The free agent market waits on Ohtani and Yamamoto…
Are the Mets close to signing another starting pitcher? Plus, how the free agent market is in a freeze… for now.
What’s Up with the Mets? 🍎
The Mets have shown more interest in RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto than they have in any free agent in a long time (SNY)
David Stearns told SNY that the club would not trade prospects for rental players this offseason
RHP Eric Fedde is reportedly choosing between the Mets and White Sox in free agency for a two-year deal
Fedde had a 2.00 ERA in the KBO last season, but has a lifetime 5.41 ERA in the major leagues
Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell could be a back-up for the rotation if the Mets don’t land Yamamoto (Heyman)
New York has shown “zero interest” in free agent LHP Eduardo Rodríguez (SNY)
The Mets plan - according to David Stearns - is to use their in-house options at third base
Rumor Mill 💭
Former Mets RHP Seth Lugo is drawing interest from the Braves, Red Sox and Dbacks
Six teams are interested in free agent CF Michael A. Taylor, including the Mets (Heyman)
The free agency freeze ✍️
Is it me or is the hot stove feeling a little bit lukewarm these days?
Baseball’s highly anticipated Winter Meetings kicked off in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday, and in most years mark the time where the most buzz and activity goes on during the offseason. And while we’ve gotten some rumors in the first day at the event, things are clearly moving a bit slower than usual.
Other than a late night rumor about Shohei Ohtani reportedly meeting with the Blue Jays at their Florida facility, there really wasn’t much on the first day. It’s never great when two of the biggest Mets rumors in a day are about Michael A. Taylor and Eric Fedde, not exactly two former Nationals players that anyone is getting particularly excited about.
There are still two days to go at the meetings and so we still have some bigger rumors and signings to come, but this year doesn’t feel like the norm. The free agent market, and even the trade market to an extent, seems to be frozen in time, and that has a lot to do with the free agencies of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
In the case of Yamamoto, this is one of the most highly sought after starting pitchers we’ve seen in quite some time, and all of baseball’s heavy hitters appear to be interested. The Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Giants have all been connected to the Japanese right-hander thus far, with others following suit. And for Ohtani, well, we’ve truly never seen a free agent of his kind before.
With those two talents looming at the top of the food chain, other players in the market are likely going to be strategic and wait for those two players to sign in order to set the market. Not only will the contracts of Yamamoto and Ohtani set the bar in terms of dollars and cents, but the big-time teams that lose out on those players will likely be quick to pivot to their Plan B and Plan C in free agency, and that’s where guys like Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and Brandon Woodruff can capitalize.
At this point, unless a team is ready and willing to give them a deal that the player deems to be far above market value, they would be foolish not to wait out the Ohtani and Yamamoto sweepstakes to better position themselves.
The same can be said about the trade market, as well, which may not get active until after those players sign and the losing teams show more urgency to make a splash. It’s also worth noting that the trade market could also be on slow motion right now as other clubs sit and wait to see what the Padres return for a one year rental of Juan Soto may look like, which could very well set what the compensation market is going to look like in deals for the remainder of the winter.
So while I do anticipate additional rumors and a bit more activity over these next two days, and maybe even a couple of smaller moves, something tells me that all 30 teams will leave Nashville later this week looking at a mostly full free agent pool.
The world waits on Ohtani and Yamamoto…
Hot Stove 🔥
The Blue Jays are believed to have met with Shohei Ohtani at their spring training complex in Dunedin, Florida (Athletic)
The Brewers are listening to trade offers for multiple position players (New York Post)
The Cubs are reportedly interested in 3B Matt Chapman
The Reds don’t appear to be interested in trading Jonathan India right now (MLB.com)
The Astros and Rangers are both showing interest in signing Jordan Hicks (New York Post)
The Tigers signed manager A.J. Hinch to a long-term contract extension
The Astros have “no plans” to trade 3B Alex Bregman this offseason
The Brewers re-signed LHP Wade Miley to a one-year contract with a club option for the 2025 season