Billy Eppler

The New York Yankees and Mets spent about half a billion dollars this week on free agents. Aaron Judge, the best player on the market, never received an offer from one of the richest owners in sports, Steve Cohen, from across town. The Major League Baseball Players Union can call it collusion. Most call it doing business in New York. Two successful baseball teams in the Big Apple create a summer craze of headlines and packed ballparks. Now the Mets are in competition to sign a free agent pitcher from Japan and the Yankees may benefit from the star landing in Queens.

Jacob deGrom's career with the New York Mets has come to an end, leaving the team without an elite pitcher in their rotation. So, what do the Mets do now?

Some may say that dishing out a record contract to your closer days after the conclusion of the World Series isn't playing your hand slowly. As New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler heads into his second off-season at the helm of Steve Cohen's team, he is well aware that one has to move fast at times and be patient at others to be successful. Eppler made some key acquisitions last winter, like right fielder Starling Marte, left fielder Mark Cahna and third baseman Eduardo Escobar. Those three moves, along with Eppler's hire of Manager of the Year, Buck Showalter, changed the culture of the Mets. Now it's time to continue the improvement. That is what Cohen expects.

If the New York Mets want to be a perennial playoff team, then they have to make decisions with their head and not their heart. Faced with the prospect of paying their free-agent, ace right-hander, Jake deGrom for the next 3 or 4 years, at $40 plus million per, Amazin's general manager Billy Eppler had better think long and hard about the investments that he makes over the next year, as Mets president-in-waiting David Stearns bides his time, collecting checks from the Milwaukee Brewers and making notes on his future employees.

Friday night may have been the most important game of the 2022 regular season for the New York Mets, actually I think it is Saturday but we'll get to that later. Manager Buck Showalter re-arranged the pitching rotation to start Jacob deGrom in Game 1 in Atlanta, much like you will expect to see in the upcoming playoffs against whomever the Mets face, in whatever series they are in. However, there was much more on the line for deGrom and Mets owner Steve Cohen.

New York Mets' owner Steve Cohen isn't afraid to throw money around, and ahead of the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline, these ten players could be on the move to Queens.

Thursday afternoon, prior to the New York defeating the St. Louis Cardinal by a score of 7-6, on a walk-off moon-shot by the polar bear, Pete Alonso, the Mets announced that Max Scherzer would be out for 6 to 8 weeks. Scherzer removed himself from the game in the middle of a batter with 2 outs in the 6th inning. Even though they are in first place and twelve games over .500, the Amazin's need pitching help.

"Make the right baseball decision." That is what New York Mets owner told general manager Billy Eppler on Sunday when faced with the roster reduction deadline Monday from 28 to 26 players. Cohen did what Major League Baseball owners as an entirety should do but especially the New York Yankees. Cohen realizes that the $37.6 million owed to Robinson Canó pales in comparison to the value of bringing a championship to his team's desperate fanbase.

On Monday at 4pm, Major League Baseball teams have to reduce their rosters to 26 from 28. The first place New York Mets were wrestling with different scenarios. The first move was painful but easy. Relief pitcher Sean Reid-Foley was put on the Injured List on Saturday. The pitcher that replaced him for Sunday's game was Yoan López.

It's no secret that the New York Mets are hot, winning their record setting sixth straight series to start the season on Tuesday. Sure, you can point to Buck Showalter or Max Scherzer, even Mr. $341 Million, Francisco Lindor, is playing great. However, there is one Mets player, that has been around a few years, who is not getting as many headlines. Maybe he should.