Gwreck

The former. And that money may be better used on the starting rotation.

I don’t think that’s what Baty is going to do. He can neither run nor play defense anywhere near the level of Acuna, nor does he have anywhere near the positional versatility. Now, Baty can hit, which Acuna (and Robert?) don’t really do very well, so I’m sure he’s got a role. But it’s not supplanting Acuna.

Per Jeff Passan

Yes, Beltran’s number should be retired, and he certainly should be elected to the Mets Hall of Fame as well.

Jorge Polanco as an outfielder is…remarkable. Unlike first base, where he has exactly one professional play (not an inning, not even an out…it was just one play, a walk-off), Polano has no major league experience in the outfield at all. He played 11 games in the outfield in rookie ball in 2011 for his only professional experience there.

He was good enough to hit behind Vladdy Jr., so…yes? Of course, I suppose there is an open question about the best way to structure the top of the lineup. One wonders about Soto leadoff with Lindor and Bichette following. Or Bichette leading off with Soto and then Lindor.

Well, I sure hope it’s not Polanco. My take is that the Mets’ 26-man roster is currently short two outfielders, and at least one needs to come from outside the organization (the other might be Benge).

I’m happy for Jorge to prove me wrong, but I have a much easier time seeing Baty or Bichette (players who have demonstrated actual defensive value in the field) at first rather than Polanco (who has…not).

The way I see it, If Polanco is playing in the field more than to cover an occasional day off, something has gone seriously wrong.

If I’m Stearns, I’m calling up the Tigers and offering Baty/Tong for the one year of Skubal.

The owners want a salary cap. The players don’t. Who do you think a salary cap benefits most? It’s not a trick question.

Any team could have paid Tucker that money.

Going to look real stupid if they don’t sign him.

Steve Cohen’s got jokes: “Let me know when you see smoke.”

If the Mets are looking for one-year starters, I’d have to think there are cheaper/younger options. Like an Alex Cobb, or a Zack Littell.

At $175 million. Obviously they’re all alike but this is the third major deal for a FA hitter this year and they were all for 5 years…

This would seem (on its face) to be in the 10% of cases in which the player would benefit from going to the hearing. The Tigers’ number seems awfully low, and ripe for a situation in which the player gets everything he wanted by riding the hearing out.

A few updates, as NBC has announced their “Sunday Night Baseball” lineup: -Opening day, Thursday 3/26 was pushed up to a 1:15 PM start (was 3:10). -Sunday, August 30 vs. Houston now at 7:20 PM (was 1:40). -The Mets are also playing a Sunday night game on June 21 in Philadelphia. -Sunday, July 5 in Atlanta is now an NBC game but with a 12:30 PM start. All 4 of these games are NBC exclusives (so no Gary/Keith/Ron).

This is a good summary: https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2024/07/26/a-timeline-of-events-surrounding-ryan-brauns-ped-suspension/73996442007/

Britton and Sammon did a mailbag today which is somewhat interesting: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6940828/2026/01/05/pete-alonso-steve-cohen-mets-mailbag/ Key takeaways: -They don’t expect any big starting pitcher moves, unless someone (e.g., a Valdez or Suarez) can be had on a short term deal. Their analysis: “[The Mets] see upside in Clay Holmes and David Peterson, plus bounce-back potential from Sean Manaea. They are also bullish on getting a full season from Nolan McLean.” -Acuna and Mauricio are “trade candidates” and not expected to be regulars. Vientos also a trade candidate if the Mets sign another right handed bat, which they are looking for.

Presumably there’d be a lot more to worry about if MLB had a 17 game schedule. (Note this is not an argument in favor of 4-team divisions.)

Indeed, DiComo voted for the first time this year: Beltran, Hernandez, Pedroia, Pettitte, Utley, Wright. https://www.threads.com/@anthonydicomo/post/DTA4EoyEQDQ

Lance Johnson would like a word.

Interestingly, the advanced defensive metrics still rated Jones quite highly through 2007, his last gold glove season. He led the league in total zone runs above average for center fielders in 2006. He was +19 defensive runs saved in 2007 (compared to -6 in 2008, his first year after leaving Atlanta). For reference’s sake, Carlos Beltran was +13, +10, and +14 in his 2006-08 Mets prime. I suspect that given how good Jones was in his prime, him initially losing a step was at the same time obvious but not so much a dropoff that he wasn’t still the best. —- As for the HOF case more broadly, the centerfield position is a curious one. There are 7 no-doubt HOFers at the top of the heap: Mays, Cobb, Speaker, Mantle, Griffey, Snider, DiMaggio — plus Mike Trout, not yet eligible. The JAWS metric (based on total and peak WAR scores) then says the next best — closely behind Snider and DiMaggio — are Beltran, Jones, and Kenny Lofton. The rest of the 16 CFs in the Hall are much more scattered around, falling in most cases far short of Beltran, Jones, and Lofton by that JAWS metric: There’s Larry Doby (with not-measured-in-stats-alone contributions); Oscar Charleston; Richie Ashburn; Puckett (probably not the strongest choice), Billy Hamilton (played in the 1800s) and then 10 other guys who you may not have even heard of, scattered among the Jim Edmonds and Cesar Cedeno and Dale Murphy and Johnny Damon and Brett Butlers in the tier of “you’d never seriously think of any of these guys as a Hall of Famer.” Now, understanding and recognizing there’s no specific quota of HOFers per position, that Carlos Beltran (and also Jones) are among the 10 best to ever play the position does makes their case stronger to me.

This is a year in which I think a blank ballot is a defensible choice. I don’t think it’s the correct choice, but it’s defensible. Now, the guy who voted for no one other than Rollins and Utley (yes, he ignored the most-deserving Phillie — Abreu)? That guy I would take the vote away from.