Return Of deGrom Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The 2022 Mets

The ace is back, and even after a star-free trade deadline and the usual lack of run support, it really is different here with Buck Showalter leading the way

By Colleen Sullivan

I think we can all admit that things were looking a bit grim for Mets fans going into this season. Last year started off pretty well, and then just imploded in a way we’ve all come to expect as Mets fans. Coming out of the offseason and the lockout, things were looking like some business as usual for fans, too. We had gotten Max Scherzer, after he was rented out to the Dodgers and seemed to maybe run out of gas last October, making it worrisome as a marquee Mets signing. Meanwhile, Noah Syndergaard left for the Angels and their dream of collecting good players to do nothing. Jacob deGrom was announced to be starting off the season on the IL for an extended period of time due to a stress reaction after missing the back half of 2021 with forearm tightness and a sprained elbow. 

Things looked bleak. 

Scherzer is a future Hall of Famer, but at what cost? The universal DH means that Mets pitching is at the mercy of the offense to actually produce, so it’s not like they could rely on pitchers who rake. The front office gained new faces and a promise of cultural change, but after 2021 it’s safe to say we weren’t that optimistic. Especially after the Mets’ only major splash was that of Scherzer. Where was our version of Juan Soto, Josh Bell, or Luis Robert? Were the Mets really planning to make Pete Alonso carry the entire offense this season?

They did add Scherzer and Starling Marte and Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar, putting together all the pieces to be good… it’s just that, so often, 2021 happens, people get injured, and the sweater unravels on a hook. Going into 2022, Luis Rojas was shown the door after two seasons of trying to manage and failing. Who was going to lead our ragtag group of talented misfits? 

In the bad old days, you could always rely on a manager being shoved in and expected to do whatever Jeff Wilpon wanted, while Fred Wilpon took a brandy nap. There’s a new sheriff in town now: Steve Cohen. The new man in charge is the proverbial “one of us,” a fan owning the team. A fan who is a bazillionaire. What kind of manager should we expect him to hire? Is it going to be some sentimental cronyism hire like Jerry Reinsdorf thrust on White Sox fans? Is it going to be a former player with no manager experience like the Cubs have been trying to have? Is there a New York equivalent to whatever hiring Mike Matheny is?

The Mets picked Buck Showalter.