What's Next For the Mets After Missing Out On George Springer?

The New York Mets went into the offseason following the 2020 season with a ton of questions, mainly, would Steve Cohen indeed be the owner of the team before 2021. To the delight of every Mets fan, that came true as the sale became official on October 30th, 2020, and Cohen relieved Jeff and Fred Wilpon as majority owners after 40 long and sufferable years for the orange and blue faithful.

Once the sale became official, no team had more hype surrounding them than the Mets. Often dubbed as the second team in New York and always overshadowed by the Yankees in terms of spending, on-field performance and general appeal. However, the boys from Queens are now the wealthiest team in baseball (this does not mean they will spend the most), and shortly after Cohen's introductory press conference, the Mets started to see a change. Free-agent pitcher Marcus Stroman accepted his qualifying offer from the Mets and will seemingly be their third starter once the season begins. The Mets also made moves to sign reliever Trevor May and catcher James McCann. Then came the big splash, trading for superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor.

However, the Mets missed out on signing CF George Springer, who agreed to a six-year $150 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. Springer seemed to be the Mets' prime target, and the Mets were figured to be the frontrunners to land the biggest fish on the free-agent market. Buster Olney, the lead baseball analyst at ESPN, even went as far as to say that he is "just about ready to bet the family farm in Vermont" that Springer would sign with the Mets. The Mets did not land the star Center Fielder, so where do they stand after missing out on Springer?

The Mets are in desperate need of a center fielder still. Brandon Nimmo played 55 games for the Mets in the shortened 2020 season. He was ranked the worst defensive center fielder in baseball, according to Statcast. This is not acceptable for a playoff and championship-contending team. Jackie Bradley Jr. is the best free-agent CF left. While he would be a considerable upgrade defensively, I think the Mets should explore the trade market specifically for Tampa Bay Rays CF Kevin Kiermaier. Kiermaier has been one of the best defensive CF in all of baseball. From 2017-19, he ranked #1 in baseball in Ultimate Zone Rating, a metric used to compare if fielders are better or worse than what is considered average. Kiermaier scored an 11.4 UZR/150, which averages the metric to 150 games. Bradley ranked sixth with a score of 4.1 UZR/150. Based on defensive runs saved by range, the amount of ground fielders cover, Kiermaier ranked second in that span with 13.5 runs saved. Bradley, on the other hand, only registered a 0.7. Finally, according to the Fangraphs' Defensive Runs Saved metric, Kiermaier saved more than seven times the runs than Bradley Jr. The Mets have a dominant lineup, and their defense has held them back. The Mets ranked 26 (out of 30) teams in defensive rating the last two seasons. With the addition of Lindor, the Mets are already poised to be better defensively, but the addition of Kiermaier could do wonders. Tampa Bay has been in sell mode, already dealing ace Blake Snell this offseason. Kiermaier is owed $23.5 million over the next two seasons. Due to this, the Rays are likely to trade him for cheap as a salary dump. Kiermaier would provide a significant upgrade in the Mets weakest area, fielding, especially up the middle.

It is certainly not the offseason Mets fans expected, but they still have been one of the most aggressive teams in baseball and landed the best player to move teams this offseason. Times are changing in Queens, but the Mets are not quite where they need to be to compete with the Braves, Dodgers and Padres in the National League.