On the surface, the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs have quite a bit in common.
Let’s take a quick look:
- Both are currently in the midst of a substantial championship drought (although the Cubs have everyone beat in that regard).
- 2015 marked the first time this decade they each posted a winning record.
- Before meeting in the 2015 NLCS, both organizations went through a lengthy rebuild that included dramatically slashing payroll.
- The rebuild has allowed their respective farm systems to be some of the MLB’s best, and the young talent on their big-league squads is virtually unmatched.
- Since they both experienced success earlier than originally expected, the window of opportunity to be legitimate World Series contenders is open, and this offseason is crucial.
That’s where the similarities end, though.
The difficult part of going through a rebuild – especially in major cities like New York and Chicago – is being patient. Everybody wants to win right now, and it takes a lot of self-control to stay disciplined and avoid the “win-now” moves so the process can play out as planned. After being patient, another difficult thing is knowing the right to time put the pedal to the floor and move all your chips to the middle of the table.
Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer apparently know when to do that, while Sandy Alderson and his crew don’t (or can’t).
The Cubs and Mets have two of the MLB’s most passionate fan bases, and watching them win in 2015 after so many losing seasons and being told to “trust the process” made a lot of people happy. This is the time they’ve been hearing about for years – the farm system is stocked with talent, the big-league club has a bunch of young and affordable studs and the next five years or so are going to include a lot of winning.
After all that hard work, even those with the best laid plans are going to run into roster issues that must be addressed either via trade or free agency. With that in mind, let’s compare the offseasons of these two clubs thus far.
Epstein had a clear plan after Chicago’s impressive 97-win season: upgrade at second base, strengthen the middle of the rotation and fill the outfield void left by Dexter Fowler with someone better.
They emphatically accomplished Plan A by trading Starlin Castro and signing Ben Zobrist to a four-year deal, luring John Lackey away from the St. Louis Cardinals with a two-year deal and reeling in Jason Heyward on an eight-year agreement.
Not a bad few weeks of work. Let’s just say those moves have Cubs fans a little excited.
We go live to Chicago: pic.twitter.com/PovDwvhKJB
— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) December 11, 2015
On the other hand, nobody – and I mean nobody – expected the Mets to reach the World Series last year. It wouldn’t have happened without some savvy midseason deals struck by Alderson to strengthen New York’s biggest weaknesses, which were in the power department, on the bench and in the bullpen.
Since they acquired Yoenis Cespedes, Kelly Johnson, Juan Uribe and Tyler Clippard in the final years of their respective contracts, those same holes must be filled this winter.
New York had to resort to Plan B after missing out on Zobrist, which included trading Jonathon Niese to the Pittsburgh Pirates for second baseman Neil Walker. It was a move that pleased many because he has power, is better in the field than Daniel Murphy and gives manager Terry Collins some flexibility between him, Ruben Tejada and Wilmer Flores.
Plus, he’s only under contract through 2016, which gives the front office financial flexibility. And, let’s not forget, it basically paved the way for Bartolo Colon to re-sign with the club.
From there, things haven’t gone how you’d think they should. They signed left-hander Jerry Blevins for the bullpen (which was needed), but also added infielder Asdrubal Cabrera and Alejandro De Aza on two- and one-year deals, respectively.
The Mets also made their Alejandro De Aza signing official.
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) December 23, 2015
Cabrera makes some sense because he can play all over the infield, but after taking a look at what he can do with the bat and glove, he’s not much different from Flores. The only difference is Flores is much younger and can continue an upward trajectory with his on-field development.
The latest move to sign De Aza is the one that has many Mets fans in a tizzy, and for good reason. New York was reportedly in the market for a left-handed hitting center fielder to pair with Juan Lagares in a platoon. Instead of waiting out the market to see if guys like Fowler or Denard Span could be a possibility, they jumped on De Aza even though he’s terrible defensively and has barely played in center over the last couple of years.
This seemed like more of a panic move than anything else. And that didn’t appear to be necessary.
For the Cubs and Mets, it’s very clear that the rebuild is over, and both were incredibly successful in staying patient while sticking to the plan. However, it only looks like Chicago realizes now is the time to go all in.
That’s not to say the moves Epstein and his crew made didn’t come without risk, though. Many teams wouldn’t hand a four-year deal to a second basemen entering his age-35 season. Lackey had a great 2015, but isn’t getting any younger at 37, and Heyward is currently slotted to play center field, a position he’s manned for just 32 games in his six-year MLB career.
However, thanks to the Cubs’ patience, these are calculated risks they can take without completely ruining everything. And if it helps them win right now, it’s completely worth it.
If the Mets are indeed finished with the heavy lifting of their offseason, they appear to be a similar team to the version that entered 2015. A good word for that roster is incomplete, one that Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog used this week. After a hot start last April, nothing really came together for the club until making those trade deadline moves for Johnson, Uribe and finally Cespedes.
Once 2016 is underway, there’s a decent chance the roster could experience the same deficiencies. Who knows, maybe full seasons of David Wright (if he’s healthy), Travis d’Arnaud (if he’s healthy), Michael Conforto (if he can keep playing at a high level) and the new acquisitions fill the void. But if not, they’ll be in a similar conundrum they were last summer. And who knows if the right deals will present themselves again.
Whatever the reasoning is, the offseason performances from the Cubs and Mets are two great examples of how clubs handle success after a long rebuild.
Chicago knows when the right time is to go all in with a degree of risk, and they went after it. The Mets are in the same window, but aren’t willing to push the gas pedal to the floor at the moment, and it could cost them. Time will tell.
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter so we can get through a winter without baseball together: @mmusico8.
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