Phillies vs Mets: Who has the advantage in the NL East this season?

A rivalry as old as time, the Phillies and Mets‘ hatred of each other is likely set to reach new heights this upcoming season. Both organizations spent huge money this offseason in an attempt to get their teams back into the postseason, and if we’re all being completely honest, there’s only enough room in the National League for one of them to experience October baseball.

With the Dodgers, Braves, and now Padres all likely locks for a playoff appearance in 2021, the battle between the Phillies and the new-look Mets could dictate that second Wild Card spot.

So, between Philadelphia and New York, who actually has the advantage?

Starting first with the Mets (since we’ve spent all offseason talking about the Phils and their upgrades), it’s impossible to ignore the fact that they absolutely improved this winter. Spearheaded by new owner Steve Cohen and his billions of dollars, the Mets added the likes of:

-Francisco Lindor(!)

-James McCann

-Trevor May

-Carlos Carrasco

-Taijuan Walker

-Kevin Pillar

-Aaron Loup

*full transaction list available here*

Throw in the fact that they managed to retain RHP Marcus Stroman on a one-year qualifying offer, and the Mets definitely had themselves an impressive offseason. While some have been quick to point out that they didn’t land any of their top targets in free agency (Realmuto, Bauer, Springer), I’d argue that swinging a trade for Lindor is more impactful than signing any one of those players would’ve been.

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Outside of Lindor, what really sticks out to me about this Mets team is their starting pitching depth. They already have the best pitcher in the NL in Jacob deGrom, and the additions of Stroman, Walker, and a returning Noah Syndegaard take their rotation from “good” to “one of the best in baseball.”

Such a deep and talented rotation will likely result in the Mets finishing above .500 after a disappointing 2020 campaign.

When it comes to the Phillies and their ball club, they obviously brought back their two major free agents in J.T. Realmuto and Didi Gregorius, while simultaneously improving their bullpen and their overall starting pitching depth. Considering just how dominant the team’s offense was last year, it’s reasonable for fans to feel pretty good about the Phils own chances of finally finishing over .500 in 2021.

If Philadelphia just had an average bullpen last season, they likely would’ve won the NL East outright.

Phillies vs Mets, who has the edge in 2021?

Now comparing the 2021 Mets to the 2021 Phillies is a tricky task. On one side of the argument you could make a case for New York being better due to their abundance of added talent, and on the other side you could make the case for Philadelphia having the edge due to how much better their team was in 2020 (minus the bullpen of course).

Ultimately speaking, I think it will be very close. I envision the race for second place in the NL East coming down to the wire. However, what has me leaning towards the Phillies is actually what’s taking place away from the diamond. Ever since Cohen purchased the Mets, the team has been engulfed in controversy and turmoil. They had to fire their general manager due to an inappropriate photo incident, and Cohen made a big ordeal of deleting his Twitter account after weeks of parading around as some sort of champion.

The Phillies on the other hand have finally found a sense of stability with their front office. Dave Dombrowski and Sam Fuld have come in and made an immediate impact – and of course manager Joe Girardi is one of the most respected men in all of baseball.

When it comes to swinging an impactful deal at the trade deadline, I feel far more confident in Dombrowski’s ability to do so compared to New York’s “acting GM” Zack Scott.

The Phillies and Mets play each other seven times during the first month or so of MLB action this season, so we’ll actually get a pretty good feel as to how these two teams match up against each other early on in 2021. While I concede the fact that the Mets are a vastly improved ball club compared to last season, I’m still riding with the logic that Philadelphia’s superior front office is what will keep them ahead of NY this season.