Ferreira says 'No thanks,' Syndergaard may hit free agency and a Met no one's talking about

Red Sox assistant GM Raquel Ferreira is the latest to spurn the Mets. Plus, are the Mets considering not extending the qualifying offer to Noah Syndergaard?

Justin Mears

Nov 05, 2021

What’s Up with the Mets? 💭

After an initial discussion between both sides, Red Sox Assistant GM Raquel Ferreira will NOT be interviewing with the Mets after all (Boston Globe)
The Mets are considering not extending the qualifying offer to Noah Syndergaard and may try to sign him on a short-term contract (NY Post)
Kevin Pillar and the club each declined their respective options, making him a free agent (Heyman)
Orioles Assistant GM/VP Sig Mejdal is no longer an option in the Mets’ front office search (SNY)
New York is not planning to have a new President of Baseball Operations or general manager ahead of the GM Meetings in California next week (Newsday)

Brandon Nimmo, the Met no one is talking about 📝

As we all know, the Mets have plenty of question marks they’ll have to resolve before reporting for spring training in a little over three months. New York must try to re-sign their big free agents, i.e. Marcus Stroman, Javier Baez, Michael Conforto, Noah Syndergaard, etc. And even if both Stroman and Syndergaard are retained, the Mets will require further rotation help beyond that. Not to mention the fact that they also will have to find a way to add offense to a line-up that drastically underperformed in 2021.

To me though, an underrated move the Mets really need to make a priority is adding a center fielder that can allow Brandon Nimmo to slide over to left. Whether it’s a coincidence or not, Nimmo has consistently struggled to stay on the field since becoming a full time center fielder, and he’s just too important in the leadoff spot for this team to be stuck on the IL multiple times in a season.

Plus, despite putting up a career-best +4 DRS in center field this past season, Nimmo would likely fare far better defensively in a corner spot. Prior to 2021, Nimmo had posted a -12 DRS in center over five seasons.

The free agent center field market leaves much to be desired with the only name of note being Starling Marte. But given how much money the Mets will almost certainly be spending elsewhere, and how popular Marte will likely be when he hits the open market, that seems pretty unlikely. The trade market may bring more appealing options to the table, but may not ultimately be realistic. Arizona’s Ketel Marte could bring a dynamic two-way talent to Queens but may not be available, Minnesota is likely to listen on Byron Buxton although it may come at a premium cost (not to mention his injury history), and then there’s Kevin Kiermaier who is one of the best defensive center fielders in the league, but is now recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

It may prove to be difficult to find a better replacement but if the Mets can somehow pull it off, moving Nimmo to left would dramatically improve the Mets’ defense, potentially take some stress off of his legs, and Dominic Smith, barring he isn’t traded, likely won’t lose his role with the DH likely coming to the National League next season.

Hot Stove 🔥

The Astros have exercised their 2022 option on defending AL batting champion Yuli Gurriel
LHP Andrew Chafin declined his part of his mutual option with the A’s, and is now a free agent
The A’s also declined their option on LHP Jake Diekman
Braves OF Adam Duvall declined his half of his $7 million option, but is still under team control and will head to arbitration (Miami Herald)
Brewers OF Avail García declined his half of the $12 million option on his contract, and has elected free agency (Heyman)
The Cardinals declined team options on RHP Carlos Martínez and INF Matt Carpenter, making them free agents
The Rockies declined their 2022 option on Ian Desmond. Desmond has opted out each of the last two years due to COVID-19 (Heyman)