Just Mets

Despite their week-long uptick in offensive production, the industry-wide perception is the Mets need to augment their roster and boost their offense for a run to the postseason this summer.

Sandy Alderson has said the club is looking externally to improve the offense, and recently said the club may be willing to acquire a static third baseman, a hint they believe David Wright will be out for an extended period of time.

“Would you consider a third baseman who can’t do anything else? Under the current circumstances, yeah, we probably would,” Alderson explained late last week.

The Mets have been linked to several names who might become or are already available, such as Ben Zobrist, Jean Segura, and Aramis Ramirez.

However, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York downplayed the possibility of the Mets acquiring Ramirez, saying it was unlikely. In addition, while the Mets have expressed some interest in Zobrist, reports Ken Rosenthal FOX Sports, but Jon Heyman of CBS Sports says for whatever reason, their interest is isn’t high in the versatile former All-Star right now.

As I’ve said for a couple of weeks, it’s possible the Mets might need to clear salary before taking on additional payroll, meaning they might need to find a new home for one or both of Dillon Gee and Jon Niese before making a deal. In fact, Buster Olney of ESPN says the perception among people in the industry is the Mets are unwilling to add to their payroll this summer, further supporting that notion. 

This certainly explains why the Mets are trying hard to trade their veteran pitchers now, according to Andy Martino of the Daily News. The Mets could also dangle Rafael Montero, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post, but his value remains limited as he continues to struggle to return from a rotator cuff injury.

However, as Olney says, the Mets have a grand opportunity to not only make a postseason run, but win the National League East given how disappointing the Nationals have been in 2015. This team is good at its core, and despite any plan the Mets have in place in the future, it would be foolish to waste this chance because there’s no predicting the future in sports.

As such, it makes it even more vital for the Mets to find a way to augment their roster this summer, whatever their strategy for doing so is. Even with Daniel Murphy likely returning by the weekend, they are unlikely to survive a pennant race with the abysmal defense in general all over the field.