Gwreck

Lindor and Charles are just short of the leaderboard, although (like the Mullins guess) they are not far behind. Cameron played for the Reds in 1999 (and was the big piece going back to Seattle in the Griffey Jr. trade). Rogers is correct for the pitcher list, I had missed him when pulling out the pitchers from the larger list. [th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Yogi Berra[/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td]Jim Piersall[/td][td]1,529[/td][td]Jim Fregosi[/td][td]1,429[/td][td]Mike Bordick[/td][td]1,387[/td][td]Mo Vaughn[/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td]Curtis Granderson[/td][td]1,187[/td][td]Trot Nixon[/td][td]1,081[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td]John Olerud[/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td]Tony Clark[/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td]Kenny Rogers[/td][td]490[/td][td]Justin Verlander[/td][td]482[/td][td]Francisco Rodriguez[/td][td]408[/td][td]Dean Chance[/td][td]372[/td] Short of the leaderboards Cedric Mullins - 784 Francisco Lindor - 777 Ed Charles - 726 Joe Foy - 576 Tommie Agee - 359 Bret Saberhagen - 252 Had other NL time before Mets Gene Woodling Mike Cameron

Gene was with the Pirates in 1947.

[th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Yogi Berra[/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td]Jim Piersall[/td][td]1,529[/td][td]Jim Fregosi[/td][td]1,429[/td][td][/td][td]1,387[/td][td]Mo Vaughn[/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td]Curtis Granderson[/td][td]1,187[/td][td]Trot Nixon[/td][td]1,081[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td][/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td][/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td]Justin Verlander[/td][td]482[/td][td]Francisco Rodriguez[/td][td]408[/td][td]Dean Chance[/td][td]372[/td] Short of the leaderboards Cedric Mullins - 784 Joe Foy - 576 Tommie Agee - 359 Bret Saberhagen - 252

Lots of good names here. [th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Yogi Berra[/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td]Jim Piersall[/td][td]1,529[/td][td]Jim Fregosi[/td][td]1,429[/td][td][/td][td]1,387[/td][td]Mo Vaughn[/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td]Curtis Granderson[/td][td]1,187[/td][td]Trot Nixon[/td][td]1,081[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td][/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td][/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td]Justin Verlander[/td][td]482[/td][td][/td][td]408[/td][td]Dean Chance[/td][td]372[/td] Short of the leaderboards Cedric Mullins - 784 Joe Foy - 576 Tommie Agee - 359 Bret Saberhagen - 252

Tommie Agee only had 359 games (2 full seasons and small parts of 4 others) before coming to the Mets. [th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td]Yogi Berra[/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td][/td][td]1,529[/td][td]Jim Fregosi[/td][td]1,429[/td][td][/td][td]1,387[/td][td][/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td]Curtis Granderson[/td][td]1,187[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td][/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td][/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td]Justin Verlander[/td][td]482[/td][td][/td][td]408[/td][td][/td][td]367[/td]

Joe Foy: 576 AL games before joining the Mets in 1970. Frank Lary: 304 AL games. Would only be #13 on the pitchers list. [th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td][/td][td]1,529[/td][td]Jim Fregosi[/td][td]1,429[/td][td][/td][td]1,387[/td][td][/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td]Curtis Granderson[/td][td]1,187[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td][/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td][/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td][/td][td]482[/td][td][/td][td]408[/td][td][/td][td]367[/td]

Lolich is among the top 5 pitchers but would only be about #30 on the larger list. We can add those top 5 pitchers as a bonus quiz, however! [th]Position Player[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td][/td][td]1,529[/td][td][/td][td]1,429[/td][td][/td][td]1,387[/td][td][/td][td]1,346[/td][td]Robin Ventura[/td][td]1,254[/td][td][/td][td]1,187[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td][/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td][/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td] [th]Pitcher[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]606[/td][td]Mickey Lolich[/td][td]508[/td][td][/td][td]482[/td][td][/td][td]408[/td][td][/td][td]367[/td]

[th]Name[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]2,116[/td][td]Robinson Cano[/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td][/td][td]1,529[/td][td][/td][td]1,429[/td][td][/td][td]1,387[/td][td][/td][td]1,346[/td][td][/td][td]1,254[/td][td][/td][td]1,187[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td][/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td][/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td]

Marcus Semien's 1,629 game MLB career has been entirely in the American League. Can you name the players who had the longest AL-only careers before making their NL debut with the Mets? [th]Name[/th][th]AL Games Before Mets Debut[/th][td][/td][td]2,116[/td][td][/td][td]2,078[/td][td][/td][td]2,003[/td][td]Marcus Semien[/td][td]1,629[/td][td][/td][td]1,529[/td][td][/td][td]1,429[/td][td][/td][td]1,387[/td][td][/td][td]1,346[/td][td][/td][td]1,254[/td][td][/td][td]1,187[/td][td][/td][td]1,061[/td][td][/td][td]920[/td][td][/td][td]919[/td][td][/td][td]862[/td][td][/td][td]861[/td]

Sure, here’s the relevant part: [bLOCKQUOTE]Can Semien rebound offensively? The stats on the back of the baseball card for Semien were rough in 2025: a .230/.305/.364 slash line for his worst OPS since he became an established big leaguer a decade ago with the Chicago White Sox. Only nine players qualified for the batting title last season with a worse OPS than Semien’s .669. It’s been a major drop-off since 2023, when Semien finished third in the MVP balloting and helped lead the Rangers to their first championship. But let’s take a look under the hood at those two years. Marcus Semien, 2023 vs. 2025 Exit Velo 88.4 88.3 Barrel % 6.5% 6.7% Hard-Hit % 37.0% 35.0% xWOBA 0.333 0.318 xWOBA con 0.349 0.341 Chase% 21.4% 23.5% Whiff% 18.0% 22.6% K% 14.6% 17.4% BB% 9.6% 9.4% Yes, Semien was worse in 2025 than in 2023; those numbers are moving in the wrong direction. But he wasn’t so far gone in a lot of the important offensive metrics to think he deserved falling off a cliff the way he did. Is Semien likely to contend for an MVP again at age 35 next season? No. Is it reasonable to think he can be better at the plate than he was last season? Yes.[/bLOCKQUOTE]

I think we have very different assessments of the readiness of Ronny Mauricio.

The catch from 2022 occurred the same night as Timmy Trumpet’s in-person performance. It was against the Dodgers, deGrom was back — maybe the best game at Citi that year. From 2024: it gets slightly overlooked because the Mets gave the lead up, but in game 161 in Atlanta, Nimmo hit the massive homer in the top of the 8th to put the Mets up by 3 runs. The 2016 game against the Cubs at which he hit his first major league homer and got a curtain call from the fans. Big pinch hit 3-run homer in 2018 at Dodger Stadium to win it for the Mets (who were down 2-1 at the time).

The Mets aren’t going to magically unload Semien’s contract on someone else. Nor do they need to, given Cohen’s massive resources. If he’s spectacularly bad, they’ll cut him (see, e.g., Robinson Cano in April 2022 was released with a year and a half left on the contract). I think it’s a fair concern that the Mets might be predisposed to play Semien since he’s got a big contract, but even if we assume that’s the case, he isn’t “blocking” anyone. If Mauricio somehow manages to show he can hit breaking balls and be a productive offensive player, he’ll play. I guess Williams is “blocked” only in the sense that if you wanted him to be anointed an everyday player as of right NOW, that might be a conflict. I guess it’s possible he could prove to be the best option to start the season as an everyday regular in the majors…but I am highly dubious that will be the case. Separately, if you want the optimist case re: Semien’s offense, Britton wrote an article today observing that much of the underlying data for Semien in 2025 (exit velo, barrels, hard hit rate, chase %, walk rate, etc.) was comparable to his MVP-caliber 2023 season, and thus there is some basis to expect that he could improve off last year’s crap numbers.

Friendly reminder that Carson Benge started 2025 in Brooklyn, at A ball. And had a .178/.272/.311 line in his 24 games in Syracuse. I do not think the Mets will (and they certainly should NOT) “leave a corner OF spot open” for him. The Mets are not a rebuilding team, and failing to make necessary upgrades to the roster because of the hope that prospects (even the most highly regarded prospects) will break out is a recipe for disaster. If Benge is that good, he’ll win a job in spring training or force his way onto the roster mid-way through the season. Anointing him a starter now is crazy talk, in my view.

I reject the idea that there is a logjam that needs to be imminently broken. Of course, injuries can happen and more roster moves [CROSSOUT]may[/CROSSOUT] need to happen. As the roster stands, there is flexibility for the Mets to upgrade at any number of positions, with only catcher, second base, shortstop, and right field currently locked up. The breakdown is pretty clear to me, ordered below in current likelihood that these players are on the 2026 Opening Day Roster: 1. Semien is going to be the everyday second baseman, full stop. He won the gold glove there last year (and in 2021). Stearns has been very clear that a defensive upgrade is desired. The idea that Semien’s contract is something the team will just “eat” is very strange to me. No, I don’t think his offensive production will be amazing but it’s pretty unlikely that he gets benched if his offense is close to what he did last year. 2 Baty is the starting everyday third baseman. He’s easily the best defensive option there (again, a Stearns priority) and he hit well enough to get first crack at the job in 2026. 3. McNeil can competently play five positions and is signed for only one more year. There is no need whatsoever to trade him and he’s an extremely useful bench piece if he doesn’t have a starting role. (Also: at least for now, there are two outfield spots open). 4. Vientos is also currently on the opening day roster, with playing time to come from a mix of starts at DH, and the occasional start at third (probably against a tough lefty). He might be a backup option for first base but if he’s a primary option there, something has gone wrong. His hold on the spot is much more tenuous if the Mets were to sign a full time DH (such as a Kyle Schwarber). 5. Acuna is clearly not going to start. He’s got an inside track on a bench spot, but is less essential from a defensive standpoint if Semien and Baty are everyday starters. 6. Mauricio is starting the year in AAA. This was telegraphed when the Mets kept him on the major league roster through the end of the last season in order to preserve an additional option year. Also, he’s clearly behind others and not ready to play regularly in the majors. 7. If Jett Williams makes the team, it’ll be to play centerfield and not to start as an infielder. With 13 hitters, your current roster is: -8 starters in the field (with several of those players TBD) -Bench/DH options of Torrens, McNeil, Vientos, Acuna, and Taylor.

The Mets will save a net of $29.25 million across 2029 and 2030 as a result of this deal. That’s…not really impactful. Also, Nimmo’s contract wasn’t really bad. This is not at all like Rojas/Bonilla. Semien won the gold glove at second base last year. He’s not useless. He’s better defensively than any option the Mets could put there other than Acuna who of course cannot hit. But I am still not enthused about the trade at all.

Nimmo's family relocated from Wyoming to Austin, TX a few years back. Nimmo and his wife bought a large house in Old Westbury a few years back too. (https://therealdeal.com/new-york/tristate/2023/03/14/finding-nimmo-a-home-mets-star-buys-in-old-westbury/).

Will Sammon reporting that Nimmo has approved the trade.

Britton and Sammon had an article today looking into it: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6826569/2025/11/21/mets-mendoza-bullpen-adam-ottavino/ [bLOCKQUOTE]• Coming off hip surgery and a question mark all spring for the Opening Day roster, Minter was used 13 times in the first 27 games of the season before injuring his lat. • Kranick hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2022; through Memorial Day, he was on pace for just under 100 innings in relief. • Entering 2024, Núñez had thrown 90 innings over the prior four years (thanks to COVID and Tommy John surgery). As he started to excel in the majors, he threw 27 innings over 47 games — a pace of 93 relief innings stretched over a full season. After an elbow strain required a month on the injured list, he was used for five outs in a blowout in his first game back. He missed the rest of the season, was delayed into spring training, and eventually required another Tommy John surgery this season. • Drew Smith had already appeared four times in the previous week when he was called on to replace an ejected Edwin Díaz on June 23, 2024, against the Cubs. Smith got two more outs that day; he hasn’t pitched professionally since, thanks to Tommy John surgery. • Although Brooks Raley did remain healthy this season, it was eye-opening that the veteran appeared in 30 of the team’s last 63 games following a 14-month absence recovering from his own Tommy John surgery[/bLOCKQUOTE]

That’s our list, thanks for playing, please collect your prizes from the concierge… [th]Name[/th][th]WAR[/th][td]Tom Seaver[/td][td]109.9[/td][td]Nolan Ryan[/td][td]81.3[/td][td]Jerry Koosman[/td][td]53.7[/td][td]Dwight Gooden[/td][td]53.0[/td][td]David Wright[/td][td]49.1[/td][td]Jacob deGrom[/td][td]47.9[/td][td]Amos Otis[/td][td]42.8[/td][td]Lenny Dykstra[/td][td]42.4[/td][td]Darryl Strawberry[/td][td]42.2[/td][td]Ken Singleton[/td][td]41.8[/td][td]Zack Wheeler[/td][td]40.2[/td][td]Jon Matlack[/td][td]39.4[/td][td]Jose Reyes[/td][td]37.0[/td][td]Ron Hunt[/td][td]32.7[/td][td]Kevin Mitchell[/td][td]29.2[/td][td]Kevin Tapani[/td][td]29.2[/td][td]Edgardo Alfonzo[/td][td]28.8[/td][td]Melvin Mora[/td][td]28.3[/td][td]Brandon Nimmo[/td][td]26.1[/td][td]Pete Alonso[/td][td]23.3[/td][td]Jesse Orosco[/td][td]23.2[/td][td]Jeff McNeil[/td][td]23.0[/td][td]Mike Scott[/td][td]22.7[/td][td]Mookie Wilson[/td][td]22.4[/td][td]Marco Scutaro[/td][td]22.1[/td][td]Rick Aguilera[/td][td]21.9[/td][td]Tug McGraw[/td][td]21.8[/td][td]Dave Magadan[/td][td]21.1[/td][td]Daniel Murphy[/td][td]20.8[/td][td]Buddy Harrelson[/td][td]20.3[/td] Short of 20 career WAR -Jeromy Burnitz 19.9 -Jeff Reardon, 18.6 -Cleon Jones, 18.0 -Michael Conforto, 16.9 -Lee Mazzilli, 15.3 -Randy Myers, 15.3 -Octavio Dotel, 15.0 -Hubie Brooks, 13.0 -Jim Hickman, 13.0 -Jason Isringhausen, 13.0 -Lucas Duda, 7.6 -Tim Foli, 5.7 Did not start career with Mets Justin Turner AJ Burnett John Stearns Randy Jones

Both Conforto (16.9) and Myers (15.3) fell short of this list. [th]Name[/th][th]WAR[/th][td]Tom Seaver[/td][td]109.9[/td][td]Nolan Ryan[/td][td]81.3[/td][td]Jerry Koosman[/td][td]53.7[/td][td]Dwight Gooden[/td][td]53.0[/td][td]David Wright[/td][td]49.1[/td][td]Jacob deGrom[/td][td]47.9[/td][td]Amos Otis[/td][td]42.8[/td][td]Lenny Dykstra[/td][td]42.4[/td][td]Darryl Strawberry[/td][td]42.2[/td][td]Ken Singleton[/td][td]41.8[/td][td]Zack Wheeler[/td][td]40.2[/td][td]Jon Matlack[/td][td]39.4[/td][td]Jose Reyes[/td][td]37.0[/td][td]Ron Hunt[/td][td]32.7[/td][td]Kevin Mitchell[/td][td]29.2[/td][td]Kevin Tapani[/td][td]29.2[/td][td][/td][td]28.8[/td][td]Melvin Mora[/td][td]28.3[/td][td][/td][td]26.1[/td][td]Pete Alonso[/td][td]23.3[/td][td]Jesse Orosco[/td][td]23.2[/td][td]Jeff McNeil[/td][td]23.0[/td][td]Mike Scott[/td][td]22.7[/td][td]Mookie Wilson[/td][td]22.4[/td][td]Marco Scutaro[/td][td]22.1[/td][td]Rick Aguilera[/td][td]21.9[/td][td]Tug McGraw[/td][td]21.8[/td][td]Dave Magadan[/td][td]21.1[/td][td]Daniel Murphy[/td][td]20.8[/td][td]Buddy Harrelson[/td][td]20.3[/td] Short of 20 career WAR -Jeromy Burnitz 19.9 -Jeff Reardon, 18.6 -Cleon Jones, 18.0 -Michael Conforto, 16.9 -Lee Mazzilli, 15.3 -Randy Myers, 15.3 -Octavio Dotel, 15.0 -Hubie Brooks, 13.0 -Jim Hickman, 13.0 -Jason Isringhausen, 13.0 -Lucas Duda, 7.6 -Tim Foli, 5.7 Did not start career with Mets Justin Turner AJ Burnett John Stearns Randy Jones

[th]Name[/th][th]WAR[/th][td]Tom Seaver[/td][td]109.9[/td][td]Nolan Ryan[/td][td]81.3[/td][td]Jerry Koosman[/td][td]53.7[/td][td]Dwight Gooden[/td][td]53.0[/td][td]David Wright[/td][td]49.1[/td][td]Jacob deGrom[/td][td]47.9[/td][td]Amos Otis[/td][td]42.8[/td][td]Lenny Dykstra[/td][td]42.4[/td][td]Darryl Strawberry[/td][td]42.2[/td][td]Ken Singleton[/td][td]41.8[/td][td]Zack Wheeler[/td][td]40.2[/td][td]Jon Matlack[/td][td]39.4[/td][td]Jose Reyes[/td][td]37.0[/td][td]Ron Hunt[/td][td]32.7[/td][td]Kevin Mitchell[/td][td]29.2[/td][td]Kevin Tapani[/td][td]29.2[/td][td][/td][td]28.8[/td][td]Melvin Mora[/td][td]28.3[/td][td][/td][td]26.1[/td][td]Pete Alonso[/td][td]23.3[/td][td]Jesse Orosco[/td][td]23.2[/td][td]Jeff McNeil[/td][td]23.0[/td][td]Mike Scott[/td][td]22.7[/td][td]Mookie Wilson[/td][td]22.4[/td][td]Marco Scutaro[/td][td]22.1[/td][td]Rick Aguilera[/td][td]21.9[/td][td]Tug McGraw[/td][td]21.8[/td][td]Dave Magadan[/td][td]21.1[/td][td]Daniel Murphy[/td][td]20.8[/td][td]Buddy Harrelson[/td][td]20.3[/td] Short of 20 career WAR -Jeromy Burnitz 19.9 -Jeff Reardon, 18.6 -Cleon Jones, 18.0 -Lee Mazzilli, 15.3 -Octavio Dotel, 15.0 -Hubie Brooks, 13.0 -Jim Hickman, 13.0 -Jason Isringhausen, 13.0 -Lucas Duda, 7.6 -Tim Foli, 5.7 Did not start career with Mets Justin Turner AJ Burnett John Stearns Randy Jones

Stearns played in 783 major league games: exactly one game in Philadelphia before the remaining 782 with the Mets.

Reardon fell short of the list at 18.6 WAR. Jones did not begin his career as a Met. Kevin Tapani was in my view the most difficult answer to get. [th]Name[/th][th]WAR[/th][td]Tom Seaver[/td][td]109.9[/td][td]Nolan Ryan[/td][td]81.3[/td][td]Jerry Koosman[/td][td]53.7[/td][td]Dwight Gooden[/td][td]53.0[/td][td]David Wright[/td][td]49.1[/td][td]Jacob deGrom[/td][td]47.9[/td][td]Amos Otis[/td][td]42.8[/td][td]Lenny Dykstra[/td][td]42.4[/td][td]Darryl Strawberry[/td][td]42.2[/td][td]Ken Singleton[/td][td]41.8[/td][td]Zack Wheeler[/td][td]40.2[/td][td]Jon Matlack[/td][td]39.4[/td][td]Jose Reyes[/td][td]37.0[/td][td]Ron Hunt[/td][td]32.7[/td][td]Kevin Mitchell[/td][td]29.2[/td][td]Kevin Tapani[/td][td]29.2[/td][td][/td][td]28.8[/td][td]Melvin Mora[/td][td]28.3[/td][td][/td][td]26.1[/td][td]Pete Alonso[/td][td]23.3[/td][td]Jesse Orosco[/td][td]23.2[/td][td][/td][td]23.0[/td][td]Mike Scott[/td][td]22.7[/td][td]Mookie Wilson[/td][td]22.4[/td][td]Marco Scutaro[/td][td]22.1[/td][td]Rick Aguilera[/td][td]21.9[/td][td]Tug McGraw[/td][td]21.8[/td][td]Dave Magadan[/td][td]21.1[/td][td]Daniel Murphy[/td][td]20.8[/td][td]Buddy Harrelson[/td][td]20.3[/td]

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