Benjamin Grimm

Maybe they'll put McNeil at third, Acuna at second, and Vientos at first for a year and then go big for Vlad next year. I'd be reluctant, though, to put too many eggs in Vlad's basket, especially since we don't even know for sure that he'll be a free agent.

This is what I said in October. It looks like it may play out that way.

I still think there's a chance that the market will come back to the Mets, if that $68 million offer becomes his best option. That is, unless the Mets have committed elsewhere by then. Which I think is the most likely outcome.

Vlad will come at a steep price in young players. I would only do it if there's a negotiating window. I don't see it happening.

=Centerfield post_id=183188 time=1737148493 user_id=65] I'm guessing that the Mets did their due diligence and that David Stearns is also not just finding out about the surgery.

I see that he didn't pitch at all in June of 2024, and made his last appearance on August 11. I found this on MLB.com, dated September 9: ATLANTA -- A.J. Minter will be on crutches for the next six weeks as he recovers from the season-ending left hip surgery he underwent last month. He's hoping to heal in time to have a relatively normal offseason. Whether Minter returns will be determined this offseason, while he is recovering from the surgical procedure performed by Dr. Thomas Byrd in Nashville. Byrd found a labrum tear, a hip impingement and a lesion on Minter's femur. The surgical procedure required performing a microfracture on the hip. Minter dealt with some hip and lower back discomfort over the past few years, but not to the extent he did this season. His average four-seam velocity dropped from 96.6 mph in 2022 to 95.8 mph in 2023 to 94.5 mph this year. That average dropped all the way down to 93.5 mph during the five August appearances he made before opting to have surgery. Minter was shut down at the end of May with the hope that a cortisone shot and a month's worth of rest might allow him to get through the rest of the season. There was no guarantee this would work. But even though he will be hitting the free-agent market this winter, he chose to delay going the surgical route. “When I came back in July, there wasn't much difference,” Minter said. “I still wasn't able to use my legs the way I wanted. But I was still putting up good numbers. That was a decision I had to make. I wanted to keep helping the team because I knew we had a good chance we can still make a run at it.” Minter's injury might have cost him some money this winter. But he has absolutely no regrets about not undergoing the surgery earlier and possibly creating an opportunity for himself to give teams more assurance about how much he can provide next season. “The money is going to come,” Minter said. “My goal is to pitch another eight or nine years and hopefully be like [41-year-old teammate Jesse Chavez] one day. Missing a few months, looking at the short term, it sucks. But hopefully, I can get past this and be good to go.”

I imagine that Scott still feels he can get more than two years, and Stearns preferred a shorter-term option.

As in angry? Or as in insane?

=smg58 post_id=183158 time=1737138634 user_id=62] An interesting move: the Bjue Jays acquired Myles Straw from the Guardians -- along with taking on $11M of the money that Straw, essentially a minor leaguer at this point, is still owed -- to also get $2M of international pool money in exchange for a PTBNL or more cash. You have to think there's no way this deal gets made if they don't have the upper hand on getting Sasaki.

http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/images/2024/2024_03_05.jpg>

I am too. But I've survived the departures of Seaver (twice!), Staub, Strawberry, Gooden, Alfonzo, Reyes, deGrom and others, so if Pete goes life will go on. But yes, I do hope this is just posturing on the Mets' part. And it may well be.

I hope that's not an accurate take, but if it is, so be it.

That article suggests that the Jays might put Alonso at first base and move Guerrero to third base. Or let one of them be a DH. So Pete/Vlad isn't necessarily an either/or for Toronto.

Edgy MD wrote: And if HAIR FORCE ONE is the winner, we won't have a guy who is no longer a Met gracing the cover when it's installed at The Louvre. That happened in 2021 with THAT'S ALMORA! And it could still happen this year with Alonso or Severino. https://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2021/20210426_NSD_02.jpg>

Jon Heyman says it's one year, $8 million.

Good news!

And as for Vlad Jr., if he's going to be a Met, I think it's far more likely to happen in 2026 than 2025. Especially if Pete leaves and they go with a makeshift approach at first base in 2025.

Seeing names like Jhoanel, Yorber, Yobanny, Aiberson, Kleber, and Giomar makes me wonder if those two guys named Jose got teased for having a weird first name.

I think they are! Neither one is wearing a hat.

I suspect that Santander is the Plan B. And the Mets don't want to continue dithering with Pete and have Santander slip through their fingers.

I don't think I've ever won this thing on a day when Tampa Bay was included.

http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/images/2024/2024_03_04.jpg>

I was hoping that the name "Rumble Ponies" was illegal. (It should be.)

I used Steve Henderson as my Met/Mariner and quickly regretted it when he was the only Astro/Mariner I could think of.

This kid is extremely highly regarded. I'm eager to see how quickly he moves through the Mets system, and what position he'll settle in at. The Mets appear set at shortstop for the next seven years, but few things are set in stone.