It is easy to say that The Mets are going to have a rough 2012 season. There is now four empires in the making in one division. The Braves, The Philles, The Nationals, and The Marlins are all strong contenders for the National League East.
In the 2011 season The Mets traded Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez who is also known as K-Rod. The Mets also lost Jose Reyes to the Marlins due to free agency. These three players were big parts to their team and now they have all gone their own way. Probably the most damaging aspect of losing these key players is the fact that they are all still in the National League. Beltran is now on the Cardinals, Reyes is now on the Marlins, and Rodriguez is now on the Brewers.
Johan Santana is supposed to coming back to pitch for the Mets in this upcoming season after surgery. I do not believe that Santana will be able to put up the numbers that he did with the Minnesota Twins, which feels like ages ago. Even if Santana posts a sub 3.5 earned run average The Mets' offense cannot provide enough support for Santana.
The Mets still have their franchise face of David Wright. David Wright has not been putting up the numbers he is paid to do. I consider Wright to be one of the most over rated player in baseball, which sounds harsh, but it really isn't. If The Mets were to trade David Wright for prospects and begin to reconstruct their team and replenish their farm system, they may have a promising season in the future.
Although The Mets are in a reconstruction phase, they have made some transactions. They signed a few relief pitchers including Ramon Ramirez, Jon Rauch, and Frank Francisco. Out of these 3 relievers the only one that will seem to have a decent impact on the team is Ramon Ramirez who posted a 2.62 ERA and 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings. The Mets also signed Andres Torres, Ronny Cedeno, and Scott Hairston, who will probably receive a decent amount of at bats off the bench and platooning.
There are two new players joining the crew at third base, and one that is leaving. Matt Carpenter and Carlos Santana are moving to third base in the 2014 season and Miguel Cabrera will be moving back to first base. Following each player's name is their corresponding team and their OPS+ for the 2013 season. Defense and previous seasons are considered.
