Mets legends Mike Piazza, John Franco talk what positions team should prioritize this offseason
The Mets, like every other team, are looking to improve this offseason but with New York they are hoping to bounce back from a disappointing 2023 campaign.
Following a 101-win season, the Mets finished below .500 and missed the postseason resulting in sweeping changes including to their manager. With newly hired David Stearns as the team’s President of Baseball Operations it’ll be up to him and his front office to find the best players to make the Mets a competitive team in 2024.
They’ve already started with the signings of RHP Luis Severino and utilityman Joey Wendle, but a couple of Mets legends know there’s more to be done. When asked what the Mets need to do this offseason at The National Italian American Foundation’s annual gala on Thursday, Mike Piazza and John Franco gave their thoughts.
“I’m a basics guy. Pitching and defense is very important,” Piazza told SNY’s Michelle Margaux. “Hitting is very important, but if you don’t do the first two things, the hitting won’t save you.
"We got to be able to throw strikes, catch the ball, have guys that are able to take the ball and close games, and hopefully the offense is balanced with speed and power. It’s not super formulaic. It’s very simple. It’s baseball. Throw the ball, catch the ball and hopefully get some timely hitting.”
“Obviously, starting pitching,” Franco said. “Maybe a third baseman. Maybe an everyday second baseman, a corner outfielder. There’s a lot of things that they need. A lot of position players that they need. I’m sure David Stearns and his front office personnel will start chomping at the bit. The Winter Meetings are next week and you never know what could happen. They could make a big trade and get two or three players that fill those positions.”
One position the Mets will have filled is who will be closing games for them, and they won't have to look far.
Edwin Diaz missed the entire 2023 season due to an Achilles tear, a year after being the best reliever in 2022 and a big reason for the Mets’ playoff run that season. He saved 32 games while pitching to a miniscule 1.31 ERA and a 0.839 WHIP. He was so good he placed ninth in NL Cy Young voting and 16th in MVP voting.
Without him, the Mets’ bullpen was shorter and had less-reliable arms to close out games in 2023. Franco, who missed an entire season due to Tommy John, knows what getting your closer back could mean to a team.
“[A closer] Makes the manager’s game a little shorter,” Franco explained. “Knowing you have that guy at the end of the game to rely on. It makes everybody’s job go downhill. It makes a game an eight-inning game a seven-inning game. Having Diaz there, he’s the best the last couple of years, it makes it a lot easier knowing you have your big gun out there.”
The MLB Winter Meetings will take place Dec. 3-6 in Nashville and the Mets have their eyes on a few big names including Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto among others.
