This Confirms Mets Fans' Biggest Fear...

This confirmed Mets fans' biggest fear. Teruaki Sato is right there for the taking as a prime option to fill in and provide power to a lineup that just got Bo Bichette back. But unfortunately, reports are circulating that Mets president of baseball operations, David Stearns, is less inclined to pursue Sato, trusting his internal options that did oh so terribly last season. Guys, this would be a massive misstep for the New York Mets, and I genuinely don't understand why. Bo Bichette opting into his contract has any sort of tangible impact on how the Mets pursue first base. We'll get into all the reasons why, but first, guys, thank you again for tuning into Mets Digest. I am Josh Byrne, and as always, guys, thank you for all the engagement as we proceed here into the offseason. You look at the biggest needs on this team, and it starts, and it doesn't necessarily stop. But it's most glaring at first base. And the Mets need to address it. This confirms our biggest fear that they won't address it. They will take half measures. You look at the free agent market, and it's lacking that superstar, juicy guy right there for the taking. Ty France, that's a solid option. I'm not going to lie, although you have questions. He's older. He's coming off of one breakout season. Meanwhile, Sato is a guy who's younger, he's in his 20s, he has gotten better and better in the NPB, and yes, he's played mostly third base, but this is very much a guy who isn't necessarily known for his defense, is probably profiling more as a first base option in the major leagues anyways. And given the lack of inspiring options on the free agent market, many thought the Mets were amongst the top suitors for Sato. Well. Now there's some very, very concerning reports. Let's go to SY Mets, who tweeted earlier in the week, following Bo Bichette's decision to return to the Mets next season, the team is less inclined to pursue Japanese free agent Teruaki Sato, per Will Salmon, and Tim Britton of The Athletic. This is exactly what... Britton and Salmon had to say on the matter, quote, it is generally unwise to rule out any possibility for the Mets. Under owner Steve Cohen, the Mets are often opportunistic and willing spenders. With some players, they've let the market play out before swooping in. But Bichette opting in for 2027 at $42 million plus a group of infield prospects residing in the upper levels of the minor leagues seemingly makes it harder for the Mets to invest heavily in Sato, at least right away. New York must also prioritize pitching. I don't get it. I don't. I don't understand that is not, I understand that Salmon and Britton are just reporting off of what they have heard, but this isn't just another guy. You know, you want to add to the pitching, great. You want to sign Tarik Skubal, awesome, fantastic. But this shouldn't be a pick and choose where the Mets go here. They say they want to win next year, they got to act like it. Because I don't care what the payroll is right now. Soto is the number one guy on the market that can improve the most glaring need in the lineup. If you look at what he did last season in the MPB, he hits 39 home runs. And puts up a 196 wRC+. And at the bottom, you see the Steamer and FGDC projections for what he will do in the major leagues. Roughly a three-WAR player from fZiCC and two-WAR for Steamer. You might say, hey, that's not great. I mean, generally, these predictions are conservative. And also, given what the Mets got last year, that would be a major upgrade. You look at the scouting report for him, and the power is phenomenal. There are concerns about his strikeout rate, but to me, again, there are major questions about everybody on this market for first base. I mean, Ty France, I like him. I wouldn't be mad if the Mets signed him. I think it makes sense. Major questions, though, if he can repeat last season. Jake Bowers, how's he going to do against lefties? Similar questions coming off of a career year at, you know, midway through his career. Sato, to me, Indistinguishably sets himself I mean, he absolutely sets himself apart from everybody else, just based on the potential alone. And if you're David Stearns, I don't understand why Bo Bichette and his decision is having any sort of impact in your thought process. Did you really think Bo Bichette was going to opt out? It was only a question because of how bad the free agent market was. But I think generally everybody expected him to come back. Steve, I'm talking to you. You got to put your foot down because I understand that you brought back David Stearns, but they have to learn, the Mets front office does, and Steve Cohen from their mistakes. We want to bring in new voices to the front office and also have voices that challenge him. And I don't understand how you can look at what they got last year and say this is okay because we can't afford to continue adding to the team. I mean, yeah, Bo Bichette is back. Great. He's going to play third base. He's not going to play first. And by the way, he wasn't really all that great last year, was he? $42 million for a .702 OPS for 0.7 wins above replacement. Are we sure Bo Bichette's getting paid enough? I mean, geez. And I'll admit, when they signed him, I was falling for that dopamine hit. But I mean, $42 million for basically a league average player. Unbelievable. You look at the Mets. roster right now and their payroll and yeah there's a lot there's a lot of money on the books for next year there's no doubt about it but unfortunately when you have guys like Bo Bichette, Shaimanaya, Kodai Senga, Devin Williams just a lot of just poor investments then you need to keep spending because if you don't have the the farm system which Salmon and Britton mentioned as a reason why And I understand that being a reason to be less hesitant on the position player free agent market side. But again, the Mets don't have a major league ready first baseman. You know, it looked like maybe Ryan Clifford was making strides and then he got sent to the developmental league because he was so ice cold at the AAA level. Sam Stefano, there's definitely potential there, but do we really want to trust him? He is not ready for the major league. He may make an impact if he plays well earlier in the season, but I would not feel comfortable about that. You look elsewhere in the Mets lineup, when you look at this team, and it seems pretty set. I mean, I think the biggest question is, pertaining to those upper minor leaguers, do they come in and replace Marcus Simeon? Is that something that happens? I certainly could see that happening. But outside of that, you know, you have Soto and left slash DH, Carson Benj and right, AJ Ewing, like Lindor, and now Bichette officially coming back. And right now you have Jared Young and Mark Vientos returning at first base. We'll get into the ghost of Jorge Polanco and him lingering over the franchise. But guys, if you're enjoying the content, please do consider subscribing. We're at just over 8.16 thousand subscribers and we have a goal to hit 9k by the middle of December, a little Hanukkah present, Christmas present, Kwanzaa, whatever. Whatever. Um. But if you're enjoying the daily content, we got a lot more coming at it for all things New York Metropolitans. And for us suffering Metropolitans fans, we got to get into Jorge Polanco. Because again, you think about why this payroll is where it's at and the team still needs so much. Well, look no further. Jorge Polanco getting paid another $20 million next year. Is he even going to play? Do we want him to play? Before we get into that, let's see what Andy Green said In August, when he was announced he was going to undergo season-ending surgery, he will be in a baseball progression in spring training. A baseball progression. Keep in mind, Andy Green was asked. Okay, the surgery went well. That means he's going to play in 2027, right? He'll be ready for spring training, right? Should be an easy S. How many times have we seen this? Not just with the Mets, but all across sports. You have a comment like this below? Baseball progression? Do not expect to see Jorge Polanco anytime soon. I understand the looming lockout. To me, it's not productive to talk about that. We'll see what happens with that. But assuming the season starts on time or close to it, do not expect him in the first half, if at all. We've seen this already with the Mets and Jed Lowry in the past. Credit to Jorge Polanco for playing in some games, but we wish he didn't because he was genuinely the worst player in baseball. I mean, it's actually impressive how bad he was in such a limited amount of time. A .431 OPS is unthinkably awful, and no one should have let him play if the injury was causing him so much power and skill at the dish. That's malpractice within itself. And then if he wasn't feeling the effects of the injury while he was batting, then maybe he's just washed up. I don't, it's just not a good look either way. You look at, you know, Jared Young. By the way, Jorge Blanco only DH'd, even though he was brought in to be the first baseman. Jared Young, to his credit, he was solid. But again, do we want to put a lot of weight and bearing on Jared Young? He's a solid bench guy. Cannot be a starter. The Mets need a difference maker. Soto is a difference maker. And then Mark Vientos, and I spoke about it today, guys. I just don't see him on this roster. When you think about reasons why and implications that certain players may not be here on the team due to the influx of minor league talent, well, it shouldn't be, oh, well, we can't go after Sato because we have these infielders. No, it should be, no, we can't bring back Mark Vientos because we have these other infielders coming up. Because the door has closed on Mark Vientos as a Met. He had another, you know, very underwhelming is putting it nicely. Obviously, the Mets did not prepare him well enough for first base, even though maybe that's debatable because he had been playing there occasionally in prior years, but God, what a disaster he was. So with all that being said, how would you prioritize adding Juan Soto? I've been corrected on his pronunciation a number of times. Thank you guys for keeping me honest. Yes, get the power bat. No, Bichette is enough when, I mean, I guess you're expecting a major turnaround from Bichette. And by the way, I think he'll have a better season. But are we just going to bank our hopes on that and then see only if the price is right? I think most people are projecting. Four or five-year deal between 80 and 100 million. You look at the Mets and all the brutal contracts they've given out. Is it really going to cost Steve Cohen that much just to hand out one more contract in that sector if it's going to literally resolve the biggest need on the team? And I understand the risk. I understand the fact that he's unproven, but he is genuinely the best option the Mets have. And Bo Bichette and his decision to come back should have no... bearing on what the Mets do and how they approach the Soto free agency. Comment below. Let me know what you guys think. And as always, guys, let's go Mets.