NL East: A mid-term front office assessment of the 5 teams
By Bill Felber
New York Mets front office, +5.3
Eppler’s front office stole many of the offseason headlines with a spending spree that brought in such stars as Max Scherzer (3 years, $130 million), Starling Marte (4 years, $78 million), Mark Canha (2 years, $26.5 million), and Carlos Carrasco. Francisco Lindor’s 10-year, $341 million extension also went into effect, although terms of that deal were in place before Eppler came onboard.
All told, Eppler’s front office has made 34 personnel moves involving major league players since the end of the 2021 season. Twenty-one of those moves impacted the Mets positively, 10 were negative and three were neutral.
Statistically, here are the most impactful moves made by Eppler involving players who performed in the major leagues in 2022.
Dec. 1: Eppler got Scherzer, a free agent, to commit to that three-year, $130 million deal. Scherzer has spent time on the injured list, but when he has taken the mound he has been as effective as advertised. In eight starts, he has a 5-1 record and 2.54 ERA with a +1.3 WAA.
Nov. 30: One day before locking down Scherzer, Eppler got Marte’s signature on that four-year deal. He’s off to a .279 start with seven homers and a .765 OPS that equates to another +1.3 WAA.
Nov. 3: Good GMs know which players to let walk as well as which ones to sign. Eppler let veteran middle infielder Jonathan Villar become a free agent. The Cubs signed Villar for $4.5 million, and he promptly crashed and burned. Following a .222 batting average, eight fielding errors, and a -1.3 WAA, the Cubs also cut ties with him.
Nov. 3: Smart free agent decision No. 2. Nov. 3 was also the day the Mets said goodbye to reliever Aaron Loup. He signed with the Angels and, in 27 innings, has an 0-2 record with a 4.33 ERA and -0.8 WAA.
March 17: The Mets are allowed one clunker, and the free agent signing of reliever Chasen Shreve qualifies. In 26 innings to date he’s 1-1 with a 6.58 ERA and a -0.7 WAA.