The Nationals, Braves and Phillies all are better than the Mets on paper. How much better? If you built a roster using players from just the four teams, David Wright likely would be the Mets’ lone representative.
It leaves general manager Sandy Alderson ready to begin another spring training — the reporting date for pitchers and catchers is tomorrow — in which it is understood almost everything needs to fall into place for the Mets to have a shot at competing in the NL East.
Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Bryce Harper, B.J. Upton, Justin Upton, Kris Medlen, Craig Kimbrel, Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward, Ryan Howard, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels are among the marquee names in the division who have the potential to torment the Mets in 2013.
“The National League East may be the toughest division in baseball this year, and in a way it provides a model for us,” Alderson said last week. “It sets a standard. It also reinforces the direction we’ve taken, because we don’t want to just get lucky, we want to compete with teams of that caliber on a consistent basis.
“In order for us to do that, we’ve got to be methodical about how we get there. We’re not that far away. I don’t want anybody to believe this is a long-term project that has no possible realization anytime soon. ”
Adding a proven major league outfielder or two this offseason would have helped improve perceptions. Alderson remains in conversations with Scott Boras about free-agent Michael Bourn, but otherwise is prepared to begin camp with a jumble in the outfield.
“We’re at the point where we can make significant improvement in a hurry, and we’ve been looking at ways we could actually do that,” Alderson said. “The fact those things may not come to fruition doesn’t mean they are not possible or close to being achievable. If those things happen I don’t think it’s a leap of faith to think we can be very good.”
Trying to make sense of an outfield mix that includes Lucas Duda, Collin Cowgill, Mike Baxter, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Andrew Brown and Marlon Byrd will be manager Terry Collins’ toughest task of the spring.
Duda, who spent a month at Triple-A last season after struggling in his first everyday major league role, is expected to be the full-time left fielder with Collins employing a platoon in right and center unless Bourn is signed.
Cowgill hit .269 with a homer and nine RBIs in 38 games for Oakland last season and figures to be the best of the group defensively.
“He’s a true team player — gritty and gutsy,” said a major league talent evaluator. “He’s a super outfielder with arm and accuracy and he can run. He always hustles.”
Nieuwenhuis had a strong two-month stretch with the Mets last season before a midseason nose-dive necessitated his return to Triple-A Buffalo. His season ended in mid-August because of a torn plantar fascia in his right foot.
The Mets view Baxter as an ideal fourth outfielder, but his role may have to be more pronounced given the situation. The Queens native became a cult hero of sorts with a circus catch that helped preserve Johan Santana’s no-hitter against the Cardinals last June 1. Baxter’s reward was a dislocated collarbone that sent him to the disabled list for nearly two months.
When Collins isn’t trying to make sense of his outfield, he will be contemplating his bullpen options. Frank Francisco, Brandon Lyon, Bobby Parnell and Josh Edgin would seem to have jobs cemented, leaving Jeurys Familia, Robert Carson, Elvin Ramirez, LaTroy Hawkins, Darin Gorski, Greg Burke, Pedro Feliciano and Scott Atchison among the group fighting for available jobs.
Santana, Jon Niese, Matt Harvey, Dillon Gee and Shaun Marcum are the components of a potentially solid starting rotation. But if the Mets learned anything last season, it’s not to overinflate their expectations for Santana.
The lefty was strong in his return from September 2010 surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder, before hitting a wall in the second half and receiving an August shutdown from the Mets.
Harvey dazzled after his arrival from Triple-A in late July, and Niese took a step forward in proving he is a capable middle-of-the-rotation starter. Gee was having a second straight respectable season until a blood clot ended his year at the All-Star break. The veteran Marcum figures to compensate for many of the innings the Mets lost with R.A. Dickey’s trade to Toronto.
Zack Wheeler might be the best pitcher the Mets have in camp, but the highly regarded prospect is expected to begin the season at Triple-A Las Vegas, barring an injury to a starter during spring training. Jenrry Mejia will work as a starter in camp to give the Mets rotation insurance. Jeremy Hefner and Collin McHugh also have major league starting experience.
The Mets’ offseason highlight was the trade that sent Dickey to Toronto with Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas for Travis d’Arnaud, John Buck, Noah Syndergaard and Wuilmer Becerra.
D’Arnaud, who is regarded as the game’s top catching prospect, isn’t a lock to start the season in the big leagues after missing most of last season at Triple-A recovering from a left knee injury. The Mets view the veteran Buck as a capable placeholder if needed until d’Arnaud is deemed ready.
Ike Davis rebounded from a dreadful start last season to finish with 32 home runs and Daniel Murphy and Ruben Tejada combined to give the Mets a respectable middle infield. Jordany Valdespin also showed bursts of power off the bench and will be a candidate for playing time in both the infield and outfield.
But the Mets’ biggest force remains Wright, who signed an eight-year contract worth $138 million this offseason to remain the team’s third baseman.
Alderson was asked if signing a high-profile player such as Bourn would give the team credibility with future free agents who might consider the Mets an option.
“We signed David Wright,” Alderson said. “I think the important thing is to create a sense that the future is positive, it’s bright, whether that comes from signing David Wright or signing another free agent.
“We have lots to offer here in New York. Would signing a high-profile free agent be another data point for people trying to get a handle on where we are or where we’re going? It probably has something to do with the perception, but it wouldn’t be a significant reason for doing something just so it creates the platform for doing something else.”