Mets Rumors

Yankees “In Serious Talks” With Justin Wilson

By Anthony Franco | February 15, 2021 at 1:45pm CDT

1:45PM: The Mets are no longer candidates to sign Wilson, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link).

FEB 15, 8:46AM: The Yankees appear to me “moving toward a deal” with Wilson, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). Wilson would fit well as a third southpaw to slot in ahead of closer Aroldis Chapman and setup man Zack Britton.

FEB 14: The Yankees are “in serious talks” with free agent reliever Justin Wilson, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported yesterday the sides had been in contact.

If they were to come to terms on a deal, it’d mark a return to the Yankees for Wilson, for whom he pitched in 2015. Wilson had a productive season, but they sent him to Detroit for Luis Cessa and Chad Green at year’s end. The veteran southpaw has generally remained productive since that trade.

Over the past five seasons, Wilson has worked to a 3.48 ERA with a strong strikeout rate (28.5%), albeit with a bit of an elevated walk percentage (11.4%). It was more of the same in 2020 for Wilson, who managed a 3.66 ERA/3.92 SIERA with fairly typical strikeout and walk numbers for the crosstown Mets. Now 33 years old, Wilson has maintained his 95+ MPH average fastball velocity and continues to induce swings and misses at a decent clip.

The Yankees’ bullpen looks strong, as has become typical in the past few years, but could stand to add some left-handed help Wilson would provide. Aside from closer Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton is the only southpaw reliever on New York’s 40-man roster.

Notes On The Andrew Benintendi Trade: Cordero, Profar, Lee

By TC Zencka | February 15, 2021 at 8:45am CDT

The Royals had been in talks with the Red Sox (and as many as six other teams) about potentially acquiring Andrew Benintendi going all the way back to November, said assistant general manager JJ Picollo in an interview with Quinn Riley of Bostonsportswave.com. Another Royals’ assistant GM, Scott Sharp, did a lot of the legwork in terms of keeping Boston on the line, per Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star.

Despite the Royals’ belief in Franchy Cordero’s power potential – Picollo invoked the name of David Ortiz in comparison as a late-blooming power bat – Benintendi better fits the needs of their ball club. To replace the legendary Alex Gordon in left, the Royals had explored a pact with Jurickson Profar, notes Worthy. But the Padres’ three-year commitment to Profar ultimately proved a pricier acquisition than Benintendi by quite a bit in terms of pure dollars, especially since Boston is chipping in cash to help with his $6.6MM salary this season.

The Royals plan to utilize Benintendi near the top of the order, probably in the two-hole. The Royals have a noted need for on-base ability – Kansas City finished tied for 26th in the Majors with a .309 On-Base Percentage – and while Khalil Lee looked like a potential internal candidate to bring those skills to the table, the 26-year-old Benintendi is the more proven commodity. Even considering questions surrounding his recent performance and decline in foot speed, Benintendi has maintained an ability to get on base with a solidly above-average 10.5 percent career walk rate. If anything, Benintendi was over-patient in 2020 as his swing rate fell to 44.5 percent, though he also saw less strikes than ever with just a 44.1 percent zone rate in the extremely small sample season.

Regarding Lee, the Royals never spoke directly with the Mets about their speedy young outfield prospect. That leg of the deal was entirely cooked up by Boston, writes Ken Davidoff and Mike Puma of the New York Post. The Red Sox know Mets GM Zack Scott well considering his 16 years in the Boston organization, and they knew about his longstanding interest in Lee as a prospect. The Royals were aware of another team’s involvement, but didn’t hear about Lee’s ultimate destination until about 90 minutes before the deal was finalized.

Mets Sign Mike Montgomery, Tommy Hunter To Minor League Contracts

By Anthony Franco | February 14, 2021 at 3:48pm CDT

The Mets have signed Mike Montgomery and Tommy Hunter to minor-league contracts (via Tim Healey of Newsday). Both pitchers will receive invitations to major league spring training.

Montgomery has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past six seasons. Best known for recording the final out of the 2016 World Series as a member of the Cubs, he has settled in as a decent swing option in recent years. Since the start of 2017, the left-hander has pitched to a 4.03 ERA across 351 innings. He doesn’t miss many bats, managing just a 17.3% strikeout rate in that time. Montgomery has a decent track record of throwing strikes, though, and has induced ground balls at a strong 53.1% clip over the past four years.

The 31-year-old Montgomery entered 2020 as a member of the Royals’ rotation, but he went down with a lat strain just two innings into his first start. That knocked him out for much of the shortened season; he returned for a pair of relief appearances at the end of September before being outrighted off Kansas City’s roster.

Montgomery could compete for a spot at the back of the rotation or for a multi-inning relief role. That flexibility could prove beneficial for a New York team that’ll be without Seth Lugo to open the season due to the latter’s upcoming surgery to repair a bone spur in his elbow. At the moment, Joey Lucchesi looks the favorite to start the year in the final rotation spot behind Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Marcus Stroman and David Peterson.

Hunter, on the other hand, is a pure reliever. The 34-year-old pitched in 24 games for the Phillies last season, working to a 4.01 ERA/3.57 SIERA across 24.2 innings. Decent showing notwithstanding, Hunter’s 91.7 MPH average fastball was down rather significantly from the mid-90’s velocity he showed at his 2013-16 peak. That drop-off, coupled with Hunter’s slightly below-average strikeout (24.5%) and swinging strike (10%) rates, likely contributed to his inability to find a guaranteed deal this winter. Nevertheless, it’s easy to envision the generally reliable veteran earning a roster spot with a decent showing in spring training.

NL Notes: Turner, Brewers, Cubs, Robertson, Mets

By Anthony Franco | February 14, 2021 at 12:54pm CDT

Justin Turner is returning to the Dodgers, agreeing to terms last night on a two-year, $34MM guarantee with a 2023 option. The Brewers were known to be interested in Turner for much of the offseason and apparently made a legitimate run at the star third baseman. Milwaukee made a two-year offer similar to the one Turner ultimately accepted from Los Angeles, while also proposing a potential three-year deal at a lower annual rate, hears Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). Having missed out on Turner, Milwaukee’s now left to weigh the possibility of another addition versus rolling with the in-house pairing of Luis Urías and Daniel Robertson at the hot corner.

Pitcher Notes: Mets, Paxton, Robertson, Sanchez

By TC Zencka | February 13, 2021 at 10:34pm CDT

The Mets made a run at James Paxton, but they were outbid by the Mariners, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). Heyman suggests the Mets will now turn their attention to Taijuan Walker or Jake Odorizzi. Frankly, it seems unlikely they would find the right price point on Odorizzi coming off a very similar season to Paxton (but with a longer track record of good health). Besides, the list of players the Mets “were in on” includes Jake Arrieta, Rich Hill, George Springer and others, notes Andy Martino of the SNY Network (via Twitter). That’s not a knock on the Mets, of course, who have been one of the more active teams this winter. Let’s check in some other free agent pitchers…

Free agent reliever David Robertson threw for a handful of teams yesterday, but the price on his long-term future remains unclear. His old pals from New York were in attendance, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter), but the Yankees are far from the only team who might have interest. Despite the dumb-luck turn of his Philly tenure, Robertson is an intriguing buy-low candidate. Injuries limited the right-hander to seven appearances over the past two seasons, but in the ten years prior, Robertson should be proud of a 2.67 ERA/2.77 FIP while striking out an excellent-for-the-era 32.6 percent of hitters and walking a near-average 9.5 percent of challengers. The Yankees probably remember better than most just how good Robertson was in his prime. Approaching his age-36 season, Robertson is decidedly on the downslope of his career – but he has a long way to fall before losing his utility.
Aaron Sanchez also headed back to the hill to throw for scouts on Saturday, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). The Mets were among those present, as they continue to keep their hand in the starting pitching market. Sanchez is on record as wanting a spot in the rotation, which could limit his potential landing spots. It now seems like ages ago that Sanchez led the American League with a 3.00 ERA over 30 starts for the Blue Jays in 2016. Since that All-Star campaign, Sanchez has compiled a 5.29 ERA/5.12 FIP across 55 starts totaling 272 1/3 innings with a worm-killing 47.8 percent groundball rate. An 18.1 percent strikeout rate and 11.7 percent walk rate are less than inspiring figures, however.

New York Notes: Justin Wilson, Brett Gardner

By TC Zencka | February 13, 2021 at 4:50pm CDT

All things being equal, Justin Wilson seems to prefer a return to the Mets, but the Metropolitans have only just begun conversations with the veteran southpaw, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). It’s not difficult to imagine a deal coming together quickly, however. Wilson does appear close to signing somewhere, notes MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Coming of a strong 3.66 ERA/3.04 FIP over 19 2/3 innings in 2020, he certainly presents as a useful arm.

In fact, the Yankees are among those clubs said to negotiating with Wilson, per the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. The Yankees are close to the first luxury tax threshold, and the assumption has been that they intend to stay under it. That doesn’t give them a lot of room for Wilson, who is one of the more attractive arms in a southpaw market that includes a fair amount of depth with T.J. McFarland, Oliver Perez, Tony Watson and Sam Freeman among the remaining lefties. The Yankees still probably have about $7MM or so to spend before surpassing mark, however, so another acquisition is not beyond the realm of possibility.

Much because of those financial realities, whether or not they reunite with Brett Gardner, for the first time this winter, seems like a coin flip. The Yankees really don’t need him given where their roster stands today – especially with Jay Bruce brought in on a low-risk minors pact. That said, he’s a fan favorite, their longest-tenured player, and he is said to want to return. That should make this easy, but as Rosenthal notes, Gardner’s production last season could theoretically line him up for quite a bit more than $7MM over one season. Gardner’s 110 wRC+ in 2020 and 114 wRC+ over the last two seasons marks him as a potentially superior option to just about every other outfielder remaining on the market.

That said, he will be 37-year-old this season, and he’s long been viewed as a Yankee loyalist, which could have tempered his market. At this point, the question probably boils down to exactly how much Gardner wants to remain in New York. Otherwise, he’s pretty well out of leverage.

Latest On Justin Turner

By Mark Polishuk | February 13, 2021 at 9:41am CDT

Justin Turner’s market had already reportedly narrowed to four teams, and the field could now be even thinner for the former All-Star. The Dodgers and Brewers have each made multi-year contract offers to Turner, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link), and while the third baseman could potentially have other longer-term offers on the table, Turner seems “less likely” to sign with other rumored suitors like the Braves, Mets, or Blue Jays.

If Turner’s final four is now down to a final two, the Dodgers are still in the lead, according to both Heyman and FanSided’s Robert Murray (via Twitter). There has been a widespread expectation for much of the winter that Turner would eventually re-sign with Los Angeles, though some wrinkles were added by Turner’s initial ask of a four-year contract, and the Dodgers already projected to spend far beyond the $215MM luxury tax threshold. As per Roster Resource, the Dodgers’ tax number for 2021 is over $240MM (thanks in large part to the Trevor Bauer signing), and spending beyond $250MM would trigger the maximum tax penalty — a 42.5% surtax on overages, and the Dodgers’ first 2021 draft pick would be dropped back in the draft order by 10 spots.

Of course, the Dodgers could have no issue taking the extra one-year tax hit in order to bolster their chances at another World Series title, or to retain a star player who has spent the last seven seasons in Dodger blue. Still, the lack of common ground to date between Turner and the Dodgers has opened the door for a team like Milwaukee, as Murray writes that the Brewers made a “competitive” offer. It seems unlikely that any team would be willing to give four guaranteed years to the 36-year-old Turner, but speculatively, the Brewers might gain an edge over L.A. by offering three years depending on the nature of the Dodgers’ offer.

As for the other teams linked to Turner, earlier reports suggested that the Mets weren’t getting far in contract talks. The chances of Turner going to Atlanta or Toronto seemed to dim after those teams made other high-priced signings — the Braves and Marcell Ozuna, and the Blue Jays with George Springer and Marcus Semien.

Seth Lugo To Undergo Bone Spur Surgery

By Mark Polishuk | February 13, 2021 at 8:49am CDT

Mets right-hander Seth Lugo will undergo elbow surgery to fix a broken bone spur on Tuesday, the team announced. The issue was discovered after Lugo had been suffering from elbow inflammation during his offseason workouts. Lugo won’t begin throwing for at least six weeks following his procedure, so he will surely begin the season on the injured list as he continues to build up arm strength.

Lugo posted a 5.15 ERA over 36 2/3 innings for New York in 2020, beginning the season in the bullpen but then starting his final seven outings. Advanced metrics indicate that he pitched better than that 5.15 ERA would indicate, as Lugo’s numbers were skewed by two very poor starts against the Phillies and Nationals (Lugo was touched for 12 runs over three total innings) and a big home run rate. The righty had a 3.29 SIERA and very strong strikeout (29.4%) and walk (6.3%) percentages, while also posting a 48.5 grounder rate and some elite curveball spin.

A 34th-round pick for the Mets back in 2011, Lugo rose through the organizational ranks and broke into the Show as a starter in 2016-17, and also made five starts during the 2018 season. For much of 2018-19, however, Lugo was a very effective reliever out of the Amazins’ bullpen, and he was slated to return to that role (perhaps with the odd spot start) in 2021. While it doesn’t seem like Lugo’s surgery is overtly major, it obviously isn’t a good sign for him to miss such a big chunk of Spring Training, and he’ll need at least a month to properly prepare and ramp back up.

With Lugo gone for at least some time at the start of the season, Robert Gsellman and the newly-acquired Jordan Yamamoto look like the Mets’ top options for rotation depth should one of their projected starting five also suffer an injury prior to Opening Day. The Mets are still reportedly looking into starting pitching options, and if a new arm is added, Joey Lucchesi will likely be the odd man out who is moved into the bullpen.

Mets Trade Ali Sanchez To Cardinals

By Steve Adams | February 12, 2021 at 12:05pm CDT

The Cardinals have acquired catcher Ali Sanchez from the Mets in exchange for cash, per a club announcement. New York had designated Sanchez for assignment this week after adding Jonathan Villar on a big league deal. The Cardinals are now up to 39 players on their 40-man roster.

Sanchez, 24, made his MLB debut with the Mets in 2020, though he only tallied 10 plate appearances, going 1-for-9 in that time. He’s regarded as an above-average defensive catcher with solid bat-to-ball skills but minimal power. He split the 2019 season between Double-A and Triple-A, batting a combined .261/.326/.322 with a homer and 17 doubles. That production closely mirrors his tepid .259/.317/.331 slash in parts of six minor league seasons, though it should be noted that Sanchez has only fanned in 14.2 percent of his 1484 minor league plate appearances.

Sanchez threw out 44 percent of attempted base thieves against him in his last minor league season (2019) and boasts an even better 46 percent mark in his minor league career. He’s a potential backup option for Yadier Molina if the Cards want to give Andrew Knizner regular at-bats in Triple-A rather than have him sit on the big league bench and start once per week or so.

Latest On Mets’ Interest In Kris Bryant

By Steve Adams | February 11, 2021 at 10:51pm CDT

Though the Mets and Cubs tabled their talks for Kris Bryant at some point last month, SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the two sides have re-engaged to some extent more recently.

As outlined here in the past, any trade involving Bryant would be complicated for myriad reasons. The former NL Rookie of the Year and MVP is coming off his worst season, though that came in a truncated 2020 schedule, making it more difficult to evaluate his ability to rebound. He’s also controlled for only one more season and owed a hefty $19.5MM at a time when most clubs throughout the league are wary of taking on more money. There’s also little hope of Bryant, a Scott Boras client, signing an extension — be it with the Cubs or with a new team that acquires him in a trade.

Martino indicates that the Mets have been looking for takers to offload relievers Dellin Betances and/or Jeurys Familia, both of whom are signed through 2021 at rather inflated amounts. Betances exercised a player option valued at $6.8MM for the coming season, while Familia is owed $11MM this coming season ($1MM of which is deferred until 2022). His contract also contains a $1MM assignment bonus in the event of a trade. Speculatively speaking, the Mets could try to push either reliever on the Cubs as something of a financial counterweight.

Of course, the Mets already have a third baseman who’s been a productive hitter for them: 27-year-old J.D. Davis. New York controls Davis all the way through the 2024 season, and while his ceiling isn’t as high as Bryant’s, Davis has been every bit as productive as Bryant over the past couple seasons (.288/.370/.483 to Bryant’s .267/.365/.488). Davis, however, is owed just $2.1MM this year and eligible for three more raises in arbitration between now and the 2024-25 offseason.

Martino adds that the Cubs have at times expressed interest in acquiring Davis themselves, which isn’t a shock given his affordable price tag and recent level of production. However, getting the Mets to part with Davis in return for Bryant alone seems decidedly unlikely. Even attaching Familia’s final year to Davis would still mean the Mets were taking on more than $6MM in new salary and parting with four years of Davis in exchange for one year of a hopeful Bryant rebound.

It’s easy to conjure up more elaborate scenarios in which the Cubs send Bryant and an established pitcher to the Mets, who could use an upgrade in the rotation to push Joey Lucchesi into more of a depth role. The Mets just missed on Trevor Bauer in free agency, and they’ve recently been linked to free-agent starters. The Cubs adding any MLB pitching help to a potential deal would likely necessitate adding more pieces on the Mets’ side, however, further illustrating the difficult nature of actually coming to an agreement on such a layered discussion.

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