Mets fans are fed up.

No longer basking in the glow of their World Series appearance a couple years ago, which was always regarded as more of a tease than a cause for celebration, they've watched their roster stagnate since -- their once enviable starting rotation crippled by injury, their best hope for offense (Michael Conforto) underutilized and now sidelined by something that may leave him a shell of his former self, their top prospects (Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith) unreasonably delayed and ultimately disappointing. And instead of attacking these problems head-on with an honest-to-goodness upgrade, management's bold solution was to bring back Jay Bruce and sign a past-his-prime Todd Frazier.

Maybe Noah Syndergaard can stay healthy for a full season. Maybe Matt Harvey can recapture some semblance of his former ace standing more than a year after thoracic outlet surgery. Maybe Zack Wheeler is finally over his arm troubles and can make the leap scouts once projected for him. Maybe Steven Matz won't follow him down that same path. Maybe.

But more likely, the window has closed, and we're left to pick through the remnants of what was, not too long ago, something special.

Mets in Scott's top 300
PlayerRoto RankH2H RankRoto Pos RankH2H Pos Rank
player headshot
Noah Syndergaard NYM SP
#45#40#10#12
player headshot
Jacob deGrom NYM SP
#47#38#12#11
player headshot
Jay Bruce NYM RF
#95#96#23#20
player headshot
Yoenis Cespedes NYM LF
#102#97#25#21
player headshot
Michael Conforto NYM LF
#151#189#36#36
player headshot
Jeurys Familia NYM RP
#182#210#21#24
player headshot
Todd Frazier NYM 3B
#234#240#21#22
player headshot
Amed Rosario NYM SS
#243#247#17#17
player headshot
Travis d'Arnaud NYM C
#275NR#24#24
player headshot
Asdrubal Cabrera NYM 2B
#299#298#25 (at SS)#23 (at SS)
player headshot
Matt Harvey NYM SP
NR#269#83#87
player headshot
Steven Matz NYM SP
NR#272#85#89
player headshot
Jason Vargas NYM SP
NR#294#96#95

Players in Scott's Top 100 Prospects

Oh boy. None of those, nope. The Mets are still clinging to what worked for them three years ago and don't seem to have much of a plan for retooling. It's not that the cupboard is bare -- shortstop Andres Gimenez might appear on lists that aren't so Fantasy-focused, and David Peterson and Thomas Szapucki are a couple of interesting arms -- but there's not the sort of infusion fans generally hope for when presented a fading major-league product.

Things to Know

  • Inning for inning, Noah Syndergaard still has a chance to be the most dominant pitcher in baseball, and since he did return for a couple relief appearances last September, the health concerns may be overblown. But when a guy lives in triple digits, you can't assume innings, and he did just complete a season with only 30 1/3.
  • Many will insist otherwise, but I still say the track record for Matt Harvey's thoracic outlet surgery is more encouraging that not,  and in fact haven't found a single example of a pitcher who was definitively ended by the procedure. Some had other factors contributing to their demise. Others showed immediate improvement. Mike Foltynewicz came back from his throwing 100, and nobody had even heard of Alex Cobb back when he had his. Maybe Harvey developed some bad habits mechanically during his recovery. Now that the Mets have a celebrated pitching coach (the Indians' Mickey Callaway) as their manager, he has a fighting chance still.
  • Michael Conforto's injury is the more ominous one, at least judging from the few examples we have. Of course, they were all pitchers and the tears to their shoulder capsule anterior rather than posterior, but the lists consists of Johan Santana, Mark Prior, John Danks, Dallas Braden and Sean Marshall -- all quality arms who were more or less never heard from again. Again, it may be different for a hitter, but you wouldn't want to make a hefty investment in Conforto.
  • Callaway says he'll play matchups in the late innings rather than assign bullpen roles, but need I remind you this is his first time managing? Other managers who attempted the bullpen by committee all settled into more of a push-button approach over the slog of a 162-game season, and I imagine he will, too. I give Jeurys Familia the edge over A.J. Ramos given his superior track record and strong finish, but Anthony Swarzak may be the Mets' best reliever if it's a true competition.
  • The Mets signed Adrian Gonzalez to push 22-year-old Dominic Smith, who killed it at Triple-A Las Vegas last year but sold out a little too much for power (thought to be his shortcoming) during his major-league stint. Between recurring back issues and his approaching 36th birthday, Gonzalez doesn't have much left and shouldn't last long in the starting role if he indeed claims it this spring.
  • Asdrubal Cabrera is eligible at shortstop, second base and third base and is a better Fantasy contributor than his ADP would have you believe. He makes for a fine bench option in deeper mixed leagues.

Lineup & Rotation

Batting order    
                
1 Brandon Nimmo CF
2 Asdrubal Cabrera 2B
3 Yoenis Cespedes LF
4 Jay Bruce RF
5 Todd Frazier 3B
6 Adrian Gonzalez 1B
7 Travis d'Arnaud C
8 Amed Rosario SS
Pitchers                             
SP Jacob deGrom
SP Noah Syndergaard
SP Jason Vargas
SP Matt Harvey
SP Steven Matz
CL Jeurys Familia
RP A.J. Ramos
RP Anthony Swarzak