Michael Kay laid the lumber to the Mets for their paltry spending this offseason.
While the Mets have signed veterans like Harrison Bader and Luis Severino on short-term deals this winter, they have avoided the splashy acquisitions that highlighted the outset of owner Steve Cohen’s tenure.
In a recent segment on ESPN New York, Kay acknowledged that he would get flack given that he is the longtime play-by-play broadcaster for the Yankees, but argued that Cohen’s enormous wealth should mean the Mets should never retreat.
“Now, I always have to really dance very gingerly around this because I will be labeled ‘Yankee Boy,’ for my take, but I don’t think the Mets have anything to be proud about, the way they handled this offseason,” Kay said, as covered by Awful Announcing.
“You took the one thing with Steve Cohen that puts you above and beyond everybody else — your one great advantage — and you didn’t exercise it. You can’t tell me that if you went out and got Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery and signed J.D. Martinez as your designated hitter, you wouldn’t be projected for 90 wins — 10 more wins. There’s no way.”
Instead, the Mets are projected to be a middling team.
In the latest odds on FanDuel, the Mets have an over/under total of 82.5 wins, juiced -115 to the under; at +148 to make the playoffs and -192 to miss, the implied odds of a postseason berth are about 38 percent.
They are 50-1 to win the World Series.
“You look at the starting rotation they have going into the season and what they have done offensively — which is nothing — they’re derelict in their duty,” Kay continued.
“This is a man who bought the team and said he was going to win a championship within five years. This is Year 4; they ain’t winning a championship this year, and everybody keeps [going], ‘Well, there’s a plan.’ Well, what’s the plan?”
Co-host Don La Greca gave the Mets more of a pass for focusing energy on rebuilding their minor league system after blockbuster signings like Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander failed to pan out, and credited the Mets for cutting bait.
“I think you’re being overly harsh,” La Greca told Kay.
La Greca acknowledged that the Mets are “stuck” this season but speculated that they are “gearing up for next offseason” when there is a better free agency class.