Connor Wollersheim and Scott Ota: The guys who made the Mets’ 2019 Draft possible

It would have been great to have been a fly on the wall in the war room for the Mets’ 2019 Draft. In the first three rounds, they took two guys who ended up signing for significantly more money that their slot level or pool allotment for those picks. In order to do that, they [...]

Mets sign Dellin Betances to a one-year deal

The Mets addressed their bullpen in a big way, adding 6'8 Dellin Betances on a one-year deal with a player option for 2021. Betances issued a statement on the signing, one that included this nice graph: "I love New York. I grew up in Manhattan. Went to high school in Brooklyn. Played minor league ball [...]

Checking to see if Wilson Ramos improved defensively in the second half

Prior to the start of the 2019 season, my opinion was that signing Wilson Ramos was the best move of the offseason for Brodie Van Wagenen. It seemed much better than paying the freight for J.T. Realmuto in trade or for Yasmani Grandal in cash. By mid May, I was seriously questioning my judgment. But [...]

Mets opt for depth over stars with Porcello and Wacha moves

The Mets made a bunch of moves in the offseason prior to 2019 that gave them some offensive depth. That, along with the positional versatility of several players, allowed them to weather injuries better than they had in recent memory. This current offseason, while it lacks the big moves of last year, is doing the [...]

Mets flirt with luxury tax line with Rick Porcello signing

Sources indicate that the Mets have signed Rick Porcello to a 1/$10 million deal. While the Mets were linked to Porcello earlier in the offseason, it seemed that yesterday’s signing of Michael Wacha closed this particular door. Now we’re left wondering if this means that Wacha will be in the bullpen or if it means [...]

Mets look to rectify 2012 Draft mistake with proposed Michael Wacha signing

News has it that the Mets are finalizing a contract with Michael Wacha that will pay him $3 million, with the chance to earn up to $7 million more with incentives. Given the constraints of the Mets’ likely budget, it’s hard to imagine them getting a better deal than they did here. Over the past [...]

Wednesday catch-all thread (12/11/19)

Last year, as justification of not pursuing either Bryce Harper or Manny Machado, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon said, “I don’t know how many teams have two $30-million players.” In 2020 there are at least three. We have the defending World Series champion Nationals (Scherzer $35.9 and Strasburg ($35) and the 107-win Astros (Greinke $35 and [...]

Power and control, featuring Cohen and Van Wagenen

Shortly after he was hired, a photo was taken of Brodie Van Wagenen sitting on a couch with then-manager Mickey Callaway. This was obviously a staged photo, one with Van Wagenen seemingly speaking or just having made a point. Meanwhile, Callaway is on the other end of the couch, dressed nowhere near as nice as [...]

Notes: Mets add Marisnick, lose Wheeler and what happens to SNY?

The Mets addressed their need for a true center fielder by acquiring Jake Marisnick from the Astros for two minor leaguers. Marisnick had a very good year in 2017, when he posted an .815 OPS over 259 PA. Other than that season, it’s been an offensive profile similar to Juan Lagares, with an OPS+ right [...]