5 questions Mets must answer this offseason

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When the last offseason dawned as one of the most intriguing in Mets history, the team did not disappoint, signing Max Scherzer amidst a flurry of deals that transformed the club into a 101-game winner. Although the postseason didn’t work out how the Mets hoped, their process at least gave them that opportunity.

Now, the club is staring at what figures to be another manic winter. With sizeable gaps to fill in both their rotation and bullpen, the Mets will have little choice but to spend gobs of Steve Cohen’s money (and probably swing a few trades as well). Here’s a look at what’s in store for them:

1. How are the Mets going to fill out their rotation (with or without Jacob deGrom)?

For the Mets, deGrom drama is sure to occupy much of the offseason.

Immediately after the team’s Wild Card Series loss to the Padres, general manager Billy Eppler spoke privately with deGrom about his short-term future. The Mets would love to have deGrom back to headline their rotation alongside Scherzer, but it remains to be seen if they’re willing to accommodate his price demands. It’s also unclear whether deGrom, who has stated his desire to opt out of the final guaranteed year on his contract, even wants to return. He wasn’t willing to discuss it after the Wild Card loss.

Even though deGrom has proven injury-prone in recent seasons, he represents the most potent pitcher the Mets could acquire on the open market. As things currently stand, the team may lose not only deGrom, but also Chris Bassitt, Taijuan Walker and Carlos Carrasco to free agency. The team certainly won’t retain all those pitchers, making this an intriguing offseason, as the Mets look to sign or trade for more than half a rotation.

2. What about the bullpen (with or without Edwin Díaz)?

Of all their high-profile free agents, the Mets seem most likely to bring back Díaz given their dearth of other bullpen options.

He won’t be cheap. Coming off a career year, Díaz stands a good chance of setting the records for total contract value (Aroldis Chapman, $86 million) and average annual value (Liam Hendriks, $18 million) for a reliever. But Díaz appears to be a player worth pursuing. He’s popular with the fan base and an essential part of the team’s 2022 marketing strategy.

More than that, he’s good. Like, really good. Díaz’s rate of 17.1 strikeouts per nine innings ranked second in AL/NL history among pitchers with at least 30 innings, and he’s still very much in his prime entering his age-29 season. Tack on the fact that Adam Ottavino, Seth Lugo, Trevor May, Joely Rodríguez, Mychal Givens and Trevor Williams can all be free agents, and it becomes even more pressing for the Mets to re-sign Díaz as the centerpiece of a bullpen rebuild.

3. What’s the plan for center field?

One other prominent free agent is Brandon Nimmo, who’s been a steady all-around presence for the Mets since 2016. Given how much he’s improved in center field over the past three seasons, Nimmo would be difficult to replace. The Mets could shift Starling Marte from right back to center, but they made a point of choosing Nimmo over his teammate at that position this spring. Plus, Marte’s center-field defensive metrics were already declining before the switch (and before his 34th birthday).

If the Mets wish to make a sizeable splash to replace Nimmo, Aaron Judge would be the most obvious (and expensive) answer. After Judge and Nimmo, the field thins significantly. Perhaps the Mets could convince Trea Turner to return to the position. Perhaps they can fill this void via trade. Or perhaps they’ll do the easiest thing and throw gobs of money at Nimmo, a fan favorite whose new agent, Scott Boras, doesn’t often favor hometown discounts.

4. How much money will Steve Cohen spend?

Throughout the 2022 season, the Mets maintained a payroll just shy of $300 million, which bought them 101 wins but an early exit from the playoffs. Now, given New York’s need for free agents and the escalating price of several arbitration-eligible hitters, that number will probably need to rise for the team to field a comparable team. Could it reach a record $325 million? How about $350 million?

Asked recently about that magic number, Eppler referred to the “financial strength” the Mets have in their quest to build something sustainable.

“As far as where we go now,” Eppler said, “Steve has continued to say, ‘I’ll support this cause financially.’ We can use money to bridge ultimately where we want to take this place, which is to that sustainability where we’re winning year in, year out.”

5. Can the Mets do enough to compete with the Braves?

Even if the Mets do find a way to put a comparable team on the field, they still must contend with the five-time defending NL East champion Braves, who aren’t going anywhere. Taking advantage of their own sustainable pipeline, the Braves have stars such as Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Spencer Strider and many others under contract for years. It’s a significant challenge for the Mets to overcome, but that shouldn’t deter Cohen and Eppler; simply making the playoffs is a worthy goal as well, as this year’s Phillies club has proven.