MACK - IN FOCUS - The Wilpon Era, Willson Contreras, Francisco Alvarez, Sandy Koufax, Winter Meetings, Team WAR AFTER Meetings

 

Sam Maxwell                @THE_SamMaxwell

I think I just realized that Stearns and Cohen are purging themselves this very offseason and within only a matter of weeks of every last player connected to the Wilpon era.

McNeil is the only one left

That’s exactly what they’re doing

I may do a 180 on all of this.

 

SleeperMets                       @SleeperMets

Should the Mets target Cardinals 1B Willson Contreras?

In 2025, Contreras was an exceptional defender at first base, with defensive metrics of:

+6 OAA(4th in MLB among 1B)    +4 FRV

On offense:

.257 BA    20 HR    80 RBI    .344 OBP    .791 OPS

 

Matthew Searle                  @searlebaseball

On a more positive note, does anyone else feel Francisco Alvarez might have a breakout year in 2026?

He was a completely different player after he returned from the minors last year.

I think if he avoids the hand injuries, he's going to be a major force in this lineup

MACK –

I think everything that has ever gone south with this guy was due to his ticky-tack injuries. Avoid them, and the Mets may have a starter here. 

 

Jim Koenigsberger                                @Jimfrombaseball

"Batters used the word "unfair."

I heard them say that -- "It's an unfair contest" -- after they'd been up to bat against him.

And I remember more than once a batter being up there and looking at that terrific fastball which always seemed to come up as it crossed the plate, and then shooting a look out to Sandy as if to say, "What was that?"

It was as if he'd thrown an Easter egg past them.

It was something different.

The game had been altered.

And then he had that devastating curve so the combination of those two...the batters felt absolutely helpless.

And he was beautiful to watch because he bent his back in a way that other pitchers didn't and he had these enormous long hands and long arms and there was a bow and arrow feeling about the way that he used his  body."

Roger Angell recalling Dodgers HOF pitcher Sandy Koufax at his peak.

 

MLB 2025 winter meetings

https://insider.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47265901/mlb-winter-meetings-2025-winners-losers-takeaways-offseason-free-agency

What the New York Mets did over a 24-hour period to end the meetings -- miss out on slugger Schwarber, lose closer Díaz to the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers and lose Alonso, their franchise home run leader, to the Orioles -- felt like a bloodletting.

Collapses like the Mets' have consequences, and president of baseball operations David Stearns is reshaping them to his liking. Defensive liabilities are a no-no. Record-setting deals for relief pitchers are verboten. How the Mets proceed is anyone's guess, but let's not forget: Steve Cohen is still the richest owner in baseball, and that opens a world of possibilities. But if this period of inaction isn't remedied through decisive moves -- an influx of talent either through free agency or trades -- the Mets' playoff hopes will end before they've begun.

 

Ernest Dove     @ernestdove

Do Lindor and Soto combine for like 20 of the 24.9?

(i kid...................i think)

Team WAR…  AFTER… THE WINTER MEETINGS