Before the 2015 season, everybody was expecting the Washington Nationals to run away with the division. Instead, the upstart New York Mets, led by their plethora of young arms, made a huge push in the second half to finish with 90 win and roll to the World Series.
Since it's the holidays, let's get a little festive -- if the Mets want to improve in 2016, what needs to be on their holiday wish list?
Keep all the young pitchers
This has to be No. 1 right? The saying "you can never have enough pitching" was basically created for the 2016 Mets. Yes, they're young and dominant and there are five legitimate frontline starters there, but things rarely go as planned during a season, especially with starting pitching. Having the entire stable and healthy is ideal, but that's not likely to happen. Unfortunately, somebody could get injured or one or two could struggle. In keeping the five (Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and eventually Zack Wheeler), the Mets have flexibility to sign filler pieces if need be.
Bartolo Colon
Speaking of filler pieces, is anybody more wanted by Mets fans than Bartolo? Not only is he an ageless wonder (he's thrown 397 innings over the past two seasons for the Mets), he might be the most entertaining pitcher to ever step into the batters box. He's 42, so he should provide some depth while Wheeler continues to rehab from Tommy John surgery.
A free-agent bat
After Michael Cuddyer announced his retirement, fans and the media speculated that the Mets might try to go after Yoenis Cespedes with the extra cash. That's not looking likely. The fans still want to see an impact bat come along, but it's unknown how much the Mets are willing to spend. There are a few "second-tier" free agent outfielders still available (Gerardo Parra, Denard Span) who could potentially be a target.
140 games of a healthy David Wright
Wright was limited to just 38 games in 2015, but showed that he can still perform at a high level at the plate -- he slashed .289/.379/.434 with five homers and 17 RBI. He's going to need to take some days off to stay healthy, but if he can get into 140 games, the Mets (and their fans) would be extremely happy.
