The task awaiting Kris Gross this weekend is not unfamiliar but is nonetheless daunting: Continue to excel in bringing in young talent while operating at a disadvantage.
Gross, the Mets vice president of amateur and international scouting, will be leading a draft for a club that benefits in countless ways from Steve Cohen’s wallet, but the team’s payroll does backfire when trying to replenish the minor league system through the annual draft.
For a fourth straight year, the Mets draft haul will be hurt by their spending and their signing habits, their first-round pick docked 10 spots and stripped of two other selections.
The first Mets pick, which would have been 17th based upon the lottery results, instead will be 27th, to which Gross has grown accustomed.
