The MLB Off-Season has been rolling, and for the first time in many years most of the big signings have come before Christmas.
Let's start with the Jacob deGrom signing in Texas. I understand what the Texas Rangers are hoping for in acquiring an ace like deGrom. The Rangers want to end their playoff drought, they added Corey Seager and Marcus Semien in recent years, and want to change the culture. The only problem is that deGrom has had a troublesome track record of recent years in staying healthy. When he's healthy, he is the best pitcher possibly in the game, but that's the key word -- healthy.
The New York Mets meanwhile let deGrom walk, because according to reports deGrom no longer wanted to be there anymore. They extended their closer Edwin Diaz, who had a Cy Young-caliber season, and then pulled off a pivot that most didn't see happening or at least not so soon.... They turn around and land Justin Verlander.
Verlander is coming off a truly remarkable season in which he posted a 18-4 record with a 1.75 ERA & 185 strikeouts through 175 innings, after basically missing the past two seasons (only 1 start in 2020) due to Tommy John surgery. He helped lead the Houston Astros to their 2nd World Championship in 6 seasons.
The Astros who have a strong rotation without Verlander decided to go in a different direction and add a huge bat in Jose Abreu, taking over for Houston fan favorite Yuli Gurriel. Which then left Verlander dangling in front of the two New York teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers & the San Francisco Giants.
As a huge Justin Verlander fan, I was hoping for Houston to resign him, but felt that both Verlander and Houston were heading in different directions. Prior to him signing with the Mets, most signs were pointing to the Dodgers, and I suddenly found myself hoping for that or an outside shot with the Atlanta Braves (his favorite team from his childhood). I even believed that the San Diego Padres, who have no problem throwing around money, could possibly have been in on the hunt.
The Mets would add SP Jose Quintana and RP David Robertson, while they are rumored to be talking to Japanese superstar SP Kodai Senga. The Mets are also rumored to be looking towards the future in acquiring the Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani as well, when he hits free agency.
The Mets' recent moves and vision sounds like a old team we used to know across the city, named the New York Yankees. The Mets have simply become the Yankees, George Steinbrenner would have not hesitated in signing Verlander.
And although the Yankees were able to sign OF Aaron Judge, which was a great thing for Yankees fans, they also extended GM Brian Cashman for a few years (if not for life at this point). Cashman and the Yankees have become stale, the Boss' is rolling in his grave, and the Mets may now be heading in a direction which the Yankees used to simply own.
The Yankees once owned New York... Heck, they once owned Major League Baseball, but let's face it the Steinbrenner boys didn't inherit their father's cutthroat mentality when it comes to the front office. The Yankees have only one title the past 22 years (almost a quarter-century), and they have simply been eliminated in 2006, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2019 & 2022 by an ace in Verlander, who now has signed with the same city's other team in the Mets. Extending Cashman was a mistake, and for the Yankees it will be same old 21st Century Yankees, even with Aaron Judge.
The Mets also avoided a mistake that the Texas Rangers have committed in signing deGrom to such a huge contract which is filled mostly with question marks. Almost every notable baseball expert has also panned this deal -- $185 million for 5 years, looks murky in the crystal ball at best.
The Mets made the right moves, now am I suddenly going to anoint them the 2023 World Champions? Absolutely no. Do I think the Mets will definitely be better? Sure...
But this is the thing, the Mets still have to deal with the Philadelphia Phillies (who only got better this offseason as well) and the Atlanta Braves (who are built to be a National League powerhouse for possibly the next decade). Plus there are the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres who will only keep spending tons of money, while the St. Louis Cardinals somehow always find a way to be consistent.
The National League alone will be a gauntlet for the Mets. The Phillies added SS Trea Turner, while the Padres added SS Xander Bogaerts. Personally, I believe the National League is the stronger league, while we have seen with the extended playoffs that the best teams don't always win it all. Powerhouse teams like the Dodgers went home early, while Cinderella teams like the Phillies went to the World Series.
And just like most recent seasons, anything can happen in 2023.
