Jay Groome, Nate Webb Sign With American Association’s Kansas City Monarchs
Left-hander Jay Groome and right-hander Nate Webb have signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the independent American Association. The league itself announced the Groome transaction this week while the Monarchs announced the Webb deal.
Groome, 27, was once a prospect of some note. The Red Sox drafted him 12th overall in 2016 and he initially posted good numbers in the lower levels of the minors. Baseball America ranked him the #43 prospect in the league going into 2017.
His stock dipped from there. He posted a 5.69 earned run average on the farm in 2017 then missed all of 2018 and most of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery. The minor leagues were canceled by COVID-19 in 2020. Despite having a rough time in those years, the Sox still gave him a 40-man spot in November of 2020 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. Groome then had a 4.81 ERA in 2021. He was a bit better in 2022, a season that saw him get flipped from the Red Sox to the Padres in the Eric Hosmer deal. Between the two clubs, he posted a 3.44 ERA in the minors that year.
But there were more speed bumps to come. He struggled badly in 2023, with an 8.55 ERA in Triple-A that year. In the summer of 2024, he was one of four players who received a one-year suspension for betting on major league games while playing in the minor leagues. When his suspension was up in June of 2025, the Padres non-tendered him. Groome is obviously not as enticing as he was a decade ago but he’s only 27, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he can pitch his way back into affiliated ball.
Like Groome, Webb has spent time on a 40-man roster but hasn’t appeared in a big league game. Now 28, he was a 34th round pick of the Royals in 2016. In 2021, he struck out 37.7% of the batters he faced in the minors. Even though he hadn’t yet cracked Double-A, the Royals didn’t want to lose him. They added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2021 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.
Unfortunately, he battled some injuries in 2022 and posted an awful 9.99 ERA on the farm that year. The Royals non-tendered him after just one year on the 40-man. He signed a minor league deal with the Pirates but Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2023 season.
He signed a two-year deal with the Orioles for 2024 and 2025 but left Achilles tendon surgery prevented him from pitching in the first year. He was back on the mound in 2025 but his 17.1% walk rate was almost as high as his 17.6% strikeout rate as he posted a 4.70 ERA on the year. Like Groome, he is still a few years shy of his 30th birthday, so a strong showing in indy ball could lead to a return to the affiliated ranks.
Photo courtesy of Gaby Velasquez, Imagn Images
Red Sox Have Not Discussed Long-Term Deal With Marcelo Mayer
The Red Sox have done a few extensions in recent years but it doesn’t seem like there’s anything imminent with infielder Marcelo Mayer. Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that the club has not approached Mayer to discuss a long-term deal to this point in time.
It may seem obvious to some that the Sox haven’t looked to lock up Mayer. He is still only 23 years old and hasn’t found major league success just yet. He got into 44 big league games last year but hit just .228/.272/.402.
But teams have been aggressive in signing players to early-career extensions lately. The Sox have also shown a penchant for signing players to extensions generally, regardless of experience, so it’s noteworthy that there’s no progress here.
According to MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, extensions for players with less than a year of service time have become more common. (Link showing guys with no service time; link showing some service time but less than a year.) From 2006 to 2016, there were five. From 2017 to the present, there have been 21, with 11 since July of 2022.
The Red Sox have been involved there. Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Ceddanne Rafaela make up three of the data points in that set of 11. Those represent three of the six total extensions Craig Breslow has signed since taking over as chief baseball officer. He also extended Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello and Aroldis Chapman in deals of varying sizes.
Taking all that into account, extension talks are plausible but it seems the Sox are happy to wait a bit longer in this case. It could be health related, as Mayer has had some trouble staying on the field. He has five professional seasons under his belt but hasn’t topped 91 games played in any of them due to various ailments. Last year, his big league debut was interrupted by a right wrist issue that ultimately required surgery.
“[Getting stronger] will just help him manage the workload of a full season and just be able to withstand the demands of a full season, which is, frankly, something that he hasn’t been able to do,” Breslow said of Mayer in November. “And some of those have been just kind of these freak injuries, but others seem to maybe just be the accumulation of workload.”
Despite the the lack of contract talks, the Sox are showing some faith in Mayer, as they seem to be planning on him being the everyday second baseman this year. It had been reported that they preferred him at third but then they acquired Caleb Durbin from the Brewers. Durbin and Mayer have both been playing second and third this spring but Durbin spent most of his time at third base last year.
“Caleb, he’s playing third base today, again,” manager Álex Cora said this week, per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. “We’ll probably decide that next week, but I feel very comfortable with him at third base.” Cora stopped short of making any firm declarations but it seems Mayer will end up at the keystone.
If Mayer is able to stay healthy and have a breakout season in 2026, perhaps the Red Sox would be more willing to start extension talks. He has 128 days of service time right now and would be at 1.128 if he earns a full service year in 2026. Players generally get more earning power as they accrue service time and move closer to free agency, but even in that scenario, Mayer would still be five years from the open market and at least one year from arbitration.
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images
MLBTR Podcast: Jesús Luzardo’s Extension, Atlanta’s Depth, And Zack Littell
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Phillies and Jesús Luzardo signing an extension (1:55)
- Johan Rojas reportedly testing positive for a PED and how that impacts the Phillies (16:55)
- The Braves losing Jurickson Profar to yet another PED suspension and Joey Wentz to a season-ending injury (22:15)
- The Nationals signing Zack Littell (36:25)
- The Pirates trading Kyle Nicolas to the Reds for Tyler Callihan (43:40)
- The Rangers signing Andrew McCutchen to a minor league deal (48:45)
- The Astros dealing with a Jeremy Peña injury and how that impacts the ongoing Isaac Paredes trade rumors (53:30)
Check out our past episodes!
- Max Scherzer, The Red Sox’ Lineup, Spring Extension Candidates, And More! – listen here
- Twins And Orioles’ Injuries, The Guardians And Angels’ Quiet Offseasons, And Chris Sale’s Extension – listen here
- The Tigers’ Rotation, A Brewers-Red Sox Trade, And Late Free-Agent Signings – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Kyle Ross, Imagn Images
Offseason In Review: Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates went into the winter with a lot of pitching and almost no hitting. They spent the offseason smoothing out that imbalance and the team looks better going into 2026. Is it enough to get them back to the playoffs for first time in over a decade?
Major League Signings
- 1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn: Two years, $29MM
- DH Marcell Ozuna: One year, $12MM (includes $1.5MM buyout on $16MM mutual option for 2027)
- LHP Gregory Soto: One year, $7.75MM
- RHP José Urquidy: One year, $1.5MM
2026 spending: $35.25MM
Total spending: $50.25MM
Trades and Claims
- Claimed RHP Dugan Darnell from Rockies (later lost to Tigers via waivers)
- Acquired OF Jhostynxon García and RHP Jesus Travieso from Red Sox for RHP Johan Oviedo, LHP Tyler Samaniego and C Adonys Guzman
- Claimed OF Marco Luciano from Giants (later lost to Orioles via waivers)
- Acquired RHP Jaiker Garcia from Rangers for Rule 5 pick Carter Baumler
- Acquired 2B Brandon Lowe, OF Jake Mangum and LHP Mason Montgomery from Rays in three-team trade, with RHP Mike Burrows going from Pirates to Astros
- Acquired IF Francisco Loreto from Phillies for RHP Chase Shugart
- Acquired IF/OF Tyler Callihan from Reds for RHP Kyle Nicolas
Option Decisions
- None
Notable Minor League Signings
- Joe La Sorsa, Noah Murdock, Beau Burrows, Ronny Simón, Davis Wendzel, Dominic Fletcher, Chris Devenski, Noah Davis, Mike Clevinger, Carson Fulmer
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Andrew McCutchen, Tommy Pham, Jack Little (waivers), Ji Hwan Bae (waivers), José Castillo (waivers), Liover Peguero, Cam Devanney (released and signed in Japan), Colin Holderman (non-tendered), Dauri Moreta (non-tendered, still unsigned), Alexander Canario (non-tendered and signed in Japan), Johan Oviedo, Mike Burrows, Chase Shugart, Jack Suwinski (waivers), Kyle Nicolas
The Bucs have been stuck in a rebuilding pattern for a while. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2015 and haven’t topped 82 wins in any season since then. They flirted with contention in recent seasons, though in the era of the expanded playoffs, that just means they floated near .500 for parts of the summer.
They have graduated a lot of exciting pitching prospects to the majors in recent years but have struggled to hit. The 2025 team scored 583 runs, lowest in the majors. The team had a combined .231/.305/.350 batting line, which translated to an 82 wRC+, indicating the squad was collectively 18% worse than league average. The only guy on the team with a wRC+ greater than 101 was Spencer Horwitz, who started the season on the injured list due to wrist surgery and did most of his damage in the second half.
Despite the clear deficiencies on the roster, there was a case for making a strong push this offseason. Paul Skenes has just four years of club control remaining and may not spend all of that in Pittsburgh. His salary will increase via arbitration in 2027 and he may not sign an extension, so he could be traded before reaching free agency, currently slated for the 2029-30 offseason. Konnor Griffin became the top prospect in baseball in 2025 and put himself in position to make a major league debut in 2026. If you’re not going to invest around these stars, then when?
The club has not been active in free agency historically. They have never given a free agent $40MM in franchise history. Since Ben Cherington took over as general manager in 2019, he had never signed a free agent to a multi-year deal or signed a one-year deal worth as much as $11MM. But in the early offseason, Cherington suggested they could add $30-40MM to the payroll. That wouldn’t be too exciting for a lot of clubs but would be an increase for the Bucs. There was also the trade market, as they appeared to have enough starting pitching that flipping some for offense seemed possible.
Given the weakness of the lineup, the Bucs had the freedom to target almost any bat, regardless of position. Quickly, it became clear that Cherington’s words weren’t completely hollow, as he went after some of the top available guys. It was reported in mid-November that the club had made a strong offer to Josh Naylor before he had re-signed with the Mariners and they were also in the mix for Kyle Schwarber. Signing either would have required shattering their $39MM franchise record for a free agent deal. They were also connected to guys like Kazuma Okamoto and Jorge Polanco in the early offseason.
Their first notable move wasn’t for a surefire lineup boost, but it did feature the pitching-for-hitting framework that was expected. There were five players in the deal but the headline was that the Bucs sent righty Johan Oviedo to the Red Sox for outfield prospect Jhostynxon García. Oviedo had shown some promise in 2023 when he posted a 4.31 earned run average over 32 starts. He missed 2024 due to surgery, returned in 2025 and put up a 3.57 ERA with more strikeouts but also more walks.
Oviedo has two years of club control remaining and may have some upside but the Pirates had enough starting pitching talent to part ways with him. By doing so, they added an intriguing but unproven outfielder to their roster. García has been on some top 100 prospect lists but has just five big league games under his belt. He should have a chance to earn some playing time but his path would eventually be crowded by the rest of Pittsburgh’s offseason moves.
The Schwarber dream died on December 9th, when he returned to the Phils on a five-year, $150MM deal. The Bucs reportedly offered him a four-year deal in the $120MM range. That obviously wasn’t enough but it signaled that there was indeed some change in the pocket.
On the same date that the Schwarber news dropped, the Bucs did get a deal done, but with a reliever. They agreed to a one-year deal with Gregory Soto worth $7.75MM. Soto had a 4.40 ERA over the past three years but with perhaps more interesting numbers under the hood. His 9.4% walk rate was around average for a reliever, while his 25.9% strikeout rate and 48.4% ground ball rate were a few ticks better than par. A .325 batting average on balls in play and 67.7% strand rate seemed to hurt him, which is why his 3.55 FIP and 3.55 SIERA were more optimistic. If his ERA trends closer to those other metrics, it could be a nice bit of business for the Pirates.
A little over a week later, the Pirates made their first surefire upgrade to the lineup. Like the Oviedo-García swap, this one would see the Bucs trading from their rotation depth. In a three-team trade, they sent Mike Burrows to the Astros in order to receive infielder Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and left-hander Mason Montgomery from the Rays. Burrows was a steep price to pay, as he has six years of club control remaining. But the Pirates had several such arms in their rotation mix and didn’t have room for all of them.
The biggest upgrade for 2026 is Lowe, though he is just a rental, since there is one year left on his contract. But he’s one of the top power bats at the second base position. He has 81 home runs over the past five years. Only four primary second baseman have more. The four guys ahead of him all played a larger sample of games in that span, which speaks to some injury trouble Lowe has had, which is the main knock against him. Though he doesn’t count as a free agent, the Bucs are taking on his contract and will pay him $11.5MM this year.
Mangum and Montgomery are more complementary pieces of the trade but still potentially impactful. Mangum’s first year in the big leagues saw him steal 27 bases and get strong grades for his glovework. His bat was a bit below par but he was still useful on the whole. He has five years of club control and a full slate of options. Even if he’s just a fourth outfielder type, he has value. If his bat finds a new gear, then that’s even better. Montgomery has huge strikeout stuff but poor control. He’s a project but one with upside if things break right. He also comes with five years of club control and has options.
The Bucs were clearly not content to stop after Lowe. In the coming days, they would be connected to guys like Eugenio Suárez and Yoán Moncada. Just before the holiday break, they pulled the trigger on a free agent addition, a two-year deal with Ryan O’Hearn worth $29MM. While a notch below the Schwarber/Naylor pursuits, it was still somewhat notable as the biggest free agent deal of Cherington’s tenure.
O’Hearn isn’t a superstar but has been solidly above average at the plate. Over the past three years, he has 46 home runs, a .277/.343/.445 line and 121 wRC+. He has some ability to play the outfield but is more of a first baseman. It initially seemed like he and Horwitz would share first base and the designated hitter spot, but this would change in the coming months.
The Pirates were still hunting for more offense, getting connected to various bats throughout January. They also showed some interest in Framber Valdez as he lingered unsigned, though that seemed like an odd fit and he eventually landed with the Tigers.
They did apparently have room for one arm in the rotation after their recent trades, as they landed José Urquidy on a one-year deal worth $1.5MM. The Bucs usually sign a cheap left-hander late in the offseason. Since PNC Park is so tough on righty power, those lefties can usually outperform their contracts. Urquidy is right-handed but is basically filling that role since he has reverse splits in his career.
There was one more clear lineup boost to come, as the Pirates signed Marcell Ozuna to a one-year, $12MM deal in February. It’s a bit risky since Ozuna is 35 years old and coming off a down year, by his standards. His season was weighed down by a summer slump which coincided with him battling a hip injury. Perhaps he can bounce back with a full season of health but that’s no guarantee at his age.
In addition to the risk, the addition also gummed up the lineup a little bit. Ozuna is just a designated hitter at this point in his career. He didn’t play the field at all in 2024 or 2025 and was in the outfield for just 14 innings in 2023. If he’s in the DH spot most days, Lowe is at second and Horwitz is at first, that means O’Hearn will have to be in the outfield almost every day. He’s never started more than 23 games on the grass in any season of his career, so that will be new for him, but it seems the Bucs are willing to make that compromise as they try to add as much thump to the lineup as possible.
In addition to displacing O’Hearn, there are other ripple effects. With Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz in the other two outfield spots, guys like García and Mangum will be pushed to fourth outfielder roles or maybe even the minors. It also effectively closed off any chance of another reunion with Andrew McCutchen. He seemed frustrated by the situation but eventually moved on, signing a minor league deal with the Rangers.
The Bucs added one more guy into the depth picture with a spring trade. They sent reliever Kyle Nicolas to the Reds in exchange for infielder/outfielder Tyler Callihan. Nicolas is almost like a righty version of Montgomery, with big stuff but poor control. If he puts it together in Cincinnati, this one could sting, but it’s also possible that doesn’t happen. Callihan has just four big league games under his belt but strong minor league numbers. He played first base, second base and left field last year, so he provides depth in a few spots.
It was a busy offseason and it feels like there’s more optimism surrounding the Pirates than there has been for quite some time. When combining free agents and the money they took on in the Lowe deal, they added roughly $50MM to the 2026 payroll.
Despite trading away several arms, they project to have a rotation including Skenes, Mitch Keller, Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler and Urquidy. Jared Jones will return from his surgery rehab at some point, perhaps as early as late May. Prospects Thomas Harrington and Hunter Barco will be lurking in Triple-A.
The lineup will need incumbent guys like Reynolds and Cruz to bounce back but the Bucs have added Lowe, O’Hearn and Ozuna as three everyday upgrades. Guys like Garcia, Mangum and Callihan will be pushing for jobs over time. The left side of the infield feels like a weak spot but Griffin should be up to take over shortstop at some point, maybe as soon as Opening Day. That would leave guys like Jared Triolo, Nick Gonzales and others fighting over third base.
Is this enough to get them over the hump? The National League Central is in fairly healthy shape. The Cardinals are rebuilding but the Brewers, Cubs and Reds all made the playoffs last year. Did the Pirates add enough to leapfrog someone?
How would you grade the Pirates' offseason?
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images
Bryce Miller May Start Season On Injured List
Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller may not be available for the start of the season. Per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, Miller felt some soreness in his left side today and didn’t finish his bullpen session. “He’s definitely behind,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said. “It’s the type of injury where it seems wise not to push him too fast. Obviously, we won’t make any decisions until we need to.”
Miller was slowed by some left side soreness about two weeks ago. An MRI revealed some inflammation and he was given a platelet-rich plasma injection. His planned bullpen session today was part of a ramp-up that could have seen him stretched out for the start of the season. This setback appears to put that in jeopardy. He is not being fully shut down, as he will still be playing catch and doing some other activities, but the Mariners will want the soreness to clear before he fully lets it fly from a mound again.
It doesn’t seem like this is a major issue but it could be an early test of Seattle’s rotation depth. The Mariners have a strong starting group when everyone is healthy, as they have Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Luis Castillo and Miller. Once they have to dip into their depth, things get a bit more questionable. Divish mentions Cooper Criswell and Emerson Hancock as the two guys most likely to step up if Miller does miss some time.
Criswell’s best season to date was his 2024 showing with the Red Sox. He tossed 99 1/3 innings in a swing role, allowing 4.08 earned runs per nine. His 17.2% strikeout rate was subpar but he only walked 7.3% of opponents and induced grounders on 50.3% of balls in play. In 2025, the Sox added some arms and Criswell was mostly blocked, only making seven big league appearances. He had a decent showing in Triple-A, throwing 65 2/3 innings with a 3.70 ERA, 24.5% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate and 49.4% ground ball rate.
Despite the passable numbers, Criswell exhausted his final option in 2025, pushing him to fringe roster status. The Sox signed him to a 2026 deal with an $800K salary, a bit above the $780K league minimum, even though he hadn’t yet qualified for arbitration. The plan seemed to be to pass him through waivers, allowing him to serve as Triple-A depth even though he’s out of options. That plan didn’t work, as the Mets claimed him off waivers in December. When the Mets nudged him off their roster, Seattle sent some cash to Queens to get him from DFA limbo.
Criswell’s number are fine but there’s a bit of risk there. His velocity doesn’t reach 90 miles per hour, making him a soft-tosser in this era. He has been able to get guys out regardless, but it’s a fine line to walk.
Hancock is a former sixth overall pick but his big league performance hasn’t lived up to that status yet. Over the past three years, he has given the M’s 162 2/3 innings with a 4.81 ERA, 15.6% strikeout rate, 7.6% walk rate and 40.1% ground ball rate.
One thing that may perhaps work in Criswell’s favor is that Hancock still has an option, so he could be sent to Triple-A to stay stretched out there. Since Criswell is out of options, he needs to either be in the rotation or the bullpen. If Criswell does end up with the rotation spot, that would help alleviate the pressure in the bullpen. Seattle’s eight projected relief arms are all out of options except for Matt Brash and Jose A. Ferrer, who are too good to be sent down.
If Hancock and Criswell are both up in the big leagues, Blas Castano would be the only optionable depth starter in the Triple-A rotation. He has just one major league appearance on his track record and posted a 5.19 ERA in Triple-A last year. The Mariners have Dane Dunning, Jhonathan Díaz, Randy Dobnak and Casey Lawrence in camp as non-roster invitees with some big league experience.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
Matt Thaiss Has Upward Mobility Clause In Red Sox Deal
The Red Sox may have to make a decision on catcher Matt Thaiss soon. Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that several players in camp on minor league deals have upward mobility clauses or opt-outs in their contracts. Most of those will come during the season. With Thaiss, he has an upward mobility clause five days prior to Opening Day. Cotillo also notes that Thaiss would make a salary of $1.3MM if added to the roster.
When an upward mobility clause is triggered, a player is offered up to the other 29 clubs in the league. If any of them are willing to give the player a roster spot, then the signing club has to either give him a roster spot themselves or trade him to another club that will. If no club offers him a roster spot, then he can be sent to the minors as non-roster depth.
Thaiss, 31 in May, is competing for the job backing up Carlos Narváez. Thaiss’s defense is questionable but he clearly has a keen eye at the plate, having drawn a walk in 13.1% of his career plate appearances. That has helped him produce a .210/.320/.332 batting line. The resulting 84 wRC+ indicates his production has been 16% below a league average hitter but backstops are generally about ten points below par, so that’s not too bad for a backup catcher.
The Sox have Connor Wong on the roster but he still has a minor league option remaining and put up a dismal .190/.262/.238 line last year. Mickey Gasper is optionable and can also play other positions. If the Sox wanted to, they could add Thaiss to the roster and option Wong and Gasper to serve as depth in Triple-A. Doing so would require opening a 40-man roster spot for Thaiss. If they are not willing to do that, it’s possible they could be forced to send him elsewhere.
There are some other contract provisions the Sox will have to consider, but not as urgently. Cotillo adds that right-hander Kyle Keller also has an upward mobility clause but not until April 15th. Cotillo had previously reported a less specific mid-April date for that clause.
That means the Sox can keep Keller as minor league depth for at least the first few weeks of the season and delay their decision until then. Keller also has other unspecified chances to opt out of the deal beyond that April 15th date, as well as a clause that allows teams from Japan and Korea to pursue him if he doesn’t have a spot on the major league roster. Keller spent the past four years pitching in Japan and put up a 2.42 earned run average in 152 1/3 innings.
The Sox have even more breathing room with some other deals. Infielder Vinny Capra has a June 1st opt-out. Catcher Jason Delay has opt-outs on June 30th and August 15th. Delay is in the same catching mix as Thaiss. If Thaiss ends up elsewhere, then Delay’s chances of getting a spot would improve. If he still doesn’t like his situation this summer, he’ll have a couple of chances to seek out greener pastures.
Capra seems a bit blocked right now. The Sox project to have Isiah Kiner-Falefa as their multi-positional bench infielder. They also have Andruw Monasterio, Anthony Seigler, Nate Eaton, Nick Sogard and Tsung-Che Cheng on the roster. A spate of injuries could change the calculus but Capra will have a chance to walk away if the path doesn’t clear.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
Blue Jays Sign Caleb Freeman To Minor League Deal
The Blue Jays have signed right-hander Caleb Freeman to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Freeman has been assigned to Double-A New Hampshire, so he’ll presumably be heading to minor league camp in spring training.
Freeman, 28, is a reliever who spent his entire career in the White Sox system until recently. He averages around 95 miles per hour with his fastball with a high-80s slider and low-80s curveball. For most of his career, control has been a big problem. Over the 2022 and 2023 minor league seasons, he walked 18.5% of the batters he faced. In the majors, relievers usually walk around 9% of opponents, so he was basically double par.
In 2024, he dialed things in, relatively speaking. His 13.6% walk rate was still high but an improvement. He also struck out a strong 29.3% of opponents, helping him post a 3.92 ERA in Double-A that year. In 2025, he got out to a blazing start. In his first 13 1/3 innings, he had a 1.35 ERA, 33.3% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate. The White Sox tried to ride the hot hand and added him to their big league roster.
He wasn’t able to keep the momentum going from there. He faced 16 big league hitters in five appearances. He only gave out one walk but also only punched out three, allowing two earned runs in the process. In the minors, he posted a 5.30 ERA the rest of the way with an 18.2% strikeout rate and 17.1% walk rate. He was outrighted off the 40-man in June and became a free agent at season’s end.
Freeman won’t have a great shot at a roster spot in the near term. The Jays have a pretty crowded pitching staff. They could have eight viable starters once Shane Bieber is ready to come off the injured list. That will have domino effects into the bullpen with some of their starting options pushed into relief roles. The Jays currently have Rule 5 picks Spencer Miles and Angel Bastardo on the roster.
Even if those two can’t break camp, Toronto still projects for bullpen spots to go to Jeff Hoffman, Tyler Rogers, Louis Varland, Brendon Little, Braydon Fisher, Tommy Nance and Eric Lauer, with Mason Fluharty and Chase Lee also in the mix. Jorge Alcala, Josh Fleming and others are in camp as non-roster invitees. It’s also possible that starter Ricky Tiedemann, who has struggled to stay healthy, ends up in the bullpen as he builds up his workload after missing a lot of time in recent years. Over a long season, injuries are inevitable and opportunities will open up. If Freeman can eventually get a roster spot, he still has options.
Photo courtesy of Peter Aiken, Imagn Images
Angels Notes: Candelario, Infield, Lowe
Veteran infielder Jeimer Candelario is having a strong camp with the Angels and has been doing some drills at second base, reports Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register. “We’re just seeing what our options are,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “Candy’s been swinging the bat really well. He’s been playing really well.”
Candelario, 32, has some strong major league seasons on his track record but was hobbled by injuries in the past two campaigns. For what it’s worth, he has posted good numbers so far this spring, with a .333/.429/.708 batting line in 28 plate appearances. He won’t maintain a .467 batting average on balls in play forever but six of his eight hits have gone for extra bases.
Some skepticism towards that small sample of spring plate appearances would be warranted, especially after Candelario put up a line of just .207/.265/.394 over 2024 and 2025, but he battled injuries throughout most of that time. He had a combined slash of .254/.329/.437 from 2020 to 2023, which is what prompted the Reds to give him a three-year deal worth $45MM. Cincinnati responded to his struggles by releasing him, which eventually led to Candelario being in camp with the Halos.
If the Halos are thinking about giving him a roster spot, it makes sense to see what kind of versatility he can provide. He currently has no second base experience. He has only played the infield corners in his career. That goes for both the majors and the minors. The Halos have shortstop and first base spoken for, with Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel manning those positions, respectively.
Third and second base are more open. Yoán Moncada is theoretically the everyday third baseman but he has been very injury prone, especially lately. In his ten big league seasons, he only reached 132 games played in three of them, with the most recent instance coming back in 2021. The Angels have to operate under the assumption he will miss some time.
Second base is also a question mark. Christian Moore could be the answer but he has a .198/.284/.370 line in his career thus far and still has options. He has also been spending some time at third base in camp, so there’s some flexibility there. Vaughn Grissom and Oswald Peraza are former prospects on the roster but neither has clicked in the big leagues yet. Both are out of options and could get squeezed.
Candelario is competing for a roster spot with other veteran non-roster invitees like Adam Frazier, Chris Taylor and Nick Madrigal. If he can play a bit of second base, it would add to his appeal and could give him a boost in that competition. The Halos will use one bench spot on backup catcher Travis d’Arnaud. Another will go to a depth outfielder, perhaps Bryce Teodosio. That could leave two spots for the group consisting of Candelario, Grissom, Peraza, Frazier, Taylor, Madrigal and others.
Candelario already has one thing going for him in that he’s cheap. The Reds are still on the hook for paying him this year, the final season of that aforementioned three-year deal. If the Angels give him a spot, they would only have to pay him the prorated league minimum for any time he’s on the roster. The team seems to be dialing back payroll as they deal with a new broadcast revenue paradigm, so that’s surely an attractive element for them.
In a separate column, Fletcher provides an update on outfielder Josh Lowe, who has been battling left oblique soreness in camp. Suzuki said they will try to get him some game action as soon as Friday and suggested that should be plenty of time for him to get ramped up by Opening Day. Assuming Lowe avoids the injured list, he’ll be getting regular playing time in the outfield alongside Mike Trout, Jo Adell and Jorge Soler. Those four are expected to share the three outfield positions and the designated hitter slot.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Phillies Sign Jesús Luzardo To Extension
March 10: The Phillies have formally announced Luzardo’s extension. According to Dan Gelston of the Associated Press, the $32.5MM club option converts to a $10MM club option if Luzardo spends 130 consecutive days on the injured list.
March 9: The Phillies and left-hander Jesús Luzardo have agreed to an extension, according to various reports. He was previously slated for free agency after 2026. It’s reportedly a five-year pact starting in 2027, which guarantees the Roc Nation Sports client $135MM. There is also a $32.5MM club option, though Luzardo can boost that by $2MM with each top five Cy Young finish, giving him a chance to potentially raise it as high as $42.5MM. He will receive a $1MM assignment bonus each time he is traded until he reaches 10-and-5 rights.
Luzardo, 28, was once one of the top pitching prospects in baseball and he has established himself as a legit big league arm in the past few years. With the Marlins in 2022 and 2023, he made 50 starts and logged 279 innings, allowing 3.48 earned runs per nine. His 7.9% walk rate and 40.1% ground ball rate were close to league average as he struck out a strong 28.7% of batters faced. His four-seamer and sinker both averaged in the upper 90s while he also made good use of a mid-80s changeup and slider.
He had a bit of a dip in 2024. He missed time due to some elbow tightness and also due to a lumbar stress reaction. He only made 12 starts on the year and had a flat 5.00 ERA. The Phils still liked the player enough to take a chance on him going into 2025. They sent prospects Starlyn Caba and Emaarion Boyd to the Marlins in exchange for Luzardo and Paul McIntosh.
The bet paid off, as Luzardo returned to form in 2025. He made 32 starts and threw 183 2/3 innings with a 3.92 ERA, 28.5% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and 42.8% ground ball rate. He also made two postseason appearances with a 2.35 ERA. He finished seventh in National League Cy Young voting.
As mentioned, 2026 was slated to be Luzardo’s final arbitration season before he would become a free agent. He and the Phils avoided arbitration by agreeing to an $11MM salary for this year. He could have played out the campaign and would have been in position for a strong contract if he had another good season. He’s currently 28 years and old, turning 29 in September.
The top free agent deals for starting pitchers have been around $200MM in recent years, with Max Fried, Corbin Burnes and Dylan Cease all getting to that range. Fried got $218MM. The latter two got $210MM, both with notable deferrals.
Luzardo hasn’t quite put up the same kind of results as those guys. Burnes and Fried have posted ERAs under 3.00 pretty regularly. Cease has had a more wobbly ERA but with comparable strikeout and walk rates to Luzardo with greater availability. Luzardo would have been younger than everyone in that group, however. Cease and Burnes signed their deals going into their age-30 seasons, while Fried was going into his age-31 campaign.
Players who sign extensions a year from the open market generally sacrifice a bit of upside in exchange for the security of locking in a deal that is still quite large. Dating back to 2017, the top extension for a pitcher with service time between five and six years was $131MM over seven years for José Berríos.
Like Luzardo, Berríos was going into his age-28 season and would have been a free agent ahead of his age-29 campaign. Berríos was also generally a guy with an ERA in the 3.50 range, though with greater durability. Berríos agreed to his deal before working out a salary for his final arbitration season. When considering the $11MM Luzardo is getting in 2026, he will make $146MM over the next six years.
Waiting until after 2026 to sign could have led to an even greater contract, but it also would have come with risk. In addition to his aforementioned 2024 injuries, Luzardo also missed a few months due to a forearm strain in 2022. A notable injury in 2026 could have led to him heading into the winter with significantly less earning power, so he is taking the proverbial bird in the hand with this deal.
For the Phils, they have not been shy about spending money on starting pitching. Going into the 2020 season, they signed free agent Zack Wheeler via a five-year, $118MM deal. Ahead of the 2023 season, they gave Taijuan Walker $72MM over four years. Going into 2024, they brought back Aaron Nola with a seven-year, $172MM pact. They then extended Wheeler for $126MM over three years. They also recently locked up Cristopher Sánchez, who was still in his pre-arbitration years, with a four-year deal worth $22.5MM.
Going into 2026, Wheeler may start the season on the injured list but could be back fairly early. For the 2026 season, health permitting, the four primary starters will be Wheeler, Nola, Sánchez and Luzardo. The fifth could be Walker but also could be prospect Andrew Painter.
Looking ahead to 2027, Luzardo was slated for free agency and Walker as well. That would have left the Phillies with a core of Wheeler, Nola and Sánchez. Wheeler is signed through 2027 and plans to retire after that. Painter could theoretically fill one spot but he’s a big question mark right now. Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2023 and 2024. He was back on the hill in 2025 but posted a 5.40 ERA in Triple-A.
Rather than waiting until next winter to address the 2027 rotation, they have proactively signed Luzardo to stick around. Since this appears to be a new contract, it shouldn’t impact the 2026 competitive balance tax. Luzardo will still have an $11MM hit this year. For the five years from 2027 to 2031, he’ll have a $27MM hit, the average annual value of his $135MM guarantee for those years.
The long-term books have a lot on them. As far out as 2030, the Phils have Nola, Luzardo, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner all signed to deals with CBT hits of over $24MM. RosterResource already projects the club for a CBT number of almost $160MM for that 2030 season, before factoring in arbitration players or any other deals signed between now and then. But the Phils have generally been fine spending on the guys they like as they keep this core going.
For any club who was hoping to make a run at Luzardo next winter, they will have to consider other options. The 2026-27 free agent class already feels a bit light and will now have one fewer marquee name. Tarik Skubal will headline the group of starting pitchers, followed by guys like Freddy Peralta, Kevin Gausman and others. Burnes, Sonny Gray and Tatsuya Imai and others could shake things up by opting out of their deals.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the two sides had agreed to a five-year deal starting in 2027. Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia first reported the $135MM guarantee. Robert Murray of FanSided reported the option details. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported on the assignment bonus. Photos courtesy of Brett Davis, Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images
Offseason In Review: New York Mets
The Mets responded to a disappointing 2025 season by undergoing a major roster overhaul for 2026, all while sticking to the front office’s preference of avoiding long-term commitments.
Major League Signings
- IF Bo Bichette: Three years, $126MM (includes opt-outs after each season)
- RHP Devin Williams: Three years, $51MM (includes $6MM signing bonus, $15MM in deferrals)
- IF Jorge Polanco: Two years, $40MM
- RHP Luke Weaver: Two years, $22MM
- RHP Luis García: One year, $1.75MM
- OF MJ Melendez: Split deal with $1.5MM salary in majors (can be controlled beyond 2026 via arbitration)
2026 spending (not including Melendez): $86.75MM
Total spending (not including Melendez): $240.75MM
Trades and Claims
- Acquired RHP Joey Gerber from Rays for cash considerations
- Claimed OF Ji Hwan Bae from Pirates (later outrighted)
- Claimed LHP José Castillo from Orioles (later non-tendered and signed in NPB)
- Acquired 2B Marcus Semien from the Rangers for OF Brandon Nimmo
- Claimed RHP Cooper Criswell from Red Sox (later traded to Mariners for cash)
- Claimed C Drew Romo from Orioles (later lost on waivers to White Sox)
- Acquired RHP Yordan Rodriguez from A’s for IF/OF Jeff McNeil and cash considerations
- Acquired $1.5MM in international bonus pool space from Guardians for LHP Franklin Gomez
- Claimed IF Tsung-Che Cheng from Rays (later lost on waivers to Nationals)
- Acquired OF Luis Robert Jr. from White Sox for IF/OF Luisangel Acuña and RHP Truman Pauley
- Acquired RHP Freddy Peralta and RHP Tobias Myers from Brewers for RHP Brandon Sproat and IF/OF Jett Williams
- Acquired IF/OF Vidal Bruján from Twins for cash considerations
- Acquired LHP Bryan Hudson from White Sox for cash considerations
- Claimed C Ben Rortvedt from Dodgers
Option Decisions
- RHP Edwin Díaz opted out of two years and $38MM left on previous deal
- 1B Pete Alonso declined $24MM player option
- Frankie Montas exercised $17MM player option (later released)
- LHP A.J. Minter exercised $11MM player option
- Team exercised $4.75MM club option on LHP Brooks Raley
- Team declined $2MM club option on RHP Drew Smith
Notable Minor League Signings
- Joe Jacques, Jose Rojas, Robert Stock, Nick Burdi, Carl Edwards Jr., Daniel Duarte, Cristian Pache, Kevin Herget, Mike Baumann, Christian Arroyo, Craig Kimbrel, Grae Kessinger, Austin Barnes, Mike Tauchman
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Edwin Díaz, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, Cedric Mullins, Tyler Rogers, Griffin Canning, Gregory Soto, Starling Marte, Ryan Helsley, Ryne Stanek, Luisangel Acuña, Brandon Sproat, Jett Williams, Max Kranick (still unsigned), Frankie Montas (still unsigned but will miss 2026 season), Jesse Winker (still unsigned), Jose Siri, Nick Madrigal, Drew Smith, Danny Young (non-tendered)
The 2025 season was a huge disappointment for the Mets. They had just gone to the NLCS the year before. They added Juan Soto in the offseason. They had every expectation of being one of the best teams in the league and got out to a good start. On June 12th, they had a 5.5 game lead over the Phillies in the National League East. It was all downhill from there. They scuffled through the end of the season, going 21-32 in August and September. They finished 83-79, the same record as the Reds. Cincinnati got the final N.L. Wild Card spot via tiebreaker.
In the clubhouse after the final game of the regular season, just minutes after being eliminated, first baseman Pete Alonso told members of the press he would be opting out of his contract. He had almost departed the prior offseason, only returning after lingering unsigned into February. Edwin Díaz would undoubtedly be opting out as well. A few days after Alonso’s forthright comments, it was reported that the Mets were planning a big shakeup of the coaching staff. Rumors of clubhouse discord would eventually seep out.
It seemed like big changes were possible as the club looked to get in position for a better campaign in 2026. It didn’t take long for the dominoes to fall. There were early offseason trade rumors surrounding longtime Mets like Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil. It wasn’t immediately clear how to take those rumors, especially since Nimmo had been with the club since 2011 and had a full no-trade clause on his deal.
Just three weeks into the offseason, Nimmo was traded to the Rangers for Marcus Semien in a rare one-for-one swap of veterans on big contracts. Nimmo would later say he approved the trade essentially because it seemed like the Rangers wanted him more than the Mets did.
For the Mets, the trade checked a few boxes. On the financial side of things, they actually took on more money in the short term. Nimmo is making $20.25MM in each season of the rest of his deal, Semien $26MM for the next two years and then $20MM in the final season. But Nimmo’s deal still has five years left on it, compared to Semien’s three.
Under president of baseball operations David Stearns, the Mets have shown a preference for higher average annual values on shorter deals. Apart from the Soto pact, which was a special case due to his youth, Stearns hasn’t signed anyone to a deal longer than three years since taking over as the club’s front office leader. That preference was clearly at play in the 2025-26 offseason, with the Nimmo/Semien swap fitting the pattern.
It also shored up the club’s defense, something that was a stated goal. Nimmo was once a center fielder but had largely been in left field in 2024 and 2025, reducing some of his value. Semien, despite being his mid-30s, continues to be a reliably above average second baseman in terms of his defense.
More changes came the following month. On December 1st, it was reported that the Mets would be signing reliever Devin Williams to a three-year, $51MM deal. Many felt that was a lot of money for a guy who’d just posted a 4.79 earned run average, but it’s actually somewhat of a buy-low situation.
Williams was one of the most dominant relievers in baseball prior to his 2025 season in the Bronx. He went into that campaign with a career ERA of 1.83. The ERA spike with the Yanks seemed fluky since his stuff appeared to be the same and he still racked up strikeouts and ground balls. His 55.2% strand rate on the year was bizarrely low, more than 20 percentage points below the rest of his career. ERA estimators like his 2.68 FIP and 2.67 SIERA thought he was pretty close to his previous self. Stearns, who was familiar with Williams from their time together in Milwaukee, is betting that 2025 was indeed a fluke.
That didn’t necessarily close the door on a Díaz reunion. The Mets have almost no real budgetary limitations and certainly had room in the bullpen for two elite relievers. However, it was reported on December 9th that Díaz would be signing with the Dodgers.
That seemed to be a bit of an unusual situation. The three-year, $69MM sticker price was a bit below expectations. The Mets had offered him $66MM over three years, which was arguably a better offer because it reportedly had less deferred money compared to the Dodger deal. Some reports said the Mets were willing to go higher but were a bit caught off-guard when he quickly accepted the offer from Los Angeles. Later reports also said Atlanta put a five-year offer out to Díaz. The dollar value of that offer was not revealed but perhaps Díaz just wanted to join the World Series champs and jumped at the chance.
Regardless of the reasons, the Mets were down another longtime franchise staple. He would not be the last. The very next day, on December 10th, it was reported that Alonso would be joining the Orioles on a five-year, $155MM deal. The Mets never seemed to interested in making a long-term investment in their franchise home run leader. It appeared they didn’t want to sign him to anything longer than three years, so he moved on.
Part of the reason the Mets seemed fine with letting Alonso walk is that, as mentioned, improving their defense was a priority this winter. Alonso has never received especially strong grades for his first base defense. Now that he’s 31 years old, he’s more likely to get worse over time than to suddenly improve.
That’s a sensible enough logic in a vacuum, but things got a little strange a few days later when the Mets pivoted to Jorge Polanco on a two-year, $40MM deal. The plan seems to be for Polanco to play a decent amount of first base, though he could also serve as the designated hitter and occasionally play second or third.
Polanco technically has experience playing first base in the big leagues but in the most limited way possible. On April 6th of 2025, Mariners right fielder Víctor Robles injured himself on a catch, recording the second out in the bottom of the ninth inning of a 4-4 game against the Giants. The Mariners removed Robles and shuffled their defenders around, putting Polanco at first. The Giants walked it off on the next pitch with a single to the outfield. That’s the extent of Polanco’s big league experience as a first baseman: one pitch, without having to make a play.
Polanco is coming off a great season at the plate, having hit 26 home runs with a .265/.326/.495 batting line, but there’s some risk. Recurring knee problems have been an issue for him in recent years. He played fewer than 120 games in each season from 2022 to 2024. His offense was below par in the final of those three, which allowed the Mariners to re-sign him for just one guaranteed year and $7.75MM. While he bounced back at the plate, he was almost exclusively a designated hitter in the first half. He gradually played more second base as the season went along but still served as the DH quite a bit.
Though Alonso’s defense was never ideal, his availability was incredible. He never started fewer than 133 games at first in any full season with the Mets. Suddenly pivoting to a guy with almost no experience at the position and notable injury concerns is a curious choice. Polanco can probably handle it, but it speaks to the club’s commitment to their desire for avoiding long-term contractual pitfalls.
Adding Polanco also pushed McNeil further out the door. He had already been in trade rumors, and the Semien acquisition blocked him from the position at which he has spent the most time. He was flipped to the Athletics just before the holidays in what was essentially a salary dump deal. Even though the Mets ate some money in the swap, the A’s took on $10MM of what McNeil is owed this year. Considering the Mets pay a 110% tax rate, that saved them more than $20MM.
Around the same time, they also made another bullpen addition, getting Luke Weaver for $22MM over two years. Weaver’s 2025 didn’t end in strong fashion, but he’s nonetheless coming off a strong two-year run with the Yankees. Over 2024 and 2025, he posted a 3.21 ERA over 148 2/3 innings, striking out 29.5% of opponents and walking just 7.8%. He’s not a replacement for Díaz, but he can pair with Williams for a strong one-two punch at the back of the bullpen.
Going into the holidays, the Mets had been busy but were also left in a weird spot, having seemingly made more subtractions than additions. At second base, they had effectively swapped in Semien for McNeil, with Polanco replacing Alonso at first. But trading Nimmo left a hole in the outfield which had not been filled.
In early January, there were still options. The top two free agent outfielders, Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger, remained unsigned. The Mets were connected to both. They made a strong run at Tucker, once again in alignment with the preference for staying short term. They reportedly offered him a huge $220MM deal over four years, with a couple of opt-outs. The massive $55MM average annual value would have led to a tax bill of over $60.5MM for the Mets, meaning they were willing to shell out almost $120MM annually to get Tucker aboard.
Unfortunately, the Dodgers had similar thinking and went to $240MM over four, so he slipped through the Mets’ fingers. The Mets could have then pivoted to Bellinger but went in a different direction. They found another player willing to opt for a short-term deal with a juiced AAV, giving Bo Bichette a three-year deal worth $126MM, or $42MM per year. Factoring in the tax bill, that’s almost $90MM annually the Mets are sending out. There are opt-outs after each season, so perhaps Bichette will only be around for one year, but it’s a big commitment.
Bichette has been a shortstop for the majority of his career but seems unlikely to spend much more time there going forward. His defensive grades have never been terribly strong. Late in 2025, a knee injury put him on the shelf for the end of the season and the beginning of the playoffs. He was back with the Blue Jays for the World Series but clearly not still 100% healthy. He spent some time as the DH and also limped out to second base a few times.
The Mets had already committed themselves to a middle infield of Francisco Lindor at short and Semien at second. The plan is to move Bichette to third, a position where he has no experience and will have to learn it on the fly. That’s a gamble the Mets are willing to take in order to get Bichette’s bat into the lineup.
That will seemingly push Brett Baty into a super utility role where he bounces around the infield and maybe the outfield corners as well. Mark Vientos is in a somewhat similar spot but his 2025 struggles should put him a bit lower on the depth chart. He’ll be trying to hit his way back into the mix, though he has a narrower path since he’s only really capable of playing the infield corners. The Mets don’t really have a strict DH, so it’s possible for Baty or Vientos to earn more at-bats, perhaps with Polanco moving more towards a full-time DH role.
The Bichette addition still left them with their outfield unaddressed but they quickly checked that box. Just a few days later, they pulled the trigger on a trade for Luis Robert Jr.. To get him to Queens, they took on the entirety of his $20MM salary and will have to pay taxes on that as well. They also parted with some talent, sending utility player Luisangel Acuña and prospect Truman Pauley to the White Sox. Acuña has shown the potential to be a solid bench piece, but the additions of Semien, Polanco and Bichette to the infield made him less necessary. He’s also out of options and surely wouldn’t have gotten through waivers unclaimed.
Robert has the potential to be an excellent upgrade to the Mets outfield but is nowhere near a guarantee. He showed a huge ceiling in 2023, hitting 38 home runs and stealing 20 bases while providing strong center field defense. But in 2024 and 2025, he was on and off the injured list, being capped at 100 games in the former and 110 in the latter. His offense was subpar in both campaigns. The speed and defense give him a nice floor, in a sense, but he has to be on the field to provide that floor.
With Nimmo gone, Soto will be moving from right field to left field. Robert will take over in center. In right field, the Mets wanted to leave a path open for prospect Carson Benge but brought in some contingency plans. They already had Tyrone Taylor on the roster. Late in the winter, they added MJ Melendez on a split deal and Mike Tauchman on a minor league pact. If Benge doesn’t look ready by the end of spring, they have some ways to pivot.
Amid all of this shuffling on the position player side and in the bullpen, the rotation had largely been ignored for most of the winter. The Mets went into the offseason with a starting group consisting of Nolan McLean, Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga and David Peterson. Just behind that group were optionable minor leaguers like Brandon Sproat, Jonah Tong and Christian Scott.
It was a good group but one perhaps lacking an ace-like arm at the front. McLean showed the potential for that late in 2025 but he was only able to make eight starts before the winter arrived. The Mets were reportedly looking for an upgrade but (stop me if you’ve heard this one before) wanted to avoid long-term free agent deals.
They were connected to some of those free agents, like Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez, but always seemed more likely to make a big splash on the trade market. Rumors linked them to Joe Ryan, Nick Pivetta, and Edward Cabrera but they were able to land Freddy Peralta from the Brewers. They sent Sproat and prospect Jett Williams to Milwaukee to get Peralta and Tobias Myers.
Peralta is a very sensible fit for the Mets. Stearns is plenty familiar with him; he already acquired Peralta and extended him when he was running the Brewers. Peralta’s one year of club control and $8MM salary are appealing for any club, but they fit well for the Mets and their tax situation.
What remains to be seen is if Stearns can sign Peralta to another extension. He has access to bigger payrolls with the Mets than he did with the Brewers but has really tried to limit the length of deals. Peralta is well positioned to cash in as a free agent next winter and is seemingly angling for the kind of long-term deal the Mets don’t like.
It was a busy offseason for the Mets. They overhauled the roster, bringing in a lot of new faces while letting some of the familiar ones go. The lineup and rotation look really strong. But by sticking to his preferences in terms of contract length, Stearns has been forced to make some compromises. The Mets wanted to improve the defense but are going into the season projecting to have third and first base manned by guys with effectively no experience there. They’ve added an injury-prone center fielder and a 35-year-old second baseman. They made some bullpen additions but may not have really improved it since they lost one of the best closers in the league.
Does it all add up to a better team or have they mostly just shuffled the deck? Give your ranking of the offseason in the poll below.
How would you grade the Mets' offseason?
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images