Mets meet with top closer, and Boras' insane Alonso demand

Is Scott Boras looking to get nine years for Pete Alonso? Plus, the Mets have a surprise meeting with Tanner Scott and are showing interest in Alex Verdugo.

What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

• The Mets reportedly met with top free agent LHP Tanner Scott recently (The Athletic)

• New York could be looking to add Scott on a short-term, high AAV structured contract (SNY)

• Scott, 30, had a 1.75 ERA with 22 saves (two blown saves) with the Marlins and Padres last season

• New York is seeking to add at least two more relievers to their bullpen this offseason (The Athletic)

• Scott Boras is using Prince Fielder’s nine-year, $214 million contract from the 2014 season as a comparison to what 1B Pete Alonso should get in free agency (USA Today)

• The Red Sox and Blue Jays are among eight teams that are showing some interest in Alonso, potentially on a short-term deal with opt-outs (USA Today)

• The Mets are among teams showing interest in free agent OF Alex Verdugo (MassLive)

---

Rumor Mill 💨

• There may be a mystery team in on Japanese RHP Roki Sasaki, in addition to the seven clubs that have already met with the free agent (Morosi)

• The Yankees are “actively trying to deal” RHP Marcus Stroman (USA Today)

• New York has also checked in on veteran free agent Jorge Polanco for infield help (NY Post)

• The Pirates are showing interest in free agent OF Alex Verdugo (FanSided)

---

---

Let’s make some sense of Tuesday’s Mets rumors… ✍️

Baseball’s offseason often has lots of ups and downs, with the highs of palpable buzz and drama being balanced out by many quiet weeks. The Mets offseason has been no different, as things have mostly seemed to settle after a fairly busy December.

That dynamic changed a bit yesterday, however, as a bevy of different reports and rumors came out surrounding the club and players they’re pursuing. So let’s dive in and touch on the three most interesting Mets nuggets from Tuesday…

The Mets are showing interest in Tanner Scott

Having yet to add a legitimate reliever to their tool chest thus far this winter, the Mets were linked to a pretty significant arm on Tuesday.

According to The Athletic’s Will Sammon, the organization recently met with free agent left-hander Tanner Scott in recent days. Scott, 30, spent the 2024 season split between the Marlins and Padres as a closer and high-leverage reliever, pitching to a 1.75 ERA, 2.92 FIP and 1.6 fWAR with 22 saves in 24 opportunities. In 72 appearances, Scott held opposing batters to a .179/.285/.243 slash line with a .528 OPS.

Following a few rocky seasons in Baltimore, Scott found his own in Miami before being dealt to San Diego this past season. Since the start of the 2023 season, Scott has pitched to a 2.04 ERA, 2.53 FIP, 224 ERA+ and accumulated a 4.4 fWAR (and a vastly higher 7.6 bWAR) over 146 appearances.

SNY’s Andy Martino added that the Mets could look to be seriously interested in bringing Scott in on a short-term, high AAV contract.

With the presence of Edwin Díaz, Scott would clearly not be brought to New York to be the team’s regular closer. He would provide the club with a significant upgrade in the late innings, however, for high-leverage situations. It would also give the team an impact lefty out of their bullpen, something that they never adequately replaced last season after Brooks Raley suffered a season-ending injury.

The prospects of ending a game with the combination of José Buttó, Tanner Scott, Dedniel Nuñez and Edwin Díaz would sure as hell be pretty appealing. It would also show a level of aggression we have yet to see from David Stearns, who has only signed one relief pitcher to a major league deal in his time as a GM/PoBO; he signed Matt Albers to a two-year, $5 million contract with the Brewers in 2018.

Scott Boras wants HOW MUCH for Pete Alonso??

I wrote about the Scott Boras mind games, PR stunts and strategic leaks last week, but he has truly outdone himself now.

On Tuesday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (grain of salt, I know) reported that Boras was using Prince Fielder’s nine-year, $214 million contract with the Texas Rangers in 2014 as a comparison for what he thinks Pete Alonso should be getting in free agency. Pardon my french, but boy is that fucking rich.

First of all, I don’t need to tell you why Pete Alonso isn’t worth a nine-year contract, but more importantly does Scott Boras really want to use Prince Fielder – who played less than 300 games with a -0.3 fWAR after signing that contract – as his prime example here? I mean sheesh.

For weeks, it’s been very clear that the Mets and Boras/Alonso have had a fairly significant gap between what both sides thought was a fair deal. Recently, I’ve had my doubts that the organization isn’t even offering Alonso four guaranteed years (and definitely not any more than that.) For Boras to, even supposedly, be seeking nine years for Alonso’s services is truly one of the biggest “what the fuck?” reports I’ve seen this entire offseason. In large part, it genuinely makes me think the report isn’t even true simply because it’s almost too outlandish… too out of touch and unrealistic.

Then again, this is Scott Boras we’re talking about. And this is also the same Pete Alonso that turned down a seven-year, $158 million contract extension a year ago before he switched over to Boras.

Perhaps this is a weird, backwards strategy from Boras. This could even be the Mets leaking it out to make Alonso’s ask seem wildly unreasonable. Whatever is truly happening behind the scenes here, what is clear is that this is going to continue to be a long, drawn-out and potentially messy process.

We’re once again getting reports that other teams like the Red Sox and Blue Jays (among others) are showing interest in Alonso. But as I said last week, I think that’s a lot of smoke being blown by Boras and unless Alonso is taking a short-term pillow contract, I don’t find it to be a credible threat.

I don’t think leaks like this will lead to the Mets getting frustrated and walking away, but I do feel as if we’re getting to the point where Boras is actually starting to do his client a disservice here.

The Mets are showing interest in another (less popular) Yankees outfielder

One final tidbit that came out later on Tuesday was that the Mets are among at least three teams showing interest in free agent Alex Verdugo, the others being the Pirates and Blue Jays.

The Mets have been no stranger to former Yankees outfielders over the last year, signing Harrison Bader to a one-year deal last offseason and, of course, bringing in Juan Soto on a professional sports record contract just one month ago. This, though, would probably be the most underwhelming of the three if we’re being honest.

Verdugo quickly went from being a fan favorite early last year to one of the biggest scapegoats of the 2024 Yankees season as the left-handed hitting outfielder batted .233/.291/.356 with 13 home runs, 61 RBI, a .647 OPS, 83 OPS+ and a measly 0.6 fWAR – making him just barely better than a replacement-level player last season.

It’s become clear over recent weeks that the Mets are looking to add another outfielder to their roster. They showed a lot of interest in Joc Pederson — who can play outfield in addition to what likely would’ve been more of a DH role — and reportedly offered Teoscar Hernández a two-year deal before he eventually re-signed with the Dodgers. So when I hear that the Mets are connected to other outfielders on the market, I’m not particularly surprised.

That being said, I don’t find there to be anything particularly appealing about this option. If I’m being honest, the Mets already have enough outfielders on their team that can’t really hit. Tyrone Taylor and Jose Siri are both likely going to be on the Opening Day roster, and neither of them has a career OPS over .730. They’ve also still got Starling Marte, at least as of now, who wasn’t a particularly effective hitter for a majority of last season and is now only another year older.

I’m fine with the Mets doing their due diligence and leaving no stone unturned – they shouldn’t be shamed for that and I won’t join in on the typical overreactions that come with these types of rumors in the offseason. But this rumor is better left as one we forget about, rather than a route this front office ultimately decides to travel down.

---

Around the League 🚩

• Brian Matusz, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft, sadly passed away at the age of 37 (MLB)

• Former Mets RHP Justin Verlander reportedly agreed to a one-year, $15 million contract with the Giants (ESPN)

• The Rays officially signed RHP Drew Rasmussen to a multi-year contract extension through the 2027 season