- Luis Severino has joined the Mets in free agency after a mixed history with the Yankees. His career with the Yankees was marked by both success and extensive injuries. Severino signed a one-year, $13 million deal with the Mets.
Mets' Catching Depth:
- The Mets' catching depth is a concern, regarding Omar Narváez's performance and health. Cooper Hmel is considered a potential replacement for Narváez. They also picked up Tyler Heineman.
- Joey Wendle was picked up to replace LG as the utility man.
- Kyle Crick, a new Mets relief pitcher, has joined on a minor league deal with hopes of strengthening the bullpen.
The Mets have signed Austin Adams, Joseph Yabbour, Andre Scrubb and Cole Sulser to aid bullpen depth.
Mets Winter Meetings Focus:
- The Mets are expected to be active at the Winter Meetings, with a focus on acquiring an outfielder, starting pitching, and relief pitching. They are also interested in improving run prevention and outfield defense.
- The team may engage in trade talks, expect to hear the usual prospect names such as Kevin Parada, Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Ronny Mauricio.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Player Meetings:
- The New York Mets are planning to meet with Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the next week and he is expected to continue to draw significant interest from MLB teams.
- Shohei Ohtani is also expected to make a decision on his next team soon, with bids for his services surpassing $500 million.
- The Mets are also considering Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee.
Summary from pre Winter Meeting thread:
Hall of Fame Ballot Newbies: Inclusion of players like Big Sexy, Wright, and Reyes in the Hall of Fame ballot.
- Several iconic Yankees and Mets greats were in contention for Hall of Fame induction, but they fell short of the required votes.
Management and Coaching Updates: Significant changes in the Mets' management and coaching staff, including a new contract for manager Mendoza. Bench coach vacancy and role shifts for Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes as hitting coaches. Introduction of Kris Gross and Andy Green in player development and amateur scouting.
Pitching Strategy and Market Moves: Focus on fortifying the rotation, implications of the Cardinals' signings, and the pursuit of high-caliber pitchers.
Bullpen and Player Performance: Signing of BP arms to minor league deals and review of the players.
Previous Mets thread: - (
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he is looking at earning probably less than 5m total career earnings through april 2026 so he's a great candidate to get a big discount on extension.
2 years closer to FA murphy took 6x73m last year which bought out 3 FA years + 1 club option.
will smith got 5m in his arb1 last year and projects around 10m for his arb2. so lets say 30m for 3 arb years.
his first year to buy out would be his age 27, so lets say the mets want to buy out his a27, 28, 29 that's an 8 year deal worth:
~$35m scheduled over next 5 years
+3* whatever market rate they negotiate, discounted for the early guarantee ($12-15m per?)
15m per free agent year is what Murphy got, so i think that's a ceiling for alvarez because Murphy was 2 years closer to FA. If we estimate high that same free agent amount at $15m per 3 UFA years that is a total deal of 8 years 80m.
not far off the 8x82m chourio just took (which also has 2 team options), which im sure is a deal alvarez is thinking about when he says he'd love to extend early. maybe mets beat that slight with 8x85m to get themselves an extra team option or two.
if dodgers miss on yamamoto, snell or hader would make sense. or both. why not, would probably cost less than yamamoto.
Would you trade Alonso for Trout?
Would LA do it if they could dump all Trout's salary?
If Trout would learn to play 1B would you do this as a Mets fan (or even regardless)? I feel like Trout got old quick, but maybe not playing CF will help him stay healthy and he's such a good athlete maybe he'd become a plus first baseman. and i know his latest or one of his latest injuries (the hamate) had nothing to do with playing the field.
Overall thoughts on his first year
“Most importantly, I’m glad I was able to stay healthy the entire season. I wasn’t sure where I stood in the league coming into the year, but I think I was able to perform well enough to receive lots of positive evaluations.”
On pitching with Scherzer & Verlander
“When I first saw them, I felt like I was entering a fantasy world because I’d only seen those legends on TV. I was able to shadow them in the first half but after they were traded, I felt like the spotlight was on me more.”
On getting used to the MLB ball (1/2)
“At first, I couldn’t get used to it at all. I felt like I was in a battle with myself on the mound just to find the strike zone. The balls are less tacky and there’s less humidity in the air. It was a real challenge to get used to”
On cultural differences
“I went to the US with the intent to assimilate to an American lifestyle. Even if I felt like food or routines were different than what I had back in Japan, I accepted things and went along with it. So the cultural differences didn’t bother me at all.”
On differences between NPB and MLB (2/2)
“MLB hitters are very concerned about things like exit velocity. I felt like even the smallest mistakes I made could be taken into the stands for a homer, or split the gaps for a double…”
On differences between NPB and MLB (2/2)
“MLB is a different brand of baseball. Most hitters aren’t concerned with whiffing if they can just crush one pitch a game and hit a homer. NPB is about stringing together hits for a rally. MLB is about extra base hits and home runs.”
On MLB analytics (1/3)
“The amount of data is totally different. In NPB, catchers have to do most of the homework on the hitters. In MLB, there’s just so much data and everyone — including pitchers and position pitchers — have to know it.”
Jon Heyman
Verified
@JonHeyman
·
28m
Chafin Tigers deal is $4.75M plus $1.25M in performance bonuses
Overall thoughts on his first year
“Most importantly, I’m glad I was able to stay healthy the entire season. I wasn’t sure where I stood in the league coming into the year, but I think I was able to perform well enough to receive lots of positive evaluations.”
On pitching with Scherzer & Verlander
“When I first saw them, I felt like I was entering a fantasy world because I’d only seen those legends on TV. I was able to shadow them in the first half but after they were traded, I felt like the spotlight was on me more.”
On getting used to the MLB ball (1/2)
“At first, I couldn’t get used to it at all. I felt like I was in a battle with myself on the mound just to find the strike zone. The balls are less tacky and there’s less humidity in the air. It was a real challenge to get used to”
On cultural differences
“I went to the US with the intent to assimilate to an American lifestyle. Even if I felt like food or routines were different than what I had back in Japan, I accepted things and went along with it. So the cultural differences didn’t bother me at all.”
On differences between NPB and MLB (2/2)
“MLB hitters are very concerned about things like exit velocity. I felt like even the smallest mistakes I made could be taken into the stands for a homer, or split the gaps for a double…”
On differences between NPB and MLB (2/2)
“MLB is a different brand of baseball. Most hitters aren’t concerned with whiffing if they can just crush one pitch a game and hit a homer. NPB is about stringing together hits for a rally. MLB is about extra base hits and home runs.”
On MLB analytics (1/3)
“The amount of data is totally different. In NPB, catchers have to do most of the homework on the hitters. In MLB, there’s just so much data and everyone — including pitchers and position pitchers — have to know it.”
id imagine having a resource like senga is something that is viewed positively by either of yamamoto/imanaga to help with their transition of learning how to pitch in mlb. i assume $ will be the biggest factor in either decision but i think that's probably something that also helps. id imagine yamamoto chose the same agent for similar reasons (recent relevant experience).
he is a 'super aggregator' in terms of very quickly retweeting others info (and he credits them), and he has yet to break a signing that ive seen, but he has seemed to have accurate information on whats going on in the markets. if you go back to last year, some of his most viewed tweets re the mets were reporting that lindor was pushing for correa/3b a few weeks before that happened and that the mets getting senga was more likely after the nimmo/robertson signings not less. so he seems to have some intel even though he doesnt appear to be the newsbreaker the bigger national guys are. i think i remember him breaking a few things at the trade deadline re mets prospect returns so i guess we'll see if he gets any scoops w/ met stuff as more happens.
fg matrix has his median exactly between at 1x5m.
If all was equal I think he’d choose yanks or lad, which is why I think Mets end up needing to offer $ that’s not close to equal.
-several MLB GM's believe @mets would consider potential offers for all-star 1b Pete Alonso #Mets
I would think they will be most disciplined re yamamoto after ohtani.
Depending on $ that may end up the smartest decision, the lad know better than anyone that being younger doesn’t always mean less likely to have a serious arm injury.
Ken Rosenthal
Verified
@Ken_Rosenthal
·
5m
Dodgers working on trade with Yankees to create spots on 40-man roster for Shohei Ohtani and Joe Kelly, sources tell
@TheAthletic
. Expectation is the Yankees will receive two 40-man players for a prospect not on their 40. Names not yet known.
I want him bad. He'd be the perfect 2nd lefty outta the pen. He's got a history with Sterns too from their days together with the Brew Crew.
Quote:
but im pretty sure this contract may have just made yamamoto a met on what will be the biggest guarantee ever to a pitcher by a good margin factoring in the posting fee.
After passing on Ohtani and Soto (twice) and the Correa debacle.. I do feel like it's time to do something big here
Losing to the Yankees here would feel pretty shitty, to be honest
Agreed
jdm's year last year was very unexpected after back problems. highest average exit velo of his career. maybe he's the next nelson cruz.
think mets seem to be going younger and more flex in the roster so id imagine someone else is more aggressive for him but i could see him mash in AZ.
Link - ( New Window )
No update on Mauricio yet
42 innings 19 hits (too many walks-19) 42 k's 1.71 era/3.68 FIP can't imagine Shelby Miller costs much either
@francysromeroFR
Source: The Chicago White Sox are the favorites to sign SS Jurdrick Profar (17) for around $ 700,000 when a new international period opens on January 15, 2024.
Obviously, Jurdrick, from Willemstead, Curacao, is Jurickson Profar's brother. Great multi-tool talent with above-average speed, contact and arm and 20/20 potential player.
@Mets
We’ve signed INF Rylan Bannon to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league Spring Training.
Chris Clegg
@RotoClegg
This does not look good 😬
Really sucks as Mauricio was killing it in the DSL, having a .441/.472/.706 slash with 5 extra base hits in 8 games.
@yakyucosmo
·
1h
Indeed interesting how little news there’s been on Matsui.
It was originally reported last month that the Cardinals have already prepared an offer. The Padres, Cubs, and Rangers are also looking at him.
this is from logenhagen 2 years ago:
i somewhat hesitate to say this but his offensive statline from last year looks a bit pcl vogelbachy. other than the 12 sb. 15% walk rate + 10% xbh%.
If the process comes down to a bidding war, Cohen should have the edge as the league’s wealthiest owner, given the way he has demonstrated a willingness to spend.
Also, the Mets have made Yamamoto their clear-cut, No. 1 priority this offseason. He matters to them so much that Cohen and president David Stearns flew to Japan recently to meet with Yamamoto and his family, as The Athletic first reported. Stearns said the meeting went well. If Yamamoto chooses to sign elsewhere, it doesn’t seem like it would be from a lack of effort on the Mets’ part — even Kodai Senga has told the front office how much he wants to play with Yamamoto (Yamamoto is believed to be open to the idea of playing with someone else from Japan).
On the field, the Mets can point to Senga’s success last season. Senga, 30, finished as the runner-up for the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award. Senga also stayed healthy, as the Mets were careful to keep him on schedule since he was used to pitching just once a week in Japan. Through a lot of preparation and work, the Mets helped Senga face an array of challenges as he lived and competed in a new country.
Significant parts of that infrastructure remain: Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and director of pitching development Eric Jagers attended the initial meeting with Senga last year in New York. Now, Hefner is in an even better position to help someone like Yamamoto make adjustments to a repertoire with a new ball, mound and better competition. And don’t neglect the impact of Senga’s translator, Hiro Fujiwara, who accompanied Stearns and Cohen to Japan for the Yamamoto meeting, as SNY first reported. Fujiwara has a positive reputation in the industry for being a great communicator.
From a roster standpoint, no player on the market fits the Mets better than Yamamoto. He’d give them a front-line pitcher in 2024 and beyond. It’s something they seriously need. — Will Sammon
Which New York team has the best chance to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto? - ( New Window )
had an outstanding AFL. 9 appearances, 0 runs allowed. Under the radar strong season. A+/AA/AFL 3.14 era over 60.1 innings, 72 k's vs. 20 walks
Here's a list of the league's franchises and how long they've gone without winning a Cup:
Syracuse, 38 years
Norfolk, 29
Rochester, 17
Charlotte, 15
Indianapolis, 14
Louisville, 13
Buffalo, 10
Toledo, 8
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 6
Columbus, 3
Pawtucket, 2
Durham, 1
I feel like I read blurbs on here that the Mets were following Yammamoto even before the WBC.
as the yamamoto stuff boils down i think the bottomline is this, the mets have chosen to go all in on a player that appears to be a big boy blue chip bidding war.
their strategy has not appeared in any way to be hedging "we are in if the value lines up" to the point of making no multiyear financial commitments even at other positions of need.
with their main major market competition essentially committing to spend 1/2bn+ each to 2 players in the next decade+ over the last week and both still pressing forward on yamamoto, if the mets dont similarly go all in on yamamoto, i think there will be some fair criticism of "what was the point?" and "why not pivot once writing was on the wall if they werent prepared to pay up?"
that they would set themselves up for that trap, especially with cohen putting himself in the room personally, and not offer a huge check seems unlikely, so i think they will be top $ offer by a healthy margin but will it get him?
If they have that $$$ to offer, I wonder what Toronto's backup plan could be. does Trout make sense there?