The New York Mets were thinking World Series as early as June of this year. And why not? The Mets were one of the best teams in the MLB and had a starting rotation that caused fear in the rest of the teams in all of baseball.
Then September came and it all fell apart going 5-5 in their last 10, losing moral boosting series down the stretch. The Mets were a shadow of the team that dominated the regular season, losing in the Wild Card series to the San Diego Padres 2-1, being beaten soundly in both defeats.
Mets GM Billy Eppler sees light at the end of a disappointing tunnel with the promise from team owner Steve Cohen that the club will have all the financial help they need to get the Mets back to the World Series.
Mets GM on 2023 season
Mets manager Buck Showalter and Eppler addressed the media on Friday, after what has been a difficult few days for the ball club. Swallowing their pride, they faced questions regarding what comes next for the Mets.
Buck Showalter (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
“If you tell me we can design a team that’s going to lead in on-base percentage, score in the top five in runs and we’re going to have two Hall of Famers in the front end of our rotation, I think that’s a pretty good recipe,” Eppler said. “We’re dealing in human performance, right? It’s a probabilistic world. It doesn’t come with guarantees. But I did like the position our club was in.”
While the Mets won 101 games during the regular season, when it mattered the most, the playoffs, the Mets once again were a no show.
The Mets brass will look to re-sign key free agents like ace Jacob deGrom, Edwin Diaz, and outfielder Brandon Nimmo. The Mets are also set to review adding a few possible big bats to the club, given the Mets were a team able to get many on base but had difficulties down the stretch getting them to score.
For the New York Mets, 2023 has most definitely started now.
