Centerfield

I mean, I know there's still time. But they have just have so much to do. The rotation that ranked 18th in ERA hasn't been addressed at all. The bullpen that was 15th in ERA lost the best closer in the game. They replaced him, and a small army of relievers, with two guys who had ERAs near 5 last year. I mean, with bullpens you never know, but you certainly can't go into 2026 thinking this is going to be a strength. And the lineup that tied for 9th in runs scored is now even worse. Alonso is gone. Nimmo is gone. We downgraded offensively at 2B. Polanco offsets Nimmo, but we still have glaring holes at LF, CF and 1B or DH. And one of those guys has to bat behind Soto. Is there a solution? Sure. Kyle Tucker. Trade for Luis Robert. Trade for Peralta and find a high leverage reliever. Do I think it's possible? Probably not. Especially given the rumored asking prices for the trade candidates. I'm sure there are other ways to get there too, but I don't think Cody Bellinger, or Eugenio Suarez, or Austin Hayes will be enough.

It's tough to know how much Sammon/Rosenthal actually know. The Mets seem to run pretty leak-free. That being said, this is pretty disappointing if true. The biggest problem with the team last year was the starting pitching. It seems crazy to just run it back and hope for better. By blowing up the lineup, letting Diaz walk, and leaving the starting pitching as is, Stearns is almost doing the opposite of what I would have done this off-season.

Deadlines for Okamoto and Imai are approaching. The Mets are not rumored to be in on either. Of course, the Mets don’t leak and they move in silence, but the one saying they’re not involved is Jon Heyman. And he’s a mouthpiece for Scott Boras, who represents both of them. You’d think if the Mets were involved at all, Boras would be public with it to drum up bidding.

I wonder if this signing was done with an eye toward a free agent pursuit of his brother (half brother?) that never materialized.

Why are you benching Tyrone Taylor in the first game of the season?

Yeah, honestly, I don't see the plan. Cody Bellinger will likely require a long term commitment, as least as long as Alonso. And he's the same age, so I don't see that as a fit. He also has terrible Home-Away splits, hits LH, and has a lower ceiling and lower floor than Alonso. So I can't see Stearns going for him. Tucker is very good. But may require an 8-10 year commitment. Unless the market craters for him, I don't see him as a fit. None of the other free agent hitters are good enough to provide Soto protection. And I haven't heard a single trade candidate that fits either. Not to say there isn't one. I just don't see any options. I do see lots of ways to improve the rotation still. And maybe that's the route they'll go. Roll the dice on offense, hope the kids are good, and focus on improving the rotation and pen. And to be clear, when I say "I don't see him as a fit", I don't mean me. Of all the options left, I'd sign Tucker. I don't think David Stearns sees him as a fit.

So if you take Jeff McNeil, and make him right handed, then take away all of his versatility and upside, you get Austin Hays. He's -2 OAA since 2024, with a -10 DRS. So he doesn't fit the "run prevention" mold. Sounds perfect.

I had to start over again once I realized you weren't talking about Billy Eppler. My brain is slow these days.

I don't know anything about the clubhouse. But it must have been a mess for any of this to make sense. Jeff McNeil is an incredibly useful player. Before getting hurt last September, his OPS was hovering around .800. Even with his slump, his OPS would have been top 10 among second basemen in MLB. Left alone, we would have returned useful players at 2B, LF and 1B, along with the best closer in the game. We are now worse all four of those positions. For 2B and closer, we are already locked into lesser replacements.

I think you’re right. The “plan” to make this team playoff-caliber is to assume/hope/guess that: -Baty can not only repeat, but improve upon his unprecedented 2025 season -Alvarez can perform as he did in 2025 (post-demotion) for an entire year -Vientos can return to the form he had in 2024 -Peterson can pitch a full year’s worth of innings and be reasonably effective -Holmes can be as good as he was in 2025 but throw more innings -Manaea and/or Senga can return to their 2024 or 2023 form, respectively -Some combination of McLean, Sproat and/or Tong are effective major league starters over a full year (and not the 8, 3, or 1 good starts they respectively had in 2025) -Devin Williams can return to his pre-2025 form -Tyrone Taylor is better -Some positive offensive contributions are made by Mauricio, Benge, and/or Williams. And of course that all of this happen without ramp-up/adjustment periods occurring that cost the team wins. If this all happens, then sure, we probably have a 95-100 win team. If some-to-most of it happens, maybe the Mets make the playoffs. I think it’s a terrible plan, but I suppose it is a plan. You also need Polanco to stay healthy, despite his track record saying that he never stays healthy. You need Minter to stay healthy, despite his track record saying that he never stays healthy. You need 36 year old Brooks Raley to stay healthy and perform like he did last year over the course of a full year. You need to hit on a few bullpen arms besides the ones mentioned. The curious part of all this, is that if it really was going to be a youth movement, then I can understand the plan. You trade everyone, get prospects. Slash payroll. Call up the kids, hope they succeed. Wait for your next window, then spend. But that's tough to do when you've paid for Soto and Lindor is at the tail end of his prime. And if you're playing the kids, you're not signing Jorge Polanco to block their path. You're not handing second base to Marcus Semien. So it's this middle ground. Cohen is on record now saying payroll won't go down. So it seems like Stearns has at least $40 Million to spend. That's enough to turn this team into a wild card contender. I don't see how that can turn this team into an actual championship contender, without, as gwreck says, hoping that a lot of question marks turn it around.

So as of December 22, the Mets have downgraded at second base and closer. They have no left fielder. They have no first baseman. They have not addressed the hole in CF. They've done nothing to address their rotation. But they have signed a good DH, but even then, to a guy with an injury history. Absent a complete shift in thinking, I don't see a path to making this team a championship contender in 2026.

Tantalizing upside. And even in a down year he gives you speed, defense and 14 HR. Agree that bad Robert is barely an upgrade over Taylor, but even if he can get halfway back to 2023, he’d be very valuable. Would be fine with the $20M, but wouldn’t want to give up prospect capital to get him. Sure. They can have Sean Manaea.

Two years. $34 million. A worthwhile gamble at that price. This is the Frankie Montas contract.

Is Monday at 5 pm. He needs to be signed, so with the physical and all you figure he needs to reach an agreement today. His market is soft due to high whiff rates and something about poor contact rate for pitches in the zone. The only team I’ve heard linked to him is the White Sox. He hasn’t been linked to the Mets, but neither had Jorge Polanco. Not a great defender, so he doesn’t seem like a Stearns type. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Exactly. Which is why you don’t trade him for Nick Pivetta.

I like Tong a lot. I like the stats I’m reading in the minors and am enamored with his potential. I like his personality a lot. But I also recognize that he’s a kid. And he’s going to have to mature some if he’s going be successful in the bigs. But if all goes right, he can be a beloved Met. Kinda like David Wright. I’m also realistic about the improvements he will have to make to excel in the bigs. I can’t ignore the handful of starts that we saw. His fastball is good. I don’t know that it will dominate big league hitters like it did in the minors. His secondary pitches and control are not there yet. Can he get there? Sure. But it’s no sure thing. The one thing I know is he has incredible value right now. Do you use him as part of a package for Skubal? Ok. But not for a rental of Nick ****ing Pivetta or any relief pitcher.

They also signed an infielder from Korea. All of which suggests that they are going for it. Whatever the Padres are offering in a trade will be players that they don’t think will help them win now.

I think it’s a deal that only made sense for the Padres. For the team, it’s a three year commitment but only a one year guarantee. Meaning you’re only getting one good year, but up to three bad ones. When you factor in the QO it doesn’t make sense for a rental.

By the way, as much as I'm just ok with this move, if this means that we can stop hearing about trading Tong for a relief pitcher, I'm good with this.

He had a Ryan Helslian September, putting up a 9.64 ERA that month, coupled with pitch tipping issues. Like Helsley, Weaver is looking to bounce back. It's ok. The Yankee thing doesn't bother me as much. I just hope he's worked out whatever his September issue was.

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. Right. Which is why I'm skeptical of any matchup in terms of trade. Unless you're trading Tatis or Merril, you're not unloading Boegarts or Machado. And since Machado is still effective, why not go for these next two years. The rebuild will be long and expensive, but flags fly forever.

I'm calling ********. Pete is already gone. Edwin is gone. We know that there aren't likely to be more departures. This is like calling a team meeting before your ace takes the mound. (reads about trade rumors involving Jonah Tong) Are you sure that door is fixed? It can't hurt to have someone take a second look.

It's important to remember that every team fills out their minor league teams with signings. And all of them are guys who, well, belong in the minor leagues. The reason you don't hear about other teams signing them is because we are not fans of other teams. As angry as I am at Stearns, and as much as I vehemently disagree with what he's doing, one thing he does well is fill in around the edges. Some of his fill-in guys have performed pretty well for us.

Will Sammon has been pretty spot on this winter. He said early that the Mets would not go more than 3 years on Alonso, and mentioned Jorge Polanco the night before the deal happened. In his article in the Times today, he said the Mets are looking to add a starter "in the front half of their rotation", according to league sources. Also from the article: So, not super helpful. I said it in another thread. At some point, the Mets are going to need someone who can adequately hit behind Juan Soto.

Looking at it from AJ Preller's standpoint, I would think you have a 1-2 year window since Machado is 33. After that, you're probably looking at a rebuild. Why not go for it these last two years, then just eat it for the next half decade. They spent a ton of money starting with signing Machado. All they have to show for it is one NLCS appearance. If you're not looking to add, then you should tear down now. Shop Tatis, Mason Miller and Jackson Merrill. Anyone interested in taking them has to take Bogaerts/Machado. You'll have to throw in money to move them, but at least you can start with a clean slate relatively soon.