A new report claims that the New York Mets will make a major pivot in strategy to an overall player development approach that would mirror American League powerhouse the Houston Astros.
This has been an up-and-down season for the Mets. After a bumpy start to the season, they circled the wagons in June and were able to get themselves back into contention for a Wild Card spot. While the hope is to score a place in the 2024 MLB Playoffs, expectations were not high for this year’s team.
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Despite one of the highest payrolls in the league, 2024 was viewed as a transition season as new President of Baseball Operations David Stearns asserted his control over the organization and started planning out the direction back to World Series contention.
After this season the team will shed a bunch of payroll and are expected to splurge on free agents in an attempt to get back to being a force in the National League East. However, adding big-name free agents isn’t the key part of Stearn’s overall strategy to making the team a consistent contender.
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This week, The Athletic’s New York Mets reporter Will Sammon wrote about the front office’s new philosophy toward the MLB Draft and player development. The altered strategy will reportedly be a blend of what Stearns instituted in Milwaukee and what VP of amateur scouting Kris Gross learned from his 11-year stint with the Houston Astros.
“Several in the industry believe the Mets might do a blend of what Houston and Milwaukee have valued in recent years. Mostly, that means explosive athletes with big tools and pitchers with electric raw stuff,” Sammon wrote.
Both the Astros and Brewers have had a lot of success over the last five years, and don’t have the financial resources of the Mets. Owner Steve Cohen has stated publicly he wants to see the organization build a long-term contender from within, and mirroring Houston and Milwaukee is a smart strategy going forward.
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