Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mets Rumors

A-Rod Reportedly Thinking Of Entering Mets Bidding

By | at

Famed Yankees frenemies Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, division-rival ownership/front office leaders, and only just a few years after their respective retirements from the field of play? It seems as outlandish to suggest as it is tantalizing to imagine. (More of this, please.) Then again, it didn’t seem particularly likely not long ago that A-Rod would be in a booth and that Jeter would be running the Marlins.

We’re still a long way from that … let’s call it fascinating … possibility. But we’ve now seen the first indication that A-Rod has designs on the game’s most interesting opportunity — the availability of one of the game’s two New York-based teams. Putting the offbeat all-time great in a prominent position with the Mets is all but guaranteed to produce heretofore unseen reams of backpage headline material.

According to Thornton McEnery of the New York Post, Rodriguez is “kicking the tires” on trying to spearhead a Mets bid. While he and spouse-to-be Jennifer Lopez are quite wealthy, even they wouldn’t have pockets deep enough to pull this off alone.

As one A-Rod-linked source puts it: “[Rodriguez] genuinely loves the Mets. He and J-Lo have talked about him buying a team ever since Jeter got the Marlins.” It’s certainly hard to imagine a better opening coming together; owning a MLB organization isn’t the sort of opportunity that’s available on demand.

Needless to say, there are quite a few potential obstacles to be cleared before we’ll be treated to a Wilpon-A-Rod transition. The rare shot to land a NYC-based pro sports franchise is naturally going to attract wide interest. And it won’t come cheap. Per the report, the existing ownership group is eyeing a deal in the realm of $3B — not including its ownership interest in SNY but also not coming with the hangover team control situation that seems to have scuttled the recently nixed talks with minority Mets owner Steve Cohen.

Details On Mets’ Pursuit Of Mookie Betts

By | at

Mookie Metts? It didn’t come to fruition, but the Mets did make an effort in December to acquire superstar outfielder Mookie Betts from Boston. The Red Sox ended up trading him to the Dodgers earlier this week.

One reason talks between the Mets and Red Sox broke down? The Mets weren’t open to moving infielder/outfielder Jeff McNeil for just a year of control over Betts, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (they also wouldn’t give him to the Indians for shortstop Francisco Lindor). However, the Red Sox regarded McNeil as “integral” to a potential trade package, according to Sherman. Understandably, the Mets weren’t going to part with the versatile, inexpensive 27-year-old after he was one of the majors’ most effective offensive players from 2018-19.

While the Mets weren’t willing to surrender McNeil for Betts, they did offer packages centered on outfielder Brandon Nimmo and infielder/outfielder J.D. Davis (quality, affordable players in their own right), per Sherman. Those deals also would have included one of the Mets’ infield prospects in either Andres Gimenez or Ronny Mauricio, two top-100 farmhands. It seems the Mets, reluctant to absorb all of Betts’ $27MM salary, also would have tried to include one of their highly paid, unwanted veterans in outfielder Yoenis Cespedes or infielder Jed Lowrie in order to somewhat offset the money they’d have taken on had a deal with Boston gone through.

Considering that getting under the $208MM luxury-tax threshold was one of the main causes for the Red Sox’s decision to unload Betts (and left-hander David Price with him), adding Cespedes or Lowrie wouldn’t have been palatable for them. They wound up accepting the Dodgers’ offer of outfielder Alex Verdugo and two prospects – infielder Jeter Downs and catcher Connor Wong – saving a total of $75MM in the process.

Meanwhile, although the Mets went big-game hunting for Betts, their outfield appears as if it’ll enter 2020 with mostly the same cast. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, even though none of the team’s current options can rival Betts. However, to their credit, McNeil, Nimmo, Davis, Michael Conforto and Dominic Smith all had good seasons a year ago. It’s anyone’s guess what the Mets will get from Cespedes after injuries shelved him for the vast majority of the prior three seasons, but he’s back on a reduced salary and has always produced when healthy.

Mets Ownership Still Plans To Sell Team To A New Buyer

By and | at

February 10: Mets COO Jeff Wilpon issued an additional statement on Monday:

As spring training begins, on behalf of ownership, we would like to share more information explaining why the proposed transaction has ended, however due to confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements we are unable to do so at this time. So right now, I believe we need to focus on the future and not in the past and that’s what we intend to do. We would like to assure our fans that we will continue our commitment to winning in 2020 and beyond and we’ll work hard to earn and maintain everyone’s confidence and trust. We’ll be moving forward to find a new transaction. We will not be giving details or updates on the timeline or process until we are prepared to make a public announcement. Thank you, that’s all I can say for now.

There’s little, if anything, within Wilpon’s statement that wasn’t already covered in the Sterling Partners statement, although it’s of some note to see a second quote (this one directly attributable to an individual member of the Wilpon family) clearly announcing ownership’s intent to find a new buyer.

February 6: Now that the proposed deal that would have seen Steve Cohen become the Mets’ new majority owner has fallen through, the club is still going to be put on the market.  In a statement released to media, the Sterling Partners ownership group said “The transaction between Sterling and Steve Cohen was a highly complicated one.  Despite the efforts of the parties over the past several months, it became apparent that the transaction as contemplated would have been too difficult to execute.  Sterling intends now to pursue a new transaction and has engaged Allen & Company to manage that process.”

This may be relieving news for Mets fans, many of whom abhor the team’s current ownership. The duo of Fred Wilpon and Jeff Wilpon took the Mets’ reins in 2002, but success has been hard to come by since then for the club. New York has made just three playoff appearances under Wilpon leadership, and ownership has come under scrutiny time and again for the way it has handled the team.

Had Cohen ended up as the majority owner of the franchise, he’d have reportedly taken 80 percent of the Mets for approximately $2.6 billion. Cohen would have officially grabbed the reins going into 2025, so even if the Wilpons do find someone to take his place immediately, it may be awhile before that person assumes control of the organization.

Pitcher Notes: Rays, Glasnow, Mets, Wacha, Cardinals, Flaherty

By | at

While recovering from November wrist surgery, Tyler Glasnow is tinkering with his arsenal. The big right-hander plans on ditching his changeup and replacing it with a splitter, tweets MLB.com’s Juan Toribio . Glasnow’s changeup has never been a primary feature of his arsenal, topping at a 10.3% usage rate in 2017. It also hasn’t been a particularly effective pitch, save for in 2019 when hitters managed to slug just .125 against it, albeit in very limited usage (3.5%). It’s certainly intriguing to dream on a splitter to compliment Glasnow’s two lockdown offerings, but the pitch will have to survive spring training before taking on much (if any) significance. On a night of high drama, let’s check in on a couple other pitchers…

  • Michael Wacha recognizes the starting depth he will be contending against in Mets camp this spring, but he’s undaunted, per Newsday’s Tim Healey. After all, as Healey points out, Wacha twice fought his way back into the Cardinals rotation last season after time in the bullpen. Of course, that might also be a sign that he’s the likeliest of the Mets’ six rotation candidates to start the year out of the money (both literally and figuratively, given the incentives in Wacha’s contract for games started). Wacha finished last season with a 4.76 ERA/5.61 FIP across 126 2/3 innings, and he’s only twice crossed the 150 inning threshold. It’ll be an uphill climb for Wacha to make the rotation by opening day, but it’s not impossible. Given the injury rate, there’s a decent chance he finds his way into the rotation at some point in 2020 regardless.
  • Jack Flaherty isn’t eligible for arbitration until after the 2020 season, which means he can’t test free agency until following 2023, but the Cardinals ought to do their due diligence in locking him up now, writes Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Easier said than done of course, especially with a player who has already shown signs of understanding his tremendous value. Frederickson recounts Flaherty’s rejection of the Cardinals salary offer before last season, which cost him $10,000, though the penalty was worth it from Flaherty’s perspective. The statement he was able to make about the current system was of bigger importance to the Cardinals’ ace. That’s a good sign in terms of Flaherty’s character and competitive spirit, but perhaps less so for Cardinals fans hoping for news of an early extension. Flaherty’s displeasure with the arbitration system has little to do with the Cardinals, of course, but after a dominant 2019 in which he posted a 2.75 ERA/3.46 FIP, including a mind-boggling 0.91 ERA in the second half, it’s understandable for Flaherty to be at least a little displeased at making close to the league minimum.

Mets Notes: Nimmo, Coaching Changes

By | at

The Mets never entertained the idea of trading centerfielder Brandon Nimmo this winter, despite the rumors, and they’re excited about what he can do under new manager Luis Rojas, per Kevin Kernan of the New York Post (who notes that Nimmo played under Rojas thrice before on his way to the major leagues). An injury limited Nimmo’s effectiveness last season, sapping him of power and limiting him to just 43 games in the first half. Nimmo hit just .200/.344/.323 before the break while playing through injuries. The Mets look forward to a healthy season from Nimmo, especially after his return produced a .261/.430/.565 bounceback in September. Centerfield is a difficult position to fill league-wide, and Nimmo’s infectious personality and exceptional eye at the plate make him a valuable performer for the Mets and a key to their 2020 season. Let’s check in on some coaching changes within the Mets’ organization…

  • Former big league catcher Brian Schneider will join the Mets’ staff as a quality control coach, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. Schneider joined the organization this winter as the new manager of the Triple-A Syracuse Mets, though he’ll never actually take over in that role. Schneider assumes the role vacated by new manager Luis Rojas, presumably completing Rojas’ staff.
  • The ripple effects of Carlos Beltran stepping down from his post as manager of the Mets continue throughout the organization as Chad Kreuter takes over Schneider’s post as the manager in Triple-A, per Tim Healey of Newsday. Kreuter, like Schneider, is a former big league catcher. He spent the past three seasons managing the Mets’ High-A affiliate in St. Lucie. His replacement has not yet been named. 2020 will be Kreuter’s fourth season with the Mets’ organization.

Details On Mets’ Pursuit Of Francisco Lindor In December

By | at

The Mets were one of several teams reported to have interest in Francisco Lindor back when the Indians are seemingly testing the market for the All-Star shortstop earlier this winter.  Jeff McNeil was known to be one of Cleveland’s prime targets in talks with the Mets about Lindor, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required) recently shed a bit more light on the “significant dialogue” between the Amazins and the Tribe.

“The Mets aggressively tried to acquire [Lindor] at the winter meetings,” Rosenthal writes, noting that it would “likely” have cost New York a three-player package consisting of Amed Rosario and two prospects.  Both this proposal and Cleveland’s interest in McNeil were too much for the Mets, however, and beyond the cost in trade chips, Rosenthal has also heard from some corners that “finances played a significant role” in negotiations.

Lindor’s salary for the 2020 season hadn’t yet been finalized by early December, though MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected the shortstop for a $16.7MM payday in his second of three arbitration-eligible seasons.  As it happened, Lindor topped this projected number by agreeing to a $17.5MM deal for 2020, an even healthier raise than expected over the $10.55MM salary he earned in 2019.  Assuming Lindor has another outstanding year in the coming season, his arb number for 2021 now looks to fall in range of $23MM-$24MM.

Still, something in the neighborhood of $41MM over a two-year span is more than reasonable for a player of Lindor’s caliber.  The Mets were known to be trying to move Jeurys Familia and/or Jed Lowrie in order to create payroll space, and the club hasn’t made any hugely expensive acquisitions this winter, signing Dellin Betances, Rick Porcello, Michael Wacha, and Brad Brach to one-year contracts for a combined $25.6MM in guaranteed money (a total that could rise significantly based on options and incentive clauses in the various deals).

Taking on both a big salary and parting ways with controllable talent like Rosario, McNeil, or prospects was too much for the Mets’ liking, which isn’t an unreasonable stance.  McNeil, after all, has been outstanding in his two MLB seasons and Rosario is coming off the best of his three big league campaigns, with the 24-year-old starting to deliver on some of the potential that made him one of baseball’s best prospects.  That said, the overall crux of Rosenthal’s piece examines how the Mets are still feeling the impact of last offseason’s blockbuster trade with the Mariners, as the added salaries of Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz (who both struggled badly in 2019) have limited payroll flexibility, while moving top prospects Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn both thinned out New York’s farm system and also made the team seemingly more wary about moving any more of its top minor leaguers.

Had the Mets not swung that deal with Seattle, who knows how the Amazins’ fate could have changed both during the 2019 season or into their business this offseason, as New York could have been more willing to take the jump on a swap for Lindor or another trade target in Starling Marte (though the Pirates also put a high asking price on Marte in talks with the Mets).

To be fair, Rosenthal notes that as great a player as Lindor is, he “was a luxury item, not a must-have” for a Mets club that already had Rosario, plus top prospects Ronny Mauricio and Andres Gimenez coming up the pipeline at shortstop.  There’s also the fact that the Indians may not have been “especially motivated to act” on a Lindor trade, as the big returns Cleveland reportedly wanted in any potential deal indicated that the Tribe would only move Lindor if presented with a special offer.  The door now appears to be closed on the possibility of Lindor being dealt this winter, as Cleveland addressed their own payroll concerns by trading Corey Kluber to the Rangers.

Quick Hits: Joc, Graterol, Mets, Cohen

By | at

Outfielder Joc Pederson is currently in limbo, waiting to find out whether the Dodgers will actually trade him to the Angels. He’s still a member of the Dodgers for now, though, and they defeated him in arbitration Friday. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link) sheds more light on the process, writing that the Dodgers bolstered their case by arguing that Pederson’s merely a platoon player. They’re not necessarily wrong – the 27-year-old left-handed hitter has fared miserably versus southpaw pitchers since he made his major league debut in 2014. However, those on the MLBPA side feel it was problematic that the Dodgers were even in position to battle Pederson, per Rosenthal. There’s an argument that Pederson’s hearing should have been tabled because of the holdup in the Dodgers-Angels trade centering on him. Indeed, Rosenthal reports that the union and Pederson’s representatives at Excel Sports Management filed a motion for a delay in his arbitration hearing. Nevertheless, it ended up taking place on schedule, and the Dodgers – who could soon be his ex-team – came out on top.

  • The reason the Pederson trade hasn’t gone down yet is the delay in the Mookie Betts swap featuring the Red Sox, Dodgers and Twins. The Red Sox are reportedly wary of the health of Twins righty Brusdar Graterol, who’s one of at least two players they’ll get back in the deal. They seem worried he’s destined to be a reliever, not a starter. But Graterol’s agent, Scott Boras, insisted Friday that his client still has an opportunity to become a starter in the majors (via Alex Speier of the Boston Globe).  “I had this conversation with the Minnesota staff,” Boras said. “There’s a very clear probability that this player will return to be a starting pitcher.” While Graterol’s a past Tommy John surgery patient who missed a large chunk of time last year with a shoulder impingement, doctors have informed Boras that the 21-year-old will be fine going forward. “No doctor has told me that there is anything about his future going forward other than that it is very bright and he has no limitations,” Boras stated.
  • The Mets’ potential sale to minority owner Steve Cohen fell through Thursday, and now it’s possible he won’t be able to purchase another team, according to Josh Kosman and Thornton McEnery of the New York Post. The belief of the Mets and MLB is that Cohen “acted in bad faith” during negotiations, Kosman and McEnery write. Cohen had been working to buy the franchise for $2.6 billion, but he attempted to change the payment schedule, and he may have wanted to lower the overall sum. And while Cohen wouldn’t have been in line to become New York’s control person until 2025, he’d have wanted input into how the Mets were run before then. That didn’t fly for the Wilpons, the Mets’ current owners. However, the Wilpons still plan to sell the club to a different buyer.

Talks End Between Mets, Steve Cohen Over Ownership Bid

By | at

9:06PM: Cohen released a statement to reporters (including Kevin Draper of the New York Times) saying, “I’m very disappointed we couldn’t work out a deal, but as an eight percent holder I’m looking forward to a higher bid for the team.  I want to thank the fans for their support and the respect they showed me and I want to thank Commissioner Manfred and MLB for their support through the process.  I gave it my best shot.”

1:54PM: News broke earlier this week that hedge fund manager Steve Cohen was ending his bid to become the Mets’ majority owner, and those reports were confirmed today by no less a source than Rob Manfred.  The commissioner told reporters (including the New York Times’ Kevin Draper and the Associated Press) today that “there is not going to be a transaction” between Cohen and the Mets’ current majority owners, the families of Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz.  As to whether new negotiations could arise between the two sides, Manfred didn’t sound overly optimistic, saying “my soothsaying isn’t great. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

As per Tuesday’s report from Thornton McEnery of the New York Post, the proposed ownership transfer (which would have seen Cohen fully take over an 80 percent controlling share of the Mets by the 2025 season) fell through due to some proposed changes to the deal made by the Wilpons late in negotiating period.  McEnery went into further detail about these changes today in a new piece for the Post, writing that the role of team COO Jeff Wilpon going forward was under dispute.  The Wilpon family wanted Jeff to remain in his current position “and then maintain a senior role within the organization even after Cohen took over.”

Whether this was actually the key breaking point in talks, however, remains unclear.  An unnamed former Mets employee told McEnery it is hard to believe that Jeff Wilpon’s future role would have still been unsettled this late in the process, and McEnery also wrote that “one source familiar with the talks said that Cohen was trying to change the financial terms of the deal.”

Manfred also strongly spoke out in defense of the current Mets ownership group, saying “based on conversations with the buyer and the seller on an ongoing basis, the assertion that the transaction fell apart because of something the Wilpons did is completely and utterly unfair.”

Cohen is still involved with the Mets, as he purchased eight percent of the club back in 2012.  There have yet to be any reports or even real speculation about whether or not he could look to divest himself of his share of the franchise entirely, or whether he will remain part of the ownership mix.  Likewise, it isn’t known if the Wilpons will continue to pursue a sale of the team, though whatever the future holds, it indeed seems like a Wilpon-to-Cohen deal isn’t happening.  As per McEnery, the Wilpons “are upset and angry with the death of this deal coming out in the press and that they are as ready to kill this deal as Cohen is.”

Steve Cohen Reportedly Ending Negotiations To Buy Mets

By | at

New York billionaire Steve Cohen “has decided to walk away” from his bid to buy an 80 percent share of the Mets from the Wilpon family, Thornton McEnery of the New York Post reports. Rumors of the deal falling through surfaced earlier today on Barstool Radio (Twitter link), and McEnery now reports that Cohen is “deeply unhappy” with the Wilpons’ attempt to make late changes to their agreement.

The Mets have yet to comment directly on the matter, although ownership did release the following statement in response to today’s rumors:

The parties are subject to confidentiality obligations, including a mutual non-disclosure agreement, and therefore cannot comment.

It was reported back in early December that Cohen, already a minority owner, was in talks with Fred Wilpon about a five-year sale plan that would see Cohen assume an 80 percent share of the team beginning with the 2025 season. The proposed arrangement would’ve seen Fred Wilpon remain the Mets’ control person and CEO for the next five years, with his son, Jeff Wilpon, staying on board as the COO for that same period of time. Although that’s a ways into the future, the very notion of a sale brought about hope for a Mets fan base that has long been infuriated with one of the game’s most widely criticized ownership groups. Now, it seems as though the status quo will be maintained indefinitely.

There’s no formal word yet that the deal has been laid to rest, but Joe Pantorno of amNewYork Metro writes that an official announcement could come later this week. If the deal does indeed crash and burn, it’ll be just the latest step in yet another drama-filled Mets offseason.

The Mets fired manager Mickey Callaway after the season ended and dragged out the interview/hiring process longer than nearly any other club, ultimately hiring Carlos Beltran to replace him. However, when Beltran was named in commissioner Rob Manfred’s report on the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal, the Mets took their time deliberating before eventually announcing a “mutual” decision to part ways with Beltran before he even managed a game. Quality control coach Luis Rojas was then named Beltran’s replacement. Beyond the sale that wasn’t to be and the hiring of two managers in a single offseason, the Mets also restructured the final year of Yoenis Cespedes’ $110MM contract after he was injured in what was reported to be an incident involving a wild boar on his ranch.

East Notes: McNeil, Voit, Givens

By | at

While we wait to learn more about a possible earth-shaking swap from the AL East — participate in our poll while there’s still time! — let’s check in on a few other storylines from the game’s eastern divisions.

  • Mets utilityman Jeff McNeil anticipates settling in a bit in 2020, as Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News reports. It was largely evident just from looking at the New York roster situation, but McNeil confirms that he’s preparing to spend much of his time at the hot corner. “I think I’ll be playing a lot of third,” he said over the weekend. The 27-year-old says he’ll be a full go when camp opens. While a late-season wrist injury bothered him until late in 2019, McNeil says he’s over it now and has more or less had a normal offseason.
  • Speaking of winter recoveries, Yankees first baseman Luke Voit says he’s fitter than ever after undergoing core surgery, as George A. King III of the New York Post writes. That’s good news for him and for the club after Voit experienced a subpar, injury marred 2019 effort. He’ll need to prove in camp that he deserves a job. As King further explores, the club could lean on left-handed-hitting Mike Ford (perhaps in conjunction with Voit) and will also see how third baseman Miguel Andujar handles the other side of the infield.
  • It remains surprising that we haven’t heard more trade chatter this winter surrounding Orioles reliever Mychal Givens. That’s just fine with him. The 29-year-old says he’ll continue to “bleed black and orange” unless and until he is put into another uniform. With two full seasons to go until free agency, Givens is at the mercy of the team — except that his own performance is a major factor in his trade candidacy. Givens expressed optimism at his ability to bounce back from a rough showing last year; if he can do so, he could be a significant trade chip at the 2020 trade deadline. “Some great things have really been going on and are going to happen in the near future,” Givens says, “so hopefully I can stay here if I can. If not, it’s been a good road, but right now, like I said, I’m an Oriole.”
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top