Headlines

New York Mets News & Rumors

Quick Hits: Twins, Hughes, D’Arnaud, Aoki, Mariners

By | at November 20, 2016 10:55pm CDT

Some items from around baseball as we head into a new week…

  • Brian Dozier is drawing interest from other teams but the Twins aren’t looking to tie Phil Hughes‘ contract to Dozier in trade talks, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets.  Hughes still has three years and $39.6MM remaining on the extension he signed with the Twins prior to the 2015 season, and since inking that new deal, Hughes has struggled badly and battled injury problems.  The veteran righty underwent surgery to help alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome last summer, and Hughes believes he can regain his old form now that he’s healthy.
  • While Hughes may not be getting shopped, Berardino also notes (Twitter link) that the Twins aren’t looking to add payroll, even after freeing up some money by parting ways with Trevor Plouffe, Kurt Suzuki and Tommy Milone.  As one rival official puts it, “everyone knows they’re rebuilding.”
  • The Mets don’t seem to be looking for a big change at catcher, as Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports that the team told representatives of a free agent catcher that Travis d’Arnaud will be given every opportunity to succeed next season.  Since the Mets offered d’Arnaud as part of trade talks for Jonathan Lucroy over the summer, it’s notable that the team is reaffirming its commitment to the talented but oft-injured catcher, though it could be that New York was more enamored with Lucroy than it is with the options on free agent catching market.  Ackert does note that the Mets could look for a more reliable backup, given d’Arnaud’s injury history and the shared offensive struggles of Kevin Plawecki and Rene Rivera.
  • Though Nori Aoki has only been an Astro for less than three weeks, the veteran outfielder may now be a non-tender candidate, the Houston Chronicle’s Jake Kaplan writes.  If the Astros plan to use the newly-signed Josh Reddick in left field, Aoki will be a very highly-paid fourth outfielder (thanks to a projected $6.8MM arbitration salary) and possibly an expendable part.  If the Astros use Reddick in right and move George Springer to center field, Aoki will again have more of a clear role, platooning with Jake Marisnick in left.  Houston has also been linked to some first baseman in rumors, which could push Yulieski Gurriel to left field and again leave Aoki without regular playing time.
  • For the second straight offseason, Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto is acting quickly on lower-profile moves to elevate his team’s talent floor, ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield writes.  Additions like Danny Valencia, Richie Shaffer and Carlos Ruiz fill holes and add more valuable depth around the Mariners’ core players, the type of top-to-bottom roster management that former Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik was unable to achieve in his time with the club.
  • While several big-name relievers are dominating headlines this winter, MLB.com’s Mike Petriello cites Daniel Hudson, Juan Nicasio and Koji Uehara as relatively inexpensive arms who could provide major dividends in a bullpen next season, perhaps even as closers.
24 comments
Share Repost Send via email
Houston Astros Minnesota Twins New York Mets Seattle Mariners

Players Added To The 40-Man

By and | at November 18, 2016 9:40pm CDT

We’ll use this post to keep track of the players being added to their teams’ respective 40-man rosters today, which is the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. Players must be added to the big league roster within either four years (if they were 19 or older at the time of their original signing) or five years (if 18 or younger) of their signing year in order to be shielded from selection.

MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo took a look at some of the biggest names who face roster decisions, though most of those won’t be much in question. At the fringes, teams must also consider the major league readiness of the player, since that factors heavily into whether they’ll be taken and kept. Any drafting team, of course, must keep a player on its active MLB roster for the full season (with certain exceptions relating to the DL) in order for their control rights to vest. Adding a player to the 40-man too early can have its own risks, because it limits flexibility and could require a team to expose that player to waivers if a need arises. With 26-man rosters reportedly under consideration, the Rule 5 draft could be quite intriguing this year, and that may bleed into today’s decisions as well.

Below is a division-by-division rundown of the names that were added to each team’s 40-man roster (plus the various waiver claims that spawned from teams trying to outright players to protect Rule 5-eligible prospects). We won’t delve into each player’s background, but if you’re looking to a little more about the names that were added, I’d highly recommend this tremendous, in-depth examination of each team’s additions by Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper. If you want to see how the moves look in the context of a team’s roster, head over to Roster Resource for your club’s depth chart.

Onto the moves…

American League West

American League Central

American League East

National League West

National League Central

National League East

31 comments
Share Repost Send via email
Arizona Diamondbacks Athletics Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Guardians Colorado Rockies Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Miami Marlins Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins New York Mets New York Yankees Newsstand Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Washington Nationals

Coaching Notes: Cora, Redmond, Sherlock

By | at November 16, 2016 11:20pm CDT

Here’s the latest on coaching changes around the majors:

  • Former big league infielder Alex Cora will take over the Astros‘ vacant bench coach position, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported on Twitter. Long noted as a potential future MLB manager, Cora will return to uniform alongside Houston skipper A.J. Hinch. Since his 14-year major league career ended in 2011, Cora has served as an ESPN analyst and worked for Puerto Rico’s national team; he is the general manager of the team’s 2017 World Baseball Classic entrant. Hinch spoke of his new bench coach’s potential to provide “impact an entire roster of players,” as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports. Cora will take over for Trey Hillman, who left the Astros to manage in the KBO.
  • The Rockies have hired Mike Redmond as bench coach, per a team announcement. He’ll be a top lieutenant to new skipper Bud Black. The 45-year-old, a long-time major league catcher, managed the Marlins from the 2013 season through early in the 2015 campaign. Redmond will join Black in attempting to steer Colorado back to a winning record. The organization has signaled that it’ll boost its payroll and seems intent on competing after a relatively hopeful 2016 season.
  • Glenn Sherlock has joined the Mets as their new third base coach, replacing Tim Teufel, the club announced. Tuefel will be re-assigned if he chooses to stick with the organization. As for Sherlock, he’ll not only wave runners home but will be tasked with working with the Mets’ catchers. He has long worked with the Diamondbacks in a variety of coaching capacities. A former minor league backstop, Sherlock will be looked to as a key figure in the development of Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki. That pair of touted catchers has yet to deliver consistently at the major league level, and their continued growth figures to be an important factor for the Mets in 2017 and beyond.
25 comments
Share Repost Send via email
Colorado Rockies Houston Astros New York Mets

Latest On Yoenis Cespedes, Mets

By | at November 16, 2016 8:06pm CDT

At least three other organizations are currently showing interest in wooing outfielder Yoenis Cespedes away from the Mets, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). With four suitors (including New York) presently in the hunt, Cespedes’s representatives believe he could reach a deal by early December.

That would represent a much quicker end to the open-market experience than Cespedes experienced last year, when he did not re-sign with the Mets until late January. But this time around, he’s the consensus top-available free agent with lesser competition and another superstar campaign under his belt. While there aren’t a lot of teams that make for perfect fits, the expectation remains that Cespedes will draw some concerted bidding that drives his price north of $100MM.

The Mets have made no secret of the fact that they are interested in a reunion with a player who had a huge role in generating two consecutive postseason appearances. It remains to be seen whether New York will be willing to go to a length and total value that it prefers not to in order to bring him back, but it’s also possible that the price tag won’t go out of the team’s comfort zone.

In an appearance on 710 WOR (audio link), GM Sandy Alderson suggested that it’s all still very much up in the air how things will turn out with Cespedes. The club is “in one sense in a better position” than it was last winter, he noted, since Cespedes is “much more familiar” with the organization. The 31-year-old has personally indicated his interest in returning to the Mets, said Alderson, and there has been extensive communication with his agent.

Among other topics, Alderson also chatted about the alternatives in the event Cespedes heads elsewhere. He suggested there are other “significant” right-handed hitters who could conceivably be pursued, noting Jose Bautista as one of several free agents and possible trade targets who may be available. There are also “complementary piece[s]” who could be had; Alderson noted Steve Pearce as an example of a player who’d at least hypothetically offer another option. It’s still an open question for the team, said the veteran executive, whether it’s truly necessary to add another right-handed-hitting outfielder given the team’s other lineup options.

27 comments
Share Repost Send via email
New York Mets

East Notes: Holland, Encarnacion, Sale, Reddick, Bruce

By | at November 14, 2016 11:42pm CDT

The Red Sox are one of the most aggressive pursuers of free agent reliever Greg Holland, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. But there are multiple other organizations that have keen interest in the veteran hurler, who is looking to return following Tommy John surgery. Boston, of course, wouldn’t be able to offer Holland much of a path toward a closing job; presumably, he’d be expected to serve in a set-up capacity in front of Craig Kimbrel. Whether or not other organizations would hand Holland the ninth — or, perhaps, at least provide a chance for him to get there at some point — isn’t known, and it’s also not clear to what extent that really matters in his decisionmaking process.

  • There are numerous opportunities for the Red Sox to consider this winter — with free agent Edwin Encarnacion, perhaps, being the most intriguing. Bradford reports that the organization has yet to engage Encarnacion’s camp in earnest, however, and certainly the public signals given by president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski suggest that he’s not a top target. That could be posturing, or a nod to the still-uncertain CBA talks, but Bradford argues that Boston ought to be in on Encarnacion.
  • The Nationals have spoken to the White Sox about ace lefty Chris Sale, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. But Chicago has not undertaken serious talks with any clubs about Sale to this point, he adds. While it’s certainly reasonable to think that the Nats would be interested in knowing what it might take to add the talented southpaw, it seems at this point there’s no reason to view the chatter as more than due diligence.
  • The Blue Jays, meanwhile, are looking for a lefty outfield bat and are exploring options in both trade and free agency, Jim Bowden of ESPN.com said in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link). Josh Reddick is one possible target, per the report, and Toronto has also chatted with the Mets about Jay Bruce — who, perhaps, would be shopped if New York were to add a certain, significant free agent.
86 comments
Share Repost Send via email
Boston Red Sox Chicago White Sox New York Mets Toronto Blue Jays Washington Nationals

Corey Seager, Michael Fulmer Win Rookie Of The Year Awards

By | at November 14, 2016 5:55pm CDT

Corey Seager of the Dodgers and Michael Fulmer of the Tigers have been named the Rookies of the Year in their respective leagues by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Seager followed Kris Bryant in taking the National League RoY award by a unanimous vote. The only question with his candidacy is whether the trophy will be joined on his shelf by a 2016 N.L Most Valuable Player award. (Bryant stands as perhaps his strongest competition for that top honor.)

There were quality competitors, though. The Nationals’ Trea Turner might’ve made things interesting had he played at the major league level for the entire season — and managed to sustain his partial-season excellence for the long haul. As it turned out, he edged Dodgers hurler Kenta Maeda for second place. Three hurlers — Jon Gray of the Rockies, Steven Matz of the Mets, and Seung-hwan Oh of the Cardinals — received one third-place vote apiece.

The 22-year-old Seager had already taken the game by storm last year, but his 27-game run didn’t use up his rookie eligibility. He was great from start to finish in 2016, compiling a .308/.365/.512 batting line and knocking 26 long balls over 687 plate appearances. And he did all that at the plate while providing quality defense at shortstop, making him one of the game’s most valuable performers (and, given his cheap control, one of its top assets).

Things were a bit tighter on the American League side. Fulmer seemed to be running away with things before Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez emerged late in the year. Like Turner, he was just too late to make up the ground in the award hunt — but that doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm for his future. Indians outfielder Tyler Naquin came in third, with Astros hurler Chris Devenski landing in fourth.

Fulmer enjoyed a breakout campaign in his first major league action. The 23-year-old ran up 159 innings of 3.06 ERA pitching, with 7.5 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. For a Detroit organization that is looking to get younger and add assets with greater control, Fulmer — who came over in the 2015 deadline deal that sent Yoenis Cespedes to the Mets — is a cornerstone.

70 comments
Share Repost Send via email
Cleveland Guardians Colorado Rockies Detroit Tigers Los Angeles Dodgers New York Mets New York Yankees St. Louis Cardinals Washington Nationals

Neil Walker To Accept Qualifying Offer

By and | at November 14, 2016 3:59pm CDT

Second baseman Neil Walker will accept the Mets’ qualifying offer for the 2017 season, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). Walker is now under control for 2017 at the set rate of $17.2MM and cannot be traded next year until June 15 without his consent.

Though that locks in Walker’s salary for the coming season, he and the Mets are still exploring mutual interest in a lengthier pact, according to Marc Carig of Newsday (via Twitter). It was reported over the weekend that the sides had yet to engage in “substantive” chats about a long-term arrangement, but it seems that could still be explored over the winter and spring to come.

Aug 15, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; New York Mets second baseman Neil Walker rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the ninth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

By taking the one-year payday, Walker joins Jeremy Hellickson of the Phillies in declining an opportunity to test the open market in preference of the security of the QO cash already on the table. Of course, both players had a chance to speak with other organizations before making their decisions, so they had at least a strong idea of the interest elsewhere.

Both unquestionably would have done better as true free agents, but entering the market after rejecting a qualifying offer would have required any signing team to part with a valued draft choice to add them. Even with the draft compensation attached, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted Walker to land three years at a $36MM guarantee. But there aren’t a lot of big spenders in search of a second baseman, and numerous intriguing trade targets also cloud the market, so there was a fair bit of risk involved.

Right up until the point that Walker’s season ended with back surgery, he had seemed a near-certain bet both to receive and reject a qualifying offer. But that situation halted his year and added some uncertainty, which may well have played into the decision. Indeed, it was not even clear that the Mets would issue the offer, though Walker seemed to progress well and is expected to be a full go for 2017.

The 31-year-old switch-hitter fit in well in New York, where he spent the 2016 season after being acquired from the Pirates as the replacement for the departing Daniel Murphy (who rejected a QO from New York this time last year). Over 458 plate appearances, he slashed a robust .282/.347/.476 with 23 home runs. That tied his career-best output in the long ball department despite the fact that he only played in 113 games.

For the Mets, it’s a good outcome. The team would have faced some uncertainty at second base without Walker, and might have been ended up taking on a longer-term commitment or giving up assets to strike a trade. He’ll play nearly everyday, though the right-handed-hitting Wilmer Flores (or another utility player) could spell him at times against left-handed pitching.

[RELATED: Updated Mets Depth Chart]

That being said, Walker raked against southpaws in 2016 despite historically faring much better against right-handed pitching. He also made strides with the glove, at least in the eyes of defensive metrics. Walker frequently received rather poor marks, but last year UZR graded him as a high-quality fielder and DRS rated him as average. If he can keep up those trends, he’ll likely represent a strong value for the Mets once again in 2017.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

46 comments
Share Repost Send via email
New York Mets Newsstand Transactions

Yoenis Cespedes To Reject Qualifying Offer

By | at November 14, 2016 9:45am CDT

Yoenis Cespedes will reject his qualifying offer from the Mets, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Most of the qualifying offer decisions are no-brainers, but Cespedes’ decision was the easiest to foresee of them all, as the slugger had already opted out of the remaining two years and $47.5MM on his contract. His rejection is a pure formality and will allow the Mets to cash in on a compensatory draft pick at the end of the first round of the 2017 draft in the event that he signs with a new team.

Yoenis Cespedes

Cespedes, 31, signed a three-year, $75MM contract with the Mets last winter that guaranteed him $27.5MM in 2016 and contained an opt-out clause following year one of the deal. It was obvious all along that barring a catastrophic injury or a sudden and unexpected massive decline in performance, Cespedes would be opting out of the deal in search of a larger contract. Unlike last year when he had to compete with the likes of Justin Upton, Jason Heyward and Alex Gordon on the market for corner outfielders, Cespedes is the top outfielder available this winter and quite arguably the top overall free agent on the market. He ranked first on MLBTR’s list of top 50 free agents, where he’s projected to land a $125MM commitment over five years (although it’s certainly plausible that his market pushes him to a six-year deal as well).

A balky right quadriceps muscle limited Cespedes to 132 games this season, but he was outstanding when healthy enough to take the field and even surpassed his 2015 performance in many ways. Cespedes hit .280/.354/.530 and belted 31 homers this year, coming just four long balls shy of his 2015 total despite tallying 133 fewer plate appearances. He was miscast as a center fielder for much of the season and drew negative Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved marks there, but his defense in left field remained above average even in spite of his quad injury. And on top of that, his walk rate soared from 4.9 percent in 2015 to a career-best 9.4 percent in 2016 — a positive sign that should alleviate some concerns about his ability to consistently post a respectable on-base percentage.

Cespedes, of course, was one of two Mets to receive the qualifying offer. The other, Neil Walker, has a considerably murkier case coming off of season-ending back surgery that was performed in late September. From my vantage point, Walker is the lone free agent that has a reasonable chance of accepting the QO, though there’s no definitive word on whether he’ll do so or test the free agent market. Andy Martino of the New York Daily News tweets that the Mets are hoping Walker accepts the deal and returns on a one-year commitment for the 2017 season. He’d be used all around the infield in that scenario, per Martino, indicating that he’d be a backup option to Lucas Duda at first base and David Wright at the hot corner.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

6 comments
Share Repost Send via email
New York Mets

No “Substantive” Extension Talks Between Mets, Neil Walker

By | at November 13, 2016 9:16pm CDT

The Mets and second baseman Neil Walker have yet to engage “in any substantive discussions” about a multi-year extension that would keep Walker off the free agent market, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports.  The next step between the two sides seems to be tomorrow’s deadline (at 4pm CT) for players who have been issued qualifying offers to decide whether to accept or reject the one-year, $17.2MM offer.

Walker is one of ten players to receive QOs this offseason, and seemingly the only one who may yet accept his deal.  In late August, Walker underwent season-ending back surgery to repair a herniated disk, a procedure that will keep him from resuming baseball activities until around the middle of December.  Walker’s surgery wasn’t considered to be particularly dangerous nor were his chances at a full recovery in any way limited — the fact that the Mets issued him a qualifying offer at all is a good sign that the club expects him to be healthy.  Still, if Walker has any doubts about how his injury status could impact his market, he could accept the QO to remain in New York, pocket a nice one-season payday and then look to re-enter free agency next winter on the heels of another good season and a clean bill of health.

Both Walker and the Mets expressed interest earlier this year in continuing their relationship into 2017 and beyond, though any notion of extension talks apparently went south in the wake of Walker’s back surgery.  From the Mets’ perspective, they could’ve approached a Walker extension as they did their deal with Yoenis Cespedes last winter; a multi-year contract with a player opt-out after the first season, so Walker would’ve had the option of exploring free agency again if he was healthy.

It’s hard to know if Walker would’ve been amenable to a deal like that since, injury aside, he is still expected to land a healthy contract.  MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicts Walker for three years and $36MM, so with that kind of market out there for his services, there wasn’t necessarily any urgency for Walker to rush into an extension with his former club.  (New York probably also felt there wasn’t a real chance they could re-sign Walker to a team-friendly extension.)  While Walker’s injury adds some uncertainty to his situation, it is still quite uncommon for major free agents to reach extensions with their teams so close to hitting the open market.

8 comments
Share Repost Send via email
New York Mets

NL East Notes: Gio, Rizzo, Mets, Colon, Marlins

By | at November 13, 2016 8:11pm CDT

Some news from around the NL East…

  • The Nationals have no plans to deal Gio Gonzalez, GM Mike Rizzo tells Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post.  With an enviable amount of young starting depth on hand, there had been speculation that the Nats could look to deal Gonzalez in order to address other roster needs (MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted this scenario in his recent Offseason Outlook piece on the Nationals.)  Rizzo did hint, however, that Gonzalez’s rotation spot wasn’t set in stone, as the southpaw, Joe Ross, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, A.J. Cole and Austin Voth could all be competing for two starting jobs rather than just the fifth starter role.  One would think that if at least two of these young arms perform well in Spring Training, the Nats could revisit the idea of a Gonzalez swap, though the team would be taking a risk in dealing a proven innings-eater.  In addition, Rizzo said Washington is always looking to add young pitching as a general principle, given its value within the game.
  • Bartolo Colon‘s departure is a blow to the Mets both in terms of rotation depth and clubhouse chemistry, though John Harper of the New York Daily News opines that by not re-signing the veteran, the Mets saved some money for more pressing offseason needs.  With Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman in the fold and (hopefully) their regular starters all healthy, spending $12.5MM to re-sign Colon would’ve been an expensive luxury.  Harper feels the Mets could instead focus their offseason spending on re-signing Yoenis Cespedes, or adding bullpen depth.
  • The Marlins‘ key offseason focus is pitching, though as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro notes, the team also wants to improve its roster depth, both on the Major League bench and within the farm system.  Jeff Mathis, Jeff Francoeur and Chris Johnson could all return in backup roles, though Frisaro suggests Miami could also look to reunions with ex-Marlins like Emilio Bonifacio, Chris Coghlan or Alejandro De Aza.  A higher-level upgrade would be a player like Steve Pearce, who Frisaro notes the Marlins have shown interest in acquiring in previous seasons.
20 comments
Share Repost Send via email
Miami Marlins New York Mets Washington Nationals
Show all
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors