Gwreck

Announced today: Nolan McLean and Clay Holmes will be on the Team USA roster. This is infuriating. The idea that McLean is somehow being picked and there’s no commitment from Skubal or Crochet or Gausman or Webb or 50 other established starters to play instead of guys who have real durability concerns this season…

That is in fact his entrance song (with the original lyrics).

Last time I checked They could use a LF with some RH pop, too. Later 100%. And I’m a Laureano fan and think he’d be a fine addition. I just don’t think he’s a CF solution.

He’s a corner outfielder (hasn’t played center full time since 2019) but has made occasional appearances in center (15-20 games a year).

San Diego also has had 5 consecutive banner years in attendance, ranking top 5 each year 2021-25, despite being in about the 20th largest market in MLB. Only the Dodgers (with a much larger stadium) had a higher attendance than the Padres this year. San Diego basically sold out the entire season in 2025 and weren’t far behind in 2024. By comparison, San Diego ranked between 14 and 21st overall in each of the 10 seasons from 2010 to 2019. Sure, the playoff results aren’t there, and it’s not easy to win the division when you’ve got the Dodgers around…but if I’m running the Padres, I’m in no hurry to tear things down.

A week and a half ago, trading prospects for relievers wouldn’t have made much sense to me given that there were a plethora of standout relief options that cost nothing but money. Of course, the Mets didn’t sign any of them (Diaz, Suarez, Rogers) so maybe it’s time to think differently. A Mason Miller, coming with multiple years of team control, is worth strongly considering. That said, there are many holes on this team that are much more significant than the bullpen (middle-of-order hitter; reliable starting pitching) and that’s where key prospects for trades are better deployed.

Seaver. That’s the list. And I say that as someone who was too young to have even seen him pitch for the Mets.

Exactly. This *could* be a good lineup but of course it’s all dependent on what goes in the empty spots: Lindor SS ____ Soto RF ____ Montero (1B??) Alvarez C Baty 3B Semien 2B Taylor/Benge CF

This is a real head scratcher. The stated goal is to upgrade the infield defense, but we want a guy who was very bad at playing second base to now move to first base, where he’s never* played before? Really? Offensively he seems ok. Discussing this deal with a friend whose response was “It’s one of those moves that I won’t mind so long as they get better players after this,” which is where I am too.

I also would have liked to retain Rogers. I again wait for an indication of what Stearns has planned for making the team, you know, good.

Stearns seems to be banking an awful lot on existing talent improving. I think it’s possible but I see it as a huge, everything-must-go-right gamble. -If we get Vientos’s 2024 production for a full year, that could be +3 or +4 wins over the negative contributions he had in 2025. -McLean, if he can do what he did in 8 starts over a full year is probably +3 or 4 wins. -Manaea and Senga, if healthy and pitching effectively: a couple wins from each. -If Taylor’s offense is akin to 2024 and not 2025, that’s probably a win. -Alvarez playing like he did post-demotion, if he can do it over a full year: a win+ of potential improvement. Maybe more if you account for not giving ABs to Senger. -Mauricio, Benge, Williams: who knows? Presumably it’s possible any one of them or more could be an impact player and thus drive multiple wins of value.

Baltimore will come to Citi Field on the last homestand of the 2026 season, September 14-16.

What I think this overlooks is: (1) that the Mets have the resources to move those players out of starting roles even if they have large contracts without it also foreclosing the possibility of keeping the team competitive. Simply put, overpaying on a contract is less likely to hurt the Mets than many other teams. (2) 3 years from now the Mets are significantly more likely to have internal, low-cost options that can effectively complement (or supplant) those aging veterans as needed. (They of course don’t have those low-cost options now). By all accounts, the Mets have made numerous investments and upgrades to scouting and player development. Another 3 years of improvements there is more likely to pay dividends that can help.

Jon Heyman got a quote from Uncle Stevie: “I totally understand the fans’ reaction. There is lots of offseason left to put a playoff team on the field.”

I can be pretty forgiving if there’s a World Series title around these parts. If it’s an 85 win, #6 seed if we get lucky team…not so much. In a vacuum, any one departure would have been fine, but 3 icons leaving in the same offseason is extraordinarily tough to bear, and I agree that it’s not at all clear that factor has been sufficiently considered.

Soto has to first notify them he wants to opt-out, and the Mets then have a small window in which they can raise the salary by $4M annually to negate that decision. And if they don’t do so, Soto can then finalize the opt-out or stay, if he wants.

After 2029.

This is a sad day. We may well have good days to come, and some might say that Stearns’s job depends on those good days coming mighty fast. But still a very sad day.

I’m with CF in the “anger” stage. I loved Nimmo but I can understand the move from a baseball perspective and trying to make the team better. Diaz, however, is the best at what he does. Letting him leave is a travesty.

Britton and Sammon are asking, and so am I: [bLOCKQUOTE] What are the New York Mets doing? After Edwin Díaz agreed to a three-year contract to become the closer for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, that’s the refrain echoing through the hotels that host MLB’s Winter Meetings. According to league sources, the Mets had offered the 31-year-old Díaz a three-year, $66 million deal with modest deferrals. New York expressed a willingness to go higher before Díaz decided to sign with Los Angeles. One year after signing Juan Soto to a record contract and falling on their faces down the stretch of the season, the Mets have been curiously cautious in free agency. They have signaled at every turn an unwillingness to extend long-term offers — to the top of the starting pitching market, to the top of the outfield market, to their long-tenured All-Stars in Díaz and Pete Alonso. Losing Díaz to the Dodgers is a bad result; losing him to such reasonable terms — three years and $69 million — invites skepticism of president of baseball operations David Stearns’ short-term plans and long-term vision. Yes, it is early in the offseason, and a splashy acquisition (or two) between now and the start of spring training wouldn’t surprise anyone.[/bLOCKQUOTE] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6876026/2025/12/09/new-york-mets-edwin-diaz-plan/ Starting Pitching Does we really just want to roll with Senga, Manaea, Peterson, and Holmes again, with McLean being the only major change? Does anyone really think that Sproat or Tong are actually ready and able to make 25-30 regular season starts plus a couple more in the playoffs — and be good while doing so? Offense Schwarber got 5/$150 to be a fulltime DH. That sure seems like a pretty good indicator of where the market would be for Pete. If the Mets aren’t going to pay up, then the plan is…Vientos? And even if they do pay Pete, there’s still two outfield spots and a DH slot that are vacant. Again, Vientos is not the answer. Assuming that Benge and Williams can both immediately be impactful players at the major league level seems like folly. Bullpen Needs several quality arms and is now counting on a bounceback season in a huge way from (1) Williams AND (2) Minter, plus hoping that (3) Raley will be good over an entire season. It feels like the Mets are 3 impact free agents away from being an 85 win team.

The CBA requires that the season take between 182 and 187 days. The current expanded postseason requires a minimum of 32 days. Assuming there’s little interest in pushing the World Series into November (Game 7 in 2026 would be October 31), the season has to start in March.

The Mets quietly announced game times for 2026: All weeknight games remain 7:10 PM (you may recall they had been surveying fans about potentially changing that time). Saturday games are all at 4:10 PM with two exceptions: May 16 vs Yankees and July 25 vs Dodgers, which are 7:15 games. All Sunday games 1:40 PM (as usual, a few will be moved to the evening for national broadcast, but none are currently scheduled as such). Thursday, March 26 is opening day, 3:10 PM. Mets are home on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, with a 4:10 PM start.

I guess it’s early but this is another signal of the Mets positioning themselves as an 85-wins-if-most-things-go-right team. If Stearns winds up signing Kyle Tucker and Pete Alonso and Framber Valdez and Robert Suarez, I’m happy to re-evaluate my position on this offseason. Right now I am extremely disappointed.

Devin Williams: 3/$51 Diaz: 3/$69 Will be very interesting to look back and see what the numbers are 3 years from now. I am in fierce disagreement with the Mets’ approach here.

Rosenthal reporting that it’s 3 years. This feels like a massive screwup by the Mets.