The price for a Tarik Skubal trade is too high for the Mets

Plus, why Carlos Beltrán should go into the Hall of Fame as a Met

What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

• The team announced its player development staff for the 2026 season (Official)

• Top prospect Carson Benge is already in Port St. Lucie preparing for the season (Athletic)

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Roster Moves 📰

• Acquired IF Vidal Bruján from the Twins

• Designated LHP Richard Lovelady for assignment

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Rumor Mill 💨

• Neither the Mets or Yankees are willing to meet the ask to acquire LHP Tarik Skubal from the Tigers (NY Post)

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David Stearns meets with the media 🗣️

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Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns met with the media on Thursday afternoon to discuss his very busy offseason and essentially said the following:

• Talks to acquire RHP Freddy Peralta first started in November

• Stearns was already familiar with Peralta from his time in Milwaukee and likes what he brings to the table both on and off the field

• He did not publicly discuss any possible Peralta extension - he prefers to keep those conversations private

• He likes the versatility of RHP Tobias Myers who can be a starter or a reliever, and he can also be optioned to the minors if necessary

• Stearns and the entire organization understood fan frustrations early in the offseason with the exit of beloved ballplayers, but he reiterated that it is his job to understand just how long off-seasons are and that the offseason still isn’t over

• He is happy with the current state of the rotation

• He would not have included RHP Brandon Sproat in any deal unless he got a starting pitcher back in return

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What I’m Reading 📰

• Early in the offseason the old Mets core was torn down and GM David Stearns rebuilt it in just six weeks (FOX)

• This past week helped completely turn around the team’s offseason but the groundwork for it had already been laid for almost a year earlier (NY Post)

• They have certainly added some talent, but it remains to be seen whether the Mets are an improvement over last year’s group (Athletic)

• RHP Freddy Peralta is reportedly open to an extension, but what would an extension for the newest acquisition look like? (Athletic)

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In a special emergency livestream, Rich MacLeod & Andrew Claudio react to the breaking news that the Mets have acquired All-Star pitcher Freddy Peralta & RHP Tobias Myers from the Milwaukee Brewers for top 5 prospects Jett Williams & Brandon Sproat.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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Carlos Beltrán should go into Cooperstown with a Mets cap ✍️

Former Met and now Hall of Famer Carlos Beltrán was in Cooperstown to discuss his path to the Hall of Fame on Thursday. It took until his fourth year on the ballot to finally get the call, thanks in all probability to his direct participation in the Astros cheating scandal from 2017. If not for that, Beltrán would’ve unquestionably been a first-ballot Hall of Famer - he is among the ten best center fielders to ever play the game by fWAR. He simply had to pay his dues and wait out his sentence for his wrongdoing with Houston in what is unquestionably a tainted championship.

But now that he is finally in, the final question remains: what cap will he be wearing on his plaque when he joins the other baseball legends in the Hall of Fame?

For his part, Beltrán played coy when asked that question, saying, “As soon as I finish the whole process here in Cooperstown, you guys will find out which hat I will wear.” And on Tuesday in an interview with MLB Network, he said he has yet to decide which cap he will wear, but did say the Mets carry a lot of weight for him.

And, back in December, he said, “I look at my career and the teams that I had the best years in, or the most time, have been the Royals and the Mets. But I do feel like with the [way] that I feel about the Mets now, and how engaged I am with the organization, and how useful they made me as part of the organization, I see myself as a Met.”

Beltrán recently credited the Mets organization for being an invaluable part of his playing career, and now works as a special assistant to David Stearns in the Mets front office. He was hired by the Mets prior to the 2020 season to succeed Mickey Callaway as the club’s manager, but resigned soon thereafter once his involvement in the Astros cheating scandal was revealed. He never managed a game for the club.

Feelings aside, the numbers support the Mets’ case.

He played with the Mets and Royals for seven years each, but he played more games in a Met uniform. He played in 839 games with the Mets compared with 795 for the Royals. With the Mets, he hit .280/.369/.500 with 149 home runs and 559 RBI. He stole 100 bases and had an OPS of .869 and a career worth 31.1 bWAR in Queens. He was a 5x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove Winner, and a 2x Silver Slugger award winner during his time with the Mets.

His 29.3 fWAR with the Mets ranks fifth behind only Francisco Lindor (29.8), José Reyes (33.2), Darryl Strawberry (35.5), and David Wright (51.3) in club history. His 149 home runs are seventh all-time in Mets history, his 551 runs scored are 10th, his 559 RBI are seventh, his 100 stolen bases are 12th, and his 127 wRC+ is eighth.

He was a five-time All-Star with the Mets, a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and finished in the top 20 in the MVP Award balloting three times during his tenure with the Mets, although that includes the 2011 season in which he was traded to the Giants for Zack Wheeler in late July.

Indeed, Beltrán is an all-time great Met, and grossly underappreciated thanks to one at-bat against Adam Wainwright to end the 2006 National League Championship Series (it’s worth mentioning Cliff Floyd was also baffled by a deadly Wainwright curve in the same inning).

Yes, he won Rookie of the Year in 1999 with Kansas City and made the All-Star team once during his seven years with the Royals. He hit .287/.352/.483 with 123 home runs and 516 RBIs. He did steal more bases with 164, but his OPS was .835, and he was worth 24.8 bWAR.

Ultimately, the choice is his, and obviously, it’s a one-and-done decision. He could ultimately decide to go in with a blank cap. But my hunch is that Beltrán will be wearing a Mets cap when he gets inducted in July.

After all, one Wainwright Uncle Charlie does not define his career in New York, which was overall very successful.

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Around the League 🚩

• The Rangers acquired RHP MacKenzie Gore from the Nationals in exchange for five prospects (ESPN)

• Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones discussed their paths to the Hall of Fame after getting elected into this year’s class (MLB.com)

• The writers have been stingy when it comes to electing pitchers into the Hall of Fame so what will it take for more pitchers to get the call? (ESPN)

• The Yankees claimed IF/OF Marco Luciano off waivers from the Orioles (MLB.com)