Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen: We Believe We're 'Favorites' in NL East

The New York Mets are coming off a 70-92 finish in the 2018 season, but that didn't stop general manager Brodie Van Wagenen from envisioning a drastic turnaround in 2019.

The Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com) noted the new GM appeared on the team's SNY network and said, "Internally, we would argue that we're the favorites in the division right now."

Van Wagenen has done his part to improve the Mets into contenders in the National League East since he was hired in October. New York signed catcher Wilson Ramos and relief pitcher Jeurys Familia while acquiring second baseman Robinson Cano and closer Edwin Diaz via trade from the Seattle Mariners.

That is four players who have been named to All-Star teams in the past, and the general manager pointed out: "We haven't been shy and we haven't been bashful. And this action rather than our inaction should demonstrate to the fans that we say what we do and we do what we say."

Still, the Mets are coming off a fourth-place finish and were a lackluster 23rd in the league in runs scored during the 2018 season. What's more, slugger Yoenis Cespedes will be sidelined for some of the 2019 campaign following surgery on his heel.

A division crown is a lot to ask, although the one-two punch of 2018 NL Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard—who has appeared in trade discussions this offseason—is as formidable as it gets atop a rotation.

Ramos, who slashed .308/.358/.487 with 15 home runs and 70 RBI in 2018 while playing for the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays, and Cano, who slashed .303/.374/.471 with 10 home runs in 80 games during a suspension-shortened 2018 season, will help make up for the offensive loss of Cespedes. 

The additions will need to play well to improve one of the league's worst offenses from last season and make Van Wagenen's vision become a reality.