Mets Select Vidal Brujan, Designate Eric Wagaman For Assignment
The Mets are filling their void at shortstop with Vidal Brujan, who had his contract selected ahead of Sunday’s game against the Angels. The club announced first baseman Eric Wagaman has been designated for assignment to clear a 40-man spot for Brujan. Infielder Ronny Mauricio was placed on the 10-day IL with a fractured thumb, opening up room on the big-league club.
Brujan bounced around this offseason, landing with the Mets after getting DFAed by the Twins and then the Braves. He met the same fate with New York after falling short of an Opening Day roster spot, but snuck through waivers this time. The 28-year-old had a 62 wRC+ in 24 games at Triple-A Syracuse.
It’s been several years, but Brujan was once a top prospect in the Rays’ system. He debuted with Tampa Bay in 2021 and spent parts of three seasons with the club. Brujan failed to provide much more than defensive versatility and a bit of speed during his time as a Ray. He was dealt to the Marlins in a small trade in November 2023. Miami gave the infielder his longest look to date in the majors. Brujan slashed .222/.303/.319 in a career-high 278 plate appearances in 2024.
Brujan has major league experience at all four infield positions and all three outfield spots. He’s even made four appearances on the mound. The Mets need him in the infield, specifically at shortstop, and he’s been solid there. Brujan has accrued 4 Defensive Runs Saved in 363 1/3 MLB innings at the position. He posted 2 DRS in his short stint with Atlanta last season. The Mets are without star shortstop Francisco Lindor for the foreseeable future as he deals with a calf strain. Mauricio was set to take over, but now he’s injured himself.
It’s a tough blow for Mauricio, who’s also a former prospect of note. The 25-year-old didn’t make the team out of Spring Training, but made a brief cameo in early April. He came back up after the Lindor injury and assumed the everyday shortstop gig. Mauricio launched his first home run of the season on Friday. He had another hit on Saturday, an infield single that loaded the bases in a tie game. Mauricio dove headfirst into the bag on the play, resulting in the thumb injury.
Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters, including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, that Mauricio is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. Bo Bichette slid over to shortstop yesterday after Mauricio was removed, with Brett Baty moving to third base. The former Blue Jays shortstop has played 17 innings at the position this season.
The Mets picked up Wagaman off waivers from the Twins earlier this week. He was bumped up to the big-league squad on Thursday after Luis Robert Jr. hit the injured list. Wagaman was sent right back down on Friday, with recently claimed Andy Ibáñez joining the club.
Wagaman briefly debuted with the Angels in 2024. He signed with the Marlins heading into 2025 and stumbled into a full-time gig at first base. Wagaman posted an underwhelming 85 wRC+ in 140 games with Miami. He struck out at a below-average rate and chipped in four steals, but didn’t provide the power typically associated with corner infielders, with just nine home runs and a .128 ISO. Wagaman posted a -1 DRS across 862 1/3 innings at the cold corner. The Mets have five days to trade Wagaman or place him on waivers. Wagaman is still in the first of his three minor league option years, which may encourage another team to submit a claim or work out a trade.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Mets Notes: Rotation, Shortstop
The Mets’ rotation — and roster at large — has underwhelmed thus far in 2026. Mets starting pitchers rank 19th in the majors with a 4.24 ERA and are tied for the game’s sixth-highest walk rate at 10%. In particular, struggles from Kodai Senga and David Peterson have set them back. New York turned to Christian Scott for his first big league start since 2024’s Tommy John surgery yesterday against the Twins, but he walked five of the 10 hitters he faced and plunked a sixth before being lifted from the game in the second inning.
Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic report that at least for now, the plan is for Scott to make another start next week. The Mets have Peterson, Sean Manaea and Tobias Myers all pitching out of the bullpen right now and will work to keep them all stretched out, given the uncertainty in the rotation. If they end up needing a fresh arm — Peterson and Myers both threw 40-plus pitches in long relief yesterday — it’s possible Scott could instead be optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Any of those more veteran options in the ‘pen could then step in for a start in Scott’s place.
Scott and young ace Nolan McLean are the only two members of the Mets’ rotation who can be optioned. The latter, of course, isn’t going anywhere. In the bullpen, only Myers and Huascar Brazobán can be optioned. The lack of flexibility, coupled with the Mets’ injured and underperforming lineup, prompts Britton and Sammon to wonder whether president of baseball operations David Stearns might eventually explore the trade of a pitcher to help bolster the offense.
Trades of any real significance are rare this early in the season, but there are a handful of notable April or May deals in recent history. The Brewers picked up Quinn Priester from the Red Sox last April, for instance. A year prior, the Marlins shipped Luis Arraez to the Padres in early May. As The Athletic duo points out, when Stearns was running things in Milwaukee, he acquired Willy Adames from the Rays in a May trade.
The Mets aren’t going to get a hitter of any note for Manaea or Senga with their contracts underwater. They could perhaps try to swap either for a hitter with a similarly undesirable contract, but that sort of player isn’t going to help turn the lineup around. The best version of the Mets would have McLean and Freddy Peralta atop the rotation, and the Mets parted with multiple top prospects to get Peralta this winter, so he’s not an early candidate to move. Clay Holmes‘ opt-out opportunity at season’s end tamps down his value.
Speculatively speaking, Peterson feels like the most logical candidate to move in that type of scenario. He’s a free agent at season’s end, earning $8MM, and currently working in the ‘pen. The 30-year-old lefty had a tough run of three starts before being moved into a long relief role, but he started 30 games last year and finished the season with a 4.22 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate in 168 2/3 innings. He’s allowed one run over his past two appearances — a total of seven innings. He’s not going to net a controllable, established hitter, but the Mets could try to swap him out for a veteran bat with similar service time.
There’s no indication at this point that the Mets are actively seeking to ship out a pitcher and/or bring in another bat via trade, to be clear, but it’s worth keeping in mind as the season progresses. That’s especially true with star shortstop Francisco Lindor hitting the injured list due to a calf strain this week.
In place of Lindor, it’ll be just-recalled Ronny Mauricio getting most of the reps at shortstop, writes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The Mets could slide Bo Bichette over to shortstop on occasion, but DiComo notes that the club has been pleased with Bichette’s move to third base so far. Bichette has been charged with a pair of throwing errors through his first 210 frames at the hot corner but has generally corralled anything hit in his direction. Metrics like Defensive Runs Saved (0) and Outs Above Average (1) feel he’s been perfectly adequate during his foray into a new position.
Shortstop is a familiar spot on the diamond for Mauricio. The 25-year-old, who ranked as a top-100 prospect for years before injuries (namely a torn ACL) set him back, has logged nearly 3900 professional innings at the position. He’s healthy now and was playing all over the diamond in Syracuse prior to his recall, though he did spend more time (seven games) at shortstop than at any other position. Even if Lindor hadn’t suffered an injury, pressure to recall Mauricio was mounting. He’s bludgeoned Triple-A pitching so far in 2026, raking at a .293/.349/.638 pace (150 wRC+) with six homers and five stolen bases through 63 turns at the plate.
It’s not clear just how long Mauricio’s runway will be. The Mets haven’t given a timetable for Lindor’s return, with manager Carlos Mendoza telling reporters only that Lindor will “be down quite a bit here.” He’s looking at more than a minimum stint, but the Mets haven’t specified whether Lindor is looking at an absence of three to four weeks or something more appropriately measured in months. Regardless, the injury gives Mauricio a rare everyday opportunity with the Mets — something that’s generally eluded him in recent years as he’s sought to establish himself in the majors.
Mets Place Francisco Lindor On Injured List
3:05pm: Mendoza said reporters, including Joel Sherman of The New York Post, Lindor’s strain is worse than Soto’s and he will therefore miss a decent amount of time. Mendoza added that Mauricio will get the majority of shortstop time while Lindor is out.
2:13pm: The Mets announced that shortstop Francisco Lindor has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain. Infielder Ronny Mauricio has been recalled in a corresponding move. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR reported on Mauricio’s call-up prior to the official announcement. They also announced their previously-reported recall of Christian Scott, with righty Austin Warren optioned as the corresponding move.
It’s a symbolic gut punch for the Mets. With Juan Soto on the IL for the past few weeks, they endured a 12-game losing streak. Last night, they got Soto back and finally snapped that streak with a win, but they lost Lindor in the process.
Lindor appeared to be in discomfort during the game and was removed after four innings. The team later announced that his departure was due to left calf tightness. Manager Carlos Mendoza later told reporters, including Mike Puma of The New York Post, that Lindor would undergo an MRI. Around the same time, Romero reported on Mauricio’s recall, making it seem likely that Lindor was bound for the IL.
It’s an unsurprising move given the events of last night but it’s unusual in the grander scheme of things, as Lindor has been very rarely hurt in his career. In the nine full seasons from 2016 to 2025, he played in at least 125 games in each. Only once was he below 143 and only twice did he come in under 152. This is his first trip to the IL since 2021.
Due to Lindor’s iron man nature, the Mets have been operating without a proper backup for most of this season. Third baseman Bo Bichette, who was primarily a shortstop prior to this year, has been Lindor’s emergency backstop and covered the spot after Lindor was removed last night. Brett Baty came off the bench to cover third.
Lindor is out to a slow start this year, with a .226/.314/.355 line, but in a small sample of 105 plate appearances. In that sample, his walk and strikeout rates are good but he is being held back by a .264 batting average on balls in play. His much larger career track record shows he’s an above-average hitter, defender and baserunner who is usually good for five to eight wins above replacement annually. It’s possible his somewhat slow start is due to a fractured hamate he suffered in February, which he recovered from in time to crack the Opening Day roster.
It’s unclear if the Mets plan to have Bichette cover short now. He wasn’t a great defender at that spot earlier in his career and he finished last season battling a knee injury. As a free agent in the most recent offseason, it didn’t seem as though many clubs had interest in signing him to play that spot. In the end, the Mets won the bidding and have had him at third. His third base defense appears to be about average so far in a small sample, but he’s off to a rough start at the plate, currently sporting a .220/.255/.290 line for the year.
It’s possible the club could keep him at third most of the time, since he’s still getting acclimated to the position, though that would mean playing Mauricio at short pretty much every day. Mauricio has a strong .293/.349/.638 slash in Triple-A this year but hasn’t hit in the majors yet, currently sitting on a career .234/.294/.359 line.
Playing Bichette at short would open up more line possibilities for the club, as Baty or Mark Vientos could cover third base. Neither of those two are hitting well this year but each has shown better form in the past. It’s also possible the Mets don’t firmly commit to one lane or another, as they could make in-game substitutions depending on the situation, opting for Bichette at short when hoping for more offense and moving him to third when prioritizing defense.
However the playing time gets sliced up, it’s not ideal for the Mets to lose a player of Lindor’s caliber. That’s especially true in light of their rough start. Though they snapped the losing streak last night, they are 8-16 on the year and tied with the Phillies for last in the National League. They just endured Soto’s absence and now will try to climb out of that hole without Lindor.
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images
Mets Place Juan Soto On Injured List
The Mets announced that outfielder Juan Soto has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right calf strain. The move is retroactive to April 4th but the club also announced the typical return timeline as two to three weeks. Infielder Ronny Mauricio has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse as the corresponding move.
Soto departed Friday’s game with what the club called right calf soreness. Soto later told members of the media that he had a minor strain and would go day to day to see how he felt. After a couple of days of monitoring the situation, it seems the club will let him sit out for a while to rest up.
It’s not a major issue but it’s obviously not ideal for a player of Soto’s caliber to be subtracted from the lineup. He is one of the best hitters on the planet, with a career .282/.417/.531 line and 158 wRC+. His 18.6% walk rate is almost three ticks better than anyone else in the league. From 2018 to the present, Aaron Judge is second on the list with a 16% walk rate.
The timing is also a bit awkward. The Mets moved Soto to left field to begin the season and gave the right field job to prospect Carson Benge. Though Benge is talented, he has a .100/.206/.200 line through 34 plate appearances. Some of that is due to an unlucky .111 batting average on balls in play but he has also struck out in 32.4% of his plate appearances.
If the Mets had any thought of sending Benge down for a reset, that may be harder to do now that Soto is out, so they may be left with a floundering Benge in one corner and a patchwork solution in the other. On top of that, Brett Baty has missed the past few games due to a jammed left thumb while Jorge Polanco has an Achilles issue that is limiting him to designated hitter duty.
None of the issues are majors in a vacuum but the little bits add up to a challenging shuffle. Mark Vientos is covering first with Polanco in the DH spot. Baty could step into the outfield for Soto if his thumb feels better. If not, Jared Young and Tyrone Taylor could pick up some playing time.
As for Mauricio, he probably won’t play much behind the infield of shortstop Francisco Lindor, second baseman Marcus Semien and third baseman Bo Bichette. The Mets have been playing without a traditional backup infielder, comfortable with Bichette as a backup shortstop and guys like Baty and Vientos potential backups elsewhere. With Baty banged up, Mauricio gives them a bit more conventional cover.
Even if he doesn’t play much, it may be a notable transaction for him for other reasons. He came into this season with one option remaining and a service time count of two years and 31 days. Since he hasn’t yet spent 20 days on optional assignment this year, he hasn’t burned that final option. He also still has a path to get to three years of service in 2026, though getting sent back down later in the year could prevent him from getting there. Where he finishes the year could impact his path to arbitration and/or free agency.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images
Mets Option Ronny Mauricio
The Mets announced a series of roster cuts today. Most notably, infielder Ronny Mauricio has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. They also optioned right-hander Joey Gerber while non-roster pitchers Brandon Waddell and Mike Baumann were reassigned to minor league camp.
The Mauricio move might be a clue about some other moves the Mets will make to round out their Opening Day roster. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reports that third baseman Bo Bichette will play shortstop tomorrow with the possibility of the Mets beginning the season without a backup shortstop on the bench.
Bichette had been a shortstop for his entire career until recently. He finished the 2025 season on the injured list and missed the beginning of the Blue Jays’ playoff run. The Jays activated him for the World Series even though he clearly wasn’t fully healthy, then had him split his time between second base and designated hitter.
Even before that knee injury, Bichette wasn’t considered a strong defensive shortstop, so a move off the position felt inevitable. The Mets signed him this winter to get his bat in the lineup, even though they already had Francisco Lindor and Marcus Semien as their middle infield tandem. Bichette is going to be the regular third baseman but could perhaps serve as the de facto backup shortstop. Lindor is recovering from hamate surgery but is expected to be ready for the Opening Day roster.
Perhaps the Mauricio demotion is a sign that the Mets are indeed comfortable with that arrangement. The domino effect of that stance is that they could be able to promote prospect Carson Benge and also keep Mike Tauchman.
The Mets seem to have three of four bench spots locked up. Backup catcher Luis Torrens will have one. Corner infielder Mark Vientos should have another. Tyrone Taylor projects as the fourth outfielder. All three of those guys are out of options. Mauricio made sense as the fourth guy on the bench but he’s now out.
All offseason, president of baseball operations David Stearns has said that Benge would have a chance to make the team. As a safety net, they signed Tauchman to a minor league deal and MJ Melendez on a split deal. Melendez has an option and was sent down earlier this week. Benge has done his part to earn a spot, having put up a .406/.472/.500 line this spring. Tauchman has been making the team’s decision tough, putting up a .280/.419/.520 line.
Tauchman can opt out of his deal on March 25th if he’s not on the roster. Given his track record, he would likely trigger that clause and find a job elsewhere. If the Mets want to keep him around, then going with this shortstop plan would be a way to do that. Simultaneously, they could give Benge the regular right field job on Opening Day, keeping the possibility of the Prospect Promotion Incentive on the table.
If that’s the route they go, that could have impacts on others. Utility player Vidal Bruján is on the roster but out of options. The Mets could give him the final bench spot now that Mauricio has been sent down but that would mean letting Tauchman slip away. It’s possible Bruján gets nudged off the roster in the coming days.
As for Mauricio, he was once a notable prospect but his progression has been slowed a bit. He missed the entire 2024 season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He was back on the field in 2025 but was in a bench role for most of the year. He got into 61 big league games and produced a tepid .226/.293/.369 line.
Optioning him to the minors would have the benefit of getting him some regular playing time, something he hasn’t had in a while. However, he has just one option season remaining. If he stays down for at least 20 days, he will be out of options in 2027.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Mike Tauchman Has March 25 Opt-Out In Mets Deal
Outfielder Mike Tauchman is in camp with the Mets on a minor league deal. If the club doesn’t give him a roster spot at the end of camp, he can seek out opportunities elsewhere. Will Sammon of The Athletic reports that Tauchman has a March 25th opt-out in that deal. The Mets start the season on March 26th.
The Mets have two outfield spots spoken for. Juan Soto will be in left field and Luis Robert Jr. in center. The right field job was seemingly left open by design, as the Mets wanted to give prospect Carson Benge a chance to earn a spot. Benge has not yet made his major league debut, so the club needed to have some contingency plans. Tyrone Taylor is on the roster and could step up but he also would be a good fit as a glove-first fourth outfielder. Brett Baty is going to be in a super utility role and will be in the mix as well. Tauchman was brought in to give the Mets another option without taking up a roster spot. MJ Melendez was added to the roster but he has an option remaining and could be sent to Triple-A.
Benge is doing what he can to get the job, with a .367/.406/.433 line in spring so far. That’s held up by an unsustainable .440 batting average on balls in play but it’s encouraging nonetheless. Tauchman is putting up even better numbers. With a .400 BABIP, he has a .333/.481/.619 line in spring action so far.
Sammon floats the idea of both players cracking the roster but also notes it may not be realistic. With Francisco Lindor trending towards being ready on Opening Day, the roster is tight. Backup catcher Luis Torrens will have one of the four bench spots. Taylor and Mark Vientos are out of options and should have two more. The final spot could go to a backup infielder like Ronny Mauricio.
Mauricio does still have an option remaining, so the Mets could send him to Triple-A and add Tauchman to the bench. Doing so would leave them without a bench infielder, so the Mets would have to be comfortable with the versatility of their starters. Second baseman Marcus Semien and third baseman Bo Bichette are both former shortstops, with Bichette being an everyday guy there as recently as last year. Baty can play second and third. Vientos give them some cover at the hot corner. Jorge Polanco is expected to play a lot of first base but he also has recent experience at second and third.
It’s unknown how the Mets feel about that jumble but it’s theoretically possible they could feel comfortable without Mauricio in the mix. If he were sent to Triple-A, he could get some regular playing time, which he hasn’t had for a while. He missed 2024 due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Last year, he was still rehabbing that knee to start the year and then was mostly kept in a bench role once he was healthy. Vidal Bruján is only on the roster and out of options but the Mets may try to get him through waivers.
If the Mets don’t find a spot for Tauchman, he could find one somewhere else. He’s not a star but has been pretty solid for the past three years. Since the start of 2023, he has a combined .255/.359/.381 line, which translates to a 111 wRC+. He doesn’t have huge power but he has drawn walks at a strong 13% clip, while keeping his strikeouts down to a 21.3% clip. His defensive grades have been strong as well. FanGraphs credited him with 4.1 wins above replacement in 310 games over that span.
Despite the solid production, teams have somewhat surprisingly been averse to investing in him. The Cubs non-tendered him after 2024 despite a fairly modest $2.9MM projected salary from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. He spent 2025 with the White Sox and had another decent campaign but he was once again non-tendered, with Swartz projecting a $3.4MM salary.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Grae Kessinger Sidelined By “Significant” Hamstring Injury
Mets infielder Grae Kessinger is dealing with what manager Carlos Mendoza described as “a pretty significant injury” to his hamstring, as relayed by Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Feinsand adds that Mendoza indicated surgery is “on the table” for Kessinger and that his recovery timeline will be at least eight to twelve weeks.
The news is a tough blow for Kessinger, who previously missed nearly all of the 2025 season due to injury. He made his big league debut with the Astros back in 2023 but was designated for assignment by the club shortly after the 2024 campaign. He was plucked off waivers by the Diamondbacks but appeared in just 11 games at Triple-A for the club due to his injury before eventually being released. He did not sign with a new club as he rehabbed that undisclosed injury, but he caught on with the Mets on a minor league deal back in January.
Kessinger was firmly in the mix to be the Mets’ utility infielder off the bench headed into the 2026 campaign. Unfortunately, that won’t be in the cards for him due to this latest injury. The 28-year-old has just 48 games at the big league level under his belt to this point in his career, all of which came as a member of the Astros. It’s difficult to draw conclusions regarding his overall ability from his lifetime .131/.243/.213 slash line at the major league level given that he’s gotten all of 70 plate appearances in the majors spread across two seasons, but a lifetime .268/.370/.400 slash line at Triple-A would certainly indicate that he has a chance to be a passable utility player in the majors.
More details on the specifics of Kessinger’s timeline figure to become available once it’s known whether or not he’ll need to go under the knife or if he can rehab the injury. If he does avoid surgery, the timeline Mendoza mentioned indicates that he could be back in play as a depth option around Memorial Day. In the meantime, other players in the organization will get a shot at backing up the team’s incumbent infielders. With Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien, Bo Bichette, and Brett Baty all set to start regularly between the four infield spots and DH, the utility infield job on the Mets’ bench could wind up coming with a fairly small amount of playing time available.
Still, a big league gig is coveted for any young player or minor league veteran, and the players who figure to battle for the position this spring now that Kessinger is out of commission include other non-roster invitees like Vidal Brujan, Jackson Cluff, and Christian Arroyo. Youngster Ronny Mauricio arguably has a leg up on all of those names given the fact that he’s already on the 40-man roster, but it should be considered that the aforementioned lack of playing time available in the role might make the Mets prefer to play Mauricio regularly at Triple-A. In that case, one of the aforementioned bench pieces seems likely to land the job, with Brujan perhaps being the favorite given his versatility and experience in the outfield.
Mets Prefer Trade Market To Free Agency In Rotation Search
The Mets are still in the market for upgrades to their starting pitching group, but they prefer to bolster the rotation by way of a trade rather than via free agency, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic report.
It’s not exactly a surprising revelation. We’re one month removed from initial reporting that the Mets were reluctant to sign a free agent pitcher to a long-term contract, and the Mets have since shown aversions to long-term deals for incumbent stars like Edwin Diaz and especially Pete Alonso — both of whom have now signed elsewhere. The Mets also traded the remaining five years of Brandon Nimmo‘s contract for three of Marcus Semien. It seems there’s a real push to avoid clogging up the long-term books with many major deals beyond the lengthy commitments to Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor.
It’s worth noting, too, that the Mets are deep in both top prospects and young big leaguers that could be marketed to other clubs. Their farm system is generally regarded as one of the ten best in the game. Following this year’s draft and trade deadline, Baseball America ranked the Mets’ system ninth in the game. MLB.com ranked it seventh. BA counts five Mets prospects (Carson Benge, Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, Jett Williams, Brandon Sproat) among the top 100 in the game. Young infielders Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña are all available in trade talks as well, per Rosenthal and Sammon.
One of the market’s most notable trade candidates, Miami righty Edward Cabrera, came off the board yesterday when he was traded to the Cubs for a three-player package headlined by top young outfielder Owen Caissie. Presumably, the Mets would’ve had to pay an even steeper price as a division rival, but Cabrera’s removal from the market only thins out the supply and creates more urgency among teams still looking for meaningful rotation upgrades (e.g. Mets, Yankees, Orioles, D-backs, Padres).
The Mets have been connected to a handful of possible trade targets this winter. They’ve reportedly spoken to the Padres about Nick Pivetta and to the Brewers about Freddy Peralta. They were also among the teams in on Cabrera and had some interest in Minnesota’s Joe Ryan before the Twins signaled that they’re not planning to move him (or rotation-mate Pablo Lopez). They’ve surely at least checked in on other prominent and under-the-radar names on the market alike.
The Mets went to three years to sign Devin Williams in free agency, acquired three years of Semien and (reportedly) were unwilling to go beyond three years for Pete Alonso. Their free-agent deals with infielder Jorge Polanco and righty Luke Weaver only span a two-year term. There’s been no firm indication that they’re wholly against surpassing three years for any free agent, but that certainly seems to be the team’s comfort zone with additions to the roster.
In fact, since being named president of baseball operations, David Stearns hasn’t committed more than three years to any free agent other than Soto, whose signing was more of an ownership-level move. Stearns’ largest signing after Soto was Sean Manaea, whose three-year, $75MM deal contains more than $23MM in deferred money. Currently, the Mets only have four players on guaranteed contracts in 2028 (Soto, Lindor, Williams, Semien). By 2029, Soto and Lindor are the only two players on the books.
If there’s a reluctance to guarantee players anything into 2029 and beyond, as at least ostensibly seems to the be the case, that’ll make it quite difficult to land any of the top remaining free agent names. The Mets sat down with Framber Valdez back in November, and Rosenthal and Sammon indicate that there’s still some interest there. Of course, signing Valdez would surely require going beyond three years — likely to at least a five-year pact. Ranger Suarez, like Valdez, figures to be looking for at least a five-year deal in free agency. If either pitcher lingers into February or March, perhaps they’ll pivot to a shorter-term deal with opt-out opportunities. Beyond that, a match with the Mets seems hard to envision — at least based on the team’s recent tendencies under the current baseball operations regime.
RosterResource currently projects the Mets for a $294MM payroll and just over $296MM of luxury-tax obligations. That puts the Mets about $8MM shy of the top tier of penalization, which they’ve crossed in each of the past four seasons. They currently owe a 95% tax on any dollars spent up to $304MM worth of tax obligations. From that point on, they’ll be taxed at a 110% rate for every dollar spent.
Mets Making Mark Vientos Available In Trade Talks
The Mets are informing teams that corner infielder/designated hitter Mark Vientos is available in trade conversations, writes Jorge Castillo of ESPN. That aligns with reporting from Will Sammon of The Athletic, who wrote last night that the Mets were willing to discuss each of Vientos, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña.
Vientos looked like a lineup building block at this time last year. The righty-hitting infielder was coming off a 27-homer season in which he’d hit .266/.322/.516 across 454 regular season plate appearances. He was even better in the playoffs, blasting five homers and a pair of doubles while hitting .327 across 13 games. Vientos was a huge reason the Mets made it to the 2024 NL Championship Series. He would have been the heir apparent at first base had Pete Alonso found a robust enough market to price him out of Queens.
Instead, Alonso returned on a short-term deal. That came shortly after the Mets had re-signed Jesse Winker as their designated hitter against right-handed pitching. Vientos moved back to third base, where he has never been a good defender. The numbers were predictably ugly. Defensive Runs Saved had him 10 runs below average in just 556 innings. Statcast had him at six runs below par.
Defensive struggles were to be expected. More surprising is that Vientos’ bat also significantly regressed. He only hit 17 homers with a .233/.289/.413 slash line in a similar amount of playing time as he had in 2024. The underlying numbers were more encouraging. Vientos made hard contact (an exit velocity of 95 MPH or higher) on half his batted balls. He cut his strikeout rate by five percentage points from an alarming 29.7% clip.
He probably didn’t change all that much as a hitter, but the regression suggested his ’24 level of play wasn’t sustainable either. Vientos had a career-high .324 average on balls in play that year. Among hitters with 400+ plate appearances, only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani had seen a higher percentage of their fly balls clear the fences. Vientos has big power but was unlikely to keep that kind of company. As is often the case, his true talent likely lies somewhere in between his numbers of the last two years. He’s an annual threat for 25+ home runs but has a worrying enough plate discipline and contact profile that he’s not going to post strong on-base percentages.
Alonso’s free agent departure opens the door for Vientos to carve out regular first base or DH reps with the Mets. He shouldn’t get much playing time at third base anymore, as the Marcus Semien acquisition pushed Brett Baty firmly to the hot corner. The Mets are in agreement with Jorge Polanco on a two-year, $40MM contract and intend to play him mostly at first base. Polanco’s history of knee issues suggests he’ll probably need a decent number of DH at-bats. They could keep Vientos and have him split playing time with Polanco between those positions.
However, Sammon wrote last night that the Mets are kicking around possibilities to add another bat-first player. Acquiring a left fielder might not impact Vientos’ path to playing time, but bringing in a traditional first baseman or DH would push him out of the projected lineup. He’s out of minor league options, so a trade would seem almost inevitable at that point.
The Mets reportedly discussed Vientos with teams going back to the trade deadline. He was linked to the White Sox as the Mets kicked the tires on Luis Robert Jr., though New York balked at that framework. Robert suffered another injury shortly after the deadline and is now set to make $20MM. It’d be a surprise if the Mets give up four years of control over Vientos for him, even though they could still use a better center fielder than Tyrone Taylor to bridge the gap to prospect Carson Benge.
Acuña and Mauricio have also found themselves in trade rumors for months. Both players’ stocks are down. Acuña, 24 in March, is a good defensive infielder but owns a .248/.299/.341 line in 233 MLB plate appearances. He hasn’t hit much at the Triple-A level either and is out of options. Maybe another team thinks he’d be a Gold Glove caliber shortstop who can fit at the bottom of a lineup, but he increasingly looks like a utility player.
Mauricio is approaching his 25th birthday and coming off a .226/.293/.369 showing over 184 plate appearances. He’s a switch-hitting infielder with huge power but significant plate discipline questions. Mauricio debuted at the end of the 2023 season and missed the entire ’24 campaign after tearing his right ACL in winter ball. He still has an option remaining and is a boom or bust player who probably fits better on a non-contending team that can live with inconsistency at the plate.
Astros Talked With Mets About Jeff McNeil, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio
The Astros are keen on adding left-handed hitting to their righty-heavy lineup, and “at least inquired” with the Mets about the availability of Jeff McNeil, Brett Baty, and switch-hitter Ronny Mauricio, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Since the Mets are known to be open to dealing from their infield depth, a trade between the two sides would seem to make sense on paper, though it isn’t known if the discussions gained any traction.
McNeil is in something of a different category than the other two players, as McNeil is an established big league commodity. In fact, the 33-year-old is again producing above-average offense after a couple of down years, as McNeil is hitting .251/.356/.453 with nine home runs over 265 plate appearances. Between this steady bat and McNeil’s ability to play both second base and all three outfield positions (with a particular focus on center field this year), it is hard to imagine the Mets parting ways with such a key cog in their lineup.
On the financial side of things, McNeil is controlled through 2027 as per the four-year, $50MM extension he signed with New York prior to the 2023 season. He is owed the remainder of his $15.75MM salary for 2025, another $15.75MM in 2026, and there is a $2MM buyout on a $15.75MM club option for 2027. Barring a similar contract heading back to the Mets, a McNeil trade would put the Astros well over the luxury tax threshold, which seemed to be an unofficial spending limit for the club last offseason. Recent reports indicate that Houston might well consider exceeding the tax line in certain circumstances, but bringing McNeil aboard may not qualify.
Landing Baty or Mauricio is perhaps more of a viable option for the Astros, though New York would also want something significant for either player, given their years of team control and their still-recent status as top-100 prospects. Baty has hit only .220/.284/.352 over 865 PA in the majors, however, and perhaps has fallen out of favor after once being viewed as the Amazins’ third baseman of the future. Mauricio has a more respectable .245/.303/.400 slash line from a small sample of 238 career PA, and he is back in action this season after missing the entire 2024 campaign recovering from a torn ACL.
While the two youngsters still have something to prove as big leaguers, the change-of-scenery potential could be attractive to the Astros, as well as Houston’s more immediate near-term needs. The Astros were thin on left-handed hitting even before the heavy swath of injuries that sent seven position players to the IL — Yordan Alvarez, their most prominent lefty-swinger, has now missed close to three months due to a hand fracture.
Jeremy Pena is expected back at shortstop within the next few days, so Baty or Mauricio could be used at second or third base. Isaac Paredes and Brendan Rodgers are also on the IL and not expected back soon, so a new face at second base would move Jose Altuve into left field on a more regular basis, thus addressing Houston’s outfield needs. (GM Dana Brown outlined this possible scenario this past weekend.)