The Hot Corner

Texas giving up 5 prospects (Rangers' #2, #6, #12, #16, & #18) for 2 years of Gore (5-15 w/ 4.17 ERA & 1.353 WHIP) makes the Mets surrendering 2 prospects (Mets #3 & Mets #5) for 1 year of Peralta (17-6 w/ 2.70 ERA & 1.075 WHIP) & potentially 5 years of Myers (1-2 w/ 3.55 ERA & 1.362 WHIP) look like an absolute steal. Makes me like the Peralta deal even more.

Peralta gives the Mets the proven ace they lacked. Hopefully, McLean can pick up where he left of last season, which would give the Mets 2 quality starters at the top of the rotation. With Peterson, Manaea, Holmes and Senga to round out the rotation, it should be improved over last season. Tobias Myers has experience as a spot starter and offers some depth and insurance in the event of injury/poor performance within the rotation. Otherwise, he should help to bolster the bullpen. I hate to lose Sproat and Williams, but overall, I really like this deal.

Reports I have read state that he features a riding, 92-94 mph, four seam fastball that is most effective up in the strike zone. Has a good change up that generates a lot of swing and misses. Mixes in a cutter against right handed batters. His fourth (and least used) pitch is a "big" curve. Noted to have better than average control. Experience both as a starter and reliever. Notes that his velocity ticks up to 96 mph as a reliever. Should be a nice addition to the bullpen and give depth to the rotation should the front line starters suffer injuries. Sound a lot like Tong, but with far more MLB experience.

All my adoptees either burnout in the minors, or get traded away before ever donning a Mets uniform. So it is with Jett Williams SS/CF as he has been traded to Milwaukee, along with RHP Brandon Sproat, for RHP Freddie Peralta & RHP Tobias Myers. Fair thee well, young Jett. I will be pulling or you to make good.

Luis Robert would not have been my first choice, but it is essentially a 1 year commitment, with the team option for a second. Still a very good defensive CF and runs well. His hitting is the concern, but their is the potential that he regains his form if he can remain healthy. He should provide more offense than Taylor would. I would have preferred Bellinger, but you can't have everything. Time to address the rotation at this point.

I strongly suspect that the trade for Luis Robert, has pretty much removed the Mets from the Bellinger "sweepstakes". Bellinger (and Boras) have lost some leverage in their pursuit of a deal. The Yankees position likely got much stronger overnight. The Mets need to turn their attention to strengthening the rotation.

Is it just me, or do the Mets pictures and names in the projected line up look like one of those matching questions in elementary school?

Well, I believe he is. Bichette historically makes contact, hits for a better average than anyone on the Mets roster, and provides 15-18 HRs a year. He has produced the following seasonal averages during his 7 year career (.294/.337/.469/.806). He sports a career OPS+ 121 and WAR 21.0. He frequently hit behind Vlad Jr. in Toronto.* He will have a learning curve at third base, but the biggest knock on his defense at shortstop was a lack of range. Not as big an issue at the hot corner. Third base is more reactionary. I am more worried about Polanco manning first base than I am about Bichette handling third. *As mentioned previously by Gwreck.

Like a lot of relievers, he could be very solid one outing, then frustratingly ineffective the next. I always felt that he should have be better and more consistent than he often was. He had great velocity and "stuff", but I felt that his command was hit or miss.

Both Megill and Garrett will draw their nice pay days while missing the entire 2026 season as they rehab for injuries/surgeries.

So is Chicago not considered a large market?

There is even more room for someone who is actually good, like Cody Bellinger or Kyle Tucker. Plus, Luis Robert will cost prospects in addition to money.

The Cubs (potentially) paid a steep price for Edward Cabrera. As with most trades, I guess it all depends how well Cabrera performs for the Cubs versus how good Owen Caissie (Cubs #1 prospect), Cristian Hernández (Cubs #11 prospect) and Edgardo De Leon eventually turn out to be. It would appear that the trade package for Skubal (or even Peralta) would be extremely high. Talk about betting the farm. It will be what happens in the next few weeks.

I would be quite happy if the Mets landed Kyle Tucker. I'm currently of the "I'll believe it when I see it" frame of mind.

Had him a bat and pitch to him at the expense of your own arm. If he has the aptitude, teach him the fine art of catching. Give them a good education to fall back on, then hope for the best.

I agree with you regarding Luis Robert. Offensively, he is an upgrade over Tyrone Taylor, but he is far from the answer to the Mets lack of offense from the Mets outfielders not named Soto.

A right-handed bat would be nice, but there aren't many of them available without going the trade route. The Mets do not appear to be willing to trade the young players/prospects it would take to land a right handed, middle of the line up bat. Of the free agent bats still available, few really match up with the Mets need for an outfielder or corner infielder (particularly a first baseman) that can drive in runs. The right-handed hitters available via free agency are Bichette, Bregman, and Saurez. Bichette would be my preference, but as a middle infielder, he doesn't fit the Mets needs. Bregman could man third, but I think the Mets are hoping that Baty will stake his claim to the position. Since I don't believe Bregman is likely change positions, he really doesn't meet the Mets needs. Saurez provides the right handed power this line up needs and could likely be the least expensive option (as far as cost/years), but again not an ideal fit. Unless the Mets think Saurez's 6 innings of MLB experience at first base is enough to have him compete with Polanco for the spot. Though he does not answer the need for a right handed bat, I believe that Bellinger is the best free agent option for the Mets. He can play either first base or any of the outfield spots and he can provide some much needed power to the lineup. Unfortunately, he is a left-handed bat, but I would be pretty happy if he replaced Nimmo's bat in the line up. The problem I see with Bellinger, is that I don't think the Mets are willing to give him the contract they wouldn't offer to Alonso, so I expect he will end up back with the Yankees or possibly the Dodgers.

I guess Dave Kingman was the best to wear #26 for the Mets. However, I sincerely hope (and expect) that Nolan McLean will proceed to do more in #26 than any prior Met.

More and more, I am starting to fear that Austin Hays or Luis Robert (rather than Cody Bellinger or Kyle Tucker) will be the offensive upgrade to the Mets outfield. Depressing just to type that. Please let Carson Benge be the real deal and ready come opening day.

I agree that Vientos has the potential to be better than O'Hearn, but for the Pirates 1st base slot, O'Hearn was a nice upgrade. Hopefully, Vientos will regain the form he displayed in 2024. I think he will likely split the 1st base/DH slots with Polanco.

I think the plan is shoot for a wild card slot and hope to catch lightning in a bottle during the post-season for 2026. Banking on a few of the youngsters (Benge, Williams, Mauricio, Acuna, Sproat, & Tong) to be contributors for 2026, then counting on a the youth contingent to be major contributors in 2027. The Mets have one of the largest budgets to work with, but Stearns seems to working like he is still in Milwaukee. I know there is still time left to improve the team, but as it is currently constructed, I would rather have gone with what we had in 2025 and hope for some help from the youngsters. I do not believe the roster is as strong now as it was at the start of the off-season.

He was versatile and played hard. Sometimes, his passion to succeed and win was a little over the top for my taste, but I appreciated his effort. Good contact hitter that seemed to get the most out his talent. I wish him well with the A's. This almost feels like a salary dump and/or cleaning out of the tenured, long-term Mets.

The Pirates have signed Ryan O'Hearn to a 2 year deal. He will likely take over at 1st Base for the Pittsburgh. O'Hearn had a solid year for the Orioles last season, but with the addition of Pete Alonso*, he became expendable. O'Hearn's line for 2025 was .283/.366/.437/.803 with 17 HRs & 125 OPS+. Nice pick up for the Pirates. *Damn it!

MLB is reporting that the Mets have reached an agreement (2 years/$22 mil.) with former Yankee reliever Luke Weaver. He was pretty solid for the Evil Empire last season and adds a RH late inning arm to the bullpen mix. Looks like Edgy's repaired Oven door is already paying dividends.

If that "projected" opening day line up stands, I believe it will be a very long and dreary summer for Mets fans.