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The Mets have managed to upgrade their team to this point in the offseason while retaining their prospects by using owner Steve Cohen’s cash as the vehicle to improvement.
In Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha, the Mets have committed $254.5 million in long-term contracts without as much as surrendering a compensatory draft pick, while keeping top prospects such as Francisco Alvarez, Ronny Mauricio, Brett Baty, Matt Allan and Mark Vientos in the system.
Among the questions facing the Mets, once the MLB lockout is lifted and teams can return to retooling their 2022 rosters, is whether they are willing to surrender a player from that crop of prospects (outside of Alvarez, that is, who is an elite catching prospect and considered close to untouchable) if such a move allows the Mets to improve the starting rotation.