagenen, his start at the top didn't go as planned. In his first season as the head of the Mets front office, he brought in the likes of Robinson Cano, Marcus Stroman and Edwin Diaz. However, those additions didn't help this team get to the postseason.

This winter, Van Wagenen didn't "wow" the rest of the league with transactions, besides Dellin Betances. Meanwhile, the rest of the National League got better.

The Los Angeles Dodgers made the biggest splash on the trade market by acquiring star outfielder Mookie Betts and starting pitcher David Price from the Boston Red Sox. A team already stacked got even more terrifying.

Next, there are the division rivals in the Atlanta Braves. The team had plenty of depth entering the offseason, but signed Marcell Ozuna and Cole Hamels to put them over the edge in 2020.

Of course, if you're the Mets, you have to look at the Washington Nationals, who won the World Series as a Wild Card team.

Even though the team lost star third baseman Anthony Rendon to the Los Angeles Angels, general manager Mike Rizzo made quality signings in Starlin Castro, Asdrubal Cabrera and Howie Kendrick to fill the void at the hot corner. Not to mention they added the likes of Eric Thames and Will Harris to round out the roster.

It's not to say the Mets didn't try. In fact, reports suggest that New York was aggressively pursuing Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor. Yet, they were hesitant to move on from prospects and current players to facilitate the move.

If the Mets wanted to compete in 2020, they needed to grab that big name. Now, that goal is nearly impossible considering how their NL counterparts improved this offseason.