- 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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Andy Martino
@martinonyc
The Mets are excited about Trayce Thompson’s upside (they’ve now announced the signing ) but remain in the market for a RH hitting outfielder on an MLB deal.
Thompson had a good 2022 with the Dodgers but upside? The man is 33 years old
From LT to... back up catcher?
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however that's pretty much all that's available in the UFA market so not sure it's that much of a tell. i think the lineup needs a middle order lefty more than RHH. they could use a RHH CF/4th OF to compliment Nimmo and allow him to shift over more often.
Andy Martino
@martinonyc
The Mets are excited about Trayce Thompson’s upside (they’ve now announced the signing ) but remain in the market for a RH hitting outfielder on an MLB deal.
Thompson had a good 2022 with the Dodgers but upside? The man is 33 years old
7 MLB seasons, .212/.300/.411 over 369 games. Zero downside, but "excited about his upside" at 33 years old has to be Martino trolling, has to.
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to deal with losing out on Yamamoto, it is one of the 5 stages of grief, lol.
Senga plus x, plus y isn't too bad for a rotation.
lol, just tear it down if Yamamoto goes to NY or LAD (or elsewhere), Montgomery and Snell already said they didn't want to play here. Will they? maybe if there are no higher offers/perferable options, but F-them. We already had that (a guy who seemed like he didn't want to be here) with Bassitt and should have kept him.
What is gained by not signing other players? The Mets aren't some veteran team. Lindor isn't going anywhere. Alvarez, Baty, Mauricio (injured), Vientos all young and breaking in. Sign other players and who knows. The makeshift rotation was good down the stretch. They could make a run without signing Yamamoto. If they don't, then you just sell the assets before the deadline that you would have now (Alonso, Raley, McNeil, whoever else), and you have even more assets to possibly sell.
it's about building a contender not just adding bodies to a roster IMO.
Sure you can react to the strategy that didn't work out and add bodies as a plan B.
My sense is if the Mets can get under the luxury tax and "restart" under Stearns leadership I support that.
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In comment 16323822 Eric on Li said:
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however that's pretty much all that's available in the UFA market so not sure it's that much of a tell. i think the lineup needs a middle order lefty more than RHH. they could use a RHH CF/4th OF to compliment Nimmo and allow him to shift over more often.
Andy Martino
@martinonyc
The Mets are excited about Trayce Thompson’s upside (they’ve now announced the signing ) but remain in the market for a RH hitting outfielder on an MLB deal.
Thompson had a good 2022 with the Dodgers but upside? The man is 33 years old
7 MLB seasons, .212/.300/.411 over 369 games. Zero downside, but "excited about his upside" at 33 years old has to be Martino trolling, has to.
He did have a 3 HR game, but then again so did Tuffy Rhodes
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however that's pretty much all that's available in the UFA market so not sure it's that much of a tell. i think the lineup needs a middle order lefty more than RHH. they could use a RHH CF/4th OF to compliment Nimmo and allow him to shift over more often.
Andy Martino
@martinonyc
The Mets are excited about Trayce Thompson’s upside (they’ve now announced the signing ) but remain in the market for a RH hitting outfielder on an MLB deal.
Thompson had a good 2022 with the Dodgers but upside? The man is 33 years old
i generally dont find it credible to be "excited" about anything if they didnt even give the guy a major league deal.
exciting depth for syracuse maybe lol.
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In comment 16323793 pjcas18 said:
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to deal with losing out on Yamamoto, it is one of the 5 stages of grief, lol.
Senga plus x, plus y isn't too bad for a rotation.
lol, just tear it down if Yamamoto goes to NY or LAD (or elsewhere), Montgomery and Snell already said they didn't want to play here. Will they? maybe if there are no higher offers/perferable options, but F-them. We already had that (a guy who seemed like he didn't want to be here) with Bassitt and should have kept him.
What is gained by not signing other players? The Mets aren't some veteran team. Lindor isn't going anywhere. Alvarez, Baty, Mauricio (injured), Vientos all young and breaking in. Sign other players and who knows. The makeshift rotation was good down the stretch. They could make a run without signing Yamamoto. If they don't, then you just sell the assets before the deadline that you would have now (Alonso, Raley, McNeil, whoever else), and you have even more assets to possibly sell.
it's about building a contender not just adding bodies to a roster IMO.
Sure you can react to the strategy that didn't work out and add bodies as a plan B.
My sense is if the Mets can get under the luxury tax and "restart" under Stearns leadership I support that.
they cant reset the luxury tax until next year, and they dont have the internal SP in the system to support not signing pitchers.
and they could reset the luxury tax next year even if they spend big on SP. they have a lot of money expiring and could let alonso go.
the organizational need is SP. snell and montgomery arent just bodies, they are better bodies than at least 90% of the SP around the league (montgomery was 93rd percentile last year in pitching value, snell was 100th percentile, which won the CY).
just because players arent yamamoto doesnt mean they are just a body.
Rendon (114 million) + Detmers and Sandoval straight up Steve Cohen salary dump, let's goooo lol
they have made that clear.
DMM cited the Snell reference.
it sounds like Verlander and Scherzer to me.
but younger.
maybe that matters, maybe it doesn't but it all sounds very reactionary.
I'd assume strip it to the core and rebuild in the vision of the new POBO.
if that includes either Monty or whoever great, but I wouldn't force it, which is how this seems to me (and very reactionary)
"Mets: Left field (projected: 16th) or right field (20th)
It’s been a quiet winter in Queens so far, though absolutely no one expects that to continue. Understandably, the Mets' priority is on starting pitching, and they’ll give Starling Marte every chance to rebound next to Brandon Nimmo. But for as much fun as DJ Stewart was late last year, the team won’t simply hand him a starting job. Jeff McNeil might see time out here as well, but he’s also needed at second, and didn’t really hit last year, either.
Potential fits: Sign Teoscar Hernández, Michael A. Taylor or Jorge Soler; sign Jung Hoo Lee; trade for Randy Arozarena (TB)
"
(and its from 5 days ago, so yes, Lee is on there)
Link - ( New Window )
Which makes their refusal to deal Ohtani even more egregious. They honestly should think about dealing Trout if the return is good enough.
they have made that clear.
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The New York Post reported that while Montgomery has put values on certain teams while seeking a big contract in free agency: Montgomery is believed to prefer a return to Texas to St. Louis or The Bronx, his previous stops. That, of course, narrows Montgomery's choices to three teams
DMM cited the Snell reference.
it sounds like Verlander and Scherzer to me.
but younger.
maybe that matters, maybe it doesn't but it all sounds very reactionary.
I'd assume strip it to the core and rebuild in the vision of the new POBO.
if that includes either Monty or whoever great, but I wouldn't force it, which is how this seems to me (and very reactionary)
so we are taking one quote from Nov 12th as gospel even though it's been more recently contradicted by rosenthal? a quote that actually confirms he's open to NY generally as a geography?
november 12th was the day before mendoza got hired by the mets, just to give an example of how long ago that one was. do you think there's any chance his feelings may have changed in the 24 hours after that quote was printed when the other ny team hired a coach he was around every spring for a decade and on the bench for the majority of his big league starts?
If you choose to discount the comment, go ahead.
https://nypost.com/2023/12/01/sports/mets-shifting-focus-away-from-shohei-ohtani-juan-soto-splashes/
as have martino and others (this from 12/6).
https://www.si.com/mlb/mets/news/new-york-mets-reveal-pitching-plans-if-they-miss-out-on-top-target
im pretty sure the entirety of the sp fa market isn't isnt going to sulk into signing if the mets are the highest offer.
Starters set to strike it rich in MLB free agency By Social Links forJon Heyman Published Nov. 9, 2023, 6:51 p.m. ET - ( New Window )
If you choose to discount the comment, go ahead.
what if he preferred his former teams just because he knew the coaches there knew how to use him best?
its not a huge leap that he'd have some form of a relationship with mendoza given the amount of time they overlapped. im pretty sure they shared the same first year in the bronx and in the years prior mendoza had a development position within the yankee system while he was a minor leaguer.
“I didn’t really have much faith in my heater at the Yankees,” Montgomery said. “I had been told that it wasn’t that good compared to my other pitches and if I was gonna get hit, it was gonna be on a curveball or changeup, which isn’t how you can pitch.
“So if I got two strikes on a guy, he was probably auto-taking because I was gonna throw a curveball or a changeup. He was trying to just foul a changeup off or see a curveball down. I’m throwing my fastball in two-strike counts, I’m throwing anything in any count now, so it’s definitely opened up.”
Montgomery said he would “absolutely” push back regarding his fastball usage.
“But then I would miss a spot and give up a homer because I never threw my four-seamer in, so there was really no consistent feel of it, and I’d leak middle or I wouldn’t have any confidence in it,” he said. “I’m thinking, ‘all right, I’m throwing this not to give up a hit’ instead of, ‘I’m gonna throw this and blow your doors off.’ So now it’s just a whole different aggressive mindset where I’m the guy, I’m a dog on the mound and I’m just coming right after everybody.”
Who knows? Still feels like he's going to land with either Texas (despite what Rosenthal said), Boston, NYM or NYY.
Lackluster ’23 output notwithstanding, Robinson posted strong run-prevention and strikeout numbers from 2021-22. Baseball America’s scouting report on him notes that his heater typically sits 93-95mph range, topping out at 97 mph. He pairs that with a high-spin curveball and occasional slider. Command troubles have long been an issue for Robinson, but solid velocity, a plus curveball and a track record of missing bats make him a decent depth flier on a minor league contract.
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is gospel, but there is probably some truth in it. it's never in the best interest of a free agent to limit their options, I'm sure his agent went ballistic. Players usually go where they get offered the most money, with some exceptions.
If you choose to discount the comment, go ahead.
what if he preferred his former teams just because he knew the coaches there knew how to use him best?
its not a huge leap that he'd have some form of a relationship with mendoza given the amount of time they overlapped. im pretty sure they shared the same first year in the bronx and in the years prior mendoza had a development position within the yankee system while he was a minor leaguer.
my main point is he may wind up here, but it's not his first choice and he is not ours.
can it work out? sure, possibly, but it's not plan A IMO and I want plan A - and I have to imagine Cohen does too.
I don't want to settle, have things go sideways, and be saddled with the highest payroll in baseball and a middling team. I'd rather be patient. If this qualifies then great, seems forced.
(Can’t imagine this is a great sign that they aren’t sure what’s going on. Would love to be proven wrong)
He said "Rumors has it that NY offered...."
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Baerga is often wrong, but has been right a few times. He claims the Yankees have offered Yamamoto 9 years 33.8 per year
He said "Rumors has it that NY offered...."
John Mincone
@JMincone
***TBF, Carlos used me as a source once and we all know how that worked out
Link - ( New Window )
Quote:
Baerga is often wrong, but has been right a few times. He claims the Yankees have offered Yamamoto 9 years 33.8 per year
He said "Rumors has it that NY offered...."
Looks like Baerga pulled this number from a Bowden piece aka probably BS.
@JonHeyman
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is meeting with a Phillies contingent today
Maybe we can try him in the OF... I kid, I kid.
But honestly, I'd be all for the signing. Seems like the kind of move a winning team makes. Still young, should come relatively short and cheap. And he's still a productive ~1.5-2 win player.
I'd be more than happy with the move, now that you mention it.
Most of the rumors so far have come true.
2 year deal for Mahle... with Texas.
@JeffPassan
Right-handed starter Tyler Mahle and the Texas Rangers are in agreement on a two-year, $22 million contract, sources told ESPN. Mahle underwent Tommy John surgery in May and should return this season, and he can earn another $5 million in performance bonuses based on IP in 2025.
@JeffPassan
Right-handed starter Tyler Mahle and the Texas Rangers are in agreement on a two-year, $22 million contract, sources told ESPN. Mahle underwent Tommy John surgery in May and should return this season, and he can earn another $5 million in performance bonuses based on IP in 2025.
surprised he got a 2 year deal. Dam, was on my list of low risk / high reward.
Most of the rumors so far have come true.
A leak is, true or not, a way to control the narrative
A rumor is, based on facts or not, someone trying to create news or narrative.
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what's the real difference between a leak and a rumor?
Most of the rumors so far have come true.
A leak is, true or not, a way to control the narrative
A rumor is, based on facts or not, someone trying to create news or narrative.
sure, but don't you think they're connected, unless you think people are making stuff up (which some people certainly do and are almost always discredited) most rumors are based on leaks. Right?
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Jeff Passan
@JeffPassan
Right-handed starter Tyler Mahle and the Texas Rangers are in agreement on a two-year, $22 million contract, sources told ESPN. Mahle underwent Tommy John surgery in May and should return this season, and he can earn another $5 million in performance bonuses based on IP in 2025.
surprised he got a 2 year deal. Dam, was on my list of low risk / high reward.
Always expected to get 2. Will miss half of 2024
deal is done per Heyman
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“I was always worried about getting booed off the mound in New York,” Montgomery said recently on CC Sabathia’s and Ryan Ruocco’s “R2C2” podcast. “The pinstripes are heavy. Not everyone can handle it. I feel like I handled it OK. I could’ve been better, but there was a lot of things going into that I guess. But here [in St. Louis], I’m just being myself and pitching the way I want to. I guess the fans have kind of embraced me so far.”
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Montgomery said the Yankees weren’t fans of his fastball, but now it’s become one of his strengths.
“I didn’t really have much faith in my heater at the Yankees,” Montgomery said. “I had been told that it wasn’t that good compared to my other pitches and if I was gonna get hit, it was gonna be on a curveball or changeup, which isn’t how you can pitch.
“So if I got two strikes on a guy, he was probably auto-taking because I was gonna throw a curveball or a changeup. He was trying to just foul a changeup off or see a curveball down. I’m throwing my fastball in two-strike counts, I’m throwing anything in any count now, so it’s definitely opened up.”
Montgomery said he would “absolutely” push back regarding his fastball usage.
“But then I would miss a spot and give up a homer because I never threw my four-seamer in, so there was really no consistent feel of it, and I’d leak middle or I wouldn’t have any confidence in it,” he said. “I’m thinking, ‘all right, I’m throwing this not to give up a hit’ instead of, ‘I’m gonna throw this and blow your doors off.’ So now it’s just a whole different aggressive mindset where I’m the guy, I’m a dog on the mound and I’m just coming right after everybody.”
the yankees not thinking his fastball was a pitch he should throw more is very different thing from him not enjoying his time in new york. see link below.
my general thinking is 9/10x the team who offers the most $ gets the player, and that same 9/10x the players preference is who will pay me the most money. beltran clearly didnt enjoy ny for those first few years but it didnt stop him from being a great met. and then a great yankee. if there were a thread from the 2021 offseason i said the same re going after sherzer when the rumor was he didnt want to go to ny. if the player is the best option offer the most money and see what happens.
i just fundamentally disagree with this idea of not wanting "plan b" players or players where there's ever been a rumor that your team isnt their plan a. cespedes was like plan d in 2015. extending homegrown players would always been my priority since they are known quantities but beyond them i want productive players and if there's a mutual affinity great, but if not as long as they are good players who produce to the level they get paid that's what matters. good organizations seem to attract good players.
Jordan Montgomery was clearly devastated when the Yankees traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals at last month’s trade deadline. He even cried when saying his farewells to the New York media. - ( New Window )
(Can’t imagine this is a great sign that they aren’t sure what’s going on. Would love to be proven wrong)
would seem like a wasted opportunity from yamamoto's side to not have the guy who has signed the 2 richest aav SP contracts in the "final bidding" but whenever (if ever) the mets get the message they are out on yamamoto, they should jump the market for whoever they like next best. which i'd guess to be montgomery.
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In comment 16323953 pjcas18 said:
Quote:
is gospel, but there is probably some truth in it. it's never in the best interest of a free agent to limit their options, I'm sure his agent went ballistic. Players usually go where they get offered the most money, with some exceptions.
If you choose to discount the comment, go ahead.
what if he preferred his former teams just because he knew the coaches there knew how to use him best?
its not a huge leap that he'd have some form of a relationship with mendoza given the amount of time they overlapped. im pretty sure they shared the same first year in the bronx and in the years prior mendoza had a development position within the yankee system while he was a minor leaguer.
my main point is he may wind up here, but it's not his first choice and he is not ours.
can it work out? sure, possibly, but it's not plan A IMO and I want plan A - and I have to imagine Cohen does too.
I don't want to settle, have things go sideways, and be saddled with the highest payroll in baseball and a middling team. I'd rather be patient. If this qualifies then great, seems forced.
sort of answered this in a prior reply to dan but i dont really care about the plan a/b stuff. mets werent beltran's plan a in a million years and id sign him again in a heartbeat. they werent piazza's either come to think of it. i think lindor said he wanted to extend in cleveland before he got traded. freddie freeman probably said he wanted to be a brave for life many times and it didnt stop lad from signing him. betts/red sox too probably. we know alonso has said that here.
just sign good players who produce. in the case of montgomery types we arent even talking about that high profile of a player who will cost all that much, he's a quality starter and innings eater which they need. they only need to love him 1/3 as much as yamamoto because he will only cost 1/3 of yamamoto.
if there was 1 piece of non-public data we could see from this offseason it would be how they rate all the pitchers behind yamamoto. steamer projects almost all of them similarly, all similar ages, each have some compelling positives. i think montgomery's workload reliability and the fact that he's been on 3 different winning teams in the last 3 years will probably put him at the top, especially if the familiarity with mendoza is a positive.
sort of random but in sept 2020 when boone got suspended i think this was mendoza's first time managing in his place and montgomery was the starter (he got lit up by the rays, pulled in the first, and it was a loss).
Brosseau capped Tampa Bay's four-run first inning against Jordan Montgomery (2-2) when he hit a 2-2 curve an estimated 420 feet into the visitors' bullpen beyond the left-center fence. Brosseau made it 5-0 in the fifth by hitting an 0-1 fastball into the Yankees' bullpen in right-center.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap/_/gameId/401226235 - ( New Window )
mon - nyy
tues - lad
wed - ?
thurs - phi
red sox today maybe? they were reported to have a meeting with him in the coming days as of a few days ago. if they were his wed slot it hasn't been reported. toronto also rumored to be getting a meeting.