A glass-half-full kind of person would see the Mets’ offseason this way: What was available to them was underwhelming or overpriced, and rather than spend to appease fans, they saved their prospects and money for a better environment.

A glass-half-empty kind of person is wondering how the offseason in which the Mets promised to hit the accelerator toward finishing off a contender brought Michael Cuddyer, John Mayberry Jr. and, well, what?

The Mets are better positioned to fight for a playoff spot than at any other time in GM Sandy Alderson’s term. But they are doing a familiar Mets thing — imagining the rosiest scenarios and not protecting themselves enough for when the rosiest scenarios inevitably fail to manifest.

In the Mets’ current world, Wilmer Flores doesn’t kill them at shortstop, David Wright and Curtis Granderson bounce back, Lucas Duda and Jacob deGrom don’t regress, Travis d’Arnaud and Juan Lagares take another step forward, Steve Matz and Noah Syndergaard break through, Matt Harvey is 2013 Matt Harvey, the lack of a qualified lefty reliever proves inconsequential and the pen back end of Vic Black, Jeurys Familia, Jenrry Mejia and ultimately Bobby Parnell is valuable, not volatile.

For about $20 million toward the 2015 payroll — an investment that might have taken them to $115 million-to-$120 million territory — the Mets could have added, say, the steady Luke Gregerson to provide certainty on the bullpen back end, Craig Breslow as a lefty with pedigree (albeit off of a bad year), Jung-Ho Kang as a potential solution at shortstop or — at minimum — a multi-positional righty bat and Dioner Navarro in a trade to provide a better backup safety net for d’Arnaud than Anthony Recker. Plus, they could refrain from trying to deal Dillon Gee, instead retaining him in case Harvey needs more time or age catches up to Bartolo Colon.

Instead, the Mets still have the prospects and the money, and we wonder if a) they can win in this condition, or b) they will have the nerve and desire to use money/prospects should they be July contenders.

That is Thought 1 about the Mets’ offseason. Here are the rest of my top five:

2. Flores is just a placeholder — maybe not for long. The Mets previously have talked to Arizona and Seattle about shortstops, and both of those teams will continue to have shortstop battles in spring — Chris Owings vs. Nick Ahmed vs. Cliff Pennington for the Diamondbacks and Chris Taylor vs. Brad Miller for the Mariners. Owings and Miller remain intriguing.

And if Troy Tulowitzki demonstrates he is healthy and the Rockies stink — as expected — then it is just a matter of time until “Gentlemen, start your rumors.”

3. Once you eliminate Tulowitzki (whom the Mets just saw as too much risk with his injury history, his cost and the prospect cost) and Jimmy Rollins (who would not OK a deal to the Mets), then Flores at least offers the intrigue of whether he really can be Jhonny Peralta Lite (limited range, but sure hands and a valuable bat). The Mets would have been well served to win the bidding for Kang and see if his shortstop skills translate here or bring in someone such as Stephen Drew — a better defender who could bounce back — to provide a safety net behind Flores.

But going with Flores is no bigger risk for the Mets than going with Didi Gregorius is for the Yankees. The Mets are trying to get defense from a player they perceive as a hitter, while the Yankees are trying to get offense from a player they perceive as a defender.

4. With all that said about shortstop, the Mets’ true biggest issue going into the offseason was — and is — third base. Ownership already is skittish about spending, and Wright is just one season (his worst season) into his seven-year, franchise-record contract.

Can the Mets win without Wright as a high-end performer? Maybe. But if he is not going to be that, think how it complicates trying to construct a roster/payroll around him in the near future, especially if it keeps upper management reticent about spending.

5. The Mets acted aggressively on Cuddyer — signing him early and forfeiting their 2015 first-round draft pick. (As an aside, that should have made them even more willing to spend money this offseason because they will not be spending it on a first-round pick in June.)

But this acquisition came at a comparatively lower cost — in terms of money and/or prospects — than it would have cost to play for Nelson Cruz, Melky Cabrera, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Jason Heyward, Wil Myers, Yoenis Cespedes, Yasmany Tomas and Hanley Ramirez (who perhaps could have been viable at shortstop, too). It will be interesting to track how Cuddyer does by comparison.