On paper I guess they are the better team. But it was a 13-game gap last year, and 16 the year before (never mind the head-to-head).
But the Mets also have the look of a team hastily patched together, with defensive concerns, injury concerns and perhaps chemistry concerns, too.
The good news? Per Fangraphs, the Metsā projected WAR total now ranks third in the majors, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. In the NL East, the Mets project better than the Philadelphia Phillies, who are bringing back largely the same roster, only a year older, and the Atlanta Braves, who have made a series of interesting moves, but remain a starting pitcher short.
