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How they were built: Mets
- Updated: October 4, 2016
MLBPipeline.com is breaking down how each of the playoff teams was built, looking at the composition of projected Division Series rosters.
A year ago, the Mets turned a tremendous finish to the regular season into a deep postseason run, falling just short of the ultimate goal when they lost the World Series to the Kansas City Royals. They’re back for another go at it, albeit not exactly in the way people may have anticipated.
Injuries decimated the Mets’ roster, particularly that largely homegrown pitching staff, so the team has had to improvise. Along the way, New York found major contributors from unlikely sources up and down the roster to land a Wild Card spot.
Overview The architects NATIONAL LEAGUE Chicago Cubs Los Angeles Dodgers New York Mets San Francisco Giants Washington Nationals AMERICAN LEAGUE Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Cleveland Indians Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays
“Going into the offseason, following 2015, we thought we had a pretty good nucleus,” general manager Sandy Alderson said. “We were looking to add to it, but in limited ways. We had a strong interest in Ben Zobrist. That didn’t happen, so we had to shift and made a trade for Neil Walker.”
“That set the tone for the entire offseason, and subsequently the season itself,” Alderson continued. “We were constantly shifting, looking for replacements, looking for additions, looking for ways to supplement what we had. Fortunately for us, many of the players who came in and were given an opportunity, either from within or outside of it, performed to the point where we got to in clinching the Wild Card.”
Here’s a look at how each player on the Mets’ projected Division Series roster was initially acquired during his current stint with the club:
HOMEGROWNPlayer, how acquired, yearJuan Lagares, Int’l sign, 2006Lucas Duda, Draft, 2007 (7th round)Jeurys Familia, Int’l sign, 2007Hansel Robles, Int’l sign, 2008Josh Edgin, Draft, 2010 (30th round)Robert Gsellman, Draft, 2011 (13th round)Seth Lugo, Draft, 2011 (34th round)T.J. Rivera, Non-drafted free agent, 2011
They were supposed to have the most feared rotation in the National League, led by homegrown arms: Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz, along with Noah Syndergaard. It seemed the type of staff that could carry them back to World Series. That, of course, was on paper. Harvey, deGrom and Matz are all not on the Mets’ postseason roster.
The script is still very similar, but the starring roles were filled by understudies. Stepping into the spotlight, and excelling, were a pair of arms the Mets took in the later rounds of the 2011 Draft. Robert Gsellman was a 13th-round pick from the Los Angeles high school ranks. Gsellman began the year in Double-A, didn’t pitch particularly well with Triple-A Las Vegas, but has been a godsend in New York, with a 2.42 ERA over his 44 …
