NL East Notes: Mets, Britton, Rizzo, Nationals, Fried

The Mets are “unlikely” to sign Zack Britton, a source tells MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, though New York was one of six teams in attendance at Britton’s showcase earlier this week.  Brooks Raley is the only left-hander slated for a role in the Mets’ bullpen, so Britton would’ve added some southpaw depth that seems necessary on paper.  However, DiComo writes that the Mets like the flexibility offered by having relievers available with minor league options, since it allows the club to shuttle fresh arms back and forth from the minors when necessary.

Britton and the Mets were seen as a logical match for much of the offseason, both due to the Mets’ needs for left-handed relief help and the past history between Britton and manager Buck Showalter from their time with the Orioles.  With multiple teams (even beyond the teams who had scouts at his showcase) still showing interest in Britton, the two-time All-Star seems bound to land somewhere in what will essentially be a comeback year after two injury-marred seasons.

More from the NL East…

• Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo is only under contract through the 2023 season, and there hasn’t been any indication that the two sides have discussed an extension.  (Understandably so, given how the organization is mourning the recent passing of owner Ted Lerner.)  Even if an extension doesn’t come, Rizzo isn’t worried, as he told Andrew Golden of the Washington Post that “it’s not the first time, won’t be the last time, I’m on a lame-duck contract.  It doesn’t affect me….I was an area scout.  I worked on 20 one-year contracts in a row, so I’m no stranger to limited security.  My work will be my résumé, and we’ll see how it goes on from there.”  Rizzo is one of the longer-serving executives in baseball, having led the Nationals’ front office since 2009.  Between Lerner’s passing, the seemingly stalled efforts to sell the team, and the Nationals’ ongoing rebuild, Rizzo’s status is only one of many major issues facing the organization.
• “There’s no anger, animosity or anything” for Max Fried in the aftermath of losing his arbitration hearing with the Braves, the ace told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman).  Fried will now earn $13.5MM in 2023, and he’ll have one more year of arb eligibility remaining before he can become a free agent in the 2024-25 offseason.  An extension would naturally change that timeline, and while Fried seemed to imply that a longer-term deal hadn’t yet been broached, “we’ve been able to have some good communication.  I really love my time here and I love the team.  So if [an extension] is something that comes to the table, it’s something we’ll talk about.”  Atlanta’s flurry of recent extension has put a lot of longer-term commitments on the team’s books, though a lot of money might be coming off the books next winter depending on how many (or any) club options the Braves choose to exercise.  As Bowman notes, however, Fried’s closer proximity and the high cost of free agent pitching would seemingly require the Braves to offer a contract with a club-record average annual value in order to keep Fried off the market.