Centerfield

David Herbert Aloysius Wright

Willie Mays looked great for 156 years old! I'll start with Moises Alou.

It's hard to know what, if anything, Naylor's deal means for Alonso. Especially since we don't know the terms yet. Other than the position they play, Naylor is really different than Alonso. He's a different kind of hitter. Higher average, better contact, but much less power. A lesser hitter overall. But he's 2 and a half years younger, a better defender, and a better base stealer. My guess is that Naylor gets less AAV, more years. Pete gets more AAV, less years.

Josh Naylor off the board. Goes back to Seattle on a five year deal. I didn’t like Naylor as an option. And that takes Seattle out of the Pete sweepstakes. So I think good result all around. Naylor is 2 years younger than Pete. So 5 year deal makes sense.

I don't understand the underappreciation of Jeff McNeil. Even with his bad September, his final OPS puts him like top 6 or 7 among 2B in the league. His defense is average. His contract is reasonable. I see no reason not to keep McNeil until someone forces their way into the lineup.

Funny. I’m in completely the opposite camp. It seems like closers tend to age better than other players. Mariano. Hoffman. Wagner. These guys stayed dominant even late in their careers. Aroldis Chapman was amazing at 37 years old. Kenley Jansen. Rasiel Iglesias. All still good. I’m good with 5 years. Maybe try to give him less money on the back end.

Why make millions legally when you have a chance to make the thousands illegally

This is the regime that allowed ads on uniforms and the ridiculous ad on the post season helmets. They were never going to be disciplined enough to turn down the riches of legalized betting.

How much can they be paid that this is worthwhile? Craziness.

Short Staffed kinda sums up the year.

The optimism we had. This hs going to be depressing.

Yeah, I don't think it's realistic to say that the Mets have set themselves up to be at the top of any standings considering they just finished with 83 wins and missed a 6 team playoff. I get that the farm system looks good, but lots of #1 ranked systems have failed to materialize into wins and certainly championships. The good news is, you don't have to be at the top of the standings. You just need to be near the top. And I think the Mets are well-positioned to be in playoff chases for years with the core they have in place, and the young guys coming of age. Trading a bunch of them for Skubal certainly makes them more likely to make the playoffs this year, and provided he's healthy in October, probably improves their chances of advancing, arguably more than any other player available? Is that worth giving up a bunch of guys who can provide value for 5-6 years? Probably not. It depends on the package, but considering the type of haul it would take to land Skubal, I'd probably think it was too much.

1. Closer: TBD 2. LHRP: AJ Minter 3. LHRP: Brooks Raley 4. [CROSSOUT]RHRP: Drew Smith[/CROSSOUT] 5. RHRP: Huascar Brazoban 6. RHRP: Adbert Alzolay 7. RHRP: Dylan Ross

In Phillips' defense, I think his tenure as GM was during a time that it was much harder to make the playoffs. If a team had the makings of a solid core, and could amass a win total in the high 80s, it made sense to go all in and get yourself a low 90s team that could make the playoffs. Not to say you can justify all of his trades, but it made more sense at the time. Now, with 6 teams making the playoffs (and more rounds consequently), I think it makes much more sense to simply try to make it every year, instead of pushing your chips in for one playoff run. And I realize this doesn't justify the trade proposal he just made, but you know, old dog, new tricks. I hate trades when it comes to the Mets. I'm notoriously bad at being objective and judging them. But to me, this feels like a lot to give up for Skubal. I also feel that this might be what it takes to get Skubal. Which I guess leaves me in the "it's not happening" camp. A lot has been made of the Mets needing to get an "ace" level pitcher. And lots of talking heads are going with the assumption that this is something Stearns and Cohen will be pursing. But I'm not so sure. They might, who knows, but Stearns doesn't seem the type to suddenly change his philosophy drastically following one disastrous season.

One note. Though the article projects the Mets at $265M, with projected arbitration, the Mets actual page projects them at $247M. That give them a little more room to work with. https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/new-york-mets/overview I think this type of offseason (not necessarily the names listed, but guys like them) could be a perfectly fine off-season. And puts the Mets right back as playoff contenders. But it doesn't move the needle, and the Mets are likely fighting for a WC spot again. I have a feeling Stearns and Cohen are aiming higher.

Would be funny if a cover of David Wright won the 2025 TCD.

Of the top 25 OPS leaders in 2025, 10 of those players were in the 31-35 age range FK mentions. 1. Aaron Judge (33) 3. George Springer (35) 5. Kyle Schwarber (33) 7. Ketel Marte (31) 9. Byron Buxton (31) 11. Freddie Freeman (35) 13. Jose Ramirez (32) 18. Matt Olson (31) 19. Yandy Diaz (33) 22. Bryce Harper (32) So clearly, there is precedent for Pete staying productive for at least a few more years. On the other hand, in this article chronicling the worst contracts on the books for 2025, we see a lot of guys in that age range. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10144883-ranking-the-10-worst-mlb-contracts-on-the-books-for-2025-season Anthony Rendon. Fell off a cliff after age 29. Nick Castellanos. Regressing since age 31 DJ Lemahieu. Aged suddenly after age 31 Andrew Benitendi. Somehow washed up at age 28 Trevor Story. Plummeted after age 28 Xander Bogaerts. Declined after age 30. Javier Baez. Declined after age 28 Kris Bryant. Done after age 29 If you look at these names, it makes it seem like Pete may be on borrowed time already. Interestingly, the article mentions these five guys, who all bounced back to varying degrees of success in 2025. Christian Yelich George Springer Giancarlo Stanton Trevor Story Mike Trout

I think money has to be of some concern. Let's say we are $265M, and we re-sign Pete and Diaz at $50M collectively. That gets us to $315MM. From my list above: 1. A starting pitcher. (ace level or just below) $30M 2. Another starting pitcher $15M 3. A RH DH $20M 4. A centerfielder 10M? 5. An eighth inning reliever $10M 6. A mid-leverage reliever $7M Total additions: $92M Total Payroll: $407M Do you see Cohen going over $400M in payroll? I don't think that's realistic.

I liked what I saw of Christian Scott in 2024. I thought he pitched better than his numbers, but I just looked at the numbers and they weren't particularly good. He pitched better when he first came up in May than he did the second go round in July. But maybe he was already hurt in July? I see upside. Rooting for him.

Spotrac has it's team summaries out for this winter. The Mets preview is here: https://www.spotrac.com/news/_/id/3021/new-york-mets-offseason-preview The big takeaway: That figure includes projections on all arbitration eligible players. That number might go down a little if the Mets decide to non-tender some guys, but it won't be significantly different. If you assume payroll stays around the same level, that leaves about $80 Million to rebuild the club. If they resign Pete ($30M) and Diaz ($20M), that leaves you about $30M. So with $30M, can you find: 1. A starting pitcher. (ace level or just below) 2. Another starting pitcher 3. A RH DH 4. A centerfielder 5. An eighth inning reliever 6. A mid-leverage reliever I don't know. It seems like a tall order.

I don't generally vote for photoshop covers, but it's hard to vote for one with Soto in a Yankee jersey.

For me it was Torrens. Without thinking too much: Good: Torrens Baty Taylor Lindor (but not as good as we expect) Acuna Bad: Alonso Soto Vientos Nimmo Mullins OK: McNeil Alvarez Mauricio

Frayed Knot wrote: I saw the overhead shot of the play at home in the 9th. IKF had no lead whatsoever and didn't take a secondary. An inexcusable lack of fundamentals cost them the World Series. “They told us to stay close to the base,[/i]'' Kiner-Falefa said after the game of his small lead. “They don't want us to get doubled off in that situation with a hard line drive… They wanted a smaller lead and a smaller secondary [lead], so that's what I did.” https://nypost.com/2025/11/02/sports/isiah-kiner-falefa-explains-his-questionable-lead-in-world-series/https://nypost.com/2025/11/02/sports/isiah-kiner-falefa-explains-his-questionable-lead-in-world-series/ I would be surprised if that's the actual advice given from coaches. Being aware of the pickoff or line drive DP is one thing, but there is no reason to be a fraction of the distance to 3B as Muncy was.

I saw the overhead shot of the play at home in the 9th. IKF had no lead whatsoever and didn't take a secondary. An inexcusable lack of fundamentals cost them the World Series.

The missed opportunities in the 8th and 9th innings will haunt Toronto for a long time.