The pitching staff was impressive for the most part in 2012, but will need some improvement. There has been some speculation that the Mets would be interesting in trading Jon Niese in a possible Justin Upton deal, but I have my doubts that a deal like that would come our way. Upton is a rare player to have and it would take more than Niese to pry him out of Arizona. There have also been some rumors about a possible R.A. Dickey trade. Dickey had a breakout 2012 season and emerged as the team's ace, but some may not want him to sign an extension because of his older age. Chris Young is as good as gone, and Jeremy Hefner is a spot starter at best. That leaves Matt Harvey and Collin McHugh. Harvey was fantastic during his brief stint with the Mets, and will be an exciting player to watch in 2013. McHugh had his ups and downs as an Amazin', and could serve as either trade bait this off-season, or a spot starter similar to Hefner. If the Mets want to compete in 2013, they will definitely need to acquire some pitching one way or another. I believe that a trade should be the way to go, but if Alderson wants to use his minimial payroll flexibility on a starting pitcher or two, I expect names like Jeremy Guthrie or Shaun Marcum to be mentioned.
Fortunately for the Mets, the offense featured a few players having breakout seasons in 2012. Ike Davis had over 30 home runs and Ruben Tejada proved that he can take over the reigns of being the everyday shortstop now that Jose Reyes is in Miami. Wright had a fantastic start to his season, but saw his numbers take a minor dip as the season progressed. Despite that, he still managed to hit .306 with 21 home runs and 93 RBI in 156 games. Murphy and Hairston had very nice seasons, but I have a feeling that they will be gone before the 2013 season begins. Murphy is a great hitter, but his defense has always been questioned. The Mets may want to ship him to an American League team to become a DH and try to get a prospect or two out of him. Hairston had a great season as a part-time player, and I believe he will get massively overpaid by a team that believes he should actually be an everyday player. Lucas Duda turned out to be a bust, and Jason Bay was simply the Jason Bay that we have all come to hate over these last three years or so. If the Mets want to make their offense a real threat, acquiring an outfielder would be a key move to make. Signing a B.J. Upton or Michael Bourn seems like it is out of the picture due to financial constraints. Perhaps a trade for someone like Shin-Soo Choo would be ideal, considering that he would probably only cost one or two decent prospects and wouldn't break the bank if the team chooses to re-sign him. Finally we have the whole Josh Thole situation. It would be smart to bring back Kelly Shoppach so he can platoon with Thole, who had a terrible season and took a major step backwards in his development. Shoppach would be a cheap option, assuming that he wants to come back to New York.
If there was an area that desperately needs to be upgraded, it is the bullpen. Alderson believed that the bullpen was going to be better in 2012, considering that he acquired Ramon Ramirez and signed Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch. Ramirez and Francisco were busts and Rauch was inconsistent. Alderson is going to have to sign a bunch of reclamation-type project relief pitchers this winter and hope that they will pan out. They are definitely out there, and he is going to have to dig deep to find them.
Overall, the Mets are going to have to be very active this winter in order to gain respectability in 2013. Their future is currently in question, and relying heavily on young players like Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler. As a Mets fan, I cringe when I think about where this team will be in 5-10 years, but I believe that someday the Wilpons will sell the franchise to an owner who will be willing to put money into the team, and get this franchise back on track.
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