CHICAGO — You remember the Mets, don’t you?
Opened a new park last year, too; run by the owner’s son. There was something about a lot of injuries, but it was so long ago, who can remember?
Recently, the Mets have had the visibility of the New York Liberty, going into hibernation while their best of enemies, the Phillies and Yankees, played in the World Series.
They are now back in a season that matters. Omar Minaya arrived yesterday at what very well may be his final GM Meetings unless he figures out a way to address the club’s needs adequately enough to push the Mets into the postseason next year.
And right now the Mets have what even one of their executives described as “a split camp.”
One side wants to push hard for a top-end free agent such as Jason Bay, Matt Holliday or John Lackey. The other contingent believes that with health to key players such as Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and Johan Santana, they only need to upgrade the supporting cast.
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Minaya loves to big-game hunt, and said yesterday, “We owe it to ourselves to find out about the better players out there.”
The Mets prefer not to add a long-term piece to first base, because they still like Daniel Murphy and believe well-regarded prospect Ike Davis should be ready by 2011 to hold the position.
That means they will look hardest at left field, a position played by both Bay and Holliday. The Mets also would like to add some power behind the plate, so a Rod Barajas-type could come into play.
Ownership continues to say Minaya will have full authority to make the decisions, and Minaya believes he will have the payroll flexibility to improve the roster. The industry is dubious about both issues.
But after a season in which the Mets had few positive breaks, they actually may be looking at a favorable marketplace.
There are scenarios in which many of the other big-market teams are not major players this winter. For example, the Yanks (Johnny Damon, Andy Pettitte and maybe Hideki Matsui) could prioritize keeping their own, and the Red Sox (Bay) might do that, as well. The Dodgers could be in a phase of even greater financial restrictions with their ownership tied up in divorce proceedings. Most executives see the new Cubs ownership refusing to make a splash.
So this could be like two offseasons ago, when seemingly stronger suitors fell away and left the Mets as the only team standing to land Santana.
But caution should be heeded. Because there will be some level of competition. The Giants badly want to add Bay or Holliday, and the Mariners, Angels and Orioles have some money to add corner bats, as well.
And if the Mets do not get a big bat in free agency, their early read is that players such as Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez and Derek Lee either will be beyond their ability to acquire or not available.
So that could push the Mets to that other side in the internal conflict in which they try to use their dollars to dominate the second-tier free-agent pool. That would put players such as Barajas, Adam LaRoche, Jermaine Dye and Randy Wolf into play.
That would cost about $30 million in total for next season, and enable the Mets to have Murphy and Angel Pagan for backup depth, all while not touching a fragile farm system.
These are all issues Minaya must work through in what is his last, best shot to keep his job.