Yesterday, SNY’s Andy Martino reported that the Mets have budgeted around $10 million to spend to fill out the roster. At last, people (among them, SNY columnists!) will stop with the idea that they’re going to sign big-name free agents. Now the questions are: 1. What position(s) and 2. How many players?
To me the first one is easier than the second. Relief pitcher seems to be the position to target. But it’s unclear if that should be with one player or two. Are there any considerations with re-upping with David Robertson? Would he return on last year’s 1/$10 deal, if it included a no-trade clause? My guess is that Jordan Hicks and Yariel Rodriguez might sign for that AAV but would want more than a one-year deal. Not sure if he’d be worth the money in a relief role, but Alex Wood is someone who interests me, too. He could be another depth starter, as well. Hector Neris likely gets more money, but if he was willing…
Wandy Peralta and Brent Suter were speculated about by SNY.
Others to consider from my POV are Brad Hand, Matt Moore and Robert Stephenson. And wouldn’t it be funny after turning down his $6 million player option hoping to get a multi-year deal that Ottavino comes back on a cheaper one-year contract? Ottavino can be frustrating to watch, especially once runners get on base, but in his last 26 games, he had a 2.22 ERA, a 1.192 WHIP and he limited batters to a .598 OPS. Ottavino’s FIP, both all season long (4.52) and his final hot streak (4.08) would make me leery of giving him much more than 1/$4 million.
However, if Joc Pederson would sign for $10 million, I’d take him over a reliever, even if bullpen help is the biggest need.
A DH! A DH who can hit! A DH who is a middle f the order guy. What an upgrade that would be.
You’ve made it quite clear you want a hitter
Martino has made it fairly clear what the budget is
Who do you think would sign for $10 million that you would be happy with?
The priority should be another setup man a for the bullpen. There a 6 relievers under contract and a tendered Smith who has no options. That leaves one roster spot for the bullpen. Hicks or Rodriguez are young so a 2-3 year contract and it shouldn’t be ruled out. Both shouldn’t be more expensive than $10m AAV.
A cheaper option, but not better, would be signing Peralta or Suter. Either one of them should be less than $6m AAV with a 1 year contract.
Signing one of these four would solidify the bullpen.
All, for any podcast listeners out there, the NYP has a show hosted by Sherman and Heyman. The new podcast has an interview with David Stearns.
Thanks for the tip. I listened to one podcast from those two and was not impressed. Regardless, MLBTR did a piece on the podcast. Among other things noted was this:
“Stearns reaffirmed the Mets have no desire to trade Alonso this offseason. The new baseball operations leader said he’s “pretty darn confident (Alonso) is going to be our first baseman on Opening Day.” He wasn’t committal on the three-time All-Star’s longer-term future in Queens. While Stearns predictably indicated they’d love to keep Alonso beyond the 2024 season, he spoke generally about the challenges of extending players who are deep into their club control window.
“We also understand that as players approach free agency, there’s often a desire to test free agency,” Stearns said. “It’s really tough to line up on these types of deals in the last year of a player’s team control, the last year of arbitration.” The baseball operations president declined to go into detail about Alonso’s status specifically.”
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/david-stearns-discusses-alonso-outfield-bullpen.html
Press release from the Mets:
“Last night, Mets Hall of Famer Buddy Harrelson passed away at age 79 at a hospice house in East Northport, Long Island after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s. Harrelson played for the Mets from 1965-1977. He was a member of the 1969 Miracle Mets, a two-time
All-Star (1970 and 1971) and earned the 1971 Gold Glove at shortstop. He later would serve as a coach with the Mets in 1982 and again from 1985-1990. Harrelson took over the managerial duties early in the 1990 season and led the Mets through the 1991 campaign.
The Harrelson family announced they will have a celebration of his life at a later date.”
RIP Buddy.
Of course enough can’t be said about Bud Harrelson’s contributions to the team. He had a tremendous influence on the team in the late 60’s through early 70’s. His fight with Pete Rose will go down as one of the most important events in team history.
“The Mets made another offseason addition for a potential bullpen arm, claiming right-hander Max Kranick off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In a corresponding move, New York designated outfield/catcher Cooper Hummel for assignment, to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Kranick. The Mets claimed Hummel off waivers from Arizona earlier this offseason on Dec. 1, 2023.
snip
Kranick underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2022 and returned to make nine minor league appearances in 2023, allowing 11 runs (10 earned) on 11 hits in 20.2 innings pitched with nine walks and 14 strikeouts. Seven of those outings came at Triple-A Indianapolis where he pitched to a 2.76 ERA.”
https://sny.tv/articles/mets-claim-rhp-max-kranick-off-waivers-from-pirates-dfa-of-c-cooper-hummel