3 former Blue Jays who could reunite with Mets bench coach John Gibbons
John Gibbons will be the bench coach for the New York Mets this coming year. Most known for his time as the skipper for the Toronto Blue Jays in two different stints, he’ll aid Carlos Mendoza as his right-hand man in the decision-making process during games.
The Mets have actively filled vacancies in the front office and coaching staff. It’s the players they will be turning toward next. Coincidentally enough, there are three free agents out there who make a lot of sense for the Mets right now who have a Gibbons connection. All three were members of the 2018 Blue Jays when Gibbons last managed.
David Stearns has no business targeting players just because the bench coach managed them before. Nevertheless, all three are logical choices for the Mets to go out and get.
1) Teoscar Hernandez
Gibbons got a first-hand look at a young Teoscar Hernandez. Acquired by the Blue Jays in 2017, he had his breakout year for them in 2018. Hernandez hit 22 home runs and drove in 57 as he slowly began to become an important cog in the lineup.
Hernandez would, of course, stick around for the Blue Jays beyond Gibbons’ final year managing them. He has continued to impress on the field. With several shortcomings including a career-high 211 strikeouts last year plus an unimpressive lifetime .316 OBP, it’s easy to see why the Mets could look elsewhere entirely.
The fit for Hernandez on the Mets roster would have him playing some corner outfield (let’s not rule out Starling Marte moving to left field) and getting a whole lot of at-bats as the DH.
There’s no doubt that this is a big offseason for the New York Mets. Coming off of a disappointing season, they made changes at the GM and managerial positions and there are sure to be roster changes.
The Mets’ outlook for the 2024 season is yet to be clear: they are in a division with two of the top teams in the MLB in the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies and there is a clear need for roster improvement. This offseason has already set the course for years to come and it will continue to.
With this comes optimism, but also fear. What if the offseason goes wrong? There are ways it can for the Mets and their fans. Here are the 3 biggest fears for the Mets during the 2024 offseason.
The New York Mets miss out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto
One of the clear needs for the Mets is starting pitching, and they are heavily linked to a top pitcher in the market in Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Yamamoto was posted on Monday, meaning that he will start talking to MLB teams soon if he has not already. The 25-year-old is one of the top free agents on the market: he has a 70-29 record with a 1.82 ERA for the Orix Buffaloes, and he is a 3-time winner NPBL’s Eiji Sawamura Award, which is the equivalent of the MLB Cy Young Award. Moreover, Yamamoto won the league’s triple crown in 2023, as he led the league in wins, strikeouts and ERA.
All things indicate that the Mets will try hard to bring in the star pitcher, and one thing helping this is Kodai Senga. Senga, who had a spectacular rookie season, made it clear to New York he wants Yamamoto as a teammate. All these things are working in the Mets’ favor.
This makes Yamamoto not coming to the Mets a big fear. While there are a lot of star pitchers out there in free agency, including Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, Yamamoto has been named at the top, is only 25 and would have the potential to be an ace for the Mets.
Missing out on Yamamoto means the Mets would have to turn to pitchers who might not have the same value for them down the line and leave a major hole open on a position that cost them in 2023. The Mets traded Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer in 2023, are clearly looking for an ace, and a 1-2 of Yamamoto and Senga would be the ideal building block.
If this doesn’t happen when the Mets look like a free agent favorite, it won’t be good.
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