Mets Rumors

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.

Mets Sign Sam McWilliams To Major League Contract

By Steve Adams | November 20, 2020 at 1:33pm CDT

The Mets announced Friday that they’ve signed right-hander Sam McWilliams to a one-year, Major League contract. The 25-year-old has yet to make his MLB debut and spent the 2020 season in the Rays’ 60-man player pool. The contract comes with a $750K salary, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, which is considerably north of the league minimum — an unusually high commitment for a minor league free agent on a Major League deal. McWilliams is represented by Brian Grieper of Paragon Sports International.

An eighth-round pick by the Phillies back in 2014, McWilliams was traded to the D-backs a year after being selected in the deal that brought righty Jeremy Hellickson to Philadelphia. Arizona then shipped him to Tampa Bay alongside southpaw Colin Poche to complete their acquisition of Steven Souza Jr. in 2018.

The 6’7″ McWilliams has just 44 innings of Triple-A work under his belt, and they didn’t go particularly well (8.18 ERA), but he fared well prior to reaching the top minor league level. In a total of 535 innings since being drafted, he owns a 3.85 ERA with 7.0 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9. He’ll step into one of the three vacancies the Mets had on their 40-man roster, bringing their total to 37 players.

Latest On DJ LeMahieu

By Connor Byrne | November 19, 2020 at 6:21pm CDT

Second baseman DJ LeMahieu was a godsend for the Yankees during the previous two seasons, but as a free agent, he could go elsewhere this offseason. Re-signing with the Yankees is LeMahieu’s preference, according to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, but the 2020 American League batting champion wants to stay in the area. That could put a LeMahieu-Mets union in play, per Davidoff, though he reports that the Blue Jays are also in on him.

The Mets now have an unexpected opening at the keystone after starter Robinson Cano received a 162-game suspension Wednesday because of performance-enhancing drugs. Cano won’t earn a penny of his $24MM salary as a result, which will only make it easier for new, deep-pocketed Mets owner Steve Cohen to make splashes this winter. The Mets don’t necessarily have to throw money around at second, as they could simply use Jeff McNeil at the position and allocate their cash elsewhere, but LeMahieu does look like a more realistic option for the franchise than he did before Cano’s punishment came down.

The Yankees, for their part, aren’t going to let LeMahieu walk without a fight. They already gave LeMahieu a qualifying offer worth $18.9MM for 2021, but he made the no-brainer decision to reject it. They still want to keep him, however, according to Davidoff.

Regardless of whether LeMahieu stays with the Yankees, the team’s call to sign him for two years and $24MM before 2019 was a masterstroke, considering he was its best player over the prior two seasons. The 32-year-old former Cub and Rockie is now coming off a near-MVP season, which puts LeMahieu in position to clean up during this winter’s free-agent period. MLBTR pegs LeMahieu for a four-year, $68MM contract, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see him do even better than that on the open market.

Robinson Cano Receives 162-Game PED Suspension

By Steve Adams | November 18, 2020 at 2:33pm CDT

Mets second baseman Robinson Cano has tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter). The league confirmed minutes after Passan’s report that Cano has tested positive for Stanozolol. Because this is Cano’s second PED ban — he also tested positive with the Mariners back in 2018 — he’ll be suspended for 162 games. Cano will spend the 2021 season on the restricted list and will not earn any of his $24MM salary ($3.75MM of which was to be paid by the Mariners).

Presumably, if the 2021 season is shortened at all due to the ongoing pandemic, Cano’s suspension would carry over into the 2022 campaign. He’s still signed through 2023 at that same $24MM annual rate under the terms of the 10-year, $240MM deal he signed in Seattle back in December 2013.

The pair of PED suspensions will unquestionably sully what otherwise looked like a potential Hall of Fame career. Cano, an eight-time All-Star, has taken home five Silver Slugger Awards, two Gold Gloves and posted a superlative .303/.352/.492 batting line with 334 home runs, 571 doubles, 33 triples, 1257 runs scored an 1303 runs driven in. He’s also racked up 2624 career hits, which would’ve given him a chance at cracking the illustrious 3000-hit barrier were it not for this latest suspension. He’ll still technically have an outside chance, but a pair of 188-hit seasons at ages 39 and 40 don’t seem likely.

The 38-year-old struggled through a dismal 2019 season in Queens, hitting just .256/.307/.428 in a season that will be remembered for the juiced ball and record levels of offense throughout the league. Cano put together what looked to be a a terrific bounceback effort in 2020 with a .316/.352/.544 slash in 182 plate appearances, although this latest PED revelation obviously tarnishes the legitimacy of that production.

That strong showing notwithstanding, Cano’s suspension will work to the Mets’ benefit from a roster construction standpoint. Incoming owner Steve Cohen was already expected to be among the game’s most aggressive owners in an offseason where most clubs will be looking to recoup lost revenues.

Cano’s suspension not only opens up $20.25MM of unexpected payroll space in 2021 but also paves a clearer path for the Mets to put Jeff McNeil back at second base if they see fit. That makes for a cleaner alignment of J.D. Davis at the hot corner with a possible outfield alignment of Dominic Smith in left, Brandon Nimmo in center and Michael Conforto in right. Of course, given the aforementioned spending capabilities the Mets possess under Cohen, it’s quite likely that the current alignment will be altered by offseason additions, be they via the free-agent market or trade market.

Already, the Mets have been listed as a potential suitor for top free agents such as Trevor Bauer, J.T. Realmuto, George Springer, DJ LeMahieu and Marcell Ozuna. Similarly, they’ve been suggested as a speculative trade partner for the Mets when they inevitably move Francisco Lindor this winter. The additional payroll capacity only strengthens their ability to pursue such upgrades.

Latest On Mets’ Front Office Search

By Mark Polishuk | November 17, 2020 at 4:50pm CDT

4:50pm: “It sounds as if” Athletics general manager David Forst is a target for the Mets, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Forst and Alderson did work together in Oakland for two years, Slusser notes, though it’s unclear whether Forst would be willing to move to a different organization. With executive vice president Billy Beane potentially on his way out, Forst could soon be the head of A’s baseball operations.

12:52pm: The Mets’ front office search has led into the front offices of opposing teams, with mixed results thus far. The Mets had interest in speaking with Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns, but the Brewers denied the Mets’ request, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi reports. In a follow-up tweet from Morosi, he reports that New York also asked the Indians for permission to speak with GM Mike Chernoff about the Mets’ vacant president of baseball operations role, and it isn’t yet known if the Tribe has agreed.

Chernoff is a long-time member of Cleveland’s front office, and he has been working as general manager since October 2015. He does have some notable ties to the New York area, as Chernoff hails from New Jersey and his father is an executive at New York’s WFAN Radio. Since Chris Antonetti is still the Tribe’s top decision-maker as the team’s president of baseball operations, the Mets job would represent a promotion for Chernoff (clubs generally don’t block their employees from interviewing for higher jobs up the ladder) and a chance to not only run his own team, but take over one of the more intriguing job opportunities in recent memory.

Since Stearns is already the Brewers’ president of baseball operations, it would be a lateral move to take a similar job in New York, which would explain why the Brewers turned down the Mets’ request. Stearns signed a contract extension in January 2019 that carried the promotion from GM to president of baseball ops, quite possibly as a way for the Brewers to head off potential headhunting inquiries from other teams. Stearns is from New York and began his career working in the Mets’ front office, plus his stock as an executive has only risen given the Brewers’ success under his watch. Milwaukee has reached the postseason in each of the last three years, and finished a game away from the NL pennant in 2018.

While the Mets are known to be looking for both a president of baseball operations and a general manager, Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark of The Athletic note the possibility that New York might just hire a GM for now. “The pool of available executives might not be deep enough for them to hire two top decision-makers to work under” team president Sandy Alderson, Rosenthal/Stark write, listing several names (including Antonetti, Rays GM Erik Neander, and Blue Jays president/CEO Mark Shapiro) seem comfortable in their current positions.

With Alderson approaching his 73rd birthday, the Mets could explore hiring a GM who could then move into a president of baseball ops role and full control of the front office once Alderson stepped down from his current role, having overseen the transition into Steve Cohen’s era of ownership. Or, that general manager could remain in the position and the Mets could hire an entirely new president of baseball ops should another name (Theo Epstein, perhaps?) enter the picture in a year or so.

Mets Interested In Marcell Ozuna

By Connor Byrne | November 16, 2020 at 3:36pm CDT

Led by new owner Steve Cohen, the Mets are expected to make at least one major splash during free agency. That could come in the form of outfielder Marcell Ozuna, whom they’re interested in signing, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports. They’re one of many teams eyeing the 30-year-old slugger.

Ozuna may be a luxury for the Mets, who already have a few offensively adept, outfield-capable players in Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil and Dominic Smith. But at least one of those players could become a trade chip if the Mets sign Ozuna, and as Davidoff notes, picking the right-handed hitter up would provide some more balance to a left-leaning lineup. Of course, before Ozuna signs anywhere, he and the rest of the league may have to find out whether the universal designated hitter will stick around in 2021. Ozuna spent the majority of this past season at DH for the Braves.

Ozuna, also a former Marlin and Cardinal who has spent a large portion of career in the Mets’ division – the NL East – has always been an above-average offensive player. His production went up several notches in 2020, though, as he produced a remarkable line of .338/.431/.636 (179 wRC+) with an NL-leading 18 home runs in 267 plate appearances. Ozuna was also a Statcast darling, ranking near the top of the majors in a handful of important categories. It couldn’t have been a much better contract year for Ozuna, who’s not burdened by a qualifying offer and who MLBTR predicts will land a four-year, $72MM deal.

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