Mets Rumors

NL East Notes: Nats, Bryant, Cubs, Phillies, Matz

By Mark Polishuk | November 28, 2020 at 10:08pm CDT

The Nationals’ recent interest in Kris Bryant isn’t the first time Washington has explored trading for the former NL MVP, as the Nats and Cubs held some discussions just last offseason. Victor Robles was known to be of interest to Chicago in a potential Bryant trade, and Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post adds that held firm in keeping not only Robles, but also Juan Soto, Trea Turner, and pitching prospect Jackson Rutledge during negotiations with the Cubs.

Needless to say, there was zero chance Soto, Turner, or probably even Robles were being moved for Bryant last offseason, and this quartet will continue to be off the table in any trade talks this winter. Rutledge (the 17th overall pick of the 2019 draft and ranked by MLB.com as Washington’s top prospect) could have made some sense as a trade chip when Bryant was coming off an impressive 2019 campaign and had two years of team control remaining. Now, however, Bryant is just a year away from free agency and is looking to rebound from an injury-plagued 2020 season. As Dougherty notes, the Nationals or any other team might not have to give up much or any major prospect capital to land Bryant, if the Cubs’ chief intent is just to get Bryant’s projected $18.6MM salary off their books.

Quick Hits: Colon, Fresno Grizzlies, MiLB

By TC Zencka | November 28, 2020 at 10:21am CDT

The story hasn’t changed for 47-year-old hurler Bartolo Colon. Though he hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2018, he desires to return and finish his career with the Mets, tweets MLB Insider Héctor Gómez. Colon felt the same way last May, however. It’s hard to imagine that his chances of suiting up again in New York have increased since then. A veteran of 21 seasons, the hugely-popular Colon turns 48-years-old in May. “Big Sexy” last appeared in the Majors with 146 1/3 innings for the Rangers in 2018. He posted a 5.78 ERA/5.47 FIP with 5.0 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 that season. With that, let’s check on the latest updates from minor league baseball…

The Fresno Grizzlies are facing a tough decision: accept relegation from Triple-A to Single-A, or leave the Major League system entirely, according to J.J. Cooper of Baseball America. News of MLB’s ultimatum to the Grizzlies first came from Brianna Calix of the Fresno Bee, who obtained a letter emailed from deputy commissioner and chief legal officer for MLB Daniel R. Halem to high-ranking government officials in Fresno. In the letter, per Calix, Halem writes: “Because communications with the (Fresno) Grizzlies and City of Fresno have indicated they have no interest in operating a Single-A affiliate, we do not currently intend to offer any affiliation to the Grizzlies or Fresno.”
The Grizzlies remain committed in their stance to stay in Triple-A. The difference in league amounts to more home games, a higher profile, and likely more revenue. Fresno Mayor Lee Brand and Mayor-elect Jerry Dyer issued a statement in response to MLB, posted here on Twitter by Marek Warszawski of the Fresno Bee. It’s certainly easy to understand their desire to remain in Triple-A, but for MLB’s part, they’re trying to execute a restructuring plan that they think will bring more revenue to the game overall.
For a reminder on how the Grizzlies and other clubs got to this point, Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper walks through the timeline of negotiations between MLB and MiLB from December of 2018 to the present day. Cooper includes the latest development from last week when he reported on the changing dynamics for clubhouse managers.

Yadier Molina Says Five Teams Have Shown Interest

By Mark Polishuk | November 26, 2020 at 9:21pm CDT

Yadier Molina has long stated that he wants to remain with the Cardinals, and he reiterated that hope in an interview with Laura A. Bonnelly V. of Mas Que Pelota (hat tip to Deportivo Z 101’s Hector Gomez). However, Molina also revealed four other teams who have shown interest in his services — the Yankees, Mets, Padres, and Angels.

The two New York clubs had already been linked to Molina’s market, and the Cards have been in talks for seemingly close to a year about another contract to keep Molina in St. Louis. The Angels and Padres are new additions to the hunt, however, and each represents an interesting possible landing spot for the nine-time Gold Glover.

At first glance, San Diego already seems set at catcher, with Austin Nola behind the plate, former top prospect Francisco Mejia slated as the backup and star prospect Luis Campusano making his MLB debut this season. Signing Molina, however, would add immeasurably more experience and some veteran leadership to a team that plans to contend for a championship in 2021. While Nola’s ability to catch makes him a particularly valuable utility asset, he can also play several other positions around the diamond; the Padres could use Nola in a somewhat normal backup catcher role to spell Molina once a week, and then otherwise deploy him at other positions.

Molina has expressed interest in a two-year contract, but even if Molina were to land such a deal, that wouldn’t be much of a roadblock to Campusano as the Padres’ eventual catcher of the future. Mejia could be the odd man out if Molina joined the team, as Mejia has yet to show much over parts of four MLB seasons with the Indians and Padres. That said, Mejia has only 362 career plate appearances, only just turned 25, and was a consensus top-35 prospect as recently as the 2018-19 offseason, so he would still be an interesting trade chip if the Padres made him expendable.

There are some obvious family ties for Molina in Anaheim, as his brother Jose is the Angels’ catching coach, and his other brother Bengie spent his first eight MLB seasons in an Angels uniform. Yadier would also be reunited with his old Cardinals teammate Albert Pujols for the final season of Pujols’ ten-year, $240MM deal with the Halos.

Beyond the personal connections, Molina would also fill a need for Los Angeles since Max Stassi could miss the start of the season after undergoing hip surgery in October. Depending on how quickly Stassi recovers, the Angels could start Molina (and use Anthony Bemboom as the backup) until Stassi is ready, and then potentially move into something closer to a timeshare, though it’s probably safe to guess Molina might end up getting the bulk of the action.

Latest On Mets Front Office

By Jeff Todd | November 25, 2020 at 10:36pm CDT

Freshly minted Mets owner Steve Cohen seems to be having a blast in his new role atop the organization, but that doesn’t mean it’s all coming easy. While the club looks to be a prime landing spot for industry executives, Cohen and president Sandy Alderson have not had the easiest time of recruiting new baseball operations leadership.

Cohen acknowledged as much in comments this evening, as Mike Puma of the New York Post covers on Twitter. “I thought it would be a little bit easier than it has been,” Cohen said of his efforts to build out a new staff, including a replacement for outgoing general manager Brodie Van Wagenen.

The problem, per Cohen, is that it’s tough to get qualified candidates in the door for a chat. “Baseball is kind if funny,” he says, “where you have to ask for permission and we are not getting a lot of permission.”

It’s interesting to wonder whether the deep-pocketed Cohen is facing stiffer-than-usual headwinds in his rookie offseason. Regardless, it appears that the Mets have been stymied at least in holding exploratory talks with several intriguing potential targets.

That explains why the club recently decided to drop the concept of hiring a president of baseball operations in favor of pursuing a GM. Then again, it may not only be a matter of being thwarted by fellow teams. Zack Meisel of The Athletic indicates (subscription link) that Indians GM Mike Chernoff elected on his own accord not to pursue the president of baseball ops opening in New York.

At the moment, relatively little is known about the Mets’ preferred candidates for the top remaining baseball ops openings. Former hurler and league executive Chris Young is known to have interviewed recently, but he’s the only publicly identified GM possibility. (Michael Hill is also known to have interviewed, though it may be that he was being looked at for the now-abandoned president of baseball operations gig.)

There is one new name to keep an eye on. Former club exec J.P. Ricciardi is on the radar of Cohen and Alderson, according to SNY.tv’s Andy Martino. Ricciardi is certainly a familiar face, having served as a special assistant to Alderson for the entirety of the latter’s original tenure as GM.

Though the market is open, it doesn’t seem the Mets feel much urgency in this arena. Martino says the organization is active in pursuing improvements but isn’t yet close to making significant additional front office hires.

Mets Reportedly Interviewed Chris Young For GM Vacancy

By Steve Adams | November 25, 2020 at 8:42am CDT

Mets president Sandy Alderson revealed earlier this week that his team would not hire a president of baseball operations and would instead focus its front office search on hiring a general manager. It’s already known that Alderson and new owner Steve Cohen have spoken to former Marlins president of baseball ops Michael Hill, and Mike Puma of the New York Post now tweets that former big league pitcher Chris Young has also interviewed for the position. Alderson said earlier this week that six candidates have interviewed.

The 41-year-old Young would be mark a second straight outside-the-box hire were he to eventually be the choice, following the Wilpon family’s surprise hire of agent Brodie Van Wagenen two years ago. That said, Young hasn’t been simply sitting back and reminiscing on a solid, 13-year playing career since retiring after the 2017 season. Rather, he’s been working for the league itself. Major League Baseball announced in May 2018 that Young had been named the league’s vice president of on-field operations, initiatives and strategy — a role in which he focused on “the application of playing rules and regulations, on-field standards and discipline, pace of play and other special projects.”

Young reported directly to MLB’s chief baseball officer, Joe Torre, for the first two years he was in that position. Back in February, Torre moved into an advisory role, serving as a special assistant to commissioner Rob Manfred. Young, in turn, took on a greater role within the league’s hierarchy and was promoted to senior vice president of on-field operations, initiatives and strategy.

While Young would be an unorthodox hire, his candidacy isn’t a total shock, either. SNY’s Andy Martino noted more than a month ago that Young and Alderson maintain a strong relationship after getting to know one another during their time with the Padres’ organization, and Martino has since reported that the veteran pitcher and Princeton grad is a candidate for some type of role in the Mets’ new front office.

Hiring Young as the GM, however, would somewhat fly in the face of Cohen’s previous comments about his club’s search for a baseball ops executive. At his introductory press conference earlier this month, Cohen suggested he preferred an experienced candidate, telling reporters (link via Newsday’s Tim Healey): “I’m not crazy about people learning on my dime.” Young’s work in the league office gives him more relevant experience than most recently retired players, but he’d still be a rookie in a team’s baseball ops department. Even with guidance from an experienced vet like Alderson, he’d be “learning on Cohen’s dime,” though perhaps that’s more palatable for Cohen if Alderson heads up baseball ops himself for the early portion of an incoming GM’s tenure.

Turning to other potential candidates, Martino reported this morning that Rays special assistant Bobby Heck, who’d previously been under consideration, is no longer seen as a candidate for the job. He’s expected to remain with the Rays.

Quick Hits: Snell, Mariners, Yanks, Voit, Thames, Mets, Tebow

By Connor Byrne | November 24, 2020 at 10:05pm CDT

The Mariners entered the rumor mill Monday as a team reportedly interested in acquiring Rays left-hander Blake Snell. Unsurprisingly, though, it would take a significant offer for the Mariners to acquire Snell. The Mariners would need to include any of three of their best young outfielders – Kyle Lewis, Jarred Kelenic or Julio Rodriguez – in order to get a deal done, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. Lewis is probably out of the question as a trade chip for Seattle, as he just won American League Rookie of the Year honors for 2020. Kelenic and Rodriguez may be off the table, too, considering they’re elite prospects. Nevertheless, you can’t blame the Rays for aiming high. After all, the soon-to-be 28-year-old Snell is a recent AL Cy Young winner (2018) who’s due an affordable $39MM over the next three seasons.

Yankees first baseman Luke Voit has popped up in trade rumors early this offseason, but “that idea does not seem to have generated real traction in the front office,” Bryan Hoch of MLB.com writes. There doesn’t seem to be any reason for the Yankees to trade Voit, who’s coming off a huge year and under affordable control through 2023. Voit slashed .277/.338/.610 with a league-leading 22 home runs over 234 plate appearances in 2020.
Teams in the majors, Nippon Professional Baseball and the Korea Baseball Organization have shown interest in free-agent first baseman/outfielder Eric Thames this offseason, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Thames spent the prior four seasons in the majors with the Brewers and Nationals, with whom he combined for a .237/.339/.486 line and 75 home runs in 1,428 plate appearances, but he struggled in Washington last year. Thames was previously a folk hero in Korea before joining the Brewers, even earning the nickname “God” during an incredible run with the KBO’s NC Dinos from 2014-16.
Ex-NFL quarterback and current Mets minor league outfielder Tim Tebow said earlier this month that he hasn’t given up on his baseball career. Neither has Mets president Sandy Alderson, who was at the helm of their front office when they signed Tebow in 2016. Alderson stated Monday that the Mets are hopeful the 33-year-old Tebow will continue pursuing his baseball dream in 2021, per Mollie Walker of the New York Post. “I think that the organization has already benefited significantly from his involvement with the Mets and his pursuit of a baseball career,” said Alderson, who added that “he’s entitled to another shot post-COVID. And I’m happy he’s coming back.”

Alderson On Mets’ Front Office, Rojas, Cano, Conforto

By Connor Byrne | November 23, 2020 at 4:21pm CDT

Newly named Mets president Sandy Alderson shed some light Monday on how the club will configure its front office and its coaching staff in 2021, as Anthony DiComo of MLB.com and Tim Britton of The Athletic were among those to report. The Mets will not hire a president of baseball operations, according to Alderson, who also revealed that Luis Rojas will stay on as their manager.

There have been questions about who will run the Mets’ baseball ops since they parted ways with general manager Brodie Van Wagenen. They will name a GM to replace him, and they have already interviewed roughly a half-dozen candidates, according to Alderson (via Britton). It’s unclear which individuals are in the running to fill that role, but former Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and current Mets senior vice president John Ricco are not among them. It’s also unknown how long the Mets plan on taking to hire a successor to Van Wagenen.

As for Rojas, he became the Mets’ manager under their prior regime, but he’s a longtime employee of the club who is familiar with Alderson from the latter’s previous run in the team’s front office. The 39-year-old managed the Mets to an underwhelming 26-34 record in 2020, but he’ll get an opportunity to right the ship next season.

Second baseman Robinson Cano was one of Rojas’ most productive players in 2020, but he won’t play next year after receiving a 162-game suspension without pay last week for performance-enhancing drugs. The Mets are not considering releasing Cano, who’s due $48MM from 2022-23, “at this point,” per Alderson (via DiComo). However, Alderson admitted that could change “down the road.”

Like Cano, outfielder Michael Conforto is facing an uncertain future with the Mets. Conforto, 27, only has one season of arbitration control left, though Alderson stated (per DiComo) that the club will approach his camp about a contract extension sometime in the coming months.

“Yes, at some point, I’m sure we will broach that topic and take their temperature, and see where those things stand,” Alderson said.

Conforto is coming off a career year in which he slashed .322/.412/.515 (157 wRC+) with nine home runs across 233 plate appearances. Barring an extension, Conforto should make anywhere from $9MM to $13.6MM in arbitration.

Mets’ Amed Rosario “Likely” To Play Multiple Positions In 2021

By Mark Polishuk | November 21, 2020 at 2:58pm CDT

A Mets official tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post that Amed Rosario becoming a multi-positional player is “likely in the cards” for 2021. Rosario has almost exclusively played shortstop during his eight pro seasons, apart from seven games as a third baseman in the minors and one game in left field at the MLB level.

This isn’t the first time a position change has been weighed for Rosario, as the Mets considered him as a center field candidate back in June 2019. Nothing came of the idea, however, and perhaps it isn’t a coincidence that around that same time, Rosario went on the hottest hitting stretch of his young career. After batting .322/.353/.453 over his final 372 plate appearances of the 2019 season, Rosario seemed to solidify his claim as New York’s shortstop of the future, but he struggled in 2020. This opened the door for Andres Gimenez to claim an increasingly large share of the shortstop playing time down the stretch.

It should be noted that the Mets have apparently not run the idea of a position change past Rosario or his agent Ulises Cabrera, who tells Sherman that “as far as we are concerned, Amed Rosario is the starting shortstop of the New York Mets, and he’s working out and preparing as such.” As such, Rosario isn’t planning to start working out at other positions either in his personal offseason work or in a more organized environment like winter ball.

Rosario’s glovework at shortstop has long been a question mark, though he did make some progress on that front in the eyes of some metrics. Over 322 1/3 innings at the position last season, Rosario had a +2 Outs Above Average and a +3.5 UZR/150. (The Defensive Runs Saved metric remains unimpressed with Rosario’s work, as he posted -3 DRS.) While it is understandable that Rosario would want to remain the regular shortstop, becoming a more versatile defensive player would theoretically add to his overall value. Or, perhaps Rosario would reveal himself as a plus defender at second base, third base, or in the outfield.

The rumors of a Francisco Lindor trade continue to loom over the Mets’ shortstop plans, though Sherman feels the Mets might have enough depth at the position to forego a pursuit of Lindor for the time being. Sherman opines that the Mets could keep Gimenez at shortstop in 2021 to explore what they have in him, which also allows more time for top prospect Ronny Mauricio to get more seasoning in the minors or in another alternate training-site scenario depending on what happens with next year’s minor league season. If the Mets aren’t satisfied with what they see from Rosario, Gimenez, or Mauricio, they could explore a trade for a shortstop in-season (perhaps with one of the current trio going the other way in a deal), or maybe just wait to sign one of the many outstanding shortstops who are scheduled to hit free agency next winter.

NL East Notes: Kingston, Phillies, Marlins, Kintzler, deGrom

By Mark Polishuk | November 21, 2020 at 2:20pm CDT

The Phillies are considering Dodgers assistant GM Jeff Kingston for their general manager position, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports (Twitter link). Kingston joins a rather short list of names linked to the Phils’ front office search thus far, as former Marlins GM Michael Hill is also expected to interview for the president of baseball operations position and the Phillies will also make something of a longer-shot appeal to gauge Theo Epstein’s interest in the PoBO role.

Kingston has been the Dodgers’ AGM for the last two seasons and worked in the same role with the Mariners from 2016-18, also briefly serving as Seattle’s interim general manager before Jerry Dipoto was hired. Most recently, Kingston was a finalist for the Angels’ GM opening before Perry Minasian was hired. It would be somewhat unusual if the Phillies hired Kingston or anyone else as general manager before hiring a president of baseball ops, though it remains to be seen if Philadelphia is necessarily embarking on a full-fledged search, since it remains possible that current PoBO Andy MacPhail and interim GM Ned Rice could remain in their current roles through the 2021 season.

Mike Chernoff Not A Candidate For Mets Job

By Steve Adams and Anthony Franco | November 20, 2020 at 10:14pm CDT

Indians general manager Mike Chernoff will not interview for the Mets’ front office vacancy, SNY’s Andy Martino reports. The team had reportedly asked for permission to interview him, and MLB.com’s Jon Morosi even wrote yesterday that Chernoff was a “leading candidate” for the job and would sit down with the organization. New owner Steve Cohen, however, quashed that report himself when he tweeted that it was incorrect to suggest Chernoff would interview to become their president of baseball operations. Martino adds that Oakland GM David Forst is also seen as “unlikely” to interview for the Mets job.

It’s not clear yet whether the Indians denied the Mets permission to speak to Chernoff or whether Chernoff declined their reported interest. It wouldn’t be the first time the 39-year-old has rebuffed overtures from another club; Chernoff reportedly drew interest from the Mariners and Phillies before being promoted to his current post in the Indians organization. The Princeton alum has spent the better part of two decades in the Cleveland front office. Chernoff has worked as Chris Antonetti’s chief lieutenant since October 2015, a role in which he’s apparently quite happy.

The Mets’ search for a revamped front office is still in its early stages. In addition to missing out on Chernoff and (likely) Forst, New York’s request to speak with Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns was denied by Milwaukee. To date, only former Marlins GM Michael Hill is known to have chatted with Mets’ brass about the president of baseball operations position. Former Mets pitcher Chris Young, now Major League Baseball’s senior vice president, might also be an option for the front office in some capacity, Martino adds. To this point, however, it’s not clear if Young has even spoke with the club.

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