The New York Mets<\/a> have had an interesting offseason. In typical Mets fashion, the biggest news was not from player additions but from other things. Instead of making headlines by bringing in new players the Mets were in the news for other newsworthy items. Sometimes those newsworthy items were not positive ones.<\/p>\n Mets majority owner Fred Wilpon announced he is selling the team to minority owner and hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen. Much to the pleasure of the majority of the Met fan base the Wilpon family won\u2019t be in control of this franchise anymore. However, the sale could take as long as five years to complete. It is not known how much influence Steve Cohen has in the day to day running of the Mets.<\/p>\n The second big news piece was the situation revolving the Mets new manager. One of the biggest to do\u2019s on the list of Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen was to find a replacement for Mickey Callaway<\/a><\/strong> who was fired after the season. This was the first time Van Wagenen has ever had to hire a manager in his brief career as a baseball executive. After a long search, Van Wagenen turned to former Mets star player Carlos Beltran<\/a><\/strong> passing up veteran managers like Joe Girardi<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Beltran was fired before even managing an exhibition game when he was caught up<\/a> in the Houston Astros<\/a> cheating scandal. Van Wagenen once again passed up a chance to hire a veteran manager such as Buck Showalter<\/a><\/strong> or Dusty Baker<\/a><\/strong> and promoted Luis Rojas<\/a><\/strong> to the top spot. Only time will tell if this was the right decision<\/a>. But with a team that is ready to compete now, this might be the only chance Van Wagenen gets to pick a manager for the Mets.<\/p>\n Lastly, there was the Yoenis Cespedes<\/strong><\/a> injury news. Cespedes who was rehabbing both his heels from surgery he had in 2018, broke his ankle while<\/a> on his ranch in 2019 avoiding a boar. Yes, a boar. When the injury happened no details were given but now the story<\/a> is coming to light. The Mets stopped paying Cespedes his salary after that injury and have also restructured his 2019 salary. This transaction saved the Mets a reported 20 million dollars.<\/p>\n The Mets two biggest needs going into the offseason were to bolster a bullpen that undoubtedly cost the team a playoff spot. The second area that needed to be addressed was the centerfield situation. Neither issue has been resolved. We can get into the centerfield situation later on in this article. But as for the bullpen the only addition made was the signing of Dellin Betances<\/a><\/strong> away from the crosstown New York Yankees<\/a>. The only problem with Betances is that he is coming off a season where he pitched in one inning for the whole season and that was in September. In that game, he ruptured his Achilles tendon.<\/p>\n So Betances now gets added to the other question marks the Mets have in the pen. Edwin Diaz<\/a><\/strong> must return to his 2018 form and Jeurys Familia<\/a><\/strong> has to at least be a dependable pitcher if the 2020 Mets want to compete. The Mets are basically telling their fan base that we have the guys we need in the pen and signing Betances is the cherry on top.<\/p>\n Obviously the Mets are counting on Betances, Diaz, and Familia to return to form and with Seth Lugo<\/a><\/strong>, Brad Brach<\/a><\/strong>, and Justin Wilson<\/a><\/strong> all coming back this could be a very effective bullpen. The keyword is could. Met fans watched and saw quality reliever after quality reliever not only sign reasonable contracts but with their division rivals.<\/p>\n The most interesting position to look at this Spring will be who gets the starting role in centerfield. Van Wagenen was looking for an upgrade at the position going into the offseason. The Mets were linked to trade rumors for Mookie Betts<\/a><\/strong>. While Betts is still on the Boston Red Sox<\/a> the trade winds are blowing him towards a potential blockbuster with the San Diego Padres<\/a>.<\/p>\n Starling Marte<\/a><\/strong> was another player the Mets were heavily linked with. But the Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a> traded him to the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a>. According to a report by Jon Heyman, the Pirates wanted two of the top five prospects the Mets have. This was something Van Wagenen could not do and rightfully so.<\/p>\n Pirates\u2019 request of Mets in Marte talks was for 2 of their top 5 prospects. Mets thought: too steep for them<\/p>\n — Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 27, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nMets New Owner<\/h2>\n
The New Manager<\/h2>\n
Cespedes’ Injury<\/h2>\n
Offseason Needs<\/h2>\n
Centerfield<\/h2>\n
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