Reese Kaplan -- Mets Offseason Roster Bullet List Number Four

Mack's Mets will summarize players mentioned as possible new members of the team available via trade or free agency that have popped up in the media associated with them as a part of the 40 man roster.  These bullet points are not necessarily factual as if they were leaked from the Mets front office.  

They comprise opinions, rumors and hypotheticals that various Mets beat writers and bloggers have felt necessary to put out into public notice.  Like EPA gas mileage ratings, take the news with a grain of salt.  We share but don’t necessarily endorse any of these transactions.

For those folks who celebrate at this time of the year, happy holidays!  It’s been a busy week with Sean Manaea coming back to the Mets and Griffin Canning getting a Mets paycheck as well, yet no substantial bullpen improvements, outfield resolution nor identification of a DH for 2025 has been done.  Let’s take a look at what’s  been in the media.

Major League Trade Possibilities

• Luis Castillo’s name keeps coming up again and again.  The Mariners are not as flush with money as some teams and the big salary due to Castillo would free up quite a bit of capital if he was moved elsewhere.  The Mets have had two stories attributed in the media regarding Castillo.  One has them centering a trade around prospect Drew Gilbert who was one of the haul of minor leaguers the Mets obtained during their own 2023 sell off of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.  He’s a stiff price to pay, but it’s clear you have to give to get.  In that deal the Mets might want the Mariners to pay down some of the nearly $100 million still due Castillo for the next four years.  The other rumor was perhaps even harder to swallow.  It had the Mets sending Mark Vientos to Seattle for Castillo and no kick in on the pitcher’s salary.
• A somewhat surprising story arose suggesting that the Milwaukee Brewers would be interested in acquiring Brett Baty as they have a huge infield hole to fill with Willy Adames now off to San Francisco.  Given Baty’s weak numbers in multiple tries in the major leagues it’s not likely going to net much of a return but the article cited the Brew Crew’s need to return again to the NL Central title without the budget to retain people they’ve recently lost in free agency or in trade. Baty is a wildcard who wouldn’t require much player personnel sacrifice and his former number one prospect ranking suggests he may actually be better than he has shown.
• Multiple sources have reported that the Mets would be willing to pay down the final year of Starling Marte’s contract to entice another club into taking a flyer on him staying healthy as he plays at age 36.  He is still capable of stealing bases but his outfield defense has migrated from well above average to nearly Todd Hundley quality out there.
• The Nolan Arenado to the Mets trade prospect simply won’t go away.  The players has turned down a prospective deal to the Astros and is expected to refuse another club interested in his services.  With the Pete Alonso situation still unresolved the Mets are looking at various ways to replace some of his offense while improving their defense.  The issue here again is pay rate and might require St. Louis to pay down some of his remaining pay to get a club seriously interested in the now Cardinal becoming a part of their own team for 2025. 

Available Free Agent Rumors

• Some folks have assigned numbers of 6 years for a total of $144 million to obtain ex Astro Alex Bregman.  That number is likely a lower AAV than what would be paid to Pete Alonso, but not by that much.  The improved defense would be welcome but it would also require seeing Mark Vientos attempting to master 1st base after struggling often at 3rd base. 
• Relief stud Tanner Scott is still out there for the top bidder.  Some have suggested the Mets build a lefty/righty 8th/9th inning duo between he and Edwin Diaz.  Aside from the abbreviated 2020 season during which Scott finished with a 1.31 ERA for the Orioles, he didn’t start to do it in back-to-back years until 2023 and 2024.  For the Marlins he went 9-5 over 74 games with a 2.31 ERA, collecting a dozen saves.  The following year split between the Marlins and Padres he totaled 9-6 with 22 saves and an era dropping to 1.75.  Not having posted the huge 40 save type seasons, he’s suited to a complementary role much like David Robertson.  His salary ending his last season was for $5.7 million and while he’ll look for a substantial increase it may not be in the 8 figure range that Robertson would command.
• It’s been suggested that Andrew Heaney could be a viable option for the Mets to pursue.  Given his career numbers you’d probably wonder why.  The big lefthander has a career losing record with a 4.46 ERA while showing decent control.  His ending salary in Texas was $13 million and while he might dip a bit in his now age 34 upcoming season, he doesn’t appear significantly better than other Mets current assets like Paul Blackburn, Tylor Megill or Griffin Canning and would cost quite a bit more. 
• One pitcher David Stearns should know well is non-tendered Hoby Milner formerly of the Brewers.  The southpaw is turning 34 for the 2025 season but has shown himself to be a credible middle reliever.  For the past three seasons for the Brewers he pitched over 200 bullpen innings with a 3.44 ERA and a record of 10-5.  He limits the number of baserunners by giving up few hits and showing excellent control.  The Brewers felt he was not worth the money they would have to pay him for the upcoming year and let him go.  His ending salary was just a hair of $2 million.  He’s someone who should be on the Mets’ radar.
• The long time Texas Rangers reliever Jose Leclerc is on the open market.  Though he holds a losing record for his career, he also possesses a 3.27 career ERA.  Earning $6.25 million which was a minor $250,000 raise over his previous year, Leclerc likely felt he was due more.  Unfortunately he had a poor 2024 season with a 6-5 record, a 4.32 ERA and his usual poor control in the 4.0 Walks per 9 IP number.  On the plus side the Ks jumped to over 12 for the same 9 IP.  It’s possible to bring him on board probably for around the same pay rate if offered for 3 seasons.  However, you have to know what you’re getting with the 31 year old righthander.
• While many have already penciled in Starling Marte as a possible DH to take him out of the defensive game where he’s not doing especially well and to preserve his increasingly fragile health, this week more than one rumor surfaced about the Mets repeating the end of 2024 solution of a platoon shared between J.D. Martinez and Jesse Winker.  Together they would cost quite a bit for better than average production but how much better is still very much an open question.