Could be an Amazin’ 2022, or more Mets heartbreak

Nobody said anything to do with the Mets was easy.

If it was, Luis Rojas would be readying for his third year as manager rather than scouring video in preparation for his new venture as the Yankees’ third base coach.

The Mets offer a unique situation that won’t be found anywhere else in the big leagues. While playing in a city of eight million people — and inviting the media attention that comes with that — the Mets will still always be a little brother to the Yankees. That permanent chip on the franchise’s shoulder has long appealed to the blue collar types, but now that hedge fund daddy Steve Cohen is in charge, the Mets are the elite bourgeois masquerading as the working class.

The Mets have always had their problems — another unique characteristic of the organization is a proud, rich history that’s dotted equally with triumph as it is deeply disturbing or bizarrely scandalous.

But now their problems are magnified to the billionth degree. The highs can rival those of any team in the world. The lows are at the bottom of Flushing Bay.

Cohen spent the beginning of the offseason using his wealth to address several of the Mets’ problems. The team needed a starting pitcher, an outfielder to presumably replace Michael Conforto and a clearer answer at third base. Enter Max Scherzer, Starling Marte and Eduardo Escobar, all former All-Stars of varying clout and credentials who were acquired within a week of each other. There’s also Mark Canha and his 126 wRC+ over the last four seasons, who looked like a wise pickup as well.

But with an unsettled labor disagreement that’s not getting fixed any time soon, all Mets’ fans can do is devolve into a familiar state: worry. Sitting around and wondering if the season will start on time is one thing. But what if it does start as planned and the Mets continue stepping on rakes, both the well-placed ones around the league and the seemingly avoidable ones within their own clubhouse?

Atlanta just proved that they can be the best team in the league when they’re firing on all cylinders, and next year the engine gains a powerful Ronald Acuna-shaped piston. The Phillies will spend the next few months with a giant wad of cash burning a hole in their pocket. If they emerge from the lockout with some big moves of their own, the Mets’ big spender armor takes a dent.

There’s also the dormant Marlins, who might be ready to erupt soon. Sandy Alcantara and Trevor Rogers gave them two starting pitchers under the age of 25 with at least four Wins Above Replacement last year, and Pablo Lopez and Jesus Luzardo could feasibly accomplish that next year. Adding Jacob Stallings — the National League’s best defensive catcher — should only make that rotation stronger. Miami also grabbed professional hitters Avisail Garcia and Joey Wendle when no one was looking.

The Mets cannot control the actions of other teams in their division, though. They also cannot control what happens to Noah Syndergaard and Aaron Loup as they settle on the West Coast and try to rescue the Angels from whatever malaise has plagued that franchise. But if those two pitch well, and Marcus Stroman keeps shoving for the Cubs, it will give a megaphone to the hindsight-obsessed fan wondering why Uncle Steve didn’t just pay to bring them back. The same could be true for Javier Baez. If the infielder keeps punishing breaking balls with impunity like he did during his two-month cameo in Queens, the Tigers will have one of the best additions of the offseason for less money than Cohen spent on his beloved Picasso painting.

If Scherzer begins to show his age, the Mets may have to swallow another difficult pill of failure again. And while the financial ramifications of a Scherzer disappointment will be an easy punching bag, the real devastation would come from committing so hard to something that didn’t work. Greater expectations carry a greater chance for heartbreak. The Scherzer signing skyrocketed the Mets’ expectations toward the World Series, and if they turn in another season like their 2021 one, the franchise would have a massive problem that was in part created by spending so much money.

To be clear, nobody should weep for Cohen’s checking account. Instead, they should weep if the dream he’s sold turns out to be hollow. There’s also the question of whether Jacob deGrom can ever become superhuman again following a year of fretful arm injuries. And the Mets are still waiting for the Francisco Lindor they were promised to show up as well, not to mention the bold-faced question mark at manager.

This team is in a better spot than they were a year ago, by a margin big enough to ease some of the initial, understandably tense feelings so many diehards will never be able to shake. But as we’ve seen before, once the first pitch of Opening Day is thrown, the Mets are on their own. No amount of money or generally positive feelings can get a runner in from third with less than two outs or come up with a clutch strikeout in a late-inning scenario. It’s just that now when the Mets do struggle to do those things, it’ll be with the knowledge that they spent all offseason specifically trying to rid themselves of the same ol’ Mets status that’s followed them around for nearly 60 years.

One more year from hell and the next question becomes whether the Mets are just an inherently unfixable situation, forever doomed to have every little bit of sunshine immediately rained out.