Tom Brennan: Sproat and Tong....Sooner Rather Than Later?

Tylor Megill will be a key hurler for 2025, but who else? Here's two:

In early November, Anthony DiComo wrote this: 

"At this moment, the Mets employ only two pitchers who are clear and obvious members of their 2025 rotation: Kodai Senga and David Peterson. Nearly two-thirds of the innings from this year’s pitching staff -- more than 800 in all -- were contributed by players who are currently either free agents, in other organizations or set to miss next season due to injury.  The Mets, in other words, need to find some pitching. A lot of pitching."

So....why not Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong sooner rather than later?

Sure, Sproat struggled in AAA after that AA game where he fanned ELEVEN STRAIGHT BATTERS.  But he knows what he needs to improve on and no doubt is working on that this off season.  He shot thru High A and AA in his first season.  Why not see him as ready to join the Mets rotation by May 1?

Tong is not as far along, having just 9.1 IP in AA after pitching most of the year for St Lucie and Brooklyn, but what a sensationah AA debut he had on September 5!  

6 innings, no hits, no walks, 9 Ks. Wow. Considering that ability to dominate....

Why couldn't he be ready by July 1 to join the Mets rotation? 3.03 season ERA with a stunning ONE HUNDRED SIXTY EIGHT Ks in 113 innings? 

They'd sure help keep the payroll manageable.  

Thoughts, folks? 

COACHES REDUX

PER SNY: David Stearns announced that the Mets will return their entire coaching staff for the 2025 season.

Reese Kaplan -- GM Meetings Begin With a Few Surprises

The recent preparatory roster actions prior to Monday’s GM meetings beginning in San Antonion that coincidentally corresponds with the November 5th 5:00 PM deadline for free agency to start in earnest, some of these moves were somewhat expected but also somewhat not.  David Stearns’ decisions to make free agent Qualifying Offers to Pete Alonso and Sean Manaea really came as no surprise to anyone.  Alonso is sure to surpass the QO dollar value given his resume and Sean Manaea having put together the best season of his career is also due to overtake that financial fence post. 

Where it started to a bit murkier was when the QO extended to fellow departing starting pitcher Luis Severino was announced.  When Stearns took a chance on the more injured than not Severino during the previous off season many were questioning the wisdom of having done so. 

Fast forward to the close of the 2024 season and the biggest thing that surprised people about what Severino was able to accomplish was his health.  He made 31 starts, spent no long stints on the IL and while he finished the season with a respectable if unspectacular 3.91 ERA, he seemed to fade down the stretch as exhaustion likely overtook him having pitched pretty much not at all over the previous few seasons. 

Is the number a high one for Severino?  Yes, it probably is.  However, given his age of just having turned 30 and his proof both in the Bronx and in Queens of being able to throw effectively on a huge New York stage, it’s not a crazy number and it could stand to land the Mets an unexpected compensatory draft pick if he winds up signing elsewhere if he indeed does not accept that $21.05 million offer. 

However, if you take a gander at Severino’s salary history he peaked at $15 million in his final year with the Yankees.  So if we used that number as a barometer, then a $6 million jump for Severino could be considered a bit unwarranted.  An average season for Severino would be 13-9 with a 3.81 ERA for an expectation of a tick over 9 strikeouts per 9 IP and under 3 walks.  Last season those numbers were 11-7 with fewer strikeouts and more walks with the ERA at 3.91. 

So it would appear in a way that David Stearns has likely signed his first starting pitcher for 2025 as it may be unlikely that Severino would achieve a $21.05 salary level for multiple years from another suitor.  This transaction means the Mets again have a one-year commitment to Severino.  That payroll flexibility for 2026 and beyond is not necessarily a bad thing and the fact he’s a known and familiar face who is reinventing himself could mean he is capable of doing better a second time around.

The other interesting roster maneuver made by Stearns was declining the $7.75 million option for midseason acquisition Phil Maton.  If you peel back the layers he did perform quite well for the Mets during the regular season with a 2.51 ERA but he was simply not helping in the post season.  Given the state of the Mets bullpen they need a lot of help, but apparently the thought is that someone less expensive would surface elsewhere.

The pickups they made for minor and low level major league contracts were interesting but not of the nature of team changing additions.  Still, with 11 free agency vacancies there’s a lot of room on the 40-man roster for David Stearns to address.  What will be interesting to see are not just prospective free agent offers but the heretofore little used avenue of trades to reshape the makeup of the roster.  

For the first time in quite awhile the Mets fans and media are looking forward to this period of the off season with some confidence and positive excitement as a result of the greater than expected success of David Stearns' first season as the Mets POBO.  

Tom Brennan Some MLB Franchises Elect to WIN; Yankees Cake Walk

A frequently packed Citi Field increases franchise value

On this Election Day, we need to comprehend that what baseball franchise owners elect to do? It matters.

I think most of us writers and readers are folks of modest income and modest or at least meager wealth.

Perhaps it is hard for us, therefore, likely thinking "small and normal", to see that big spending in baseball can generate exponential wealth.  In that regard:

Sportico wrote this during the post season but before the Dodgers won the World Series:

“The Dodgers have won the NL West 11 times in the past 12 seasons. This is the seventh time they will be playing in the NLCS since Guggenheim bought the team for $2.15 billion in 2012. 

“According to Sportico’s valuations, the Dodgers are worth $6.3 billion, second behind the Yankees at $7.93 billion. Three times since the purchase they have gone to the World Series: losses to Houston in 2017, Boston in 2018 and a victory over Tampa Bay after the 2020 pandemic-shortened season.”

The point I see here is that even before LAD just won the World Series, no doubt further increasing franchise value, its franchise value is estimated to have already TRIPLED in 12 years. Because they spent hard and spent well.

Playoff revenues on deep playoff runs have to also be substantial, helping offset high luxury taxes for owners like Mr. C.

Spending big, and well, it pays. To a long term investor like Steve Cohen, franchise value increasing is something he is extremely well aware of, even if for us we are not.

TO REALLY INCREASE FRANCHISE VALUE…SIGN SOTO.

The franchise value will probably jump $1 billion if you do.

YANKS WERE COMING OUT OF AN INFERIOR LEAGUE

When the Mets were playing the Dodgers, I said that the Dodgers, Mets, Phils and SD were the 4 best teams after the Wild Card round, with the Yankees 5th.

The Dodgers’ Joe Kelly, in a NY Post article, felt in essence that I was being too charitable:

“Elsewhere on Monday’s podcast, Kelly shredded “lazy” Yankees stars in what he deemed a “mismatch” of a World Series. “… It was a mismatch from the get-go. If we had a playoff re-ranking, they might be ranked the eighth or ninth-best playoff team,” Kelly said of the No. 1 seed in the American League.

IF YOU HAVE A CHOICE TODAY...

...of writing a comment to my article here, and not voting, or simply voting, please prioritizing voting...and then of course sit the heck back down and respond to my article afterwards. 

My friends, have a special day.  YOU ARE THE FRANCHISE.

Remember 1969: Remember's Ramblings

 

Remember 1969: Remember's Ramblings

 

 Remember's Reminiscing – Volume 1, Article 4

November 05, 2024

After telling myself that I wasn’t going to join the “play General Manager” game this early in the off-season, I decided to enter the fray and talk about – what else?    Juan Soto and Pete Alonso. 

First, let’s talk about Pete.  Supposing the Mets had an opening for a first-baseman – perhaps theirs wasn’t performing up to snuff – think a couple of the last years of Dom Smith or Ike Davis.   They take a look at the free agents and there was a guy that was playing out there someplace for the last 6 years that never played in less than 150 games in a non-COVID year,  and for every 162 games averaged almost 700 plate appearances, 150 hits, over 40 home runs, over 110 RBI  and had an OPS over .850 and still hasn’t reached his 30^th birthday, would you want your team to take a look?     Heck yeah.   Let’s sign that Alonso guy.    He makes the line-up better.    And I have a sneaking suspicion that without a free-agency year to worry about, the best is yet to come for him.   

Let’s throw him a 6 year deal of $170M or so and see what he does with it.   In 6 years, he could be pushing 500 career home runs.   Showing him the New York love will pay off. 

Now on to the player who will get the most ink from now until he actually signs a contract – Juan Soto.  

This is a player that really has only one peer in baseball today – Shohei Ohtani, who last year commandeered a $700M deal from the Dodgers and while never playing the field showed that he deserved it.     That does not automatically say that Soto will step in and be the league MVP every time he steps on the field, but in the greatest baseball market in the country with one of the richest owners in baseball and significant dollars coming off the books after 2024, this is as close to a must-have player as free-agency has ever delivered. 

My arguments for signing Juan Soto:  

·         Soto turned 26 years old less than two weeks ago.   

·         He has amassed 36.4 bWAR before his 26^th birthday.

·         On his current projection, he will have over 100 bWAR before his 40^th birthday    

·         His career OPS in 7 major league seasons is .953

·         His career on base percentage in seven major league seasons is .421

·         He has walked more than he has struck out in his career, including in each of the last 5 years

·         He has played at least 150 games every season since 2019. 

·         His longest hitless game streak in 2024 was 3 games.   He is not a particularly streaky hitter who is prone to long term slumps.

·         There is no other hitter available (and very few throughout baseball) who is as complete a hitter as Soto. 

·         He is a proven hitter in the post season. 

·         He has proven he can play in New York.

·         There are no imminent (or even anywhere on the horizon) obvious offensive superstars in the system that will be major league ready anytime soon.

·         The Mets swung and hit a proverbial homer with a big contract to Carlos Beltran 20 years ago.   

·         The Mets swung and hit another proverbial homer with a big contract to Francisco Lindor 3 years ago.

·         Why not do it again?   The numbers are bigger and more mind boggling, but so are the accomplished stats. 

Another plus to be considered:   The Mets were a poor first inning team in 2024.   Their batting average, OPS, and runs scored total saw the first inning be the second worst of any of the nine, second only to the wildly statistical anomaly of the seventh inning.    The Mets scored just 67 runs in the first in 162 games this year.   Soto alone scored 33 runs in the first inning this year with 32 walks, a .317 BA (compared to the Mets .221),  .455 OBP and 1.041 OPS.    Adding a number 2 hitter with those kinds of game opening statistics would help the starting pitchers immensely.   Jumping out to a first inning lead is a big deal. 

A top four line up of Lindor, Soto, Nimmo, and Alonso with Alvarez, Vientos, McNeil … behind them would be among the best in baseball.

OK, now the downsides:     

·         His defense.   He has less than all-star defensive stats, although his numbers in right field are somewhat better than those in left.   

·         His remarks following the World Series that were interpreted by many as being classless, saying the words out loud that are so well known in baseball.   A player is going to follow the money.      I suppose he might have been able to say it a little differently, but I cringe when I hear some of the questions that are asked of players.  I don’t have the entire conversation, but he was certainly being honest.  

·        Commenter Dallas in an initial piece on Juan Soto written by Mack last week made the following excellent statement:  “Obviously Soto is a special player but he isn’t without his warts. He can barely field. Do we know how he is in a club house? His work ethic? His love of baseball? I assume Stearns and team will do their homework on all of this and make the right choice.”    

·        I do not know the answers to the questions and will also assume that the front office and ownership team will find out and be comfortable that Soto would not destroy the culture that has been developed in the clubhouse – by all accounts the Mets were a tight-knit group in 2024.   That chemistry is clearly important.    I do have to believe his work ethic is top notch – one cannot perform at the top of the game that long without putting the work in.    

Two other more whimsical reasons to approach Soto this fall:  (1)  Brett Baty is the guy that would wear #22 if Soto is not signed (and I am still a fan of Baty), and (2)  The only other player that has played for the Mets that was born on October 25 is Pedro Martinez, a Hall of Famer.    Let’s go for two!    

I don’t know what it will take to sign Soto (and Alonso), but let’s play big market team and come up with a competitive offer.   If, like Yamamoto last year, he chooses to sign elsewhere, oh well, but don’t be shy.   Perhaps a two-tiered offer could be made – a long-term 14 year $700M deal ($50M per) or a shorter 8 year $450 - $480M offer to bump the AAV to $55M to $60M and then give him a chance for another contract at age 34 at the market prices of 2033.     Ohtani’s contract set a bar for $$ now, and with the game flush with money, that will be the going rate for superior talent. 

Today’s Mets Birthdays

Jim Bethke and Jose Santiago are celebrating birthdays today.   Brock Pemberton and Mike Bishop, both deceased, were also born on November 5.    I was going to try to write a bit about Mike Bishop, only because he was the closest of these four in age to me – he was born the same year I was, but I could find very little information about him, other than he died at a very young 46 years of age.    Mike caught 3 games with the 1983 Mets going 1 for 8 at the plate with a double being his only major league hit.  He did walk three times and scored 2 runs.   

Another recent birthday to highlight is that of Carlos Mendoza who turned 50 yesterday, a little more than 5 years older than the current manager of the same name who will be turning 45 in about 3 weeks.   The player Mendoza appeared in 15 Mets games as a 22 year old in 1997, 7 of them as a pinch runner, 5 as a pinch hitter and just 3 on the field as a left fielder and center fielder.    He finished his career with a line of 3 singles in 12 at bats, 4 walks, 2 hit by pitch and 6 runs scored.   He accumulated a positive 0.2 bWAR.     

Remember's Final Ramblings

This is going to be a long couple months.   We will hash and re-hash and then re-hash again the potential signings and the whys and why nots.    February can't come soon enough, and not because I live in upstate New York!       That's all for now.    Happy Election Day! 

SAVAGE VIEWS – BACK TO THE FUTURE

The 2024 season is history and the best team won the World Series. I only wish the Dodgers had swept the Yankees. It’s a comforting thought to think the Mets wound up the season as the second best time in baseball. However, there are at least four or five teams with more talent.

This offseason, it’s expected that the team will bridge the gap by adding several free agents to complement the base roster. There seems to be a fair amount of clamoring for the Mets to add the likes of Juan Soto and to resign Pete Alonso to a massive contract. My choice would be to sign neither and devote our considerable resources to improving the starting rotation and bullpen.

The first order of business is to resign Scott Manaea and then add either Corbin Burnes or Max Fried through free agency. This would result in a potentially strong rotation when Senga and Peterson are factored in. The number five spot could be either Tyler Megill or Brandon Sproat or someone else.

The pen needs major reinforcements with only Diaz, Nunez, Butto and Garrett as relatively sure things. It’s about time our pen matches up with teams like the Dodgers and Yankees who always seem to be solid. The key to a successful 2025 season will be to have starters routinely last six to seven innings with a shut down pen that does not get over extended. My point is that a strong pitching staff will lead us to the promised land.

Imagine a lineup without Pete or Soto. Remember, the Yanks had Judge and Soto and were humiliated by the Dodgers. My lineup next year will be Lindor, Vientos, Nimmo, Santander, Mauricio, McNeil, Marte, Alvarez and Baty. My big addition would be to sign Anthony Santander to largely fill the void with Pete leaving. Each of these players, if healthy, has the capability of hitting at least 20 home runs.

I remain adverse to signing any player to a contract longer than five years. I’m a strong advocate of player development to provide an ongoing pipeline of major league players. Let’s use the Dodgers success story as our template.

Later today, I’ll be embarking on a Viking River cruise to France with my son, Denis. Catch up when I get back.

 

Ray

November 5, 2024

Mack - Tuesday Morning Observations

 

Bob Nightengale               @BNightengale

 

The Hall of Fame announces

this year’s Classic era committee ballot.

The electees will be announced Dec. 8

Dick Allen

Ken Boyer

Josh Donaldson

Steve Garvey

Vic Harris

Tommy John

Dave Parker

Luis Tiant

 

Batbeat                    @Batbeat2

According to Forbes, the Mets lost about $650 Million the last 4 years which has to be a record in sports. He did not sign big free agents this year, but due to previous mistakes, the Mets probably lost another few 100 million. He hates losing the money and will dial it back.

 

There are 10 Mets players eligible for arbitration –

David Peterson, Paul Blackburn, Tyrone Taylor, Tylor Megill, DJ Stewart, Alex Young, Luis Torrens, Sean Reid-Foley, Brooks Raley, and Joey Lucchesi.

To me, Peterson, Megill, and Torrens are a no-brainer. Tayler and SRF need some deep thought.

 

Ernest Dove             @ernestdove

https://t.co/ZxC4glfJ2a

Looking back a clip from my interview with Mets prospect D'Andre Smith who talked #Mets plans for him to be more versatile.  Smith went on to play 5 positions (2B 3B LF CF RF) also hit .325 in August.

DONT FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE

 

Will Sammon                      @WillSammon

The Mets are hiring Laiky Uribe as assistant director of international scouting, league sources tell The Athletic. Uribe worked as international cross checker for the Dodgers. He'll join James Kang, recently added from Guardians as Mets' new director of international scouting.

            Laiky Uribe              @LaikyUribe

I’ve been fortunate to have spent the past 8 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and I’ll forever be grateful to the org & everyone I worked with. Ending that chapter with a World Series win was the perfect send-off. Now, it’s time to head back to the Big Apple. Let’s go Mets!

 

Mets prospects Williams, Gilbert strengthening their bond in the desert

https://www.mlb.com/news/mets-jett-williams-drew-gilbert-rekindle-bond-in-arizona-fall-league?partnerID=web_article-share

In addition to making up for lost at-bats from the regular season, the Fall League is doubling as a crash course on getting Williams, primarily a shortstop, more reps in center field. (NL MVP candidate Francisco Lindor has the shortstop position on lock for the foreseeable future.) That means on days like Thursday, Williams jogs out to his spot on the grass right next to Gilbert.

“I think it's pretty cool just to have somebody out there that is very similar to you,” Williams said. “I feel like we play the game a little bit differently. He's more crazy, I'm more calm. So I think it's kind of perfect, like leveling each other out. But I think it would be awesome just to be able to play with him at Citi Field one day, hopefully next year.”

For the final six games of Triple-A Syracuse’s season, the lineup card featured both Gilbert and Williams. The tandem now sits on a parallel trajectory toward the Majors, ready to lead the next wave after watching former teammates Mark Vientos and Luisangel Acuña contribute to an NLCS run.

 

Anthony DiComo               @AnthonyDiComo

The Mets are on track to sign every free agent in baseball:

 

MetsMinors.Net                @Mets_Minors

Baseball America reports the Mets have re-signed RHP Joander Suarez, RHP Joshua Cornielly and C Hayden Senger to minor league deals.

            2024 –

                        Suarez (24) – AA/AAA:  10-6, 4.49, 128,1-IP, 124-K

                        Cornielly (23) – A+/AA:  2-5, 3.42, 55.1-IP, 71-K, only 19-K

                        Senger – (27) -  AAA/AA/A:  171-AB, .234

(Senger is not signed for his bat. He is the best defensive catcher in the system)

 

The Mets signed RP Dylan Covey

            Christopher Soto                @SotoC803

Covey was even better than his 2.66 ERA implies.

4 of the 6 ER he allowed this season were during his rehab appearances.

Once he was assigned to the (AAA) roster, Covey posted a 1.20 ERA, .177 AVG/.531 OPS against, and a 27.5% K rate.

Mack – I see no downside here. He can always be released, but there is a good chance he could bring stability to the Mets pen

 

Derrick Goold                     @dgoold

Cards are NOT picking up the 2025 options for Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, or Keynan Middleton. Each has a $1-million buyout.

            Gibson (37) – 2024:  0.9-WAR, 8-8, 4.24, 1.35, 169.2-IP, 151.1-K

            Lynn (37) -      2024:  0.3-WAR, 7-4, 3.84, 1.34, 117-IP, 109-K

            Middleton (31) – Career:  2.3-WAR, 2-2, 3.41, 1.25, 64-K

                        Out in 2024 with surgery on right arm – unlikely to be

                                    Ready for opening day

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10140737-8-bold-mlb-2024-25-offseason-predictions?s=03 –

8 Bold MLB 2024-25 Offseason Predictions

 

New York Mets Sign 3 $100+ Million Free Agents –

 

The New York Mets aren't going to match the more than $1 billion in contracts for free agents that the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to last offseason.

Becoming the first team to sign at least three free agents to nine-figure contracts in one year, however, is well within the realm of possibility.

The Mets did sign four players for at least $75M each just two years ago—Brandon Nimmo ($162M), Edwin Díaz ($102M), Justin Verlander ($86.7M) and Kodai Senga ($75M)—and they did have the highest payroll in baseball this season. But they have been setting themselves up to do some serious spending this offseason ever since the 2023 trade deadline.

The goal was to sign Juan Soto, but the main rationale behind our 'Yanks let Cole walk' prediction is the assumption that they'll be re-signing Soto for the $500M-$600M that the Mets will also be trying to throw his way.

If it becomes clear that Soto isn't happening for the Mets, though, Steve Cohen isn't going to just pack it in and embrace heading into 2025 with a modest payroll.

He's going to re-sign Pete Alonso for around $200M.

He's going to get at least one, possibly two of Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Blake Snell and Gerrit Cole to address the fact that all three of this season's team leaders in innings pitched are now free agents. (All four of those pitchers figure to sign for at least $100M.)

And he's going to add one more of the top OF/DH bats available, as Harrison Bader and JD Martinez were one-year stopgap solutions and Starling Marte isn't getting any younger or better. Whether that's Teoscar Hernández, Anthony Santander or maybe Cody Bellinger if he declines his player option with the Cubs, nine figures on a five-year deal could be in play for any member of that trio.

The Mets could also go the route of giving Gleyber Torres a huge contract, putting him at second base and banking on Jeff McNeil as a corner outfielder. However, Torres getting $100M might be a stretch.

Long story short, the Mets will be very busy, and they won't be sneaking up on anyone as an "underdog" in 2025.

 

 

Jim Koenigsberger            @Jimfrombaseball

 

“I’ve only known three or four perfect swings in my time. This lad has one of them"

Ty Cobb

“My mother used to pitch to me, and my father would shag balls. If I hit one up the middle close to my mother, I’d have some extra chores to do. My mother was instrumental in making me a pull hitter.”

Eddie Mathews

 

One night Dusty Baker saw Bob Gibson eating in a restaurant. His teammates encouraged him to walk over & say hello. “It’s OK, they told him. It’s away from the field. This is a good time. Bob will be happy to talk.” Then, while those teammates snickered, Baker and his wife walked & Dusty said,

“Excuse me, Mr. Gibson.”

And Gibson looked up and without even a hint of a smile he snarled,  “Why the *$*#&$* should I talk to you?” Then he looked past Dusty, to his wife, and said, “It’s very nice to meet you Mrs. Baker.”

 

            Tim Lambert                       @TLambert895

My Bob Gibson story:

I was an intern at KQV in Pittsburgh and was assigned to interview the Cardinals great. I started with, "Tell me about..." Before I even finished, he fired back, "I'm not going to tell you anything. Ask me a question and I'll answer it."

After a brief paralyzing fear, I realized I was verbally brushed back by one of the greatest pitchers ever. The rest of the interview went well and he was very gracious with his time. To this day, I have never started a question with, "tell me about..." again.

 

"Maybe tomorrow we'll all wear 42, so nobody can tell us apart."

Pee Wee Reese     

Tom Brennan - The Haves and Have Nots

This guy, from age 17-19 in the minors, hit .362/.434/.609

What he would have done to the Arizona Fall League pitchers? 

The Arizona Fall League is a high octane affair. 

In part this is because franchises do not want their best arms (e.g., Sproat) to participate, but have no similar concerns as far as sending their top hitters.

As such the average AFL team has scored 142 runs in 187 innings.  

Or 7 runs per 9 innings.

On the team Mets hitters are on, the top 3 hitters so far are not Mets:

Josue Briceno .435

Sammy Siani .408

Adrian Pinto .389

They are THE HAVES.

The Mets’ hitters?

Jett Williams .224

Drew Gilbert .216

Jacob Reimer .182

They are THE HAVE NOTS. 

Collectively, the Have Nots are hitting .200 points lower than the Haves.

I dunno about you, but I find it kind of disappointing. Not to be a Negative Nellie, but it seemed all I wrote about during the past minor league season was how, once you excluded the hard-hitting AAA Syracuse offense which was largely propelled by former major leaguers, the rest of the Mets minors teams hit like a bunch of HAVE NOTS.

I was hoping this Arizona trio would be raking. 

Average-wise, at least, they HAVE NOT.

Which is one additional reason I would like to HAVE Soto as a Met. 

If anyone hits like a HAVE, it is Soto.

Paul Articulates – Fasten your seatbelt – free agent market discussions begin

It is an exciting time of the year for teams that have the financial wherewithal to capture talented free agents.  After the World Series ended, players eligible for free agency were officially on the market.  For the first five days, they could only be re-signed by their current teams.  Beginning this morning, it is open season and those free agents can negotiate and sign with any team.

The Mets, of course, are in excellent position to add talent.  They have now freed themselves of some heavy financial baggage, with their liabilities to Max Scherzer, James McCann, and Justin Verlander expiring.  They have some room to maneuver now in a market that has several desirable players.

Much has been written already about Juan Soto – he is clearly the top available free agent.  However, he is also most likely to attract an extended bidding war so although the Mets will play in that game, there is not likely a near term conclusion.  So let’s look at what should be done in the interim.

Starting pitching started 2024 with a whimper but ended with a bang.  Starters like Severino, Manaea, and Quintana upped their games in the late season and playoffs.  That said, I don’t expect the Mets to pursue Quintana for the future, and the rest of the rotation could certainly use a boost.  

While a priority should be put on re-signing Manaea, the Mets should also be in the market for one of the top available starters, Max Fried and Corbin Burnes.  I would add that Shane Bieber, Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell, Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, and Freddy Peralta are also available.  There are also intriguing international pitchers such as Shota Imanaga in play.

With all these exciting possibilities to strengthen the Mets rotation, I must urge some caution – do not hold your breath.  None of these signings are going to happen this week, and probably not next week either.  There will be many offers exchanged, but the players (and their agents) do not want to be the first to go, because they want the demand to increase to sweeten the pot.  

The first one to be signed will set the bar on the market, and they all want it to be a high bar.  So this week, expect to see only less well-known signings of pitchers and position players to minor league deals with invites to spring training.  An example would be last week’s signing of minor league pitcher Dylan Covey.

Expect the traffic to be heavy in the Mets’ world, as David Stearns seems to be the master of signing depth to these minor contracts and finding a few gems in the rough.  These signings not only bring potential gems, but they also push the competition for our home-grown prospects.  The top prospects in our system had a down year in 2024 and really need to step up in 2025.

I am looking forward to the wild ride this off-season to see how the Mets’ roster takes shape.  Right now I have my seat belt buckled, but the 2025 pre-season roller coaster has just slowly started making its’ way up the first big hill.

Reese Kaplan -- Part 2 of Why Not Signing Soto Could Be Good

Sometimes timing is everything.  I wrote and scheduled my Saturday article on Thursday regarding the cost of signing Juan Soto with the inclination that it may not be the best overall investment.  I didn’t expect many would agree with me among the readers here and the media. 

Lo and behold that on your Friday (my Saturday here in Malaysia) Mets former pitcher and broadcaster extraordinaire Ron Darling came out to say pretty much the exact same thing.  While he wasn’t disputing Soto’s level of talent nor even the overall expenditure commitment, he did question what would happen if signing Soto meant passing on Pete Alonso and missing out on some of the cream of the crop in the starting pitching ranks because of how much you would have to allocate to one guy. 

The issue for me here is kind of like how the Rangers spent big to get the best of the best in Jacob deGrom and then only enjoyed him over an aggregate of 9 games spread over his first two seasons there due to injury.  Injuries can happen at any age and with varying degrees of severity.  Take the Mets’ own Ronny Mauricio who had a doctor operate on his torn ACL which cost him most of the 2024 season until scar tissue that formed needed to be addressed which then cost him the rest.  He’s in his early 20s, younger even than Soto.

What Darling said in his question about Soto called to mind a similar argument I used to make with my partner when I played Fantasy Baseball.  If you spend $600 million on one guy does that mean you spend $6 each on the rest filling out your roster?  His more succinct way of putting it was wouldn’t the team benefit more from a pair of $300 million contracts than they would from a single one costing twice as much?  

I used to say I’d rather field a team of 20 HR and 80 RBI hitters at a moderate cost than one or two stars and also-rans for the rest because you ran out of funding.  Then if you lost one of those 20/80 hitters due to slump or injury, well, it’s not really all that hard to find a replacement.

Like I said, there was another prominent voice in the anti-Soto camp.  This time around it was none other than Jim Bowden who said he does foresee the Mets spending big — perhaps as much as $500 million this offseason, but not on Soto.  Instead he feels it would be better allocated for the return of Pete Alonso as well as starting stud pitchers Corbin Burnes and Max Fried. 

Think about that approach for a moment.  One one hand you lose out on Alonso and fail to address the widely vacant starting rotation but add Juan Soto.  On the other hand you bring back the same number of home runs and nearly as many RBIs with Alonso but at the expense of batting average, then add not one but two Cy Young caliber starting pitchers and you wind up saving $100 million.  Ummm...all of a sudden that allocation of Steve Cohen’s money no longer resembles the actions of a one-trick pony.

I was going to trot off in this direction with a variety of options to consider other than just Soto, but this start of the two ace pitchers and Alonso seems like a very good one.  It is also consistent with the Darling suggestion that two (or in this case three) big contracts for three talents is a better approach than putting it all one just a single player. 

Not getting Soto would feel very historically Mets from the Wilpon era.  You could already surmise what the “Well, we tried” press conference would be like when Soto stays in the Bronx, heads to Chavez Ravine or elsewhere.  However, adjust the script a bit to be not one but three celebrations when the Mets officially welcome three All Star level players to their roster instead of just one. 

All I’m really saying here is to keep an open mind.  Multiple new players for multiple new roles is not a crazy idea if the overall result strengthens the team.  Look at who else is out there in the free agent marketplace and play with your spreadsheet.  

It doesn’t have to be these three names or it could be four at a high but not quite as high level.  It simply means that alternatives to Soto shouldn’t only take place if Soto is not a Met.  They should be intelligently considered now in advance of whatever might happen.