With the team having a payroll that will approach $500 million once taxes are included, the players know the World Series is the goal. Manager Buck Showalter is taking things more slowly.
Baseball was in a spending mood at the winter meetings, where the Mets added Justin Verlander, the Yankees kept Aaron Judge and San Diego splurged on Xander Bogaerts.
Despite his injury issues, Jacob deGrom is expected to garner a contract in excess of $100 million. He is one of several Mets players who are about to test free agency.