Good Morning –
I'm trying to determine
if I buy into the new 1-9 starting lineup. I'm not a sentimental guy and the OG
core players that departed gave me very little good news to write about in the
recent past.
I like the number of new
bats that looks, on the surface, to be creating a more talented hitting lot. I
don't see an 8-9-10 creating just dismal results.
I have no idea who will
bat where but Soto, Lindor, Bichette, Semien, Polanco, Alvarez, and Robert Jr.
each have proven in the past to be more formative collectively than the 2025
starters.
Add to that some version
of Baty, Vientos, and Mauricio as DH and your left with one outfield slot to
fill.
You can go early with
Benge or go defense with Taylor.
The addition of Semien
and Roberts also increase your defensive imprint.
It would have been nice
to have one more Alonso-like power outputs, but overall, this new 2026 team is
starting to grow on me… including pitching.
But that is Sunday’s
Report main topic.
The Mets are signed RHRP
Luis
Garcia to a one-year contract.
GROH –
Luis García is the 38-year-old
(turning 39 on January 30, 2026) RHRP who recently signed with the New York
Mets on a one-year contract (reportedly around $1.75M base, up to $3M with
incentives, pending physical).
He's a veteran
journeyman reliever with 13 MLB seasons under his belt, having pitched for
eight teams including long stints with the Phillies (2013-2018), plus the
Angels, Rangers, Cardinals, Padres, Nationals, Dodgers, and now the Mets.
García is a durable,
hard-throwing righty (6'2", 240 lbs) known for providing middle-relief
depth.
Career stats (through
2025): 603 appearances (mostly relief), 28-30 record, 4.07 ERA, 583.1 IP, 547
strikeouts, 17 saves, 1.42 WHIP.
He's been a solid,
innings-eating option over the years, with some strong stretches (e.g.,
sub-4.00 ERA in multiple seasons) but also inconsistency typical of a
long-career reliever.
In 2025 (his age-38
season), he bounced between the Angels, Nationals, and Dodgers, appearing in 58
games (all relief), posting a strong 3.42 ERA (with a 3.28 FIP suggesting it
wasn't fluky), 55.1 IP, 48 strikeouts, 2 saves, but a higher 1.46 WHIP due to
some walks and contact.
Repertoire
García relies on a power
sinker as his primary weapon, backed by off-speed and breaking stuff for
swing-and-miss.
From 2025 Statcast/
Brooks Baseball data:
Sinker (~42% usage): His
bread-and-butter, averaging 96.9 mph (elite velocity for his age/role). It has
strong tailing action and induces groundballs/flyballs mix.
Sweeper (~33% usage): A big,
sweeping slider/breaking pitch at ~82.8 mph, with excellent horizontal
break—great for missing bats (high whiff potential, especially vs. righties).
Splitter (~22% usage): ~88.6
mph, acts as a changeup/split-finger with drop and fade for deception against
lefties.
4-Seam Fastball (~2%): ~96.8 mph,
occasional use for elevation.
Slider (minimal, ~1%): ~83.7
mph, rare.
He throws from a mid-3/4
arm slot (~44° angle), generating good induced vertical break on the sinker and
sweep on the sweeper. The combo of high-velo sinker + sweeping breaking ball +
splitter gives him solid platoon-neutral tools, though command can vary (higher
walks in some years).
Overall, he's a
low-risk, veteran add for the Mets' 'pen—expect middle innings work, occasional
setup/leverage spots if he performs well in spring. Solid pickup for depth in
2026!
The Mets released:
SS Yensi Rivas
2025 – DSL METS: 164-PA, 1-HR, 10-RBI, 33-K, 21-BB, .261/.378/.312/.690
RHP Sebastian Lantigua
2025 – DSL METS: 2-G, 0-0, 40.50, 7.50,
0.2-IP, 3-ER, 0-K
LHP
Luis
Montero
2025 – DSL METS: 9-G, 2-1, 5.84, 1.95, 12.1-IP, 13-BB, 8-K
Tobias Meyers
RHRP 6-1
225 turns 28 in August FA: 2031
Career – 3.3-WAR, 10-8,
3-15
2025 - 0.6-WAR, 1-2, 3.55, 1.36, 22-G, 6-ST,
50.2-IP15-BB, 38-K
GROK –
Tobias Myers’s primary
Repertoire (2025 data from Baseball Savant)Myers relies on a mix of pitches,
with usage percentages from his 2025 outings:
Four-Seam Fastball (primary
pitch): ~45% usage, average velocity around 93.5 mph (topping out near 98 mph
in samples), with good carry/rise and backspin.
Cutter: ~19-20% usage, around
87-88 mph.
Slider: ~17% usage, around
84-85 mph (noted for generating fly balls but fewer whiffs compared to
league-average sliders in some analyses).
Split Finger (Splitter):
~15-16% usage, around 83 mph.
Curveball: Rare (~1-2%), around
76-77 mph.
Changeup: Rare (~1-2%), around
80-82 mph.
In earlier tracking
(e.g., Brooks Baseball summaries for 2025), he leaned on the four-seam fastball
(93 mph), slider (85 mph), cutter (88 mph), and changeup (82 mph), with
occasional curveball.
His fastball has been
highlighted for strong induced vertical break/movement, helping it play up
despite average raw velocity.
The cutter and
four-seamer are key to his approach (combined often 60%+ usage in some
seasons), while secondary pitches like the slider and split help against right-
and left-handed hitters.
His repertoire has shown
consistency as a mid-rotation or swingman type, with adjustments noted in his
breakout 2024 rookie year (3.00 ERA in 25 starts) before a more mixed 2025.
12 comments:
Great report this morning. In no particular order:
- my wish was that Bichette and Peralta could turn into more than one year investments. Their additions have real prospect and drafting costs. And how do you build a sustainable winner if you keep cutting into it? I know the NYC noise needs to be satisfied, but is it ever really satisfied?
- in the lineup breakdown, I see Alvarez - and he plays alot. I understand that he’s injury prone, but unless he gets hurt, Torrens has little value. It bothers me to waste such a trade chip on maybes. Get another backup catcher and use this chip.
- the Gore trade to Texas sucked last night. They gave up their #3, 14, 15 prospects and a couple of lower ones. That amounts to Jett Williams, Morabito, and some pitchers, but Gore has two more years of control. Problem is Washington probably would not trade with the Mets, but I like that better than Peralta.
- you say Garcia has good velocity for his age… when hitters hit, do that ask for ID?
- Tobias Myers was excellent in 2024. Can’t be excellent by accident, that was a good addition.
- as for the lineup, Semien should be batting ninth, but we all know how politics work in baseball.
From The Athletic this morning:
“ None of the new Nationals players cracked the Top 100 Prospects list released Wednesday by Baseball America. By contrast, the Milwaukee Brewers acquired two Top 100s from the New York Mets for right-handers Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers – infielder/outfielder Jett Williams (No. 71) and right-hander Brandon Sproat (No. 81).
Peralta is under club control for one season, one fewer than Gore, but he has been the better and more durable pitcher. The Brewers, coming off a 97-win season, also are in a different competitive cycle than the Nationals, who are rebuilding.
Milwaukee wanted the best major-league ready talent it could acquire. Washington preferred a broader portfolio and 30 years of club control, though the upside of the individual players they acquired might be lower. Their haul was similar in scope to the Tampa Bay Rays’ return from the Baltimore Orioles for right-hander Shane Baz, who is under club control for three more seasons.
“It’s a big win for the Rangers, in my opinion,” one official said. “They got the best player in the deal by a wide margin and they didn’t give up (top prospect, infielder Sebastian) Walcott or any significant 40-man piece.”
A rival executive also preferred the Rangers’ end, citing in part the track record of Chris Young, Texas’ president of baseball operations. The Nationals’ new POBO, Paul Toboni, is in his fourth month on the job.”
1. Bichette/Peralta: I think there is a good chance you may get your wish here. Peralta is already expressing desire to extend
2. backup cat catcher - don't be surprised if Keven Parada becomes that soon before more talented prospects come along
3. Gore - I love the fact that Gore now pitches for AL team
4. Garcia ID - only in Minnesota
5. Myers - may be the steal of the off-season
6. Semien - you're gonna love the DPs turned by him and Lindor, but I don't think nothing much
Interesting
Love The Athletic
Tobias seems a good Megill replacement for 2026.
I agree with David’s defense assessment. Come opening day, will Bo and Polanco be season Gold Glove veterans at their new positions? No, will they be confident at them by opening day I’m pretty confident that they will be. And, before too long, they will be very solid at those positions. Just teach Polanco how to throw the ball to the pitcher who’s covering the bag, especially injury-prone Kodai Senga.
Garcia seems a good acquisition. Defying the aging curve for sure so far.
Gus, why did the Nationals even trade Gore?
They have a new PoBO that wants to start a new timeline, so he is acquiring prospects. Next to go is CJ Abrams. They’ll lose 100 before they win 82. This guy was assistant GM in Boston.
Tom, can’t totally blame Alonso for that. Senga wasn’t stretched out properly and bad throws can happen to anybody. I blame Senga more, but Pete sucks at throwing so he gets the blame based on reputation.
Pete?
Who's dat?
So the new ace pitched at least six innings 13 times. Wow, so impressive. Peterson did it 15 times…. Now what?
Washington has been rebuilding since Walter Johnson pitched for them
I can't believe we are still blaming Alonso for Senga's injury. Yes, it definitely was a shitty throw. But what does it say about Senga's conditioning when he gets hurt from stretching for a bad throw? He also got hurt the year before just covering 1B.
I think it's time to let that one go.
As for Bichette opting out after 1 year. With the strike a forgone conclusion, do you think it's wise for players to opt out after 1 year or do you think they will wait to see the terms of the agreement? This way their salaries are grandfathered in.
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