Mets aggressively pursuing Garrett Crochet trade, growing optimistic Sean Manaea returns
Plus, Juan Soto is just the beginning for the Mets
What’s Up with the Mets? 🍎
The Mets are aggressively vying with the Yankees for White Sox LHP Garrett Crochet, who is available in a trade (The Athletic)
There is “increasing optimism” that the Mets could reunite with LHP Sean Manaea (SNY)
President of baseball operations David Stearns spoke at the Winter Meetings on a number of topics, including stressing the fact that the team will have the resources to bring free agent 1B Pete Alonso back to Queens (SNY)
The Mets are among the teams showing interest in 3B Alex Bregman (KPRC2 Houston)
The Mets officially announced the signing of RHP Clay Holmes to a three-year contract with a player opt out after the 2026 season
The Mets are in talks with ex-Yankees right-handed reliever Jonathan Loáisiga (NY Post)
Even Mets owner Steve Cohen had his doubts that Juan Soto was going to leave the Yankees and sign in Queens (New York Post)
Injury Updates 🏥
RHP Paul Blackburn is on track to be ready for Opening Day after undergoing spinal fluid leak surgery in October
INF Ronny Mauricio has resumed baseball activities and is heading “in the right direction” following surgery to repair a torn ACL in December
Rumor Mill 💨
The Blue Jays are interested in a reunion with free agent OF Teoscar Hernández (Toronto Star)
The Marlins are fielding a ton of calls on LHP Jesús Luzardo with Miami open to listening to trade offers (MLB Network)
The Dodgers have checked in on both RHP Devin Williams and LHP Tanner Scott, two of the top relievers available this offseason (The Athletic)
The Rangers are going all in on a potential reunion with veteran RHP Nathan Eovaldi (Dallas Morning News)
St. Louis seems intent on trading Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado this winter, and the Yankees have some interest while a host of “mid-market” teams have also reached out (The Athletic)
The Astros have received calls on All-Star OF Kyle Tucker, and would be willing to listen to offers on Tucker and other players like Framber Valdez (MLB.com)
Detroit is showing interest in seven-time All-Star 1B Paul Goldschmidt, who is a first-time free agent (MLB Network)
After missing out on Juan Soto, the Blue Jays, Yankees and Red Sox are all showing strong interest in free agent OF Anthony Santander (MLB Network)
Detroit is looking to be active this winter and the ballclub is in on righties Walker Buehler and Kyle Gibson, as well as LHP Andrew Heaney (Detroit Free Press)
Winter Meetings 🎺
The Winter Meetings are now well underway at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas.
The MLB Draft Lottery will be held on Tuesday, December 10 at 5:30 p.m. ET and will be aired live on MLB Network.
The Mets are not in the draft lottery this year. They will have the 28th pick in the first round of the 2025 draft, which takes place in July during All-Star Week. Per MLB, the order of the postseason teams is determined by when they get eliminated and their revenue-sharing status. Those 12 teams will choose in the following order: Wild Card Series losers, Division Series losers, Championship Series losers, World Series loser, World Series winner. Within each of those groups, clubs will be sorted by revenue-sharing status, with payee clubs selecting before non-payee clubs. If two or more clubs have identical winning percentages in the immediately preceding championship season, the selection order of those clubs will be determined by winning percentage in the next prior championship season, with any remaining ties resolved by the tied clubs’ respective championship season winning percentages in each preceding year, until the tie is broken.
The Rule 5 draft will be held on Wednesday, December 11, at 2 p.m. ET. The Mets have the 21st pick in this draft, although they are not obligated to choose any of the available players. The Mets currently have 32 players on their 40-man roster, 33 if Clay Holmes is included, meaning there is some wiggle room for them to take a chance on a player. If the Mets do choose a player from the major league portion of the draft, they must pay the player’s former club $100,000 and carry that player on the active roster the entire season. If they don’t, they must then be waived. If the player clears waivers, they offer that player back to their former club for $50,000. The player can only be outrighted off the 40-man roster and sent to the minors if their former team declines to take the player back.
For more on this year’s Winter Meetings, check out MLB’s primer here.
Juan Soto looks set to be just the start of game-changing offseason… ✍️
Mets fans are in uncharted territory right now.
Still celebrating the news that superstar slugger Juan Soto will be bringing his considerable talents to Queens, fans of the Amazins’ look set to have more reasons to get excited over the coming days and weeks.
The Mets were mentioned in a slew of Hot Stove gossip on Monday night, and they seem to be major players in the sweepstakes for Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman, and Garrett Crochet.
Simply put, owner Steve Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns are only just getting to work this offseason, despite having already delivered a franchise-altering megastar in Soto.
And, if the Mets do end up trading for a legit ace in Crochet, if they sign one of Alonso or Bregman, and if they are able to strengthen the bullpen, then this offseason really will be a game-changer for the entire organization.
The fact that the Mets are being spoken of as major players across the board is somewhat of a new phenomenon for all Mets fans.
After all, it is only a few years ago, under the ownership of the tight-fisted Wilpons, that the likes of Jed Lowrie and Dellin Betances were paraded as major signings for this franchise. Man, those were dark days.
I remember going to my first live Mets game in 2015 or 2016 - I was born in England, so getting to Citi Field wasn’t exactly easy - and being acutely aware that the Yankees were the main attraction in town. The low-spending, dysfunctional Mets were hardly a major draw, and they were never going to attract the very best the game had to offer.
Well, fast forward to today, and this is very much a new era for the Mets. Thanks to Cohen’s passion and unrelenting determination to turn this organization into a perennial winner - not to mention his abundance of wealth - the Mets are the new hottest show in town. They are suddenly an incredibly attractive destination for the top free agents, and they are being taken seriously as legitimate World Series contenders by those inside the game. David Stearns said on Monday - without naming specific names of course - players now want to join the Mets, and want to stay with the Mets.
And landing Soto is just the start.
When you combine Cohen’s will to win and his financial might, coupled with Stearns’ ability to find high-value players on the margins, the Mets are going to continue to be major players for the best talent out there year in and year out, despite now having Soto’s gargantuan and record-breaking contract on the books.
We could well see tangible evidence of that over the coming days. The front office looks likely to acquire more starting pitching, which could well be bringing back Sean Manaea and then trading for Garrett Crochet from the White Sox. Both of those moves would be significant and would greatly improve a starting rotation currently in flux.
Stearns has made it clear that the resources are there to bring back Pete Alonso. If they choose not to go down that path, however, then there does appear to be some legitimate interest in Gold Glove third baseman Alex Bregman, who has plenty of winning pedigree. Either way, the Mets clearly aren’t done improving their lineup, despite having already signed the best hitter in the game and a true generational talent in Soto.
Outside of that, the Mets are also showing interest in former Yankees reliever Jonathan Loáisiga, who would be a solid addition to the bullpen.
Again, Mets fans aren’t used to being in this position. They have become so accustomed to watching other teams - mainly the Yankees - go out and spend a boatload of money while their team feeds off of scraps and hodgepodge together a roster in the cheapest way possible.
But, as the Soto signing so stunningly demonstrated, this is a brand-new era for the Mets and the rest of this offseason may well just prove that further.
Around the League 🚩
The White Sox signed OF Mike Tauchman to a Major League deal to bolster their outfield depth (MLB.com)
Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes confirmed that Mookie Betts is preparing to play shortstop in 2025
The Yankees are planning on moving Aaron Judge back to right field in 2025, paving the way for top prospect Jasson Dominguez to play center field (MLB.com)
The Tigers signed RHP Alex Cobb to a one-year deal, pending a physical (The Athletic)
The Phillies agreed to terms on a one-year, $8.5 million deal with closer Jordan Romano
While Shohei Ohtani will return to pitching in 2025, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts it is “very unlikely” that he will be ready to return to the mound for the Dodgers’ opening series against the Cubs in Tokyo, following off-season shoulder surgery
Bringing back Sean and Pete alone would be enough. But if we get Crochet (or sign Burnes, which looks less likely by the day), look out.