Outahere Sports Review

Another great interview on the Outahere Sports Review. As always, if you’d like to be the next to be interviewed, contact cfeedback or MogulMonster to schedule one.

OSR: We had a chance today to chat with New York Mets owner dorsey about both the current and future status of the Mets franchise. Glad to have you on the Outahere Sports Review, thanks for taking the time to talk with us.
dorsey: Glad to be here.

OSR: First off, let’s talk about the 2020 season. With just over two weeks left, you’ve already improved upon 2019′s dismal record of 40-122 by 26 more wins. How would you rate this season and your overall rebuilding effort?
dorsey: I think that this year was about showing the fans that we care about getting this team in the right direction. We are in agruably the toughest division in the league, but we decided to go out and get some good players to field a competitive squad. I feel like the team has drafted and acquired some great young players as well, so this organization is in 10X better of a position than when I took over at the beginning of last season.

OSR: You read my mind about the NL East…it’s a division filled with great teams and great owners. Obviously you have to plan long term. Any predictions on when we may see the Mets back in post season contention?
dorsey: I think the core of this farm system will not be ready for 4-5 years so likely not until around 2024 or 2025, but I am an impatient man, so I will try to win before then. We will likely go into the free agent market again this off season and see what there is to offer. Our lineup is solid, but we need to continue the overhaul of pitching to be competitive before then.

OSR: Lets talk about some of that pitching. There’s been some disappointments this year, with starting pitchers Veal, Langholz, and Liriano all posting ERAs over 5, which I’d wager isn’t what you had hoped for. On the other hand, there’s been some pleasant surprises as well…veteran starter Jason Vargas was having a great year at 10-6 with a 3.93 ERA before going down with a wrist fracture. Did you expect him to be able to put up numbers like that when you signed him in free agency?
dorsey: Vargas was a nice veteran addition to our team. He has been a winner his entire career, and has been as good as expected. The others have really disappointed us this season. Veal and Liriano have been better than their numbers and had some good stretches, but these guys have to be better next season if they want to continue to make the big bucks.

OSR: Also, setup man Tim Fidler has been superb, with a 2.95 ERA in 73.1 innings pitched. Any chance we’ll see him move to a the closer role next season?
dorsey: Fidler has been great since we got him from the Nationals, and we just wanted him to log as many innings as possible this season to get more experience. Next season he will definitely transition over to being our closer of the future.
OSR: He’s got fantastic stuff, I’m sure he’ll do well for you in the closer role. So, Darren Langholtz is likely to be a free agent next year…even with an ERA near 6 it should be interesting to see how much he commands on the open market. Pitching is always scarce in free agency.

OSR: Moving onto position players, the number one question on our mind is 1B Wayne Goodier, who’s leading your team in both batting average (.326) and HRs (27). Can we expect to see him back in a Mets uniform next year?
dorsey: I love Wayne Goodier. Absolutely love the guy, but I would expect him to get a big contract this next off season for a lot of dough and a lot of years.  I think he will really only be good for another three seasons, but I will definitely try to bring him back. He is a great hitter, defender, and clubhouse guy, but like anything, it comes down to business, and he may end up out of our price range. But he is probably priority number 1 for us right now.

OSR: You have quite a few players with large contracts: Shigeuji Sato, Tai-Shan Chang, and Jamie Romak combine to make over 48 million a year. Any plans on trying to deal them to contenders for prospects or do you expect them to remain in New York?
dorsey: Sato has been a great, great addition to this ball club and the fans have fallen in love with him. For now he is definitely going to remain a Met. Chang really had a nice season this year, but we feel his big salary maybe could be used more efficiently. I would like to keep him, but he could move in the right deal. Romak has been a big bust so far, but this off season we will look into deals. I would like for him to stay and see if he can figure it out, but otherwise he will be on the market.

OSR: Now, let’s talk about the future of the franchise, namely the farm system. We’ll get to this year’s draft class in a second, but the 2019 farm system rankings had the Mets ranked 18th out of 32 teams. Would you say that was a fair assessment at the time?
dorsey: I was actually a little surprised that I was even that high at first, but I realize it was a very fair evaluation. A lot of the talent is not spread very widely with a top 8 or so that are just elite. Hopefully I can join those ranks in the next year or two.

OSR: The review mentioned names such as starting pitchers Reeson and Milland, and position players Bryan and Miller. Any comments about these players in particular? Are they part of the core you’re building around?
dorsey: Reeson was my first draft choice in 2019 and he along with Milland are untouchable at this time. Reeson is a power guy with great control that projects to be an ace or a damn good number two. Milland is more effective with his movement and getting ground balls, but look for he and Reeson to be household names in four years. Trav Bryant is just a baller. The kid has very solid all around tools, but the one thing that makes this kid special is his uncanny plate discipline. He could be our two hole hitter sometime in 2022, with a good glove, good bat, good speed, and knack for getting on base. Miller will likely pair with a certain shortstop to be an elite double play duo in the future. He may just be an ordinary hitter, but he could become an All Star caliber hitter if he develops well.

OSR: Moving on, the 2020 amateur draft class was clearly a big deal for the Mets, who had the number one overall pick. You mentioned a certain shortstop, and rumors were swirling that multiple teams tried to trade up for that top pick, but in the end you kept it and drafted shortstop Brandon Oldenburg as the first pick in 2020. Even at only 18 years of age, I’ve heard scouts call him a potential Hall of Famer. What can you tell us about this kid and the process that led up to his selection in the draft?
dorsey: Knowing I had the number one pick in the 2020 draft, I really really dug into tape and sent my scouts all around looking for that next face of the franchise. We didn’t go very far, staying in state when we found the guy that just had it all. Brandon is a great young kid that we feel will be that Hall of Fame player for us. He definitely is a five tool player and we look for him to be an MVP candidate year in and year out. He could eventually win double digit gold gloves, get 3000 hits, hit 300 homers, and steal 500+ bases. There was a lot of talent at the top of the draft, but we had our guy and decided no offer was going to keep us from drafting Oldenburg.
OSR: Interesting that you say “no offer was going to keep you from drafting Oldenburg” as we heard rumors that a couple teams were close to making a trade. Perhaps it was wishful thinking on their part.

OSR: Other big picks in the 2020 draft included 3B Jon Whisenant and LF Matt Crawford. Anything you’d like to say about these players or how well you think the overall draft went?
dorsey: My only regret about the draft was that in order to have some good players like Sato, I had to give up a couple of picks. I still had enough , though, to make an impact. Both Crawford and Whisenant were second round picks that I believe will soon gain that untouchable label that those four above have earned. Crawford has monstrous power, but I think can be a good hitter for average as well. Whisenant is like glue over there at third and I think will become a very fine MLB hitter as well. The name that I think people should fear the most, however, is catcher Ramon Cuevas. My 4th round pick went to this kid who – you can quote me on this – will be the best catcher prospect in two years and will eventually be one of the top 2 or 3 catchers in the game. All in all, draft day 2020 was a big success for the Met franchise.

OSR: Watch out, fellow owners – you heard it here first. Ramon Cuevas is a name to fear!
dorsey: Fa sho!

OSR: I think I’ve run out of questions. Any final comments you’d like to share with the rest of the league before we wrap things up?
dorsey: Well I’m not cocky by nature, so don’t be offended by my praise of my prospects, but I will say that the losing culture in New York has been eliminated. Those feared Mets for much of the Outahere league history are on their way back, and if you don’t believe me, I’ll let my players and coaches do the talking on the field.

OSR: Hey, that sounds like a winning attitude to me, and we’ll look forward to checking back with you in a few seasons to see if all your predictions come true. Thanks for being on the show.
dorsey: Thanks for having me.