How realistic is a Dylan Cease trade for the Mets?

Plus, notes on Nick Madrigal, Jose Iglesias, and the latest on Pete Alonso

Image courtesy of the New York Mets

What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

• The Mets signed INF Nick Madrigal to a split major league contract, and designated INF Luis De Los Santos for assignment - Madrigal will earn $1.35 million if in the majors (NY Post)

• There is some belief the Mets have made progress on a deal for Pete Alonso, although they have checked in on the availability of Rays 1B Yandy Díaz as another backup possibility (SI)

• The Mets have shown interest in reliever Ryan Brasier, who was recently designated for assignment by the Dodgers (SI)

• The Mets equipment truck left for Port St. Lucie on Friday

---

---

Rumor Mill 💨

• The Blue Jays might have a six-year offer on the table for Alex Bregman (USA Today)

• RHP Lance Lynn is drawing interest in the relief market (Athletic)

• JD Martínez has decided he wants to play in 2025 (NY Post)

• The Rangers are receiving a lot of trade interest in OF Leody Taveras (Dallas Morning News)

---

Notes on Madrigal, Cease, and of course Alonso… ✍️

Spring Training is 11 days away!

I always mark the 10 p.m. hour of Super Bowl Sunday as the beginning of the baseball season, as that is usually around the time the football season is ending, and all of our eyes and ears begin to shift towards baseball. Even before pitchers and catchers are supposed to report to their respective spring training camps, we will start to hear about players arriving and getting their swings and reps in, offering us glimpses and sound bites of actual baseball.

Just think - we are about three weeks away from seeing an actual game, although it’s just a Grapefruit League game and they usually get very boring after the third or fourth inning.

But hey, it’s baseball.

There’s still business to discuss, of course. A lot of business. The Mets have had an active week and an interestingly active week at that. There have been a few things which I have been asked over the last couple of days by our readers and fans on X, Facebook, Blue Sky, Threads, while walking my dogs, while checking out at Stop & Shop, while watching the Dobbs Ferry basketball teams, on my morning stand-ups, and so on and so forth. So, I am going to break it down into three topics this morning…

What does Nick Madrigal mean for José Iglesias?

On Friday, the Mets announced they signed infielder Nick Madrigal to a one-year split major league contract. He’s a backup infielder, although he is not a shortstop.

On paper, this tells me the Mets are moving on from José Iglesias, although they really don’t have a veteran backup shortstop on the roster. There just doesn’t seem to be any buzz or movement between the Mets and Iglesias, who I assume is looking for a larger seven-figure major league contract for 2025 than Madrigal was, that which he unquestionably deserves. They do have Luisangel Acuña who, if you recall, played short in place of Francisco Lindor when he injured his back in September, so the Mets could simply have Acuña serve as the backup shortstop at this point in time.

My assumption is they viewed Madrigal as a less expensive but comparable player to Iglesias, although the metrics might disagree on the defensive side of it all. Iglesias is a whiz up the middle, and I’d venture to say that metrics aside, the eye test said he was game-changing good for the Mets defensively last year. They also have Jared Young in camp who is an infielder, as well as Jeff McNeil, Brett Baty, and Ronny Mauricio. With all of those infielders, it’s just hard to see how Iglesias fits now.

I do think there is some runway for a reunion with Iglesias, but only if the Mets decide to trade Acuña in a potential deal for Dylan Cease, which I will talk about next.

How realistic is a Mets/Cease trade?

USA Today Sports

I think there is some definite substance to the Mets’ pursuit of Cease. They have question marks with pretty much every starting pitcher not named Sean Manaea, and they’re asking for way too much to break right with their rotation. They do have quantity for the rotation - they have eight or nine starters signed to big league contracts for 2025 - but quantity doesn’t necessarily equate to quality, and again, they can’t just hope all of those questions get answered positively.

That’s where someone like Cease would come in for 2025.

Cease is projected to make $13-14 million in his final year of arbitration, after which he will become a free agent.

The Padres might reportedly like the Mets’ crop of prospects better than their immediate competition for Cease, which appears to be the Cubs. I’ve wagered Cease would cost the Mets a top 6 prospect and a 10-15 ranked prospect as a baseline for a deal, and could very well cost the Mets a major league player as well. I don’t necessarily see why San Diego would want significant salary in a deal since all signs point to them wanting to cut payroll, but if they want to contend in that division, they’re going to need to add to other parts of their roster.

There are a couple of issues though which might make the Mets hesitant to pull the trigger on a deal.

First off, there’s just not a lot of evidence this organization wants to part with any prospects, although they were interested in a deal for Garrett Crochet in December before the White Sox traded him to the Red Sox. That was a different circumstance to Cease, however, as Crochet is younger (25) than Cease (29) and under team control for two more seasons. The Mets clearly had an appetite to part with a significant prospect package for a younger and more controllable starting pitcher.

Would the Mets be willing to part with perhaps a smaller but still significant prospect package for Cease? I’ll believe it when I see it, so I’d conclude it’s unlikely for the time being.

Also - let’s be clear about Cease’s situation. He will be a free agent after the 2025 season, and the Mets have shown zero inclination to sign any starting pitcher 30 or over to the kind of free agent deal Cease will seek. Remember - this winter alone, they passed on Corbin Burnes and they passed on Max Fried. Cease will likely look for a contract in excess of six years next winter, and the Mets haven’t given out more than a three-year contract to any pitcher under David Stearns’ watch since he came on board before the 2024 season. So, Cease would be the book definition of a rental for the Mets in 2025, and they have to weigh that against the cost in prospects to acquire him.

Now, if there’s a match between the two teams, this is an opportunity for the Mets to take their pitching staff to the next level with Cease at a modest cash cost (plus tax, of course). Risk is part of the game sometimes, but there are risks worth taking, and the Mets can’t prospect hoard forever, especially when many of them don’t pan out. They took a risk by trading a lot to get Francisco Lindor before the 2021 deal and won the deal. They took a risk by trading a lot to get Edwin Díaz and Robinson Canó in 2019 and won the deal despite the issues with Canó. They took a risk and traded a lot to get Javier Báez in 2021 and lost that deal.

Again, risk is a part of the game. Sometimes, prospects are designed for the organization they’re developed in, some are designed to be traded. They’re not all going to get to the big leagues either, and most won’t live up to the hype. Perhaps it’s time for them to take a chance even if it means trading a prospect or two that might be difficult to part with today.

Now, if one of those prospects is Luisangel Acuña, that could open the door for a reunion with José Iglesias, as the Mets would have an immediate need for a backup to Francisco Lindor. But that’s the only way I could see that transpiring right now.

Where are we with Pete Alonso?

Getty Images

A week ago, Mets owner and CEO Steve Cohen planted the seeds for the Mets moving on without Pete Alonso. He said the parameters of Scott Boras’ counteroffers were “asymmetrical” for the Mets, and it was reported one of those counteroffers included a bonus payout should Alonso opt out of his deal.

For what it’s worth, that’s not an uncommon contract parameter, but if I were a GM, I wouldn’t want to pay a player a bonus to leave. It doesn’t make sense to me, personally.

Anyway, it’s not as if any other suitor has emerged for Alonso. Sure, he’s talked to the Blue Jays, he’s talked to the Angels, maybe he’s talked to the Reds, but I am just not going to believe any of that interest has substance until he actually signs with one of those clubs. From my seat, any noise about another club’s interest in Alonso is his agency trying to smoke the Mets out and get them to hastily sign Alonso, that which they clearly don’t have to do and they’re smart enough to be able to sift through that noise.

In the end, with Alonso lowering his demands to the point he is offering the Mets an “exclusive” offer of a three-year deal with opt-outs after each tells me he 1) still really wants to come back to the Mets, and 2) he doesn’t have an offer that comes close to matching what the Mets already have on the table.

So, of course the Mets and Alonso have re-engaged in contract talks, and negotiations have resumed. I still believe Alonso will eventually return to the Mets - they need him, he needs them, and everybody wins if the two sides can find common ground.

And as we get closer to spring training and with other suitors not emerging, that common ground should eventually be found.

---

Around the League 🚩

• The Padres avoided arbitration with RHP Michael King, signing him to a one-year, $7.75 million contract with a $15 million mutual option for 2026 (SD Union-Tribune)

• The Orioles acquired INF Luis Vázquez from the Cubs (official)

• The Diamondbacks signed INF Garrett Hampson to a minor league deal and invited him to major league spring training