You ask, we answer. The Post is fielding questions from readers about New York’s biggest pro sports teams and getting our beat writers to answer them in a series of regularly published mailbags. In today’s installment: the Mets.
Any chance Amed Rosario becomes an All-Star this season? — @HakeemWatson
I wouldn’t bet against Rosario, provided there is a season and an All-Star game. Rosario is just 24 years old and about to begin his third full season as the Mets’ shortstop. In the second half of last season, he resembled an All-Star, posting an .804 OPS as an important lineup piece that helped spark an August revival. Rosario also recovered from an early defensive slump.
The Baseball Reference projections on Rosario for this season have not been kind to him — as of Sunday, he projected to only a .701 OPS in 63 games. Rosario won’t get the benefit of the doubt until he puts everything together for a full season, so we’ll probably have to wait until the conclusion of 2021 before determining whether he is the long-term solution at shortstop, with names such as Andres Gimenez and Ronny Mauricio behind him.
What are your thoughts on A-Rod and J.Lo taking a second chance on buying the Mets? — Frankie Olmeda
Alex Rodriguez indicated a few years ago he would have been willing to take a big discount as a free agent after the 2000 season if that meant getting a chance to play for his favorite team growing up, the Mets. Does anybody really believe that? But if that’s really true, he can now look at the silver lining: The extra tens of millions he earned by agreeing to a record contract with the Rangers will only help in trying to purchase a significant stake in his favorite team all these years later.
To many, the best qualification Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez have is they are not the Wilpons. But until a picture of the true financial backers in a potential sale becomes clearer, it’s difficult to get a read on what an A-Rod/J.Lo involvement would mean. From a storyline standpoint, the idea of Rodriguez and Derek Jeter battling in the same division as owners would be tremendous. Rodriguez knows baseball and wouldn’t hide from questions about the team. Anybody heard from Fred Wilpon or Saul Katz lately?
How does a shortened season affect Jacob deGrom’s Hall of Fame candidacy? If he wins the Cy Young and only pitches 10 games, does it carry the same weight? — @Nick_Durst
In a 10-start stretch, deGrom is capable of pitching to a ridiculous number, such as a 1.00 ERA, so in that regard the shortened season could actually benefit him. Not that anybody would compare it to Bob Gibson’s 1968 season or maybe even deGrom’s 2018, but the number would catch your attention. On the flip side, if deGrom were to endure two or three rough starts early, as he did last season, it will be extremely difficult to recover and the numbers could look mediocre. A short season could thicken the pack of contenders for Cy Young, making the feat all the more impressive if deGrom were to win for a third straight year, so there are variables in play. Ask me again in November.
Huge Mets fan, maybe I am crazy, but I do not want them to win the World Series this year. It just seems like it would be tainted. Thoughts? — @tugezzy
The word “tainted” seems extreme here — let’s save that for the Astros’ 2017 World Series title. I still go back to the Dodgers winning a title in the 1981 strike-shortened season, with that championship carrying legitimacy over only 110 games. If somehow a half-season or close to it can still be salvaged, embrace any potential championship. It gets more complicated when considering only 50 or 60 games, but let’s pose this question to Mets fans: Would winning a title this season hold any bearing on whether the team could accomplish the feat in 2021? Why not root for both?
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Will Bartolo Colon get signed by the Mets? — @harrelson69
Only if the Mets are desperate for another bat to compensate for the occasional thunder Noah Syndergaard brought to the lineup.
In all seriousness, Colon is listed as 47 years old and didn’t pitch in the major leagues last year after going 7-12 with a 5.78 ERA for the Rangers in 2018. He has been working out and hoping somebody gives him another shot. If the Mets are going to reunite with a former standout as potential rotation depth, Matt Harvey would probably make better sense. But you have to admire that Colon still has a passion to play the game after a 21-year career in which he’s earned about $117 million.