With their trade of Jeff McNeil to the Athletics on Monday, this offseason the New York Mets have parted with three homegrown fixtures — Pete Alonso in free agency and McNeil and Brandon Nimmo in trades.
“What they’ve done tells you how big a s— show their clubhouse was,” said one rival executive who was granted anonymity for his candor. “The guessing is over. It was a disaster.”
Whether or not the issues were as bad as that executive suggests, one longtime National League scout said it’s obvious that president of baseball operations David Stearns is making a concerted effort to shift the clubhouse culture.
As one Mets person put it, “We definitely tidied things up in our house. Now it is time to do more rebuilding.”
The Mets hold interest in adding a right-handed batter to balance out their lineup, people familiar with their conversations said. That could end up being someone who can also play first base. The club needs to make a decision on whether such a player is better than Mark Vientos. More likely they would find that player in a trade than free agency.
Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette are the best right-handed batting free agents, but likely will command more years than the Mets want to tolerate.
The Mets also need a left fielder. Team officials see the McNeil trade as more about roster reconstruction than payroll restructuring. Yes, they ended up paying $5.75 million (and potentially an additional $2 million on a buyout) of McNeil’s $15.75 million salary. But McNeil was no longer a fit. Versatility helps his value, but in New York he no longer held a spot in the infield and was locked into left field.
So far, the Mets’ offseason is defined by subtraction. They now must add — and in their rotation and bullpen, too.
Another Cardinal flying to Boston?
St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, who already has traded right-hander Sonny Gray and first baseman Willson Contreras to the Boston Red Sox, might not be done dealing with his former club.
The Cardinals and Red Sox also have discussed a trade that would send infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan to Boston, according to people briefed on the conversations. Donovan likely would play second base for the Red Sox, who have also been linked to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte.
No deal is close, but Donovan almost certainly would bring a greater return than Gray or Contreras, whom the Cardinals acquired for five minor-league pitchers while including a combined $28 million in the deals.
No word yet on whether Bloom is prepared to send the Gateway Arch to Boston in an even bigger blockbuster.
Mariners banking on Young
As written previously, the defensive versatility of Donovan makes him a better fit for the Seattle Mariners than Marte. One reason: The Mariners are wary of tying up second base with Marte, who has played that position almost exclusively the past four seasons, when they remain high on Cole Young.
It’s not just the Mariners who like Young, either. One rival executive describes Young as “the league model darling right now,” pointing out that analytically based projection systems value him more highly than scouts do.
Young, whom the Mariners selected 21st overall out of North Allegheny (Pa.) H.S. in 2022, was not especially impressive in his major-league debut, batting only .211 with a .607 OPS in 257 plate appearances. But he’s still only 22, and the Mariners plan to give him significant playing time next season. Any second baseman they acquire would be a complement, not a replacement.
Teams place great value on young, left-handed hitting middle infielders who control the strike zone. Young projects to hit right-handers well, and the models also like his defense. So, if the Mariners acquire Donovan, who also bats left-handed, he likely would get the majority of his playing time at positions other than second base.
Why Marte won’t work for Braves
The six years left on Marte’s deal carry an average annual value of $14.6 million for luxury-tax purposes. The length is not ideal, considering Marte is 32. But at that AAV, Marte likely would be worth the money even if he remained productive for only three or four more years.
Thus, Marte is affordable not only for low-revenue teams, but also high-revenue clubs that are at risk of incurring penalties for passing certain luxury-tax thresholds. The challenge for the Diamondbacks is finding a suitor willing to part with the young pitching they are seeking.
A Silver Slugger award winner in each of the past two seasons, Marte is is entering his age-32 season. (Thien-An Truong / Getty Images)
The Atlanta Braves, in theory, could pursue Marte, who would be an upgrade over their own switch-hitting second baseman, Ozzie Albies. But even though Albies is coming off two down years offensively, he is only 28. He rebounded from a .606 OPS before the All-Star Game last season to produce a .769 OPS, just shy of his career mark, after the break. And he is under contract for a below-market $7 million in 2026, with the Braves holding a $7 million option for ‘27.
Albies could go back to the Diamondbacks in any trade for Marte, but the Braves also would need to include young pitching. After all the injuries they incurred in their rotation last season, they do not want to part with Hurston Waldrep, who could be their No. 5 starter. They also are reluctant to move any of their better pitching prospects when Chris Sale is turning 37 in the final year of his contract, Spencer Strider is growing more expensive and Reynaldo López is under club control for only two more seasons.
The Braves want to add a top-of-the-rotation starter, not subtract a pitcher who might develop into one. Teams deeper in young pitching would be better fits for Marte, but even then the Diamondbacks might not find the kind of match they desire. Top young pitchers rarely get traded. Teams consider them too valuable.
Starter market continues to percolate
The trade market for controllable starters remains one to watch, particularly after the big returns the Tampa Bay Rays and Pittsburgh Pirates commanded for right-handers Shane Baz and Mike Burrows, respectively.
Teams continue to ask the Minnesota Twins about right-hander Joe Ryan, who is under club control for two more seasons. The Twins, though, continue to say they are not shopping Ryan, and one person briefed on their talks said they haven’t even discussed him with other clubs since before the GM meetings in early November.
On another front, a rival executive said Monday the Red Sox have “quietly shopped” right-hander Brayan Bello, a characterization a person briefed on Boston’s conversations disputed. That person, however, said Bello’s name often surfaces when teams ask about the Red Sox’s young pitching.
Bello, 26, is owed $50.5 million over the next four seasons, including a $1 million buyout on a $21 million club option for 2030. His contract adds to his appeal, but he has yet to quite reach his potential. His 3.35 ERA over 166 2/3 innings last season was encouraging. But teams are more apt to look at his expected ERAs — 4.56 in 2024, 4.52 in 2025 — as a better reflection of his performance.
Should Bello be dealt, Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo would be the Red Sox’s top three starters, with Patrick Sandoval and Kutter Crawford, who are coming off injuries, and rookies Payton Tolle and Connelly Early as possibilities. But the Red Sox could always sign another veteran for depth.
Next up: Okamoto
Kazuma Okamoto makes more contact but has less power than Munetaka Murakami, giving him perhaps a higher floor and lower ceiling. He turns 30 in June, making him about three and a half years older than Murakami. And some evaluators believe he, too, ultimately will wind up moving from third to first base.
So, will Okamato beat the two-year, $34 million free-agent deal Murakami signed with the Chicago White Sox? It certainly is possible, considering that teams seem to consider him a safer bet. But with his 45-day negotiating window expiring on Jan. 4, he is operating in the same crowded infield market.
Signings of free agents such as Bregman and Bichette and trades of third basemen such as Isaac Paredes and Nolan Arenado might create greater clarity for Okamoto, if they happen before Jan. 4. If not, Okamoto, like Murakami, might end up signing with a lesser club. The Pittsburgh Pirates are known to be interested.
It’s OK to deal with the Rays!
The Rays’ haul from the Baltimore Orioles for Baz prompted the usual, “uh-oh, don’t trade with the Rays” reactions on social media. The truth is, the Rays win a lot of trades, but not all of them.
Cristopher Sánchez to the Philadelphia Phillies for Curtis Mead, Kyle Manzardo to the Cleveland Guardians for Aaron Civale and Joe Ryan to the Minnesota Twins for Nelson Cruz in a four-player swap are three examples of Rays deals that went awry.
Another — Blake Snell to the San Diego Padres for four prospects — carried the same type of promise as the Baz trade. Snell and Baz both were under club control for an additional three years. Baz also brought back four prospects, plus a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick. But the four players the Rays acquired — catchers Blake Hunt and Francisco Mejía and right-handers Luis Patiño and Cole Wilcox — have combined for 1.6 bWAR in the five seasons since.
Of course, the Rays also have made any number of excellent trades, most notably Chris Archer to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows and Baz. Nick Solak to the Texas Rangers for Pete Fairbanks was another winner, and Tobias Myers to the Guardians for Junior Caminero might turn out to be the best yet.
— The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey, Sahadev Sharma and Katie Woo contributed to this report.