Reese Kaplan -- Mets Offseason Roster Bullet List Week Three

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. 

Free Agent Rumors

• Alex Bregman — While the Astros surprisingly seem to be starting a mini tear-down of the Houston roster, there is a great deal less certainty that star 3rd Baseman Alex Bregman is on their radar for a return.  Now both the Yankees and Mets have been cited as serious pursuers to bring him aboard.  Given he is a Scott Boras client, some speculated that it may be part of the negotiations to land Juan Soto that the Mets made a commitment to look at other Boras clients.
• Griffin Canning — Once a projected star whose talent never quite measured up to expectations, the oft-injured Canning is now a young free agent who the Mets are rumored to be considering.  Given his career metrics of a 25-34 record with an ERA of 4.78 showing adequate but unspectacular strikeout numbers and slightly below average control, you kind of scratch your head at this reporting.
• Jack Flaherty — You never know which Jack Flaherty you’re going to get when he takes the mound.  If it’s the 2024 version between Detroit and L.A. then you would be very happy.  He finished with a 3.17 ERA.  For his career it’s a bit higher at 3.63 but his strikeout to walk ratio is better than 3:1.  For salary, he’s going to want to get a big number for multiple years after finishing up with a $14 million paycheck.  That’s $1 million more than fellow free agent Sean Manaea received and frankly he pitched better.
• Nick Pivetta — Many pundits have cited strong interest in starting pitcher Nick Pivetta, but again the numbers don’t really excite folks who look at them.  The turning 32 right hander has a losing record, a career 4.76 ERA and a poor WHIP.  His ending salary of $7.5 million seems appropriate for his experience and his 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio pitching, but you’re looking at numbers inferior to both David Peterson and Tylor Megill for more money.
• Roki Sasaki — Perhaps the now biggest of the available free agent quests right now is 23 year old Roki Sasaki who can sign a minor league deal with any interested club at far less money than it would take had he waited to travel across the Pacific after age 25.  The decision should be coming by late January before Spring Training.  Most folks feel that the Dodgers and Padres are the front runners for this phenom, but his agent publicly stated how impressed Sasaki was with the reputation of pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. Whatever team lands him is getting ace material at the age when most pitchers are first graduating to the Major Leagues.
• Michael Soroka — As a perhaps poor analogy, consider the frequently injured Soroka as having a career somewhat like former Oakland A Dennis Eckersley and fellow former Atlanta Brave John Smoltz who both mid career made the transition from the starting rotation to the bullpen.  Soroka at the tender age of 21 was an NL All Star with a 2.68 ERA but that year was an outlier not to be replicated due to injury issues.  Last season for the White Sox he made 16 of his 25 games as a reliever.  The numbers were significantly better from the pen than from the rotation but the overall ending ERA of 4.74 at first glance is not all that encouraging.  His 2024 salary was just $3 million and chances are even with a big bump it probably wouldn’t surpass $5 million.  This roll-the-dice move might be interesting but like reliever-turned-starter Clay Holmes no one is sure how it would progress.
• Kirby Yates — The veteran reliever is only going to look for a single year or 1 year plus an option given his age 38 senior status for the 2025 season.  At his best with the Padres in 2019 he led the league with 49 saves and made the All Star team.  For his career the numbers are quite impressive when he’s healthy enough to pitch with a 3.17 ERA and a 2024 number of just 1.17.  He still whiffs a lot of people though often struggles to find the strike zone.  His 2024 salary was $4.5 million so he would be the bargain priced alternative to David Robertson.

Trade Proposal Rumors

• Nolan Arenado — The name and money here are interesting.  It would have the Cardinals kicking in $15 million to help defray Arenado’s salary but they would receive back in a one-for-one trade star prospect Jonah Tong.  It would seem to make more sense to sign a star free agent like Bregman while retaining your second best pitching prospect.
• David Bednar — The once dominant Pirates closer had an unfathomably bad 2024 and lost most of his saves opportunities to now ex-Pirate Aroldis Chapman.  It was suggested if the Mets paid down Starling Marte’s salary significantly and included a top 20 prospect, the Pirates would not immediately hang up the phone.  After going 3-8 with a 5.77 ERA the Pirates may cut bait but they’d be selling low.  He earned $4.15 million with arbitration eligibility for 2025 and 2026 with free agency not arriving until 2027.
• Luis Castillo — The names tossed around to pick up Castillo from the Mariners are all over the place.  The bigger question is whether or not it makes sense.  The turning 32 right hander in a typical year is a .500 pitcher with a 3.56 ERA and a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio along with a very respectable WHIP.  The three time All Star is an innings eater and for that record he earns big bucks.  Right now his contract runs through 2027 at $24.15 million per season and an option for 2028 kicks in automatically if he meets contractual numbers at a slight uptick to $25 million.  So you’d be looking at close to a $100 million investment and giving up likely multiple prospects.  On the flip side, people quickly point out that the roughly $25 million per year number is far less than you would pay for Corbin Burnes while picking up a similar workhorse type of pitcher though not at quite the same level. 
• Padres — Both free agent to be Dylan Cease and fellow hurler Michael King were suggested as trade prospects for the Mets.  Cease being one year from free agency might be easier to obtain though the same aged King could be less expensive to pay and has shown his ability in New York for the Yankees.  No particular names from the Mets were named.
• Jared Jones — One of the “Why would they even consider that?” rumors was the Pittsburgh Pirates trying to trade now 22 year old starting pitcher who had a highly credible rookie campaign in 2024.  Again, no return names were floated except again a pay down of Starling Marte and an unnamed prospect.
• Mitch Keller — The Pirates are stuck paying Keller for four more years that range in rate from $15.4 million in 2025 to $20.4 million in 2028.  He’s a career 4.59 ERA pitcher.  Ummm...no.
• Nick Lodolo — Thus far a bit of an underachiever, the 27 year old southpaw makes very little money and shows great control but his ERA is a mediocre 4.52.  No names were volunteered in trade.
• Jesus Luzardo — The Marlins every few years go through a tear down of their roster and pitcher Luzardo could be the start of that action for 2025.  The 27 year old lefty has great stuff but the overall results have been up and down.  No names were given in this rumored trade candidate.
• Framber Valdez — Another free-agent-to-be, the Houston Astros might send him elsewhere a year too soon rather than losing him for at best a turned-down QO draft pick.  The hefty southpaw is the real deal and earned $12.1 million in 2024 while facing his last year of arbitration eligibility for 2025.  Last year he was 15-7 with a 2.91 ERA, The two-time All Star showed good control and would cost arguably less in trade prospect volume given he’s only guaranteed to be in the rotation for a single year before hitting free agency.  No names were volunteered but if the Astros were serious about moving Valdez, David Stearns should be watching very closely.