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Shohei Ohtani Rumors: GM Meetings Edition

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The offseason kicked into gear this week with the General Manager Meetings taking place in Scottsdale, Arizona. Though the meetings were eventually ended early due to a virus circling the bases of the baseball world, there was still plenty of reporting about how markets are shaping up for various clubs and players. The big star of the winter is set to be Shohei Ohtani but only dribs and drabs of information have come out relating to him so far, with Jon Heyman of The New York Post and Bob Nightengale of USA Today rounding up some of the details.

Ohtani is the top free agent available, head and shoulders above the rest. The two-way superstar has been the best player in baseball of late, putting together a three-year run of excellence that is perhaps the greatest the sport has ever seen. He’s hit 124 home runs, stolen 57 bases and slashed .277/.379/.585 in that time for a wRC+ of 157. He’s also tossed 428 1/3 innings with a 2.84 earned run average. Elbow surgery will keep him from pitching in 2024 but he will still hit, and will presumably do all he can to return to the mound in 2025 and beyond.

There has never been a player like this or a free agent like this, which puts him center stage. It has been assumed by many that he is most likely to land with a traditional big spending club such as the Dodgers, but he’s such a massive superstar that it’s possible many dark horse teams get into the mix. Marketing opportunities, both in North America and around the world, should offset some of the money it takes to land him. Those factors, along with his unprecedented talents, could open the door to unlikely suitors. “No one knows where he’s going to end up,’’ Astros general manager Dana Brown said to Nightengale. “And I think that’s exciting for the game. You just don’t know what’s going to happen. I think there may be a wild card team out there that’s going to surface. These teams can just come out of nowhere.” Indeed, any club that is not interested in Ohtani would be more noteworthy than a club that is.

But little information was to be had at the meetings, as neither Ohtani nor his agent Nez Balelo were present. Many baseball decision makers hemmed and hawed when directly asked about their interest in Ohtani, many commenting on his immense talent while adding that any club would be happy to have him. Perhaps the most absurd instance of ducking the question came from Mariners’ president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, when speaking with Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. When asked about how he would value such a unique player, he said merely “I don’t know.” When asked if he would need to figure out an answer, “Presumably so” was the response.

With various smokescreens coming from different directions, there is little left to do but try to read the tea leaves. Heyman says the Dodgers are considered the favorite because of their payroll space, track record of on-field success and Ohtani’s reported fondness for Southern California. But he also adds that the Angels want a reunion and the Padres are interested as well. The latter club is reportedly trying to figure out whether to trade or extend Juan Soto, with Heyman adding that president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has little interest in a trade. However, if they can successfully sign Ohtani, that could change.

He adds that the Yankees and Mets will check in but believe Ohtani is reluctant to live in New York. Heyman admits that he’s basing that on Ohtani’s initial arrival in North America six years ago, when he was reportedly choosing between the Angels, Dodgers, Padres, Rangers, Giants, Mariners and Cubs, mostly West Coast teams and none in New York. At that time, he was subject to the amateur bonus pool system and wasn’t going to get more than a few million bucks regardless of where he signed, so having a geographical preference didn’t hurt him financially. Now it would be in his best interest to at least pretend he’s open to signing anywhere, in order to have more suitors and boost his bidding. Whether he privately has a strong geographic preference right now is unknown.

The Cubs were the primary exception to the Western preference last time around and it seems they are hoping that Ohtani still thinks of them fondly. Nightengale lists them as a serious contender for Ohtani and adds that “several GMs” are saying that the Cubs “may be” the most aggressive team on Ohtani. He also adds that the Rangers are considered a serious contender, which isn’t surprising after their World Series win that was fuelled by several notable free agent signings in recent years.

As mentioned, the Angels would like a reunion and shouldn’t be counted out. “I think this is a very desirable place to play,’’ Minasian said to Nightengale. “It’s in a great part of the country. We have an outstanding fan base. The players that have played here since I’ve been here, have been really, really positive with their experiences. So, with anybody on the market, I think we have a chance.”

Though the Angels haven’t had much success on the field lately, they have done plenty of big deals under owner Arte Moreno. That includes a $360MM extension for Mike Trout, while Albert Pujols and Anthony Rendon got $254MM and $245MM in free agency, respectively. Re-signing Ohtani will likely require them to go beyond that stratosphere and into the mesosphere, but there’s at least some precedent there. “I wouldn’t put anything past,’’ Minasian said. “I think it’s something that for the right opportunities, ownership is all about winning. …We’ll do what we can to make the team as good as we can.’’

John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote this week about the interest of the Giants, talking to president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. “We’ve got a good amount of payroll flexibility,” Zaidi said, “so anybody that we think can be an impact player for us, even on a long-term deal, we’re going to be looking at.” Daniel Kramer of MLB.com covered Ohtani from the Mariners’ perspective, highlighting that Dipoto was much more vocal in his interest back when Ohtani was first coming over in 2017. There are likely a dozen other clubs working on their overtures to Ohtani at this very moment.

How it will all play out and on what timeline remains to be seen. Ohtani will likely want to talk teams about things beyond just money, such as how long they are willing to let him try pitching, what they would do if/when he can no longer take the mound, etc. Those conversations may take a few weeks and it’s been speculated that he may be signed by the Winter Meetings in the first week of December, but there are still plenty of unknowns about perhaps the most fascinating free agent of all-time.

Mets Looking To Add Multiple Starting Pitchers This Offseason

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The Mets want to add multiple starting pitchers this winter, president of baseball operations David Stearns tells Tim Healey of Newsday. However, that may not involve pursuing the top guys available. “You always love to bring in top-flight talent and top-flight pitching,” Stearns said. “Do I think we need one? No. You can compile pitching staffs in a variety of different ways. Certainly any time you have horses at the front of the rotation, it makes everything else a little bit easier. But it’s not impossible to do it without that.”

The fact that the club is looking to make a number of additions is fairly sensible. Last year, they traded away their co-aces Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at the deadline. At the end of the season, Carlos Carrasco became a free agent and David Peterson underwent hip surgery that will keep him out of action until the middle of next year.

That leaves the rotation with Kodai Senga and José Quintana in two spots, with Tylor Megill, Joey Lucchesi and José Butto options for the back end. Megill had a 4.70 earned run average in 2023 but with subpar strikeout and walk rates of 18.5% and 10.2%, respectively. Lucchesi had a strong 2.89 ERA in his nine starts but with just a 16.4% strikeout rate, likely helped by a strand rate of 80.1%. Butto has just 46 innings of major league work and he just posted a 5.93 ERA at Triple-A in 2023.

Given the state of things, it’s understandable that the club will be looking to bring in multiple arms in order to improve the rotation for 2024. Exactly how aggressive they will be is an open question. The club had the highest payroll in baseball history in 2023 but that didn’t work out and it seems 2024 might be something of a transitional year. It’s tough to know exactly what it looks like for owner Steve Cohen to take a step back from record-setting spending, as that could still lead to the club forking out plenty of money. Agent Scott Boras was asked about this and phrased it thusly: “When you have the bigger jet, and you say you’re going slower, you’re still going faster,” Boras said, per Will Sammon of The Athletic.

That perhaps suggests the club is still indicating a certain level of aggression in its conversations with player agents, but the comments from Stearns also imply they might be happy to spread money around to various mid-level guys as opposed to targeting aces. At the top of the free agent market, pitchers like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Aaron Nola and Jordan Montgomery are likely to land nine-figure deals. There should also be sizeable eight-figure deals available to pitchers like Sonny Gray, Eduardo Rodriguez and Shota Imanaga. Then there will be guys like Luis Severino, Frankie Montas and Hyun Jin Ryu that should be attainable on low-cost bounceback deals. Time will tell how the Mets plan to assess these options but making a long-term investment would make sense even if they are pumping the brakes a bit. Quintana has just one year left on his deal and most of the club’s top prospects are position players, meaning there’s even more rotation uncertainty in the long term.

Stearns was also asked about first baseman Pete Alonso, per Sammon, and reiterated his previous position that he doesn’t expect a preseason trade. “I think I do not anticipate him getting traded,” Stearns said. “I don’t draw lines in the sand. And I’m never gonna say never. But I absolutely think it’s fair that I don’t anticipate him being traded.” Alonso is going into his final arbitration season before reaching free agency, so the club will have to pick a lane at some point. But with a good deal of uncertainty about the 2024 club, it seems they are leaning towards holding. If the club has another poor season in 2024, they could always pivot to a deadline deal.

Another option would be to pursue an extension. It doesn’t sound like anything is imminent there but it also doesn’t seem like the lines of communication are dead. “When it comes to the Polar Bear, we’re not in contract hibernation,” Boras said. He added that he follows the instructions given to him by his clients and Alonso has told him to listen to whatever the Mets have to say.

Sammon also rounds up a few other bits of Mets’ news from a busy week in the baseball world, including the fact that pitching coach Jeremy Hefner is going to stay on as pitching coach. With the club adding a new manager in Carlos Mendoza, it wasn’t known if he would then bring in someone from the outside for that job but Hefner will apparently stick around. Meanwhile, the club won’t hire a general manager this winter. Billy Eppler was going to be in that role before stepping aside amid an investigation into the club’s misuse of the injured list. Front offices are generally composed of dozens of decision makers, from assistant GMs to vice-presidents and so on, meaning the lack of someone with that specific GM title won’t mean much with Stearns the primary decision maker.

Turning back to the roster, neither outfielder Starling Marte nor infielder/outfielder Jeff McNeil are expected to require offseason surgery. Marte had groin surgery last offseason and never seemed to be fully healthy in 2023, finishing the year on the injured list due to ongoing issues with his groin. McNeil, meanwhile, was diagnosed with a partially torn UCL in his left elbow. He throws with his right arm anyway but it appears both he and Marte are making good progress and can perhaps return without going under the knife this winter. As for designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach, the club is still undecided on whether or not they will tender him a contract for 2024. The non-tender deadline is November 17, giving them just over a week to pick a path with him. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Vogelbach for a salary of $2.6MM.

David Peterson Undergoes Hip Surgery

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The Mets announced this morning that left-hander David Peterson underwent surgery to repair the labrum in his left hip today. The expected recovery timeline for the procedure is six to seven months, which means Peterson is all but certain to open the season on the injured list. A six-month timeline would put him on track for an early May recovery, whereas a seven-month trajectory could push into the summer.

Peterson, 28, had an uneven season in 2023 after what had looked to be a breakout showing the prior year. His 2022 campaign featured 105 2/3 innings of 3.83 ERA ball, as the former first-round pick enjoyed career-best marks in average fastball velocity, strikeout rate and ground-ball rate. He induced grounders at an even higher clip in 2023, but just about every other meaningful rate stat trended in the wrong direction. Peterson finished out the year with a 5.03 ERA, 26% strikeout rate, 10.2% walk rate and 54.5% grounder rate in 111 frames.

That said, Peterson also enjoyed an excellent second half to the year. A three-week move to the bullpen in mid-July/early August produced 11 innings of 1.64 ERA ball, and when injuries thrust him back into the starting rotation, Peterson looked like a new pitcher. He’d been hammered for a 6.46 ERA through 11 starts to begin the season but closed out the year with a 10-start stretch of a 3.88 ERA, 28.2% strikeout rate and 11.7% walk rate — numbers that much more closely mirrored his solid ’22 efforts. Command obviously remained an issue for Peterson, but it was a promising end to the season that looked to set him up for another possible look in next year’s rotation.

Any such plans will now be placed on hold as he mends from today’s operation. It’s a notable blow to a thin Mets pitching staff that traded future Hall of Famers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at this past summer’s trade deadline. With Peterson shelved, the Mets’ only established options in the rotation are veteran Jose Quintana and righty Kodai Senga, who turned in an outstanding rookie effort this past season. Depth options beyond that pair include Tylor Megill, Jose Butto and Joey Lucchesi, but the Mets are clearly lacking in the rotation.

First-year president of baseball operations David Stearns was already likely to place a heavy emphasis on acquiring rotation help this winter. The loss of Peterson for at least a month or two early next year only adds to that need. Pursuing multiple arms — likely at least one who could slot into the top half of the rotation already seemed likely — but there will be an increased need for depth and back-of-the-rotation options now that Peterson is recovering from a notable surgical procedure.

While Peterson’s injury clouds his 2024 outlook, it still seems likely that he’ll be tendered a contract for the upcoming campaign. He’s entering his first arbitration year, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a modest $2MM salary in his first trip through the arb process. Given his remaining three years of club control and remaining minor league option, that’s plenty affordable — particularly for the game’s most deep-pocketed club.

Mets Claim Zack Short From Tigers

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Former Tigers infielder Zack Short has been claimed on waivers by the Mets, the Tigers announced. This comes amidst a flurry of roster moves for the Tigers, who needed to open up several spots on the 40-man ahead of the deadline to move players off of the 60-day injured list, as well as the deadline to add players to the 40-man before they can elect minor league free agency.

Drafted by the Cubs in 2016, Short was traded to the Tigers in 2020 in exchange for veteran outfielder Cameron Maybin. He made his big league debut the following season, appearing in 61 games for Detroit and struggling his way to a .141/.239/.282 batting line. The utility infielder spent almost all of the 2022 season at Triple-A, but he made his way back to the majors in April 2023 and never looked back. While no one could argue his bat was an asset, he posted a much-improved .204/.292/.339 slash line while showing off his defensive versatility all over the diamond. By the end of the year, he had appeared in 112 games, occasionally as a starter but just as often as a pinch runner or mid-game defensive replacement. 

While his offense may never be a strength, Short draws walks well, and he can put his plus speed to work when he reaches base. Moreover, his defense might not stand out at any one position, but he is capable of covering second, third, and short, and even the outfield in a pinch. As long as he doesn’t regress at the plate, his flexibility could earn him another shot at MLB playing time next season, especially since he is out of minor league options.

In further Mets news, all six players the team placed on outright waivers last week have cleared, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Bryce Montes de Oca and Peyton Battenfield have been sent outright to Triple-A and will remain with the organization, while Tim Locastro, John Curtiss, Elieser Hernandez, and Denyi Reyes have elected free agency.

Adam Ottavino To Decline Player Option

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Right-hander Adam Ottavino is going to decline his player option and return to free agency, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post. The righty could have stayed with the Mets via a $6.75MM player option but will head to the open market instead.

Ottavino, who turns 38 this month, signed a two-year, $14.5MM deal with the Mets coming into 2023, with an opt-out opportunity after the first season. He made 66 appearances for the club this season with a 3.21 earned run average. His 23.8% strikeout rate was around league average and his 11.1% walk rate was on the high side, but he found success by keeping the ball on the ground. 56.3% of balls he allowed in play were grounders, significantly above the league rate of 42.5% for the year.

There may have been some good luck for Ottavino in there, as his .252 batting average on balls in play and 80.6% strand rate were both on the lucky side of average. His 4.52 FIP and 4.04 SIERA suggest he was fortunate to keep runs off the board the way that he did, but Ottavino’s got a strong track record going back years. He has a 3.42 ERA in 664 appearances dating back to 2010.

Today’s move comes as a surprise because, as recently as August, Ottavino was open about his intention to stay with the Mets. “I want to be here no matter what,” the New York native said at that time. “This is a good place for me. I love the organization. I love being able to play where I’m from.”

It’s unclear what made Ottavino change his mind, but it could be related to recent developments in the right-handed relief pitching market. Pierce Johnson and Joe Jiménez were going to be two of the top free agents this winter but they each re-signed with Atlanta before reaching the open market. Chad Green could have been another intriguing option but the Blue Jays picked up a two-year option to keep him in Toronto. Even Blake Treinen, who missed the entire 2023 season, had his option picked up by the Dodgers.

Free agency will still feature talented righties like Reynaldo López, Jordan Hicks, Robert Stephenson and others, but perhaps some of those names coming off the board early gave Ottavino and his reps a good feeling about returning to the open market and topping that $6.75MM figure.

Beyond the market changes, it seems the language of his contract played a part. Ottavino tells Sherman that $4MM of his 2024 salary was to be deferred. He was willing to take a smaller amount to return but with fewer deferrals and was also open to a two-year deal, but the Mets weren’t interested in either.

The Mets will now lose yet another arm from their bullpen. They traded away David Robertson and Dominic Leone prior to the deadline, though they will get Edwin Díaz back next year and picked up a club option on lefty Brooks Raley. Even though they might take a bit of a step back this winter relative to last year, they will likely add to the relief mix in the coming months.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Mets To Hire Carlos Mendoza As Manager

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The Mets have settled on their next manager, reportedly tabbing Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza to lead the club in 2024. Reports yesterday indicated that the club was on the verge of deciding their next manager. It’ll reportedly be a three-year deal that pays around $4.5MM total, while the Mets hold an option for the 2027 season.

Mendoza, 43, spent 13 seasons as an infielder in the minor leagues with the Giants and Yankees before joining the Yankees’ minor league coaching staff in 2009.  He last served as a manager at the minor league level in 2012, with the club’s Single-A affiliate in Charleston. From 2013 to 2017, Mendoza served as a roving defensive instructor in the Yankees’ organization before being promoted to the major league coaching staff prior to the 2018 season as an infield coach. He received his final promotion with the Yankees upon being named bench coach to manager Aaron Boone shortly after the 2019 season and has remained in that role for the past four years.

After 18 years with the Yankees organization, Mendoza now heads from the Bronx to Queens to take over for Buck Showalter as manager of the Mets. Mendoza will step into the role just as newly-minted president of baseball operations David Stearns steps into his own new role with the club after being hired for the role back in September.

The duo have inherited a Mets team coming off of a difficult season. After winning 101 games in 2022 and adding the likes of Justin Verlander, David Robertson, Kodai Senga, and Jose Quintana while committing more than $200MM to re-sign Edwin Diaz and Brandon Nimmo, the club fell well below expectations in 2023. Verlander, Robertson, and Max Scherzer were all traded away at the deadline as the Mets were rumored to begin looking toward 2025 for their return to contention. Ultimately, the club posted a 75-87 record in 2023, leaving them a whopping 29 games back of the Braves in the NL East and nine games out of the final NL Wild Card spot.

Though Mendoza has now landed in Queens, the Mets were far from the only team interested in him as a potential managerial hire this offseason. The Guardians reportedly had Mendoza as a potential favorite to replace Terry Francona in Cleveland before ultimately giving the job to Stephen Vogt earlier today, while the Padres reportedly interviewed Mendoza to replace Bob Melvin in San Diego earlier this week.

Just as Mendoza had other opportunities potentially on the table outside of New York, he was hardly the only candidate for the managerial role with the Mets. The club reportedly spoke to the likes of A’s manager Mark Kotsay and Cubs bench coach Andy Green, but much of their attention this offseason has seemingly been directed towards longtime Brewers manager Craig Counsell, who was widely regarded as the club’s preferred candidate and a potential favorite for the position due to his long-standing relationship with Stearns before he ultimately decided on joining the Cubs in a surprise move this afternoon.

Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported Mendoza’s hiring. Andy Martino of SNY reported the salary terms.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Mets Pursued Cubs' Dan Kantrovitz For Front Office Position

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  • Also from Sharma and Mooney, the Mets had interest in hiring Cubs VP of scouting Dan Kantrovitz “for a high-level job in their front office,” but Kantrovitz will be staying in Chicago.  Kantrovitz has been with the Cubs for the last four seasons, after previously working as an assistant GM with the Athletics.  In other Cubs front office buzz, Sharma/Mooney figure that the team will explore an external hire for at least one of their two assistant GM openings, as a way of bringing a fresh voice into the mix.

Mets No Longer Considering Mark Kotsay For Manager's Job

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Buck Showalter is one of “several finalists” to be the Angels’ next manager, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports (via X).  Reports have linked Showalter to Anaheim’s vacancy for almost a month, just a few days after the Mets announced that the veteran skipper wouldn’t be back in their dugout next season.  Morosi’s update would seemingly imply that the Angels have moved into at least a secondary stage of their search, though public details have been rather scarce to date about who exactly is on the list of candidates.

  • The Mets’ search might be down to just Craig Counsell and Carlos Mendoza, as reported earlier today by SNY’s Andy Martino.  Earlier this week, Martino reported that Athletics manager Mark Kotsay was also under consideration from New York, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (X link) today wrote that “Kotsay no longer is part of” the Mets’ search.  The A’s did grant Kotsay permission to speak with the Mets, though it doesn’t appear that Kotsay will be departing the Oakland dugout.  The former 17-year MLB veteran has been Oakland’s manager for the last two seasons, with a miserable 110-214 record that is hardly Kotsay’s fault, given that he was tasked with overseeing a team in a massive rebuild.

Mets Reportedly Approaching Decision In Managerial Search

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The Mets are approaching a decision on who will take the reins from Buck Showalter as the club’s new manager, per SNY’s Andy Martino, with a decision from star manager Craig Counsell expected in the next few days. That, Martino notes, seems to set the Mets up to act quickly regarding their own managerial vacancy; if Counsell settles on the Mets, the Mets will of course hire him for the position, while Martino suggests that Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza is another “very strong” candidate for the role. Martino implies that Counsell and Mendoza are regarded as the two finalists for the role, noting that the “only scenario” that could hold up the manager search in Queens is both Counsell and Mendoza electing to take jobs elsewhere.

That’s not necessarily a completely far-fetched scenario, however. After all, Counsell seems likely to have his pick between the Mets, Guardians, and the incumbent Brewers, all of whom appear to be prioritizing Counsell as their top option to lead their club in the dugout next year. It’s unclear where Counsell will ultimately land, reports have indicated that Counsell will at least offer Milwaukee a chance to match whatever salary offer he receives from New York and Cleveland. If Counsell does wind up returning to Milwuakee, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com relayed recently that the favorites for the job with the Guardians would then be Mendoza and Mariners coach Stephen Vogt.

That creates at least the possibility of a situation where the Brewers retain Counsell while the Guardians land Mendoza, leaving the Mets unsure about who their next manager will be. Cubs bench coach and former Padres manager Andy Green as well as current A’s manager Mark Kotsay have both been noted as possible candidates for the manager job in New York in the past, and the Mets are known to be searching for an external candidate, specifically.

Report: MLB Grants Yariel Rodriguez Free Agency

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Right-handed pitcher Yariel Rodriguez has officially been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, reports Francys Romero (X link). He is now free to sign with an MLB team.

Rodriguez became one of the more intriguing options on the pitching market when he was granted a release from his contract with NPB’s Chunichi Dragons a month ago. He has been conducting showcases for MLB clubs in the few weeks since but was barred from officially signing with a major league team until today. There’s nothing to suggest he’ll sign imminently, of course, but this removes the procedural hurdle he still needed to clear.

A native of Cuba, Rodriguez turns 27 in March. That’s atypically young for a free agent pitcher. He worked out of the bullpen over parts of three seasons with the Dragons. Rodriguez had a dominating showing in 2022, when he pitched to a 1.15 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate over 54 2/3 innings. He worked as a starter for his home country during the World Baseball Classic. Once that event concluded, Rodriguez decided not to report back to the Dragons. He sat out the remainder of the 2023 season — the team placed him on the restricted list — before his camp secured his release.

MLB teams figure to have differing evaluations on Rodriguez’s viability as a starter. He’s an intriguing arm with promising stuff and success at the second-highest level of professional baseball in the world. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported last month that the Rays were among 15 teams with scouts in attendance for one of Rodriguez’s recent workouts in the Dominican Republic. This afternoon, Romero listed (on X) 10 clubs that had shown interest in the hurler: the Astros, Yankees, Rangers, Pirates, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Phillies, White Sox, Mets and Giants.

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