LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Mets officials say they grimaced, swallowed, accepted the questions and the zings because, well, they had to do so.
They were interrogated Tuesday about whether Curtis Granderson was their lone significant play and whether they were going to reach deeply into their pockets again this offseason to address their many needs. The Mets had to play poker. Take the barbs and the columns that followed — including one by me, in which I wondered if they did not have the stomach and wallet and tolerance to honor their commitment to their fans that this was their offseason to push to get better.
They were pretty sure at that point Bartolo Colon was, if not signed, sealed, delivered, then certainly in their red zone, surely closer to their 2014 rotation than not. But they didn’t want to give away any competitive advantage. So for 24 more hours they had to wear all the doubt about their motivations, intentions, actions.
Ultimately, the fret with the Mets was whether they had the fortitude to push into uncomfortable areas where teams that are going for it must push, take bold financial moves. Notice the plural — moves, not move.
Granderson was a start as the Mets netted an above-average player because they were willing to traverse their comfort zone of a three-year offer and go to a fourth season, go to $60 million, accept the back-end risk that such a contract poses for a player already in his 30s.
And they did the same for a player in his 40s. The Mets certainly did not want to go beyond a one-year deal with Colon. With Andy Pettitte retired, Colon will begin next season as the oldest starting pitcher in the majors, and he turns 41 in May. He has a performance-enhancing drug suspension in his recent past. He has a body by Homer Simpson.
But with all of that, I would rather have Colon for two years at $20 million than Ricky Nolasco for four years at $47 million, Scott Feldman for three years at $30 million, Jason Vargas for four years at $32 million or Phil Hughes for three years at $24 million. The term is shorter, the pitcher is better.
Quite frankly, I would rather have Colon on this deal than the two-year, $22 million one Scott Kazmir signed to essentially replace Colon in Oakland.
Of the available free agents, Colon just might have the best shot in 2014 — and 2014 alone — to be 80 percent of Matt Harvey, to replace a starter who is borderline irreplaceable to the Mets. Colon, after all, finished second in the AL in ERA last year (2.65).
Is it suspicious how that occurred, considering his age and the PED bust? You bet it is. Was he helped by pitching in Oakland’s spacious home? Yep.
But Colon is fearless, an extreme strike-thrower. Over the past three years — one for the Yankees, two for Oakland — he is 36-25 with a 3.32 ERA. It seems within reason he can give the Mets 150-175 innings, an ERA in the 3s and a lesson for the rest of a young rotation on the value of owning the strike zone. A starting core with him, Zack Wheeler, Jon Niese and Dillon Gee is competitive. Add Harvey and Noah Syndergaard for 2015 and: a) Colon can slip further to the back of the rotation, probably, or b) become a trade chip.
The Mets probably still don’t challenge with this roster, if you do the math — subtract Marlon Byrd and Harvey and add Granderson, Chris Young and Colon. That is neutral without growth from Travis d’Arnaud, in particular. It would look a lot better for the Mets if they could add a big-time shortstop.
They did, to the surprise of Stephen Drew’s camp, request a meeting with agent Scott Boras. But it was described to me as informational. No offer was made, none was promised, and Mets officials generally are not huge supporters of Drew. If you were betting, the Red Sox remain the favorites to retain their shortstop.
For now, though, the Mets have taken a second step. Not enough, but still better than just one act of boldness. Maybe they will surprise us further with a trade of some meaning, another free-agent strike or two.
They remained silent to protect their leverage then suddenly got louder — 24 hours later — than was anticipated.