SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Mets were perceived last winter as one of the teams that won the offseason, but once the games started it was a different story.
That said, most of the players the team acquired or retained last offseason were quality pieces and will be counted on to buoy the Mets in 2024.
It’s a cast that includes Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana and Brandon Nimmo.
Another of those players, Edwin Diaz, didn’t throw a pitch for the team last season but is expected back at full strength for spring training.
The Mets’ big splash last offseason, Justin Verlander, was traded for two top prospects.
So it wouldn’t be quite accurate to say the Mets’ spending spree last winter was a bust, despite the disaster the season became — culminating in a roster overhaul at the trade deadline.
As the club’s new president of baseball operations David Stearns arrives Monday at the general managers’ meetings (the first of two MLB offseason gatherings among team officials and agents), the Mets’ infrastructure is already in place.
Stearns’ mission is to augment a nucleus that includes Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Francisco Alvarez in addition to the remaining signees from last winter.
The Mets need at least two starting pitchers but probably three — especially if you operate under the assumption the team will employ a six-man rotation much of the time, allowing Senga to receive the extra rest that helped him succeed as a rookie.
Quintana is the other returning veteran starter.
There is plenty of inventory for the Mets to choose in one of the deepest starting pitching markets in recent offseasons.
The top of the market includes 25-year-old Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is expected to soon be posted by his Japanese team, the Orix Buffaloes.
With Shohei Ohtani sidelined from pitching for next season after undergoing elbow surgery there might not be a higher upside right-hander available than Yamamoto, who is considered a strong contender to win a third straight Pacific League MVP.
Blake Snell, the front-runner to win the National League Cy Young award, is the top left-hander available.
Snell, who turns 31 next month, recorded 234 strikeouts in 180 innings and led the major leagues with a 2.25 ERA for the Padres.
The market behind Yamamoto and Snell is intriguing, with names such as Aaron Nola, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Lucas Giolito, Marcus Stroman, Sonny Gray, Seth Lugo and Wade Miley.
The left-hander Miley was signed by Stearns with the Brewers before the 2018 season.
Miley returned to the Brewers last season, during which Stearns was a consultant for the club.
Ohtani has to be considered a possibility for the Mets, based on his status as the game’s best player and Steve Cohen’s deep pockets.
Players of Ohtani’s magnitude are generational, and the Mets could further globalize their brand by signing him.
The Mets could potentially look for a new third baseman following Brett Baty’s underwhelming rookie season.
A free agent to watch could be another that Stearns has liked previously: Justin Turner was twice pursued by the Brewers as a free agent during Stearns’ Milwaukee tenure.
Turner, who played for the Mets before becoming a star with the Dodgers, opted out of his contract with the Red Sox last week after posting an .800 OPS in a utility role.
Also potentially worth watching is whether the Brewers are open to trading Willy Adames, who will be entering his free-agent walk year.
Adames had a disappointing .717 OPS last season, but still flashed power with 24 homers.
Diaz, Brooks Raley and Adam Ottavino (who presumably will exercise his player option worth $7.25 million) are the returning relievers.
Could there be a reunion with David Robertson, who pitched admirably as Mets closer before he was traded last season?
Josh Hader, Will Smith (who has belonged to three straight World Series-winning teams, with the Braves, Astros and Rangers) and Andrew Chafin are among the other names to watch.
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