Waiting on returns

Morning Dose: Wednesday, March 12

☀️ Good Morning:

It will be two years this July since the Mets traded away two future Hall-of-Famers in an effort to jumpstart a rebuild of the farm system.

Those trades carried repercussions, not just for the 2023 season ticket holders who felt the owner and front office had given up on them, but for the financial burden that carried into the 2024 season in the form of dead money.

What would the roster have looked like had the team been able to spend an extra $52 million (plus 110% tax) that was still owed for the departed contracts of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander? Which multi-year deals, the kind the front office avoided last winter while clearing the books, might still be helpful to the team now?

It’s hard to stretch this point too far given the payroll commitments made this past winter, and the fact the Mets remain one of the top two spenders in the entire sport, but it’s important not to forget both the player and financial cost spent to acquire what Billy Eppler thought at the time were three top prospects.

And where are those prospects today?

Drew Gilbert? “Honestly, we haven’t really put a timeline on it or anything, it’s just more of a day-to-day thing. That doesn’t mean it’s, you know, two months or two weeks or two days. It’s just like having a day-to-day thing,” Gilbert recently told the Daily News of his recovery from a hamstring injury that erased his 2024 season. “I know that sounds kind of cliche to say, but I think we’ve kind of realized the best way to do it right now is just kind of stack days.”

Ryan Clifford? He still has raw power, but he strikes out far too often. The Mets advanced him through Double-A to try to make better use of his left-handed swing in Syracuse. He had one big swing this spring, his only hit in 11 at bats. He’s generally considered around the 7th or 8th best prospect on the team, and still one year away from sniffing the big leagues.

Luisangel Acuña? The most advanced of the trio, he provided some spark to the club during their September run last season. He is in the mix for a bench role to start the year. He has the speed and defensive versatility to be a valuable super-utility type. We will see how he fits with the roster among several other infield prospects, including Jett Williams, Ronny Mauricio, and eventually Jesus Baez.

🔻 THIS IS ALL TO SAY there is a realistic chance that by the two-year anniversary of the Scherzer/Verlander trades, none of the prospects acquired in those deals will be on the major-league roster, and none ranked among the top five up-and-comers in the organization.

That’s a reflection on the prior regime, but still impactful to the current one tasked with developing these players. Circumstances can obviously change over time, the story has not reached its ending; as of this morning, it doesn’t look to be a happy one.

☕️ Grab your coffee for your morning dose of Mets Fix!

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📊 Mets Fix Poll

We are always looking for ways to improve the newsletter. A loyal reader and chat participant offered the idea of introducing fan polls (thanks, Matthew!). So with Opening Day about two weeks away, why don’t we roll out our first on expectations.

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Eno Sarris included Tylor Megill among his six breakout candidates for the 2025 season. We are starting to see why after his first two spring outings.

Facing a fully-stocked Astros lineup on Tuesday, Megill looked effortless in tossing four scoreless frames in which he allowed only three baserunners and struck out five. We don’t have Statcast data from his latest outing, but the proof is in the video.