Is Patience Really the Best Policy for the Mets?

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Mets fans have been forced to remain patient over the past five seasons in which they have faded as the second half has begun.

The one silver lining was always the company line of, “once we have money coming off the books we will spend.”

Well, the time has come for the team to put their money where their mouth is. The problem is: with what money? Is there really a light at the end of the tunnel?

In regards to the team’s finances, it remains a mystery. GM Sandy Alderson announced that the payroll will remain in the $85-87 million vicinity, or roughly $100 million less than the crosstown New York Yankees. Even our captain David Wright is becoming frustrated, and how can you blame him? He can’t have another year with Ike Davis or Lucas Duda providing him protection in the lineup.

It is true that teams have build championship caliber clubs with sub-$100 million payrolls. Look no further than playoff teams such as the Tampa Bay Rays ($57.5 million), Oakland Athletics ($60 million), Pittsburgh Pirates ($79.5 million) and the Atlanta Braves ($89.5 million). What separates the Mets from the situations that those teams were in is the farm system. They all had a strong foundation in place, and supplemented their roster with veteran players via free agency and trades that really balanced out their team.

In other words, the idea is to have as many players in their prime as possible. For the Mets, there is an alarmingly small amount of players that can be said to be in their prime.

The 2013 Mets had four players record an OPS+ of greater than 100. That includes Marlon Byrd, who recently signed a two year, $16 million deal with the rival Philadelphia Phillies. He has since been replaced by Chris Young, who has compiled a career OPS+ of 94 and a career-high of 108. The other players are David Wright, Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda.

Compare that to the Boston Red Sox who had nine players reach at least a league-average level of production.

Essentially the Mets need an infusion of production all over the field. To this point, it does not appear that they are capable of making the necessary improvements. In addition to their reluctance to forfeit their draft picks, which would occur by signing players who declined the qualifying offer of $14.1 million, they also are hesitant to trade their top prospects.

I’ve always been a patient fan, even agreeing that Michael Bourn was not worth the $48 million that the Cleveland Indians gave him. Now, however, is a much different scenario. There’s no reason for the Mets to be finding warts on the skill sets of free agent players, only to convince us that the internal options are capable.

For example, Jhonny Peralta was initially on the radar of the Mets. I, along with many other fans, felt he could be a tremendous addition for this team. Despite his borderline defense, he’s a 31-year-old player (11-year veteran) that has averaged a slash line of .268/.330/.425 with 18 homers and 82 RBI. If that doesn’t sound worthy of a four-year pact, consider how that looks in juxtaposition to Ruben Tejada’s .259/.323/.319 with one homer and 40 RBI. His addition would have immediately turned a weakness into a strength.

Then, it seemed the team would choose the trade market as a way to increase their power. There remains a number of players that could be a perfect fit. However, every time a rumor swirls regarding a player’s availability, it is immediately squashed in a following report. A perfect example of this was Jose Bautista. Nothing is more appealing than an established power hitter with an affordable contract. Just hours after the initial report that he could be had, we hear that GM Alex Anthropoulus is unlikely to unload him.

So, what’s it going to be, Mets? Are you going to continue to shop for players that are coming off injury riddled seasons in hopes that they are not looking for lucrative deals? If you want to praise the farm system, let’s see where this production is coming from. Clearly, the three most recent first-round draft picks are not on the cusp of a big league promotion.

Even players like Wilmer Flores, 2012 Sterling Minor League Player of the Year, doesn’t appear to be the player we thought he was. The jury is out on Travis d’Arnaud, and until he cuts down his swing he will be very limited as a hitter.

Something has to give. Either the Mets are actually willing to sign the type of free agent player that can improve the team or they won’t compete because they don’t have the minor league depth and the price for a power-hitter on the open market is absurd.

With the loss of Matt Harvey for 2014, it will be difficult for fans to muster up the enthusiasm to attend a game unless there is a significant increase in talent.