Musings
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.
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.
Everywhere you listen, they say Pete Alonso is a must sign for the New York Mets. The theory is he’s the big bat who can protect Juan Soto in the lineup.
The protection theory is all well and good, but we need to stop pretending Alonso is anywhere near the level of Aaron Judge. For the rest of his career, Soto will never have the level of protection he had with the New York Yankees.
Taking a step further, Alonso is in no way going to force teams to pitch to Soto. They’re not taking their chances with Soto to avoid Alonso.
Put another way, Soto is not your excuse for Alonso.
That’s not to say Alonso wouldn’t help this team. He’s a 40 HR bat who would slot in well in the lineup. With as studious as he can be, he may well benefit from being able to share notes with Soto.
That said, we can’t pretend Alonso is the only option remaining this offseason. For a point of reference, he’s coming off a 121 wRC+, and he had a 122 wRC+ the previous season.
Internally, Brandon Nimmo has a 119 wRC+. If teams are pitching around Soto to get to Nimmo, they know have a pitcher not throwing strikes facing a hitter with a great eye. Soto followed by Nimmo is an instant rally.
If you want the power quotient, look no further than Mark Vientos. He’s coming off a breakout season with a 133 wRC+. In fact, he was a better hitter than Alonso and may very well continue to be that for the next decade.
Of course, the Mets need someone at either first or third. Vientos would be better at first giving the Mets some other options.
Alex Bregman is still a free agent. Over the last three years, he has a 122 wRC+, and he’s a far superior defender. In an overall picture, the Mets don’t lose with the bat, and they get better in the field.
On the trade market, Nolan Arenado is still available. He also presents a superior glove, but he has slipped offensively with a 104 wRC+ over the past two years.
With Arenado, we’re obviously looking at Vientos and/or Nimmo as protection in the lineup for Soto. The Mets can also have the option to move Nimmo back to lead off with Francisco Lindor as Soto’s protection.
There’s also the possibility Francisco Álvarez emerges. Of course, while the Mets would like for that to happen, they can’t make hope their plan.
The plan should be something concrete. There are definite options beyond just Alonso.
For Alonso, the real question is what is he thinking? He turned down a seven year $158 million offer, and he doesn’t seem to be able to reach anything near that this offseason.
There’s also the rumored three year $90 million deal he turned down from the Mets. The discourse is he wants more years but also wants to remain a Met.
At some point, there’s just no avenue for Alonso to be a Met anymore, and maybe, it’s just pride. He can’t handle accepting fewer years, or he wanted better money. Who knows?
Whatever the case, he may feel it’s better to take a short term deal for a high AAV with another team. This way, he’s not taking less from the Mets that they once offered.
Put another way, the Mets need to prepare for Alonso being too frustrated and accepting a deal elsewhere. They need to fully assess all of their options and do what is best for 2025 and beyond.
Whatever the case, it’s not Alonso or bust. It’s whatever makes the Mets better. Fortunately, there are still plenty of good viable options.
In the 121 years Major League Baseball had existed, you know you have to be truly great to be considered the best at anything. For Rickey Henderson, he was the undisputed greatest at two things: (1) stealing bases, (2) leadoff hitter.
Sadly, as immortal as he was as a baseball player, he was still a mortal man. Sadly, he had died at the age of 65 after battling pneumonia.
With Rickey, there is so much to discuss with his Hall of Fame career. He’s the all-time leader in runs and stolen bases. He has over 3,000 hits. He was the 1990 AL MVP and a two time World Series champion.
There was the funny story with the Mets where he walked up to John Olerud to tell him he had a teammate in Toronto who also wore his helmet in the field. That player, of course, was John Olerud.
That story may or may not be true, but it was quintessential Rickey.
When it comes to his Mets tenure, Rickey was a very important part of a team that captured Mets fans hearts. Steve Phillips and the Mets took a chance the 40 year old still had something in the tank, and boy, did he deliver.
In what was the last big year of his storied career, he had a .423 OBP and stole 37 bases. More than that, he was a mentor for a team looking to take the next step. He’d help Roger Cedeño set the Mets then single season stolen base record (66).
More than his mentorship, he came up big when needed. That included his great performance in the NL Wild Card Tiebreaker game.
He’d follow that with a great postseason. He hit .400 with a .500 OBP against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS. It shouldn’t be a surprise he was great as he was always a clutch player.
In some ways, Bobby Valentine helped coax Rickey’s last great year by finding him spots to rest. What it did was create unrest. Rickey would force his way away from the Mets in 2000.
While it seemed he quit on the Mets, he never quit on baseball. When teams didn’t want to sign him, he played in the Independent Leagues waiting for Major League teams to call (they would).
Imagine loving baseball that much. A future Hall is Famer, the greatest leadoff hitter of all-time, playing with has beens and never will bes just because he loved the game that much.
Rickey always had an ego (well deserved), but his ego wouldn’t stand in the way of his playing the game he loved. He played baseball until no one would have him play. His career spanned until he was 44.
Eventually, Rickey lost that fight and retired. Sadly, he lost the fight for his life as well. Despite losing those fights, he wins because Rickey is immortal.
He’s enshrined in Cooperstown. He’s the stolen base king and best lead-off hitter of all-time. People remember him for that and his talking about himself in the third person, and the great stories.
We’ve been lucky to be able to see Rickey at his best. We’re lucky to have experienced his greatness. We’re lucky because even in death his legend will never die.
The commentary when the New York Mets signed Francisco Lindor was he was grossly overpaid. That was a narrative screamed all over the airwaves, and it was at its most intense during Lindor’s early season slump.
Of course, the narrative was always false, and as usual, it had a twinge of #lolMets to it. With his near MVP season leading the Mets to the NLCS, Lindor shut that narrative up . . . for now.
Enter Juan Soto.
Soto received a MLB record 15 year $765 million contract. That carries a $51 million AAV. It’s a staggering number, and when he’s paid more than Shohei Ohtani, you’re allowed to question the disparity.
We can point out Soto is four years younger and just now entering his prime years. We can discuss Soto’s durability against Ohtani’s injury history. There’s more to contemplate, but it’s all a pointless exercise.
Determining whether or not Soto is overpaid is directly tied to the value he brings the team.
Each offseason had its own trends, but over the past six seasons, teams have paid roughly $7.6 million per 1 WAR. As a result, for Soto to be worth the deal, he would have to produce a 6.7 WAR per season.
On that note, Soto is coming off a season with a 7.9 WAR. Two of his past four seasons have exceeded 7.0 WAR. If Soto produces at this level during the peak years of his deal, he’s exceeding the AAV paid to him.
Of course, the $7.6 million is an average. We have twice seen the value surpass $9 million. At a $9 million valuation, Soto would only need to average a 5.7 WAR to be worth the deal.
Of course, this presumes WAR/$ doesn’t increase with increased revenues in baseball. As the WAR/$ increases, Soto’s production need not be at the 5-7 WAR value to be worth the deal.
Of course, the Mets signed him to be exactly that. As seen with pure hitters like Yordan Alvarez, Edgar Martinez, and Frank Thomas a hitter of Soto’s caliber can absolute produce that value.
Yes, this presupposes Soto will hit like a Hall of Famer. That’s what he’s done in his career, and there is zero expectation he will suddenly cease being that.
Look, the Mets signed Ted Williams. With apologies to Darryl Strawberry, the Mets finally landed the next Ted Williams.
There’s knowledge that comes with being that level of a hitter. As Soto discussed in his press conference, his discussions with Aaron Judge made both better.
Notably, it was the best years of Soto’s and Judge’s careers. It’s a relationship Soto can now have with Lindor. Moreover, think of the impact Soto can have on Francisco Álvarez and Mark Vientos.
There’s also the message adding a player like Soto sends to the rest of the league. Look at the Mets back at Pedro Martinez in the 2004 offseason. It paved the way for Carlos Beltran and eventually Billy Wagner.
Was Pedro worth his contract? Well, partially thanks to Jeff Wilson, certainly not. However, it was a move which made the Mets relevant, and it led to helping the Mets acquire players which would nearly lead to a pennant.
The Mets arguably already had that with Lindor. However, acquiring Soto pushes things even further. It puts the team on par with the Los Angeles Dodgers and their three MVPs.
The Mets are at a completely different level now. They haven’t been here since the 1980s. The Mets are now set to have a decade plus run as a World Series contender.
Lindor brought relevance. Soto takes the Mets to a new level entirely. Yes, Soto’s production will mostly likely be worth $51 million per year. The extra intangibles he brings means he will assuredly be worth every single last penny of the deal.
The St. Louis Cardinals are doing a “reset” and looking to part with some of their biggest contracts. As part of that, they’re looking to trade Nolan Arenado, who has named six teams he’s be willing to be traded.
One of those teams is the New York Mets. There’s a lot to consider when contemplating such a trade.
First, Arenado has three years $64 million remaining on his deal for whoever obtains him. The three years are broken down as $27 million (2025), $22 million (2026), and $15 million (2027). That’s not an onerous contract for the Mets.
Addressing Pete Alonso for a second, he turned down a 7 year $158 deal ($22.6 million AAV). As such, he’s likely going to carry a higher cost over the next three years than Arenado.
In theory, executing an Arenado trade would be cheaper than re-signing Alonso. As a result, the Mets could free up money to do other things like sign Sean Manae and rebuild their bullpen (again).
Before getting there, let’s analyze what Arenado is and is not; what he would do for the Mets.
First and foremost, Arenado brings defense. No, he’s not the otherworldly defender he was three years ago. He’s regressed into merely being ONLY the third best defensive third baseman in the game.
That addresses a major problem the Mets had. Mark Vientos’ bat was a revelation which took the Mets to new heights. His glove was better than advertised but still not good.
Vientos was the fifth worst defensive third baseman. Moving him to first already improves the Mets defensively. Replacing him with Arenado is like going from the discovery of the wheel directly to a race car.
Arenado and Francisco Lindor would immediately become the best defensive left side of the infield in the game. It could rival Rey Ordoñez and Robin Ventura. It would be that great.
A defensive upgrade like that makes the pitching staff better. With David Stearns optimizing run prevention, this would seem like the perfect move.
It’s far from a no brainer. After all, if you’re going to part ways with Alonso, you better be sure it’s the right decision.
The biggest hesitation with Arenado is the bat. He will be 34 on Opening Day, and he’s clearly in decline.
In 2022, Arenado posted a career best 149 wRC+. In the subsequent two years, he’s posted a 106 and a 102.
He’s coming off a year with a career worst in nearly every offensive metric. He barely barreled any pitches (3.2%), and he had a career low exit velocity. Both appear part of a career decline.
Simply put, he’s not hitting the ball hard anymore. He’s a league average hitter, and in all likelihood, he will soon be a below average hitter.
Now, Arenado’s defense is at a point where it can offset the dip in offense. He will likely be a productive player, and with his salaries deceasing, he should fulfill his contract.
Still, Alonso is a far superior hitter. In a down year, he had a 122 wRC+. He still has game changing power as evidenced in the NL Wild Card Series. Part of the issue for the 30 year old is how many more years he has as a premier slugger.
In an ideal world, the Cardinals would take back Starling Marte in a trade. However, it’s hard to see the Cardinals taking back a 36 year old right fielder making $20.75 million.
That could be the case even if the Mets were also willing to take on Steven Matz and his $12.5 million contract. As an aside, Matz would help in the bullpen.
If the deal makes sense, the Mets should go get Arenado. He will make them better. He probably raises the ceiling more than Alonso would. That all said, if the Mets go this route they better be right.
The New York Mets landed Juan Soto, and it just seems like everything got crazier. The starting pitching market is starting to heat up, and the team is going to be pushed to sign Sean Manae or look elsewhere.
If not, Manae, then who? Walker Buehler? Wait out Roki Sasaki?
Oh, and by the way, are the Mets going to be able to keep Pete Alonso?
While this is all happening, the Mets have yet to address their biggest need – the bullpen.
The bullpen was easily the Mets biggest weakness in 2024. It almost cost the team a chance of being competitive, and later, it almost cost them a chance of making the postseason.
By and large, the biggest disparity between the Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers was their respective bullpens. The Dodgers rode theirs to a World Series, and they annihilated the Mets bullpen en route to winning.
As we know, the Mets are set at closer with Edwin Díaz. Now, they need to work on building the bridge to him.
Ryne Stanek served that role extremely well in the postseason. He had only allowed one earned over his first 5.2 innings, and he had that incredible 2.1 inning appearance in Game 5 of the NLCS picking up the win.
He’s won a World Series with the 2022 Houston Astros. Overall, he has a 2.89 postseason ERA going 4-0 with a 0.821 WHIP and a 9.3 K/9.
He’s a clutch postseason reliever. For Mets fans of old, it’s reminiscent of Dennis Cook. With the goal being to win the World Series, you want Stanek in your bullpen.
Now, the regular season has been a different story. Truth be told, he had a bad 2024, and that included his 6.06 ERA in 17 appearances with the Mets.
Still, he is a quality reliever with a career 114 ERA+. Also, as noted by Eno Sarris of The Athletic, Stanek is one of the best relievers available per that Stuff+ metric.
As noted by Fangraphs, Stuff+ “aims to capture the “nastiest” pitches in baseball, using a decision tree-based model to capture the nonlinear relationships that exist across release points, velocities, pitch movement, and more.” Read the article for more detail.
This is again where Jeremy Hefner factors into the equation. He’s long been a good pitching coach, but this past season was likely his best. He did wonders across the pitching staff. That included his work with Stanek.
Stanek has always had great stuff. He’s at his best in the big moments. He’s shown he can handle the stage. He’s everything the Mets need and want, and the team should make sure to keep him.
Let’s be honest for a moment. When Steve Cohen purchased the New York Mets from the Wilpons, he never said he was going to have the highest payroll in baseball.
That was just our assumption. Actually, it was our prayers. We felt like we deserved it after the Wilpons austerity.
What Cohen did say was he planned to emulate the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’s officially done that. He just had to bide his time.
Where the Dodgers hired Andrew Friedman, the Mets have David Stearns. Where the Dodgers traded and extended Mookie Betts, the Mets did that with Francisco Lindor.
Now, where the Dodgers got Shohei Ohtani, the Mets landed Juan Soto.
The Dodgers got to be THE destination. Look, Ohtani was only considering the Dodgers. We can argue whether he coordinated with Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Looking back, Yamamoto seemed like the test of Cohen’s power. The Mets were all-in on him and gave him the biggest offer. To be fair, the Dodgers matched the Mets offer.
It also isn’t like players had spurned the Mets. Both Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander eagerly joined the Mets after receiving big contracts.
People can laugh at those deals all they want, but it worked out well for the Mets. Scherzer helped lead the Mets to the postseason. Moreover, the Mets have already benefitted from the trades with Luisangel Acuña being an important contributor down the stretch in 2025.
The Mets are being built the way you build a team that will be good and relevant for the next decade and beyond.
This plan really started in 2023 when Stearns took the helm. The decision to sit back and see what was here actually paid massive dividends.
Pitchers want to come here now with Sean Manae’s career reaching new heights, Luis Severino saving his career. Laugh at Grimace all you want, but that, the OMG, and the winning (mostly the winning) make the team something that made players want to be a Met.
This isn’t about poaching Soto from the New York Yankees. It’s not a big brother-little brother thing. It’s about making the Mets the best team in New York and perhaps all of baseball.
As Jeff Passan of ESPN said, “I think Juan Soto looked at the New York Mets’ future … and believed that the Mets have a better future than Yankees.”
Yes, the Mets have Lindor and Brandon Nimmo. They also have budding stars in Francisco Álvarez and Mark Vientos. Just imagine for a second the stratosphere Soto and his hitting genius can help take Alvarez and Vientos.
The Mets are set to win in 2025 because of what was already at Citi Field. This is an NLCS team who just added Soto.
Maybe the Mets win in 2025. Maybe they don’t. The National League is still a gauntlet with the Dodgers, Braves, Phillies, and Padres.
Still, the Mets have one of the best teams in baseball with high level talent from the minors on the way. This team is special and will be a special one for years to come.
For those of you who don’t remember the 1980s, even with them winning just once, the Mets were THE team. They’re on the path to being that again.
That started with Cohen. It continues with Soto. Promises are being fulfilled, and our wildest dreams are coming true.
There was a time WFAN was the best talk radio station in New York. Probably America. We can pinpoint different moments it started to fall apart.
Dom Imus’ Rutgers scandal probably led to where we are. That was a factor in Mike and the Mad Dog eventually splitting. It brought on Craig Carton which began the tone of the station.
Gone was pure sports talk. Now, it was sensationalism. Pure shtick replaced debate and discussion. It’s been all downhill from that.
That brings us to McPherson. If you’ve heard him, he’s a troll. Mets fans are his favorite targets, but in sum, he’s a troll.
Then, there’s Jon Heyman. He’s an easy target with his typo ridden tweets. He’s seen as a Scott Boras lackey sending out info to help give Boras leverage in negotiations.
Of course, that could also be seen as the strength of Heyman. He has a good relationship with the best agent in sports who represents the best players – players like Pete Alonso and Juan Soto.
With Soto on the verge of getting a record setting deal, everyone is eagerly anticipating to see where he will sign. With Heyman being the reporter with the pipeline to Boras, everyone wants to talk to him.
For his part, Heyman hasn’t been discerning. He’s been willing to talk to everyone and anyone. That includes talking to McPherson on the Friday overnight.
The professionalism is commendable. If only that was reciprocated by McPherson, who probably doesn’t get this caliber of guest (don’t bother correcting me, I’m not interested in listening more than I’ve had to find out I’m wrong).
For his part, Heyman tried laughing along with the “joke” he was on the take with Boras. He tried rolling with the punches over Arson Judge. The thing is McPherson didn’t know when to quit.
That’s probably wrong. He likely knew what he was doing. He didn’t intend to inform his listeners about Soto, and to a lesser extent, Alonso.
Nothing on new Mets starter Clay Holmes. This was just an exercise in getting Heyman riled up and losing his cool. To that, McPherson got what he wanted with Heyman hanging up saying he was quitting WFAN forever.
It’s not too dissimilar from Carl Banks doing the same with Sal Licata. Where there’s a lack of knowledge, there’s pure shock value even if it comes at the expense of the dignity of the guest.
Sure enough, while most were coming down on McPherson for his lack of professionalism, fellow WFAN host Greg Gianotti came swooping in to McPherson’s defense:
I guess the purposeful misspelling was supposed to be funny. In reality, it’s the perfect way to sum it all up. Failed shtick designed for shock value that’s not funny not matter how desperate it tries.
This is a far cry for what WFAN used to be. No sports were discussed. Just unfunny trolling. It’s all just lame. We deserve better, but sadly, nothing will change.