Mets Head into Off-Season with Many Questions

The New York Mets ended their season with a meaningless 4-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday. Now it is time for the Mets to figure out what they want to do for next year.

The two main priorities for the New York Mets front office are third baseman David Wright, the franchise's all-time hits leader, and Cy Young candidate and 20 game winner R.A Dickey. These two were the heart and soul of 2012 Mets, and according to Sandy Alderson, they will be in Mets uniforms for years to come.

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After Dickey and Wright, the Mets are a major question mark. Only four New York Met starting pitchers started more than 20 games this season, and only Dickey and Johnathan Niese started 30 games. Dickey and Niese are also the only starters to reach double digit wins. Dickey posted a 20 win season while Niese collected 13 wins. Johan Santana was far from being himself this season coming off of shoulder surgery. Yes, he did throw a no-hitter against St.Louis, but what has he done since? His first start after the no-hitter against the Yankees, he gave up six runs in five innings including back to back to back home runs.

The Mets bullpen was a question mark all season, and for good reason. The Mets lacked any solid relief pitching, and blew countless leads late in games. The Mets platooned a number of pitchers out to the mound in relief. John Rauch (3-7, 3.59), Manny Acosta (1-3, 6.46), and Frank Francisco (1-3, 5.53) were disappointments for the Mets, while Bobby Parnell (5-4, 2.49) had his share of good moments and bad moments.

On the offensive side, the Mets must decide what to do with first baseman Ike Davis. Davis finished the season with a .227 avg with 32 home runs, and 90 RBI, but early in the season Davis was lucky if he was hitting his weight. It was an ugly struggle for Ike, who could not find any way out his miserable slump. Davis finished the season on a positive note hitting .273 with four home runs and seven RBI in his final 10 games.

With the off-season upon them, the Mets must find a way to become a top contender in the National League East, and it will not be easy with the way the Braves and Nationals played this year. The Mets need another big bat in the lineup to help David Wright, and Ike Davis is not the answer, even with his 32 homers this season.

It will be interesting to see what route the Mets decide to take to improve their team for next season. No matter which path they take, it should be a busy off-season for the Mets.