It's easy to forget the Mets exist. Queens has seen the most significant news since their exit from playoff contention. Javy Bezs thumbs-down debacle and Francisco Lindor getting hurt more than Mr. Glass in Invincible are some of the highlights. Kingpin is a TikTok trend that involves a Spider-Man villain.
The Mets are as relevant to baseball as I am. They will finish below.500 and the Mets offense, after one season with Francisco Lindor (the team's huge offseason acquisition), finished 22nd in batting and 24th in OPS and a -42.9 FanGraphs offensive WR. Javy Bez was supposed help the offense become like the Hokey Pokey by turning itself around. This is the essence of it all. You might have noticed the Mets' booing and the amazing video of Bez missing a break ball by four feet if you were paying attention.
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It is possible to believe that Bez's deadline acquisition was a failure. Javy Bez is one of the most outstanding hitters in MLB since his arrival in Queens.
Personallly, I felt the Mets gave away way too much with their No. When Bez traded for Pete Crow-Armstrong as their No. 5, prospect, I thought they gave away too much. El Mago was struggling in 2021, with a.292 OBP (second lowest of his career), and a.484 SLG (eighth-highest MLB strikeout rate). Bez's batting average has dropped to.316/.387/.542 since joining the Mets. His on-base percentage has increased from.292 a.323 in just 44 games. This is three points less than his OBP of.326, which was his highest career total. Bez also finished second in NL MVP voting.
The question now is whether the Mets should keep Bez around to help them in future seasons. Although the numbers suggest that Bez would be foolish to leave the Mets in free agency, Bez's first impression on the Mets organization, calling out fans for booing, and being called out for it by Sandy Alderson, may have been a negative one. It's enough to let Bez go this offseason.
Although it is not ideal to keep a player who doesn't want to be there on your roster, it is possible for players with poor first impressions to make a good relationship with their teams. Pablo Sandoval is an example. After signing a deal in 2014 with the Boston Red Sox, the former Giants slugger blasted the Giants repeatedly. Sandoval apologized to the Giants for his poor performance in Boston and signed with them in 2017. Although the Panda energy of his Giants days in the early 2010s was gone, Sandoval was welcomed back by the Giants fans with open arms even though the player wasn't the same one.
As I mentioned, this is not the same situation as Bez is in. Sandoval made a strong first impression with Giants fans, only to ruin his reputation in one fell swoop. Although it would be difficult for Bez and the Mets management to come to an agreement, it is possible. Bez has spoken out about his desire to sign with the Cubs in free-agent. However, if the Mets do the right thing and offer him a contract, Bez could be a key player in that Mets offense for many years.
