Latest On Luis Arraez’s Trade Market
The Padres and infielder Luis Arráez avoided arbitration earlier today by agreeing to a $14MM salary for the 2025 season, his final before he reaches free agency next offseason. Even after agreeing to a contract, however, there’s no guarantee that Arraez will be San Diego come Opening Day. The club is reportedly angling to lower its payroll to something closer to 2024’s $169MM figure. With outstanding needs in the outfield and rotation that have yet to be addressed, trading a pricey arbitration-level player like Arraez or Dylan Cease seems like it may be the best avenue for the club to simultaneously lower its payroll and add talent to remain competitive in the NL West this season.
That’s led the Padres to at least consider parting ways with Arraez this winter, and there have been some conflicting reports about potential interest from the Yankees regarding Arraez’s services. The club is in need of infield help after losing Gleyber Torres in free agency, and Arraez’s history as a second baseman makes him something of a plausible option. With that being said however, Andy Martino of SNY is the latest voice to cast doubt on the fit between Arraez and the Yankees. While Martino acknowledges that the club had some discussions back in November that involved Arraez, he adds that similarly brief conversations were held regarding fellow Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth along with a number of other players, and that the Yankees are not expected to pursue Arraez at this point in the winter.
That may not completely shut the door on Arraez winding up in the Big Apple, however. Martino suggests that while the Mets have not engaged with the Padres in “substantive” talks regarding Arraez to this point, they’re in the market for a veteran infielder and he could come into play for the club in the event that slugging first baseman Pete Alonso signs elsewhere. In that case, Arraez would provide the Mets with a short-term solution at first along with the ability to back up second and third base in a pinch. That would leave the door open for New York to reevaluate its needs next winter in a free agent class that figures to be headlined by star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. barring an extension with the Blue Jays. Paul Goldschmidt, Ryan O’Hearn, and Josh Naylor are among the other noteworthy names that figure to be available in next year’s first base class.
When it comes to their hole at first base, the club seems to be clearly focused on bringing Alonso back into the fold despite a number of recent reports have suggested that there remains a gap between the two sides in terms of years. It’s difficult to imagine the Mets going in another direction until Alonso’s market develops further, but it’s worth noting that the same surely could have been said about third baseman Alex Bregman and the Astros in the weeks prior to the club adding Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker to box him out of the club’s infield mix.
Should the Mets wind up searching for other options themselves, Arraez figures to be one of a number of backup options at their disposal in the event that Alonso ultimately signs elsewhere. There’s been some rumors that the club could consider Bregman as a backup to Alonso, which would kick incumbent third baseman Mark Vientos over to first. More direct first base options available in free agency or on the trade market include Justin Turner, LaMonte Wade Jr. or perhaps even Red Sox youngster Triston Casas, though none of those players have been directly connected to the Mets at this point.
Astros, Angels Have Shown Interest In Alex Verdugo
The Mets, Astros, Blue Jays and Angels are among the teams that have checked in on free agent outfielder Alex Verdugo this offseason, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. FanSided’s Robert Murray reported earlier this week that the Pirates were also interested in the lefty-hitting outfielder.
Verdugo is looking to bounce back after a disappointing year in the Bronx. He hit just .233/.291/.356 over 621 plate appearances as a Yankee. Most of the positives came in the season’s first few weeks. Verdugo hit .267/.358/.446 through the end of April. He turned in a .225/.275/.336 slash in more than 500 trips to the plate the rest of the way. He continued to struggle in the postseason, hitting .208/.303/.313 with one homer in 14 games.
It certainly wasn’t an ideal time for the worst year of Verdugo’s career. He’d been a capable regular for a few seasons in Boston before that. Verdugo had a .281/.338/.424 slash over parts of four seasons as a member of the Red Sox. While he never developed into the All-Star caliber player some prospect evaluators expected, he was a solid regular.
Verdugo turns 29 in May. He’s likely available on a one-year pillow contract. He’ll presumably look for a deal that’s not far off the $10MM which Max Kepler received from the Phillies last month. That makes him an option for a low-payroll team like the Pirates. He could fit for any club looking for left-handed outfield help.
That’s a specific need for the Astros. General manager Dana Brown has acknowledged they’d like a lefty-hitting outfielder following the Kyle Tucker trade. Houston doesn’t have an obvious answer in left field, while they’re relying on Chas McCormick to bounce back in right field. Verdugo is one of the most straightforward targets. The Astros project a few million dollars above the luxury tax threshold. It’d be difficult to get back under the tax line unless they trade Ryan Pressly and limit their spending for the remainder of the offseason.
The Angels have Taylor Ward as the expected starter in left field. His name has been floated in trade speculation, albeit without indications that the Halos are actively shopping him. Even if they keep Ward, they’d benefit from an upgrade over the Jo Adell/Mickey Moniak pairing in the opposite corner.
Toronto is very likely to add an everyday outfielder in the coming weeks. They’ll probably take a bigger swing than Verdugo. The Jays have been one of the top suitors for Anthony Santander, to whom they’ve reportedly made an offer. The Mets may be the toughest fit. It stands to reason Verdugo will prioritize a team that can afford him everyday playing time. New York has Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo in the outfield corners, while Tyrone Taylor and Jose Siri are center field options. Starling Marte remains on hand as a depth outfielder.
MLBTR Podcast: Brent Rooker’s Extension, Gavin Lux, And Catching Up On The Holiday Transactions
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Athletics and Brent Rooker agreeing to a five-year extension (1:40)
- The Dodgers signing Hyeseong Kim and trading Gavin Lux to the Reds (6:40)
- The Diamondbacks signing Corbin Burnes (14:45)
- Do the Blue Jays have unique challenges in signing free agents to come to another country? (16:30)
- Will Burnes opt out in two years and will the Diamondbacks trade a starter now? (21:05)
- The Yankees acquiring Cody Bellinger from the Cubs and signing Paul Goldschmidt (26:35)
- The Astros signing Christian Walker (34:40)
- The Mets signing Sean Manaea and Griffin Canning (39:15)
- The Red Sox signing Walker Buehler and Patrick Sandoval (43:35)
- The Phillies acquiring Jesús Luzardo and signing Max Kepler (50:35)
- The Orioles signing Charlie Morton (55:35)
- The Guardians trading Josh Naylor to the Diamondbacks and signing Carlos Santana (58:30)
- The Rangers trading Nathaniel Lowe to the Nationals and signing Joc Pederson (1:01:25)
- The Nationals get Lowe as well as signing Josh Bell, Michael Soroka and Trevor Williams (1:05:30)
- The Tigers signing Gleyber Torres and shuffling their infield around (1:08:25)
Check out our past episodes!
- Kyle Tucker To The Cubs, And Trades For Devin Williams And Jeffrey Springs – listen here
- Winter Meetings Recap – listen here
- Blake Snell, Dodger Fatigue, And The Simmering Hot Stove – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Mets Interested In Tanner Scott
The Mets are looking to add a reliever or two, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic, with left-hander Tanner Scott identified as one specific name they have interest in. Scott is one of the top free agent relievers and has also been connected to Atlanta, the Yankees and Dodgers this winter. Sammon adds that the Mets have already met with Scott, likely over phone or video.
Scott’s appeal is obvious in the numbers. Over the past two years, he has tossed 150 relief innings, allowing 2.04 earned runs per nine. His 10% walk rate over those years was a tad high, but he struck out 31.3% of batters faced and got grounders on 50.4% of balls in play. He also added 5 1/3 innings of scoreless postseason work over those seasons, which included four strikeouts of Shohei Ohtani in last year’s NLDS.
At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Scott to land a four-year deal worth $56MM, but it’s possible that will prove to be light. Essentially every starting pitcher has surpassed expectations this winter and that could spill over into the bullpen market as well. It was reported this week that Scott has enough interest that a deal with a $20MM average annual value is a possibility.
For the Mets, this represents a different tack to their rotation-building strategy, something that Sammon notes in his report. While owner Steve Cohen has seemingly unlimited financial resources, president of baseball operations David Stearns hasn’t gone for the top free agent pitchers.
Last year, he gave short-term deals to starters like Sean Manaea and Luis Severino, but the Mets were entering something of a reset year in 2024. After they outperformed expectations and made the playoffs, it was speculated that Stearns could get more aggressive and go after arms like Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell or Max Fried. Instead, he has re-signed Manaea, is trying to convert Clay Holmes from the bullpen to the rotation, and has taken buy-low fliers on guys like Frankie Montas and Griffin Canning.
While that pivot to more aggressive spending didn’t happen with the rotation, perhaps it will come to pass with the bullpen. Stearns has never made huge financial investments in relievers, neither for the Mets nor the Brewers, as shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker. The deals for Holmes and Manaea top the list, followed by an early-career extension for Freddy Peralta, who eventually emerged as a viable big league starter in Milwaukee. No other reliever has received more than a $5.4MM guarantee from Stearns.
Last winter, as mentioned, the Mets were going into a year of uncertainty. Stearns gave modest deals to a number of relievers like Adam Ottavino, Jake Diekman, Jorge López and others, none of them even getting a $5MM guarantee. The interest in Scott suggests that the Mets might have some willingness to pivot from that trend in the coming weeks, though time will tell if they actually follow through.
If they do, Scott would be a great fit for the bullpen. The Mets have Edwin Díaz as their closer but things are fairly open apart from that. José Buttó, Reed Garrett and Dedniel Núñez project as some of the top options beyond Díaz but none of those three have even two years of big league service time. Danny Young is the only lefty reliever currently on the 40-man roster and he still has less than a year of service time. Slotting in Scott would bolster the group in terms of talent, experience and left-right balance.
According to RosterResource, the Mets are projected for a payroll of $280MM this year. That’s about $50MM shy of last year’s Opening Day payroll, so there could be lots of room to add bullpen help, even if they end up re-signing first baseman Pete Alonso. RR has the competitive balance tax number at $277MM, which means the club is already within striking distance of the third threshold of $281MM. However, they have blown way past the fourth and final tier in previous seasons, so that isn’t likely to be an obstacle for them. As a third-time payor, the Mets will face a 95% tax rate for spending beyond the third tier and a 110% rate for anything above the fourth.
Mets Notes: Manaea Contract Details, Alonso
After previously reporting that Sean Manaea‘s deal with the Mets would include $23.25MM in deferred payments, Will Sammon of The Athletic offered more details on the structure of Manaea’s contract this morning.
Manaea will earn equal $25MM salaries in all three years of the deal, adding up to the reported total guarantee of $75MM. However, $7.75MM of his salary will be deferred without interest each season, adding up to the reported total of $23.25MM in deferrals. As Sammon previously mentioned, the deferrals will be paid out in equal portions over 10 years from 2035-44. Sammon also notes that Manaea can earn standard additional incentives for making an All-Star appearance ($50K), winning a Gold Glove ($50K), winning LCS MVP ($50K), winning World Series MVP ($100K), and finishing top-three in Cy Young voting ($50K for first place, $25K for second place, $10K for third place).
The deferred payments mean that Manaea’s contract isn’t quite worth $75MM in present-day value. Therefore, the luxury tax hit for the Mets won’t be quite as high as his $25MM AAV. Jon Becker of FanGraphs suggests the present-day value of his AAV for luxury tax purposes is just over $22MM. That’s not entirely insignificant to the Mets, who will be paying the luxury tax once again in 2025. It’s also interesting that Manaea’s contract is about $1MM less valuable than the three-year, $67MM deal his former teammate Luis Severino signed with the Athletics. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported last week that Manaea turned down that same offer from the A’s before they gave it to Severino instead. Of course, it’s not hard to understand why Manaea would rather pitch for the Mets than the A’s, but it’s interesting that he technically took a discount to re-sign with New York.
In another Mets update, Sammon theorizes that “contract length” is currently what’s holding up a deal between the Mets and Pete Alonso. Heyman recently made a similar suggestion, saying “I do think the years are the hang-up right now” (per Jon Heyman’s Insider Notebook on Bleacher Report). Back in December, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported the Mets were still “pushing hard” to reunite with Alonso. From Alonso’s perspective, it’s hard to picture a better fit than the only team he’s ever known. Yet, a deal hasn’t come together. A disagreement over contract length could certainly explain why.
Presumably, Alonso and his agent Scott Boras are still looking to beat the guaranteed money from the seven-year, $158MM extension he reportedly turned down from the Mets in the summer of 2023. To do so, he’d need to sign for at least $137.5MM this winter (he already earned the first $20.5MM in 2024 during his final year of arbitration). It’s hard to imagine Alonso approaching that number on anything shorter than a six-year contract. Meanwhile, it’s not hard to understand why teams would balk at offering a six-year contract to a 30-year-old first baseman coming off two consecutive down years.
Lenny Randle Passes Away
Former major league utility player Lenny Randle has passed away at 75. The National Baseball Hall of Fame confirmed the news on Monday evening.
Randle was a multi-sport collegiate star at Arizona State. He played on the Sun Devils football team in addition to his work as ASU’s second baseman. He stuck with baseball after being drafted by the Washington Senators in 1970. Randle jumped right to Triple-A after the draft and made his big league debut by his first full season. He remained with the franchise when they relocated to Texas and rebranded as the Rangers going into the ’72 campaign.
After a few seasons in a utility role, Randle broke through in 1974. He hit .302 and stole 26 bases (albeit with 17 times caught stealing) across 151 games. Randle played multiple positions and was a valuable enough part of the Texas roster to receive down-ballot MVP support. He had another strong season in 1975, hitting .276 with 24 doubles across 676 plate appearances. He divided that season mostly between second base and center field.
Randle didn’t play as well in ’76. He lost his hold on the starting second base job the following spring. Randle threatened to leave camp, which led to public criticism from manager Frank Lucchesi (link via MLB.com). Randle confronted Lucchesi and, after a brief exchange, punched the manager multiple times. Lucchesi was hospitalized with a fractured cheekbone. Randle would eventually plead no contest to battery charges, leading to a fine.
While teammates and Texas beat reporters said that kind of outburst was out of character for the generally soft-spoken Randle, the Rangers made the obvious decision to move on from him. Texas suspended him for a month and traded him to the Mets before the ban was lifted. Randle moved to third base in Queens, where he had a strong first season. He hit .304 with a career-high 33 steals. His numbers dropped again in ’78, after which he bounced around the league.
Randle had a cameo with the Yankees in 1979, played somewhat regularly for the Cubs the following season, then finished his MLB career with two seasons in Seattle. During his stint with the Mariners, Randle had the humorous play in which he blew a slow roller down the third base line into foul territory after realizing he didn’t have a play on the ball. Umpires awarded the hitter first base.
Over a 12-year big league career, Randle hit .257/.321/.335. He was never much of a power threat and only connected on 27 home runs. The switch-hitter picked up 145 doubles and 40 triples while stealing 156 bases. He collected just over 1000 hits and scored nearly 500 runs. MLBTR joins others throughout the game in sending our condolences to Randle’s family, loved ones, friends and former teammates.
Giants Considering Pete Alonso
The Giants already made one big infield addition by signing Willy Adames, and kept Matt Chapman off the free agent market entirely by signing the third baseman to a six-year, $151MM extension back in September. With the Giants still weighing big moves, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that “Pete Alonso is on their radar” as a significant upgrade to the first base/DH mix.
As it stands, LaMonte Wade Jr. will be getting the bulk of first base at-bats, as the left-handed hitting side of what will likely be a platoon situation. That said, reports have suggested San Francisco is open to moving Wade, and that the Giants had some interest in signing Paul Goldschmidt before Goldschmidt landed with the Yankees. Top prospect Bryce Eldridge is viewed as the long-term answer at first base, and with Eldridge making his Triple-A debut in 2024, a shorter-term signing like Goldschmidt made sense as a bridge at the position.
Adding Alonso would only somewhat change that direction. If Alonso took over the everyday first base role, Wade could be shifted into the part-time DH role, and Wade is a free agent next winter so he might not remain part of the Giants’ future plans. Eldridge played some outfield in 2023 but is largely viewed as a first baseman going forward, so he and Alonso could form a powerful first base/DH combo even if such an arrangement would lock down both positions for years to come.
There’s also a possibility that Eldridge could become a big trade chip the Giants can dangle to address other needs, or that Alonso wouldn’t necessarily be a long-term addition. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand hears from various executives around the league that Alonso’s next contract might involve an opt-out clause or two, thus allowing Alonso to re-enter the market potentially as early as the 2025-26 offseason. Alonso’s agent Scott Boras has included such opt-out provisions in several of his clients’ deals in recent years, in some cases creating an extra level of flexibility for teams and for players coming off less-than-ideal platform years.
It could be argued Alonso is coming off two relative down years, as he has a solid but unspectacular 121 wRC+ since the start of the 2023 season. The first baseman slugged 80 homers and hit .229/.324/.480 in 1353 plate appearances over that span, while providing little value with his glove or on the basepaths. Clubs are increasingly wary about committing big money to first base-only players in general, and Alonso’s increasingly homer-heavy approach raises questions about his overall offensive value.
Oracle Park may not exactly be the best ballpark for a right-handed hitting slugger to re-establish his value, though Alonso’s options may be increasingly limited. The Yankees (Goldschmidt), Astros (Christian Walker), Diamondbacks (Josh Naylor), and Nationals (Nathaniel Lowe) have all addressed their needs at first base. MLBTR’s Leo Morgenstern recently looked at Alonso’s market and cited the Giants along with the Reds, Tigers, Blue Jays, as possible darkhorse candidates for the slugger, along with the more obvious possibility that Alonso just re-signs with the Mets.
Indeed, most of the executives who spoke with Feinsand “believe an Alonso/Mets reunion is inevitable,” even if such a deal involves opt-out clauses. The Mets remain linked to both Alonso and Alex Bregman, leaving the team with an interesting choice of top-tier corner infielders since Mark Vientos can play first or third base depending on who is signed. (Or, it isn’t entirely out of the question that the aggressive Mets could sign both Bregman and Alonso, with Vientos moving to DH.) Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes that “a sizable gap” remains between Alonso and the Mets in their current negotiations.
Because both Adames and Alonso rejected qualifying offers, the Giants would have to surrender two more draft picks and another $1MM in international bonus pool money if they brought Alonso into the fold to join their new shortstop. This might not necessarily be an obstacle since the Giants already gave up two picks and $1MM to sign Chapman and Blake Snell (two other qualified free agents) last offseason. RosterResource estimates San Francisco for roughly a $167.1MM payroll and $207.5MM luxury tax number in 2025, so adding Alonso is feasible even if it remains unclear how much ownership is willing to spend on next year’s roster.
The Giants’ pursuit of Corbin Burnes signaled that the club was willing to make another splurge, though Slusser notes that they didn’t offer Burnes more than the $210MM over six years than the righty received from the Diamondbacks. Indeed, Slusser frames the Giants’ courtship of Burnes as fairly limited, writing that “San Francisco’s pursuit never advanced much beyond initial talks at the general manager meetings…and an offer made at that point did not get things off the ground.”
President of baseball operations Buster Posey addressed the Giants’ next steps in a text to The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly, with Posey writing “We believe in our young arms, and feel like they are in a position to take some big steps forward. [We] will continue to look on the offensive side for players that give us a chance to score runs in multiple ways.”
Mets Offered Two-Year Contract To Teoscar Hernandez
1:51PM: The Mets’ offer to Hernandez “would’ve carried a similar annual average value to the contract he agreed to with the Dodgers but without deferrals,” The Athletic’s Will Sammon writes. Such shorter-term deals for outfield or DH help remain a possibility for the Mets, if for less than what it would’ve taken to sign Hernandez. For instance, Sammon notes that the Mets have interest in re-signing Jesse Winker in such a role.
1:25PM: The Mets’ interest in the free agent outfield market was seemingly limited to just Juan Soto, as unlike other Soto suitors, New York wasn’t known to have any public interest in the likes of Teoscar Hernandez or Anthony Santander as backup plans if Soto signed elsewhere. However, now with Soto already in the fold, the Mets made a late bid on Hernandez, as Newsday’s Tim Healey reports that the Amazins offered the slugger a two-year deal earlier this week. The dollar figure isn’t known, but Hernandez rejected the deal anyway and rejoined the Dodgers on a three-year, $66MM pact.
Since the Mets have the financial resources to be in on any available player, their interest in Hernandez could’ve been a case of due diligence. There’s no harm, after all, in checking in on a talented hitter to gauge his interest in joining the Mets, and president of baseball operations David Stearns might have seen an opening in a shorter-term deal since Hernandez was lingering on the market.
This isn’t to say that signing Hernandez would’ve been a bargain, exactly, as he would’ve cost the Mets even more draft and international bonus capital. Because New York exceeded the luxury tax in 2024, signing Soto cost the Mets $1MM in int’l bonus pool money, plus their second- and fifth-highest picks in the 2025 draft. Like Soto, Hernandez also rejected a qualifying offer, and thus signing him would’ve required that the Mets give up another $1MM from their international bonus pool, as well as their third- and sixth-highest draft selections.
Adding Hernandez would’ve further crowded the outfield picture. The projected starting outfield consists of Soto in right field, Brandon Nimmo in left, Jose Siri and Tyrone Taylor platooning in center, Starling Marte likely relegated to DH duty, and Jeff McNeil, Jared Young, and Luisangel Acuna able to step onto the grass in a pinch. Had New York signed Hernandez, the likeliest scenario probably would’ve seen Nimmo return to center field, unless the Mets were successful in opening up the DH spot by trading Marte. Reports from a few weeks ago suggested the Mets were willing to eat some of the $19.5MM owed to Marte in the event of a trade, and while no deal was thought to be in the offing, the Mets’ openness to cover salary might hint that Marte is the odd man out.
If signing Hernandez was seen as something of a unique circumstance, the Mets’ outfield depth probably means they’re less likely to seek out Santander or another outfield bat unless Marte is dealt. In terms of lineup additions overall, New York remains linked to Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman as the club looks to boost at least one corner infield slot.
Mets Sign Sean Manaea
On Friday evening, the Mets officially announced the signing of left-hander Sean Manaea to a three-year deal. The Boras Corporation client receives a $75MM guarantee. The deal reportedly contains $23.25MM in deferred money, which will be paid between 2035-44. New York had multiple open roster spots, so no further move was necessary.
Manaea, 33 in February, is now poised to sign with the Mets for the second consecutive offseason. In the first week of January earlier this year, the southpaw landed with New York on a two-year deal that guaranteed him $28MM and included an opt-out following the 2024 campaign. It was the second winter in a row that saw Manaea sign a two-year deal with an opt out after he signed with the Giants on a $25MM guarantee during the 2022-23 offseason.
That first contract in San Francisco was inked on the heels of a brutal 2022 season in San Diego that saw Manaea struggle to a 4.96 ERA (76 ERA+) with a 4.53 FIP in 158 innings of work. His time with the Giants went better than that; while his 4.44 ERA (94 ERA+) was still below average but he nonetheless entered the offseason boasting much stronger peripherals (3.91 FIP, 3.83 SIERA) and a solid run of starts down the stretch that September where he posted a 2.25 ERA and 3.21 FIP.
The Mets clearly believed that portended better days in Manaea’s future, and it certainly did. The lefty emerged as a quality mid-rotation option for New York in 2024 as he posted a 3.47 ERA (114 ERA+) with a 3.83 FIP in a career-high 181 2/3 innings of work across 32 starts. With a career year in the books ahead of his third consecutive trip to free agency, it seemed as though Manaea was looking for longer-term security. The Mets opted to tag the lefty with the Qualifying Offer at the outset of the winter, but it was hardly a surprise when Manaea rejected that one-year, $21.05MM offer and entered the open market anyway. After all, the lefty came into the winter ranked by MLBTR as the #10 free agent available on our annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list and the #5 starter behind only Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Max Fried, and Jack Flaherty.
Early in the offseason, the fact that Manaea was encumbered by the QO led a number of clubs that likely would’ve had interest in a mid-rotation veteran like him to turn towards alternative options. The Angels, Dodgers, and Cubs turned in the early days of the offseason to unencumbered free agents like Yusei Kikuchi, Snell, and Matthew Boyd rather than delve into the markets of qualified free agents like Manaea, Nick Pivetta, or Luis Severino.
That’s not a consideration for the Mets, however, as reuniting with Manaea only costs the hypothetical draft pick they would’ve received had he signed elsewhere. That’s allowed Manaea to land a healthy guarantee despite a fairly small list of teams connected to him this winter: his three-year, $75MM deal exceeds the three-year, $60MM guarantee MLBTR predicted for him at the outset of the offseason but that’s hardly a surprise given that virtually every starting pitcher’s contract has exceeded expectations. Additionally, it’s of course possible that the deferred money in Manaea’s deal drops the net present value closer to MLBTR’s prediction.
For New York, a reunion with Manaea serves as a likely capstone on the club’s efforts to reconstruct its starting rotation after he, Severino, and Jose Quintana all hit the open market last month. The club added Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes to their rotation mix earlier this winter, but that duo offers little stability given Montas’s struggles in 2025 and the fact that Holmes last started a game in the majors back in 2018. Manaea provides that much-needed stability while slotting towards the front of a rotation that also includes talented right-hander Kodai Senga and young southpaw David Peterson.
With depth options like Paul Blackburn, Tylor Megill, and Griffin Canning all in the wings to help cover for potential injuries, it would hardly be a surprise if Manaea’s return wrapped up the team’s rotation additions for the winter. That doesn’t mean the club is done entirely, however. Even with a hefty 2025 payroll that RosterResource estimates will land just shy of $280MM as things stand, that still leaves $56MM of room to work with before the Mets match their 2024 figure. That should leave plenty of room for the Mets to sign a corner infield bat to pair with Mark Vientos, whether that ends up being a reunion with Pete Alonso or an alternative option such as Alex Bregman and perhaps bolster other areas of the roster such as the bullpen or the bench.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Mets and Manaea had agreed to a three-year, $75MM deal. Will Sammon of the Athletic reported that the deal included $23.25MM in deferred money to be paid between 2035-44. Image courtesy of Imagn.
Mets Notes: Pederson, Alonso, Third Base, Rotation
The Mets have already added one of the best left-handed hitters in the game this offseason, signing Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765MM deal. However, Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggests they were recently in on another big lefty bat: Joc Pederson. That was, of course, before Pederson agreed to a two-year, $37MM deal with the Rangers early on Monday morning.
Presumably, the Mets were interested in Pederson as a designated hitter. Coming off an excellent 2024 campaign, he would have made a strong replacement for J.D. Martinez. Like Pederson, Martinez became a free agent at the end of the season. If the Mets are still in the market for a DH after losing out on Pederson, their options are somewhat limited. Martinez might be the best true DH left in free agency. They could, of course, pursue an outfielder like Anthony Santander or Teoscar Hernández, but those two are looking for significantly more money than Pederson, and, presumably, they would prefer to continue playing the outfield.
However, if it’s really just another big bat the Mets are looking for, the best solution could also be the most straightforward: re-signing first baseman Pete Alonso. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported on Sunday that the Mets are still “pushing hard” to re-sign their homegrown slugger. If that’s true, it’s difficult to imagine Alonso ending up anywhere else. Teams like the Yankees and Astros have already filled their holes at first base. And when the Mets set their sights on a target, they’re not easy to outbid.
Nightengale also notes that the Mets “like their internal options” at third base – in other words, he implies they aren’t likely suitors for star third baseman Alex Bregman. However, it’s not clear if that is at all contingent on the team re-signing Alonso. If Alonso is back in Queens next season, Mark Vientos is the obvious candidate to play third base. Vientos was one of the team’s best hitters in 2024, while also providing capable defense at the hot corner. Yet, if Alonso signs elsewhere, Vientos is likely to move across the diamond and take over at first. Simply put, there is a massive difference between Vientos and the next-best option at third base, which seems to be former top prospect and unproven big leaguer Brett Baty. The other internal options include Ronny Mauricio, who spent the entire 2024 season on the IL, and Luisangel Acuña, a second baseman/shortstop who has never played third base professionally. It’s hard to believe the Mets would feel confident going into the season without a more reliable player at third base.
It’s easier to accept the notion that the Mets are done adding to their rotation, which Will Sammon of The Athletic suggests is the case. After agreeing to a three-year, $75MM deal with Sean Manaea, the Mets have now signed three notable free agent starters: Manaea, Frankie Montas, and Clay Holmes. Those three will join Kodai Senga and David Peterson in the rotation, with Paul Blackburn, Griffin Canning, and Tylor Megill offering additional depth. Top prospect Brandon Sproat is another arm who could start for the Mets at some point in 2025.
With Senga and Manaea occupying the top two spots in the rotation, the Mets don’t have a bona fide ace like Zack Wheeler of the Phillies or Chris Sale of the Braves. However, their starting pitching depth looks like it’s going to be an asset. They would surely find room for Roki Sasaki if the NPB superstar chooses to sign in Queens, but otherwise, the Mets seem to have all the starters they can carry to begin the 2025 campaign.