Coming into the 2023 Major League Baseball season, it felt as though the New York Mets were the team to beat in the National League.
While everyone remembers their postseason flameout, the 2022 Mets won 101 games, then added Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga and other players who seemed like they would push the Mets over the hump and into postseason success.
The 2023 season couldn’t have gone worse for the Mets, who finished 75-87, traded Verlander in August, and fired manager Buck Showalter at the end of the year.
SNY’s Dani Wexelman joined Jessica Kleinschmidt on the Short and to the Point podcast recently to discuss a handful of topics, including what went wrong for the Mets and if firing Showalter was the right move.
“It was no harm no foul, in my opinion,” Wexelman said of the decision to fire Showalter. “Guys in the clubhouse loved him, Francisco Lindor went on and on. He could wax poetic about how much he loved Buck and I think that rang true for a lot of the clubhouse. But, if you look at the dynamic and where the team is going, they’re bringing up younger guys and they’re gonna let them sink their teeth in. I’m OK with another manager coming in to do this job. I wasn’t surprised, but it was tough to watch Buck tell everybody the news.”
What else do the Mets need to do to avoid a repeat of the 2023 season? To Wexelman, it’s simple.
“Number one, they need a designated hitter that can hit. The Mets had the third-worst average among the entire league when it came to the DH. You to have more than just Pete Alonso on your team, you need another guy who can slug. In fact, you need a couple more guys who can slug. They were missing that.
“Number two, starting pitching. You had a rookie in Kodai Senga who held the staff together. He was the reason that staff even breathed relevancy. Also, you have to re-sign Pete Alonso. One of the best first basemen in the league and intangibly, I think one of the best people in the community in New York City and he wants to be here.”
Check out Short and to the Point on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.
