The New York Mets registered 87 wins to make the postseason as a National League Wild Card team a year ago. However, their playoff magic didn’t last long as they once again fell short of reaching their World Series goals. The Mets are one of a handful of teams with enough talent on their roster to contend for a playoff spot in 2017 but after failing to significantly upgrade their talent level in the offseason they are facing more questions than answers heading in to a new season.
Key Additions: OF Yoenis Cespedes
Key Losses: SP Bartolo Colon, 1B James Loney, UTIL Kelly Johnson, OF Alejando De Aza
Strengths
The key to New York’s success will be a young starting rotation that can hang with the best of them in the National League. Matt Harvey will need to bounce back following a thoracic outlet syndrome procedure but he is expected to be fine and the Mets also have Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz and Noah Syndergaard in the mix. As long as that group of pitchers stays healthy the Mets should be a playoff contender. Meanwhile, New York will need more from its offense after failing to upgrade in the offseason. Cespedes was brought back and it appears as though the Mets will once again try to live and die by the home run ball. New York certainly has some intriguing power with Cespedes, Neil Walker, Curtis Granderson and Lucas Duda so look for them to post solid home run numbers once again after combining for 218 last season, which was the second-highest total in the National League.
Weaknesses
While the Mets can certainly mash in terms of home runs, they need to find a way to consistently generate runs without needing to rely so heavily on the long ball. The lineup is comprised largely of boom-or-bust veteran hitters so New York could struggle again after averaging just 4.14 runs per game in 2016. Meanwhile, the top four pitchers in the starting rotation are solid but the Mets need one more starter to emerge following Colon’s departure and their bullpen isn’t elite by any means. New York also doesn’t boast much depth in the pitching department so injuries could create some major issues for this group. Harvey is the biggest concern among the team’s top four starters but there is no guarantee that Syndergaard, deGrom and Matz make it through an entire season without getting hurt and if they do then it could create some lingering issues for this club.
2017 New York Mets Depth Chart
| Catcher | Travis d’Arnaud | Rene Rivera | Kevin Plawecki | ||
| First Base | Lucas Duda | Wilmer Flores | |||
| Second Base | Neil Walker | Wilmer Flores | T.J. Rivera | ||
| Third Base | David Wright | Jose Reyes | Wilmer Flores | ||
| Shortstop | Asdrubal Cabrera | Jose Reyes | |||
| Left Field | Yoenis Cespedes | Michael Conforto | Brandon Nimmo | ||
| Center Field | Curtis Granderson | Juan Lagares | Michael Conforto | Brandon Nimmo | |
| Right Field | Jay Bruce | Michael Conforto | Curtis Granderson | ||
| Starting Pitcher | Noah Syndergaard | Jacob deGrom | Matt Harvey | Steven Matz | Robert Gsellman |
| Relief Pitcher | Addison Reed | Hansel Robles | Jerry Blevins | Josh Edgin | Josh Smoker |
| Closer | Jeurys Familia | ||||
Projected Win Total: 89.5
World Series Odds: +1800
Outlook
If all of the starters remain healthy and the Mets are able to add one or two key pieces before the trade deadline, then there is no reason to think this team can’t contend for an NL Wild Card spot once again and possibly even win the National League East division. However, New York’s lineup does have some concerns on both sides of the ball including a major lack of depth throughout their roster. If the starting rotation struggles or is forced to deal with injuries, then the Mets could see a slight regression in their win total and fall just short of playoff contention in 2017. This is a relatively easy division, though, with the Philadelphia Phillies, Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves all figuring to be at about .500 or worse this season. The Mets have to contend with the Nats. Having three weaker teams in the division could help them get over the number for their regular season win totals.
Prediction: 85-77
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