SAN DIEGO — Just like that, Brodie Van Wagnenen established himself as a frontrunner for 2020 honors:
Caretaker of the Year.
He should push his campaign all the way through 2020, doing no more harm to this jewel franchise — that means not trading any of his starting pitchers or prospects — and ensuring its safety for the upcoming handoff to Steve Cohen.
The Mets’ general manager (for now) departed the winter meetings having agreed in principle to add a pair of starting pitchers on one-year contracts. The cheaper one, Michael Wacha ($3 million guaranteed), brings a pinch of high-end potential attached to his chronic injury issues. The pricier one, Rick Porcello ($10 million), brings durability attached to his mediocrity.
“I think we’re probably the deepest starting rotation in baseball,” Van Wagenen proclaimed, and while the Nationals, Dodgers, Yankees and Indians might lead the line of objectors, wackier sentiments have been expressed from the agent-turned-executive in the last 13 months.
These transactions can help, as can the recent trade with the Astros for athletic outfielder Jake Marisnick and the re-signing of reliever Brad Brach. Even with the Nationals, Braves and Phillies all spending more money and generating more excitement with their Hot Stove actions, the Mets look like an interesting club with an outside shot at qualifying for the postseason. That modest outlook would pass most fans’ muster in return for Cohen turning the Wilpons into figureheads by the time we all show up in Dallas for next year’s winter meetings.
And if the Wilpons are figureheads, the odds that Van Wagenen will still be running baseball operations stand as … to steal a reply from the Magic 8 Ball, “Outlook not so good.”
Hence, for the good of both the team that gave him this opportunity and his own professional reputation and future, Van Wagenen should keep it simple. He should honor his vow that he won’t use his starting-pitching depth to trade Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz or Marcus Stroman; as Van Wagenen said, “If all [six] are healthy, then we have more decisions to make that hopefully would be a high-class problem.”
He shouldn’t trade any of his young players for established commodities like, say, Brewers relief stud Josh Hader. All prized assets should be preserved.
In line with that, Van Wagenen shouldn’t attach young talent to unload a distressed asset like Jed Lowrie. If the A’s, who know Lowrie well, are willing to give up, say, two interesting minor leaguers in return for the Mets paying the infielder’s entire $10 million salary, then that would work.
What Van Wagenen should do, if he receives the financial clearance, is sign more guys to one-year contracts. Relievers would be the most obvious targets. Even if they don’t want to play at the Dellin Betances level, many, many more interesting options exist. To name just a few: Fernando Rodney, Sergio Romo, Tyler Clippard and Francisco Liriano. If they bust, then only a few bucks are lost.
Really, for all of the agita that Van Wagenen has created since setting up shop at Citi Field, the Mets’ only players under contract for 2021 and beyond are Robinson Cano (signed through 2023), Jacob deGrom (2024) and Jeurys Familia (2021). DeGrom looks like an outstanding investment so far, and Cohen can afford to shrug off the $12 million the Mets pay Cano annually. At least Van Wagenen hasn’t damaged the farm system and handcuffed the long-term payroll.
If Cohen actually retains Van Wagenen, then the GM can go crazy and go after Mookie Betts as well as his former client J.T. Realmuto in the 2020-21 free-agent market. In this current role, however, preservation and protection should be paramount for Van Wagenen.
Contention would represent a lovely bonus. Not at the cost of more potential downside and devastation, though. Mets fans have endured enough of that during this ownership to earn the attention of an entire caretaker fleet.
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