The New York Mets did everything they could do to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Everything.
Steve Cohen flew his private jet to meet him in Japan. He hosted him in his home. He also offered him the largest ever contract for a starting pitcher.
12 years. $325 million. Opt out after five years.
Short of hypnosis, the Mets did all they could. They went above where even the New York Yankees were willing to go. They just couldn’t overcome Yamamoto wanting to join Shohei Ohtani.
The Los Angeles Dodgers matched the Mets offer, and now, Yamamoto chose the Dodgers. If the Dodgers didn’t match, or the Mets were given a chance to match, who knows how this ends?
While we can guess, in the end, Yamamoto is a Dodger. Worse yet, the Mets offseason was structured as Yamamoto or bust. The Mets busted.
The question is where do the Mets go from here. There’s mid rotation options like Jordan Montgomery. Blake Snell is also available, but he isn’t an innings eater.
If the Mets want everyone to forget about the failed Yamamoto pursuit, they could give Pete Alonso an extension. Other than that, the fans will be up in arms over this failed pursuit.
They can also do what they were going to do all along. Cohen waited years for David Stearns, and it’s now time to see what he can do.
Whatever he does, he will be doing it without Yamamoto. Maybe that’s a good thing considering that cost and complete and utter lack of MLB experience.
Yes, that’s sour grapes.
That doesn’t mean the Mets can’t contend. There are still players here. An 84 sim Arizona Diamondbacks team went to the World Series. Just get in, and anything is possible.
That all said, the Mets did all they could. Doesn’t matter. Yamamoto is a Dodger.
While most of my generation grew up with music from the 1980s, I grew up with oldies. 101.1 WCBS FM was always on in the car and the home.
Cousin Bruce. Friday Night 50s. The Beach Boys. That was oddly the music of my youth.
Suddenly, my two worlds converged with two seminal moments. First, it was Kokomo. I had a new Walkman, and the Cocktail soundtrack was the soundtrack of my summer.
Then, soon after, The Beach Boys were on Full House. Uncle Jesse was a big fan, and he toured with them in real life. My first concert was a Beach Boys one at Jones Beach.
These moments were all made possible by the tortured genius of Brian Wilson, the great American song writer. That tortured genius gave us many great songs including his like In My Room where told the world about his struggles.
It all culminated in Pet Sounds, one of the greatest albums of all-time. It is some of the greatest and most beautiful music ever recorded. It forever changed music, and it inspired genius. It would eventually break him
Actually, that’s not entirely correct. In many ways, he was broken. Needed help, but for many reasons, he never quite got the help he needed. It’s something for which we can all sympathize and relate.
For all of that, we got some of the greatest music. To many a great musician, “God Only Knows” is the greatest of them all. Not just for The Beach Boys. For anyone.
Some of my fondest memories of my father was listening to this song and “Wouldn’t it Be Nice” talking about the pure genius of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys.
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard and focused on the bridge of “Wouldn’t it Be Nice.” “Maybe if, we think and wish and hope and pray, it might come true. ue (run, run with you) Baby, then there wouldn’t be a single thing we couldn’t do . . . .”
It’s something I’ve shared with my own children. You always share the things you love with your children, and I love The Beach Boys.
I love the music. I love the memories. I love the relationship I have with it and my father. As his health fails, the death of Brian Wilson hits me harder than it normally would.
The only way to end here is with Brian Wilson’s own words, “Well its been building up inside of me for oh I don’t know how long
I don’t know why, but I keep thinking
something’s bound to go wrong.”
RIP Brian Wilson.
Since being drafted, it was clear the New York Mets organization preferred Brett Baty over Mark Vientos as the third baseman of the future. There were very valid reasons for this, and the Mets organization was far from being alone in that opinion.
That opinion flipped last year. Baty struggled again. Vientos forced his way to the majors and then the starting lineup. He had 27 homers in just 111 games.
He followed that with a great postseason. He hit .327/.362/.636 with two doubles, five homers, and 14 RBI. By and large, it looked like Vientos was going to be the Mets next great power hitter.
Well, Vientos has always been a slow starter, and this year was no exception. Couple that with nagging injuries and a hamstring landing him on the IL, and the door was open for Baty to Wally Pipp him.
Baty had a strong spring, and he had a promising start to the year before an unfortunate demotion to Syracuse. That was a pure numbers game, but we’d see him called back up after the Jesse Winker injury.
In his first 15 games after the call up, Baty hit .326/.356/.698 with a double, five homers, and 13 RBI. He started to take over the third base job from Vientos. Again, with Vientos’ injury, Baty had a chance to claim the position for good.
Things haven’t quite worked out that way.
After that first 15 game stretch, Baty followed that with a 14 game stretch that saw him hit .170/.231/.277 with a triple, homer, and six RBI. Those numbers are worse when you consider that includes six games against the Colorado Rockies, who are making the 1962 Mets look like the 1927 Yankees.
We can argue those are just two different stretches – a hot streak and a cold steak. That’s a fair point. However, the broader picture isn’t promising for Baty.
On the season, Baty has a 97 wRC+. His career is a 77 wRC+. Even with that brutal error against the Dodgers, he’s been good defensively. However, to carry his bat, he needs to be Gold Glove caliber, and he’s certainly not that.
This isn’t to say he’s not a Major Leaguer. He is one. There’s a spot for his ability to play second and third and for him to hit against right-handed pitching. It seems his ceiling is the strong side platoon, and to reach his full potential, he will need to learn some outfield and possibly first base.
Complicating things for Baty is Ronny Mauricio. Mauricio was hitting .515 in Syracuse before he was recalled. After an initial 0-for-11, he’s red hot going five for his next eight with a double and homer. He also walked twice and stole two bases.
Notably, Mauricio was a shortstop in the minors, and the Mets still aren’t sure where he should play at the Major League level. At the moment, third base is the only open spot.
With Mauricio being a switch hitter, he doesn’t need a platoon partner. While he’s swinging a hot bat, he should be in the lineup.
With Jeff McNeil also swinging a hot bat, it looks like we will be seeing less and less of Baty. With the Mets getting good news on Vientos’ hamstring, it looks like Baty has missed his chance.
It’s now Mauricio’s turn. He has his own issues, but those can emerge and be discussed while we wait on Vientos.
We don’t know when Vientos will get healthy or get back to his 2024 form. What we can say is Baty hasn’t taken advantage of his opportunity and may never be the player we’d hope he’d be.
Being a New York Met is just different. It’s still the New York market, but it’s a different type of pressure which takes more adjustment than we all realize.
Think of every great Mets player signed in free agency or obtained in a trade.
Mike Piazza was booed for his early struggles with the Mets. Carlos Beltrán’s first year with the Mets was a disaster, and he was booed on Opening Day the following year.
Francisco Lindor had a tough first year. He was uncharacteristically unhappy with him taking a hit for the thumbs down drama.
Curtis Granderson went from the New York Yankees to the Mets. Granderson flourished with the Yankees only to mightily struggle his first year with the Mets.
In year two, Granderson led the Mets to a pennant. He became very good and beloved Met. He may be instructive for Juan Soto.
At the moment, Soto looks like he’s going to have his worst year since his first year in San Diego. The lack of hustle is starting to become an issue. Mostly, he’s just not Soto.
Look, it’s not just the hitting. We’re not seeing the smile or that Soto shuffle. Part of that can be adjustment. Part can be he’s fighting through a slump. Maybe it’s the weight of the contract.
Per Michael Kay, he says it’s because Soto really wanted to be a Yankee, and he’s not happy being a Met. He went on to say he wanted to be a Yankee, but he went to the Mets because that’s what his family wanted.
Now, we can’t challenge Kay because he said the Mets sources he got it from will just deny it like they should.
To some degree, this is just piggybacking other reporting. Bob Klapisch of nj.com reported the Mets were concerned Soto wasn’t showing enthusiasm for being a Met, and that Soto seemed his happiest meeting up with his former Yankee teammates during the Subway Series. He said of Soto, “The man is downright miserable.”
Andy Marino of SNY reported Soto was having his issues adjusting to life as a Met, and he has had Starling Marte help him adjust. Unlike Kay or Klapish, Martino didn’t use the story to draw conclusions
Here’s what we know. Soto is struggling, and on the surface, he appears unhappy. Before rushing to conclusions, ask yourself one question – Have you ever seen a baseball player in a bad slump looking happy?
Take Pete Alonso. He’s having an MVP caliber start to the 2025 season. He made bad throwing errors in consecutive games. He threw his glove and was visibly upset in the Mets dugout.
Struggling players are fundamentally unhappy. When they stop struggling, they’re more at ease and more themselves.
We can all try to pinpoint why Soto is struggling. We can blame his family. We can make up whatever nonsense we want.
The truth is no one knows why Soto is struggling. Odds are Soto hasn’t quite figured it out himself because if he did, he probably would’ve fixed it.
Soto is a great player. He’s a future Hall of Famer. Stop playing pop psychologist and assign blame. Baseball is hard, and even the greatest struggle.
Soto will be great because he is great. We will eventually forget this stretch and laugh at those pretending to be informed.
In the end, the New York Mets never walked away from Pete Alonso. They offered him one of two deals allowing Alonso to pick one.
Rather than take the three year $71 million deal, Alonso chose the two year $54 million deal with an opt out after the first year.
Looking at it, it’s effectively a one year deal unless Alonso completely craters. Alonso gets $30 million the first year, and he can repeat this process again.
We know Alonso already bet on himself once and lost badly. That seven year $158 deal is gone forever. Maybe if he’s great this year, he could beat it.
Here’s the thing, the 2025 season will likely be it for the Mets and Alonso.
We already know the Mets were actively pursuing Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. on the trade market. They’ve always been pursuing him.
They almost signed him in international free agency long ago, and instead settled for his cousin Gregory Guerrero. During the last IFA, they signed his half-brother.
The worst kept secret in baseball is the Mets will be all out for Guerrero like they were for Juan Soto this offseason. It’s the right decision for the Mets as Guerrero is younger and better than Alonso.
With Guerrero not available for now, the Mets opted for Alonso. It was either him or move Mark Vientos to first so they could pursue Alex Bregman. That plan never materialized, and in reality, was not seriously pursued.
The Mets are giving Alonso the chance to surpass Darryl Strawberry for the team’s all-time HR record. With Alonso behind by 26, he should move to the franchise lead.
Mostly, the Mets are giving Alonso the chance to win the World Series. This should be the best Mets team of his career. If he repeats his postseason heroics, the Mets just might win in 2025.
The Mets are also allowing Alonso to rebuild his value with a safety net. They’re giving him a large pay raise in 2025 to allow him to save some face.
Mostly, the Mets sent a message about the type of organization this is. They could’ve easily walked away and left Alonso in a lurch. Instead, they showed their loyalty and willingness to take care of their own. That probably goes a long way in the future as they pursue other free agents.
Ultimately, the 2025 season should be the last one for Alonso and the Mets. Hopefully, Alonso has a better contract year this time. More than that, let’s hope he leaves with a World Series.
Multiple things can be true at once. In no way should anyone expect Jose Iglesias to repeat his 2024 season or come even close.
That said, the Mets should bring him back for the 2025 season.
Iglesias was a shocking revelation in 2024. In 85 games, he hit .337/.381/.448. That was good for a career best 137 wRC+.
Most of his damage came against left-handed pitching. Over 101 plate appearances, he had an astounding 184 wRC+ against left-handed pitching.
It’s a small sample size for sure, but Iglesias has always fared well against left-handed pitching with a 110 wRC+ over his career.
It’s an important consideration with Jeff McNeil struggling against left-handed pitching in his career. McNeil had a 78 wRC+ against lefties last year and a 104 over the past three years.
Iglesias has been better against left-handed pitching than McNeil. Having both allows Carlos Mendoza to have a platoon and/or late game flexibility. He can find the matchups he wants by having both players.
There’s also the Pete Alonso factor. Right now, Alonso is unsigned, and the way it looks now, he will not be a Met in 2025. As part of the planning for that potentially happening, Mark Vientos will likely move to first.
If the Mets cannot make another move, it would mean yet another chance for Brett Baty. If he fails, maybe Ronny Mauricio, who is returning from a torn ACL. Maybe not.
Whatever the case, Iglesias is a nice insurance policy. He can be a right-handed bat who shields the young players from the tough lefties. He could also take over at third if needed.
Iglesias has always been a very good fielder. He can absolutely handle third as a stop gap until the Mets add someone at the trade deadline. If Iglesias hits somewhere close to a 100 wRC+, he could hold the position all year.
There’s also his presence in the clubhouse. He was a very well liked player by teammates and fans alike. The OMG song and sign was a massive part of the 2024 success story.
It wouldn’t feel right seeing him taking that to another team. It’s forever part of Mets lore, and the good vibes there should carry forward for at least another season.
If Alonso returns or leaves, theres a role here for Iglesias. The Mets would benefit from his presence and more OMG. Iglesias was a significant part of the success story of the 2024 season and can be that again in 2025.
This just may be me, but for the life of me, I’ve never understood the obsession with the 1987 New York Mets road jerseys. It lasted one year, and it probably should’ve remained that way.
First of all, that 1987 season was as disappointing as any in Mets history. It started with the Dwight Gooden steroid suspension and didn’t get much better from there.
The defending World Series champions that we were hoping were on the precipice of a dynasty fell apart. Basically every starter was injured at some point, and every returning starter not named Darryl Strawberry had a down year.
It’s a matter of personal taste, but they also aren’t as aesthetically pleasing as the traditional Tiffany font road jerseys. Yet, there are some ardent fans of that jersey, and now, we see some form of a return to those jerseys.
Honestly, these are better with the blue than the gray. Still, it’s a little too monotone. Maybe if the New York was all orange, they’d be better, but maybe not.
The old blue alternates had the gray lettering with the orange outline, and those were very well received. Maybe that would’ve been better.
Then again, I’m a dad. I’m not who the Mets are targeting with these even if it’s a callback to my youth when I watched the Mets.
To that point, my kids LOVE them. They think they’re awesome. I’ve already received requests for a Juan Soto or Francisco Lindor one.
Who am I kidding? They want both just like they wanted one of every Met for the city connect jerseys. To that end, the jerseys are a MASSIVE success.
The Mets want to create jerseys people want to go out and buy. If my kids love them, then I’m probably going to buy them one eventually.
So, while I’m not a big fan, it doesn’t matter. I’m buying two. Maybe three when the kids want me to have one to match them.
With the New York Mets pursuing Roki Sasaki, the team was indicating they’re looking towards a six man rotation. They’re also looking for starting pitching depth.
While there are internal options like Griffin Canning and Paul Blackburn, the Mets could turn to the free agent market. One name that stands out there is former Met Max Scherzer.
Scherzer, 40, is not the prime target he was when the Mets signed him back in 2021. Rather, he’s a future Hall of Famer looking for one last chance to win, one last chance for glory before he retires.
The Mets could present that. However, the question is what could Scherzer present to the Mets at this stage of his career.
For starters, Scherzer provides a veteran presence and competitive edge. As detailed by Mike Puma of the New York Post, Scherzer served as a mentor to the younger Mets pitchers, and the Mets thrived in 2022 as a result.
In many ways, Scherzer acted as an extension of Jeremy Hefner. There’s real value there as the Mets look to make Frankie Montas this year’s version of Luis Severino. They’re also trying to reclimate Canning, and hopefully, we will soon see Brandon Sproat.
This is all well and good, but this is also why the Mets have Hefner. It’s also why Steve Cohen has invested so much money in analytics. It doesn’t matter at all if Scherzer is done.
Fortunately, it appears Scherzer has something left in the tank. In an injury riddled season, he had a 101 ERA+, 4.18 FIP, and an 8.3 K/9. There are numbers there to justify him as a fifth starter.
Looking at his Baseball Savant page, Scherzer can still miss bats. It’s not at the same rate as his prime or even two years ago. Fortunately, even when opposing batters make contact, he’s limiting the damage.
Yes, he’s injury prone now. It may sound odd to say, but that does somewhat help the Mets. It would give a chance for a Canning or Sproat to prove themselves.
In essence, Scherzer buys the Mets time. It’s time for the younger starters. It’s time for Montas to figure it out. It’s time between starts for Kodai Senga.
Scherzer pitched well for the Mets when his body let him. He was the co-ace they needed. Now, they need a placeholder and veteran staff leader. Once again, he’s a perfect fit.
Go back to October 3, 2024. It’s a deciding Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series. No one knew what was going to happen, but New York Mets fans were convinced Pete Alonso would not be a factor in the game.
Check that. Mets fans wouldn’t have been surprised by a big error or strikeout. We just didn’t think it’d be a big hit. Fortunately, Alonso proved us wrong.
Up until that point, Mets fans were very okay with Alonso walking in free agency, and they were increasingly vocal about it. It’s not thar anyone truly wanted Alonso gone. It’s just that it seemed to be the right time.
As luck would have it, Alonso would have a good postseason. He’d hit three more homers and was one of the driving forces of the Mets surprising run.
Behind that run was a lackluster 2024 season. He had a career low in homers, RBI, SLG, OPS+, and WAR for a full 162 game season. He also posted the second most strikeouts in his career.
The barrel rates and exit velocities are trending in the wrong direction. He had a career worst OAA. He’s become a worse base runner.
This wasn’t just the pressures of a contract year or wanting to do better than the Mets extension offer. This is a negative trend with Alonso having turned 30.
The calls to bring Alonso back started with a fervor when Juan Soto was signed. Somehow people believe Alonso, and only Alonso, can protect Soto in the lineup.
Put that nonsense aside. The question is what makes the most sense.
Short term, it’s worth keeping Alonso. Let’s see if the decline is a blip. It’s worth the investment. After all, Alonso plays everyday and works tirelessly to improve as a player.
Long term? That just seems like it’s a risk not worth taking.
Taking the fan perspective, this may be the exact right time for Alonso to leave. No, fans don’t want him to leave. Rather, it’s the right time.
No one. Absolutely no one wants to ever be in a position to boo Alonso or beg the Mets to release him. Alonso has been special to fans, and to be put in that position would be cruel.
That is the exact risk in giving Alonso a big deal. The risk is the decline is real, and the fans will want him gone.
If Alonso leaves today, everyone will have fond memories of Alonso. The recording setting rookie season. The Home Run Derbies. LFGM. The homer off Devin Williams.
It would be a fond farewell instead of a good riddance. To a certain extent, it’s what’s best for both sides. It may just be time for Alonso to leave even if it’s impossible to imagine Alonso in another uniform.
There are examples where narratives take hold, and it seems to be the case with CC Sabathia. As a player, he was viewed upon as a future Hall of Famer, and he went in on the first ballot.
The average Hall of Fame starting pitcher has a 73.0 WAR, 49.9 WAR7, and a 61.5 JAWS. He averaged a 4.5 WAR per 162 games.
Sabathia fell short of all those marks. He was a 62.3 WAR, 39.4 WAR7, and a 50.8 JAWS while averaging a 3.8 WAR per 162 games. Looking at the numbers, Sabathia was a borderline Hall of Famer, not a first ballot guy.
Look at David Cone, a Hall of Fame case previously made on this site. Cone and Sabathia have an identical WAR with Cone having a better WAR7, JAWS, and WAR per 162 games.
Cone also had a superior ERA+ FIP, and K/9. Cone was a far superior postseason pitcher with a perfect game to his name. Despite all this, Cone fell off the ballot after one year.
Think about that. Cone, the superior pitcher, fell off the ballot after one year while Sabathia was a first ballot inductee. This is either narrative taking hold or standards changing.
Cone is far from the only example. Of course, we can point to Curt Schilling, but we know Schilling not being inducted is partially the result of his post playing days behavior.
We can make a case for Jim McCormick, but he played the entirety of his career in the 1800s. Without more research, making his Hall of Fame case is disingenuous.
There’s Luis Tiant, who was also a better pitcher than Sabathia.
Tiant had a superior WAR, WAR7, JAWS, and WAR/162. While he had a lower ERA+, he did have a superior FIP. Now, with a better understanding of the game, he likely would’ve garnered at least one Cy Young and more All-Star appearances.
Tiant was also a signature player with his wild delivery. He’s also one of the first big Cuban stars in a shaky history between American and Cuban baseball. He’d never reach 40% of the vote when he was on the ballot.
Mark Buehrle has a better ERA than Sabathia, and like Cone, has thrown a perfect game. Buehrle was a different style pitcher, a sinker ballet who pitched to contact. He’d back that up winning five Gold Gloves.
As a previous analysis on this site noted Buehrle was a true workhorse who threw 200 innings 14 straight years. All told, he has an interesting Hall of Fame case, but he only received 11.4% of the vote.
Johan Santana had a far superior ERA+ and FIP. He had more Cy Youngs, a pitching triple crown, three ERA titles, and a Gold Glove. Partially the result of an injury shortened career, he fell off the ballot after his first try.
All told, there were better pitchers than Sabathia who never came close to the Hall of Fame. Some didn’t last a year, and really, many were never truly analyzed or considered.
This is not to take anything away from Sabathia. He had a great career, and he deserved induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
To take it a step further, knowing how he battled and overcame alcoholism, his induction was necessary. It’s a true testament to the person and pitcher he is. We need more Sabathias in the Hall of Fame, and in reality, we need more in society.
All that said, from a pure baseball perspective, his induction on the first ballot demands we take a look at pitchers who were dismissed. We should start with Cone and go from there.
When you look back at Billy Wagner’s career, we can now say it was a Hall of Fame career. He’s second all-time in saves among left-handed relievers, and his K/9 was the best all-time.
There are many moments we can pinpoint in his career worth highlighting. Perhaps, his best moment was August 20, 2009.
In September 2008, with the New York Mets in the heat of a battle for the postseason, Wagner needed Tommy John. Typically, that surgery has players sit out at least a year.
For the Mets, the 2009 seaaon was an unmitigated disaster. Citi Field was not well received, and the team on the field made matters worse.
Remember, this was the year of Luis Castillo dropping the pop up. The less said about this, the better.
Point is the Mets were dreadful. They entered August 49-53, 9.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies. By August 20, the Mets were 13.5 games back.
Despite this, Wagner fought to return. In less than a year removed from Tommy John, he pitched a scoreless inning against the Atlanta Braves allowing no hits or walks while striking out two.
From there, Wagner would make one more scoreless appearance for the Mets before being traded to the Boston Red Sox Red Soxin what was really a salary dump trade. (Apologies to Chris Carter). He’d pitch one more year at a high level before retiring.
This moment shows us why Wagner was a Hall of Famer. He did whatever he needed to do to beat the odds. He forced his way on the field and was dominating.
This is what you expect from a naturally right-handed pitcher who learned to throw left-handed after breaking his dominant arm twice. You expect that from a 5’10” pitcher hitting triple digits on the gun.
Wagner will likely go in the Hall of Fame as a Houston Astro, as he should. However, he showed us all his best as a Met. He recorded his only three postseason saves with the team, and he made his superhuman return from Tommy John.
Wagner will always be a Met even if he’s an Astro in Cooperstown. We’ll remember the “Enter the Sandman” intro, that great 2006 team, and his fight. He did all he could to beat great and help the team.
He did that in his four years in New York, and every Mets fan is grateful he was a Met. Hopefully, he will get a day at Citi Field honoring his well deserved accomplishment.
Congratulations Billy Wagner.