Cowtipper

Only need one team for a full league this time around. Sign up today! https://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/33228/invitation?key=fd5fd6a3e84e9d4b&soc_trk=lnk&ikey=dd87487c806b7fbe

Hanser Alberto retired.

I like this one a lot, just because it's always cool to have an older established big name/potential future Hall of Famer on the team (as opposed to a younger one like Lindor/Soto). It's just cool to look back and see that X player played for the Mets. Kinda like when Jose Bautista, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Gary Sheffield and Bobby Abreu played for them. Also Willie Mays, obviously, but I was -17 years old at the time, so I wasn't alive to see it. Kimbrel still has the skills and it's kind of lame he only got into 14 games last year, because he was excellent in the minors. Even after his career declined beginning in 2019, he still managed a 12.9 K/9 and 1.204 WHIP. He's been inconsistent, but when he's on, he's on. With the addition of Kimbrel, the bullpen is actually looking pretty deep.

At least someone agrees with me.

Rob Maurer has perished. Three deaths in a row of players wholly from the 1980s or 1990s. Ugh, I'm getting old. https://www.pierrefuneralhome.com/obituaries/robert-maurer-11/#!/Obituary Who was Rob Maurer? Rob Maurer (1967–2026) was an American professional baseball first baseman who briefly played in Major League Baseball with the Texas Rangers during the 1991 and 1992 seasons. A native of Evansville, Indiana, Maurer starred in multiple sports at Mater Dei High School before attending the University of Evansville, where he played college baseball. Drafted by the Rangers in the sixth round of the 1988 MLB Draft, he enjoyed a strong minor league career highlighted by power hitting and All-Star recognition, particularly with the Oklahoma City 89ers. Despite solid minor league performances, Maurer appeared in just 21 MLB games, recording limited offensive success. Persistent knee injuries, including surgery that sidelined him for the entire 1993 season, ultimately curtailed his career, which ended in 1994. He died on January 21, 2026, at the age of 59.

It's not trolling, does one not remember the sort of pitchers Stearns signed to 'help' the team in 2025? One Freddy Peralta does not undo all the Zach Pops.

Cooper Criswell traded to Mariners for cash. Dick Ladylover DFA'd. Mets release minor leaguers Yensi Rivas, Luis Montero and Sebastian Lantigua. Rivas might've had potential as he had great speed and a very good OBP.

Stu Tate died. https://www.berryhillfh.com/obituary/stuart-tate Who was Stu Tate? Stu Tate (Stuart Douglas Tate, June 17, 1962 – January 13, 2026) was an American right-handed pitcher whose Major League Baseball career was brief but memorable. Drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 8th round of the 1984 Amateur Draft, he advanced through the minor leagues and reached the majors during the Giants’ 1989 pennant race. Tate made his MLB debut on September 20, 1989, against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Candlestick Park. Entering in relief, he delivered over two strong innings with multiple strikeouts and quickly became a fan favorite as the crowd chanted his name. His performance helped steady the Giants on their way to a dramatic comeback win, a night made even more special as it coincided with his wedding anniversary. He pitched just once more in the majors, on September 30, 1989, finishing with two appearances, 2.2 innings pitched, and a 3.38 ERA. A Triple-A All-Star in 1989, Tate concluded his professional career in 1991, later working as a pharmacist and raising five children with his wife Kristin. He died in January 2026 at age 63. Dave Schmidt died. https://www.newsweek.com/sports/mlb/former-red-sox-catcher-dies-11402850 Who was Dave Schmidt? Dave Schmidt (David Frederick Schmidt, December 22, 1956 – January 19, 2026) was an American Major League Baseball catcher who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the 1981 season. A native of Mesa, Arizona, he attended Mission Viejo High School and California State University, Fullerton before being selected by the Red Sox in the second round of the 1975 MLB Draft. Schmidt spent his entire professional career in the Red Sox organization, reaching the majors in April 1981. Over part of that season, he appeared in the big leagues with a .238 batting average, hitting two home runs and driving in three runs. His Major League career lasted from April 28 to June 3, 1981, after which he continued playing in the minor leagues and winter ball. Baseball ran in his family—his brother Eric Schmidt was also a minor league pitcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers system. Dave Schmidt died in January 2026 at age 69, remembered as a Red Sox draftee who reached the majors after years of development in the organization.

Of course Milwaukee liked him at the time, David Stearns was in charge and that's exactly Stearns' preferred type of pitcher.

Over the last 40 years, I count only 3 seriously regrettable trades concerning the prospects lost: 1. Melvin Mora for Mike Bordick, 2000. Admittedly with some benefit of hindsight. 2. Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano, 2004. No hindsight required, it was dumb at the time. 3. Pete Crow-Armstrong for Javy Baez, 2021. (I’d guess I’d also consider the July 2002 deal for Reed/Middlebrooks that gave up Jason Bay). Whether the deals worked (Leiter, Piazza, Delgado, Cespedes, Lindor), didn’t work (Alomar, Cano), or worked but didn’t make a difference re: playoffs (Viola, Santana), the Mets weren’t burned on the prospects lost. We gave up Matt Lindstrom for Jason Vargas (first edition) and that deal kinda sucked. We also traded Nelson Cruz for Jorge Velandia. And we gave up Jose Bautista (and Ty Wigginton!) for Kris Benson and Jeff Keppinger. Though that's a stretch because we had Jose Bautista for about an hour.

Wow, I'd rather not sleep on any man, for I like women. But he has a cool name and that's about the only think I like about this acquisition.

To expand on my previous post, Sproat is going on 26 years old and, though he'd only been in the minors two years, he'd yet to have a dominant season professionally. By comparison, Tong, who's been in the league three years, had an otherworldly 2025 and McLean, himself three years in, also had an excellent 2025. Though deGrom was also 26 when he got going, Sproat probably would've been not much better than a #3 starter. Williams had a higher draft pedigree, was rated a top prospect on the Baseball America list three times, and he's constantly been playing at levels way above his age, yet he's still doing pretty well. He had speed, power and can post a good OBP. His ceiling was much higher.

Career stat-wise, he gives slightly-worse-than-Jake Diekman vibes. He'll be very good at disappointing us when brought in to preserve close leads in 2026.

Williams probably had more upside long term.

He was very solid. I'd bring him back.

Insane. Every single player mentioned in the first post is good or has the potential to be in the role they're expected to play. Taylor is not a good starter, but he is a good backup. Torrens is a great backup. Mauricio, having once been a top prospect, has the potential to be good. The prospects are all very good prospects. And there's other prospects that weren't even mentioned that are still waiting their turns: Jett Williams, Kevin Parada (I hold out hope), A.J. Ewing. And pitching is loaded on paper. It just never clicks at the same time. Sproat, McLean, Tong, Peterson, Senga should be the envy of the league. They were all top prospects at one point. And the once highly touted Christian Scott is due back, too. This should easily be a 90-win team. But, it's also the Mets.

I was off on some. More than usual. I nailed a few, and was within 0.5%-2% on others, but was way off on others. I wonder if I did my formula different this time around -- like I said, I piece it back together each year and have never actually written it down -- though I don't think I did. It's pretty straight-forward. Perhaps it was because it was such a weak ballot and voters were more willing to act in unorthodox ways. Or perhaps it was because we are seeing a tectonic shift in how certain players are analyzed that had a big effect. In other words, a lot of the old guard who was resistant to voting for certain guys (aided by having a weak ballot to play with) were finally willing to vote for names they wouldn't have in the past. Note that the ones that I was off on the most all have something about them beyond their raw, traditional stats that would (or would have in the past) dissuaded people from voting. Beltran and the cheating scandal, Jones and his mystery 50+ HR season and steroid rumors, Andy Pettitte and HGH, Felix Hernandez and the shift in how pitchers are analyzed, Chase Utley and his case being so sabermetric-heavy and not traditional stat-heavy. In other words, their previous vote totals weren't 'natural,' they were suppressed in part by voters who refused to vote for them for things beyond their traditional 'performance.' But the weak ballot and the changing of the analytical tides allowed for that inorganic suppression to be lifted somewhat and the numbers shot up to where they would tracked all along if these players didn't all have some form of asterisk.

Mets have a glut of talented young guys so inevitably some will have to go. Robert is okay, but I'm not confident he'll particularly good.

It's Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones.

Bellinger would be a good fit. If we can find some way to bump Tyrone Taylor off the projected Opening Day lineup -- and Bellinger would be a great way to do it -- then the Mets truly would have a stacked lineup. Everyone in it would be All-Stars or have All-Star potential.

55% in now. This might be the final update before the announcement, unless there's a surge in reported ballots between now and then. New projections: Carlos Beltran: 75-76% Andruw Jones: 73-74% Chase Utley: 49-50% Andy Pettitte: 42-43% Felix Hernandez: 41-42% Alex Rodriguez: 41-42% Manny Ramirez: 37-38% Cole Hamels: 28-29% Bobby Abreu: 27-28% Jimmy Rollins: 24-25% Dustin Pedroia: 21-22% Omar Vizquel: 19-20% ​Mark Buehrle: 16-17% David Wright: 14-15% Francisco Rodriguez: 13-14% Torii Hunter: 7-8% Ryan Braun: 2-3% Edwin Encarnacion: 1-2% Shin-Soo Choo: 0-1% Gio Gonzalez: 0-1% Alex Gordon: 0-1% Matt Kemp: 0-1% Howie Kendrick: 0-1% Nick Markakis: 0-1% Daniel Murphy: 0-1% Hunter Pence: 0-1% Rick Porcello: 0-1% Since we're at 55% and Beltran is still at 75%, I'll raise his yes/no chances to 57/43. Since Jones is pretty close to 75% this far into the game now, I'm raising his chances to 48/52. In political talk, Beltran is a "lean yes" while Jones is a "tossup." The reason why I don't see Beltran sticking close to the 89% he is currently at is because his gained votes over 2025 just aren't high enough. The voters who don't make their ballots public can be persnickety and I think a LOT of them refuse to give him the nod (so soon, at least), because of the cheating. Same thing with Hernandez; he's gained A LOT over 2025, but I don't see him sticking at the 56% he is currently at because his gains over 2025 just aren't high enough. Right now he's on pace to gain 36%...that just doesn't seem feasible. If I did my math correctly, his totals gained votes RIGHT NOW would have to be over 80 for him to stick at the 56% he's currently at, but his real gain over 2025 is just slightly more than half that.

Who was Wilbur Wood? Wilbur Forrester Wood Jr. (1941–2026) was a left-handed knuckleball pitcher best known for his durability with the Chicago White Sox in the 1970s. After a slow start with the Red Sox and Pirates, Wood perfected the knuckleball under Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm’s guidance, transforming from a reliever into one of baseball’s most reliable starters. Before becoming a starter, he had already established himself as an elite reliever, leading the American League in appearances from 1968 to 1970, setting a single-season record with 88 games pitched in 1968, and earning the Sporting News AL Fireman of the Year Award. From 1971 to 1975, Wood won 20 or more games in four consecutive seasons, led the American League in wins twice, and routinely pitched over 300 innings, including a career-high 49 starts in 1972. A three-time All-Star, he was known for his remarkable stamina, often pitching on just two days’ rest and anchoring a three-man rotation built around his durability. After a severe knee injury in 1976, Wood struggled to regain his earlier form and retired following the 1978 season with a 164–156 record, a 3.24 ERA, and 1,411 strikeouts. He is remembered as one of baseball’s last true iron men and a master of the knuckleball, excelling both as a high-leverage reliever and a workhorse starter.

Part 2: Dick Jackson (1946–2025) was a minor-league baseball umpire who briefly served as a replacement umpire for seven National League games during the 1995 MLB umpires’ strike. Seong-ro Joo (1952–2025) was a South Korean baseball manager and coach who led and coached national teams to multiple international medals, including Olympic silver and Asian Games gold, and guided several prominent high school and university programs. Kwang-hwan Lee (1948–2025) was a South Korean baseball manager who won over 600 games in the Korea Baseball Organization while leading multiple teams, most notably the LG Twins, across two decades. Yukihiko Machida (1934–2025) was a Japanese professional baseball outfielder and later coach who starred in Nippon Pro Baseball during the 1950s as a home run champion and Best Nine selection before a long post-playing coaching career in Japan and Taiwan. Ángel Macías Barba (1944–2025) was a Mexican baseball player best known for pitching a perfect game at the 1957 Little League World Series, leading Monterrey to the first foreign championship and becoming a symbol of international youth baseball. Roberto Mansur Galán (1948–2025) was a Mexican baseball executive inducted into the Salón de la Fama in 2002, continuing a prominent baseball family legacy established by his father, executive Chara Mansur. Pedro Medina Ayón (1952–2025) was a standout Cuban catcher and later manager who starred for nearly a decade with the national team, excelled in international tournaments, and later won championships managing in Cuba and Italy. Jitsuo Mizutani (1947–2025) was a Japanese professional baseball slugger and later coach who starred for the Hiroshima Carp and Hankyu Braves, leading the Central League in batting average and RBI during a distinguished 19-year Nippon Pro Baseball career. Kazuomi Nakamura (1935–2025) was a Japanese right-handed pitcher who spent four seasons with the Hanshin Tigers in Nippon Pro Baseball, posting a strong 2.36 ERA before retiring in 1961.

Francisco Alvarez: The Mets and Alvarez (thumb) avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $2.4 million contract Thursday, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports. Alvarez had been arbitration-eligible for the first time as a Super 2 qualifier following a season that saw him put up a .787 OPS with 11 home runs over 76 tilts. The 24-year-old was scheduled to have surgery to repair a torn UCL in his right thumb shortly after the season, but he's expected to be ready to go for spring training. Injury Thumb. Est. Return 2/1/2026. Adbert Alzolay. Injury Elbow. Est. Return 2/1/2026. Reed Garrett: Garrett (elbow) signed a one-year, $1.3 million contract with the Mets on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston reports. Garrett isn't expected to pitch at all in 2026 after undergoing UCL reconstruction surgery in October. However, he will still receive a $350,000 raise after posting a 3.90 ERA and 1.32 WHIP over 55.1 innings in 2025 and tallying a career-high 20 holds. Injury Elbow. Est. Return 2/1/2027. Francisco Lindor: Probable for start of season. Injury Elbow. Est. Return 2/1/2026. Tylor Megill: The Mets and Megill (elbow) avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $2.5 million contract Thursday, Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston reports. Megill pitched well when healthy in 2025, posting a 3.95 ERA and 89:33 K:BB over 68.1 innings, but he was limited to only 14 starts before undergoing Tommy John surgery. The righty will miss the entire 2026 season but is under team control for 2027. Injury Elbow. Est. Return 2/1/2027. A.J. Minter: Questionable for start of season. Injury Lat. Est. Return 4/1/2026. Dedniel Nunez: Out for the season. Injury Elbow. Est. Return 2/1/2027. Christian Scott: Probable for start of season. Injury Elbow. Est. Return 2/1/2026. Calvin Ziegler: Injury Elbow. Est. Return 2/1/2026.

The top five names in the projected lineup averaged 27 home runs, 85 RBI, 88 runs and 18 stolen bases in 2025. It's looking pretty stacked now. About that pitching...again...which is the common refrain, year after year. They have 15 All Star selections, 12 Silver Sluggers and four Gold Gloves between them.