The Offseason Thread

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Good luck, Jake.

Betts, deGrom among finalists for MLB awards

Mets ace Jacob deGrom is going for his third consecutive NL Cy Young Award, and Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts could become the second player to win the MVP award in each league. The top three finishers for each BBWAA award were revealed Monday.

www.espn.com

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Some new faces in the org.

Bruce Maxwell to attend spring training with Mets

Catcher Bruce Maxwell, the only major league player to kneel during the national anthem in 2017 to protest racial injustice, has agreed to a minor league contract with the Mets for next year and will report to major league spring training.

www.espn.com

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

It's now officially official.

Mets finalize sale of team to Steve Cohen

NEW YORK -- The Mets’ ownership change became official on Friday, as Steve Cohen closed his record $2.4 billion deal to purchase the team from Sterling Equities. Cohen intends to hold a virtual press conference on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. ET on Mets.com and Mets social media channels to discuss

www.mlb.com

 

[Nasty_Magician]

It's now officially official.

Mets finalize sale of team to Steve Cohen

NEW YORK -- The Mets’ ownership change became official on Friday, as Steve Cohen closed his record $2.4 billion deal to purchase the team from Sterling Equities. Cohen intends to hold a virtual press conference on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. ET on Mets.com and Mets social media channels to discuss

www.mlb.com

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

LOL...I forgot Minaya was still in the org.

I still have mixed feelings on him, he had a few good yrs with the Mets and some not so much ie: (the bizarre Willie Randolph firing)....but Cohen & Sandy will be calling the shots now....so we'll see how it all plays out especially now that the winter meetings in person have been cancelled due to Covid. (It's gonna be virtual)

Key offseason MLB meetings canceled by COVID

Major League Baseball announced Friday that it has canceled both the owners meetings set for November and the winter meetings set for December due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Agendas will be conducted virtually as needed.

www.espn.com

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Lindor AND Springer to the Mets? Ozuna to the Astros? Offseason predictions for all 30 MLB teams

We look at what every team could do -- and what we think they will do -- as baseball's offseason starts to get going.

www.espn.com

New York Mets

What they could do: Sign J.T. Realmuto, George Springer and Trevor Bauer.


What we predict they will do: Sign Springer, James McCann and Jon Lester, re-sign Marcus Stroman ... and trade for Francisco Lindor.

Mets fans are dreaming of new owner Steve Cohen emptying his checkbook and that very well may happen -- just don't expect the Mets to sign more than one of those top three big free agents.

So let's spread the money out. Look, the offense doesn't really need much help, but the Mets have been messing around in center field for like five years now.

Springer solidifies that position and brings a big bat to the lineup (and could allow them to shop Brandon Nimmo or Dom Smith for pitching help). McCann replaces Wilson Ramos as a nice upgrade on defense, Lester would be a back-end starter and Stroman could end up accepting the Mets' qualifying offer. And Nimmo or Smith? One of them goes to Cleveland in a Lindor trade, along with Amed Rosario or Andres Gimenez.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

 

[Nasty_Magician]

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Rojas likely to stay Mets manager under Cohen

Mets president Sandy Alderson said Tuesday that Luis Rojas probably will return for a second season as manager, under new owner Steve Cohen.

es.pn

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Rojas likely to stay Mets manager under Cohen

Mets president Sandy Alderson said Tuesday that Luis Rojas probably will return for a second season as manager, under new owner Steve Cohen.

es.pn

Honestly it was such a bizarre season, especially to be a rookie manager so it's tough to say what we have in him.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Honestly it was such a bizarre season, especially to be a rookie manager so it's tough to say what we have in him.

Agreed.
Most of the team stumbles weren’t solely his fault. I just hope his rookie campaign was really a learning experience....and he’s already indicated that it was.
I’m okay with him for another season.
That said, I might be wrong here but I do believe David Wright will be waiting in the wings to take over as manager if not in 2021, then by 2022. Pretty sure it’s his if he wants it.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Stroman accepts qualifying offer from Mets

NEW YORK -- The Mets have one less rotation hole to fill. Rather than test free agency, as he seemed committed to doing earlier this year, Marcus Stroman on Wednesday accepted the Mets’ one-year, $18.9 million qualifying offer to return to Queens. The move gives the Mets a bona fide

www.mlb.com

Realmuto declines Phils' qualifying offer

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies never expected J.T. Realmuto to accept their one-year, $18.9 million qualifying offer. He formally rejected it on Wednesday when the 5 p.m. ET deadline passed. Realmuto was one of six free agents to receive a qualifying offer from their respective teams. The Mets’...

www.mlb.com

 

[Nasty_Magician]

So out of curiosity what are your thoughts on the big rumors being floated?

Lindor, yay or nay?
Bauer?
Realmuto?
Springer?

If getting 2 is realistic which 2 do you go with?

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

So out of curiosity what are your thoughts on the big rumors being floated?

Lindor, yay or nay?
Bauer?
Realmuto?
Springer?

If getting 2 is realistic which 2 do you go with?

Jake misses out on his 3rd straight CY....but Bauer had a very solid season..and deserved it.

Bauer 1st pitcher in Reds history to win Cy Young

The Cincinnati Reds' Trevor Bauer has won the NL Cy Young Award, giving Cincinnati its first winner of the award.

www.espn.com

I bolded my choices. I'd take a pass on Lindor...but it's not up to me. (I'm okay with the Rosario-Gimenez platoon)

Also, I hear Springer (who is from New Britain, Ct.) is leaning towards signing with Boston.

Realmuto, Springer, LeMahieu all reject offers

J.T. Realmuto, George Springer and DJ LeMahieu rejected the $18.9 million qualifying offer from their teams on Wednesday.

www.espn.com

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

I'm just gonna put this out there and now with Sandy Alderson back (and his ties to Oakland) this could slip below the radar.....

Semien might be trickiest FA to evaluate

Does any free agent represent the unpredictable and difficult-to-interpret 2020 season more than shortstop Marcus Semien? Here are the twists and turns that teams have to consider when evaluating Semien on this winter’s market:

www.mlb.com

5 possible free agent suitors for Marcus Semien

With an interesting test case in free agency this offseason, these five MLB teams should be interested in shorstop Marcus Semien.

fansided.com

The Mets are finally under new ownership, and Steve Cohen seems ready and willing to shake things up in the organization from the top down. A new front office will have ample leeway to make big moves, be it via free agency, trades or both.
The Mets could use reinforcements behind Jacob deGrom in the starting rotation, behind the plate or even in the outfield, depending on the options and what they’d be willing to give up. A proven upgrade over the underachieving Amed Rosario could also be on the radar. Naturally, that makes the Mets an easily tabbed suitor for Francisco Lindor — and possibly a suitor the Indians would love to entertain in order to maximize their return in a Lindor deal.

The Mets could allocate resources to big moves elsewhere, and consider alternative options to upgrade at shortstop that go beyond (and are of course a little cheaper then) Lindor. That’s where Semien would come into the conversation, and maybe the Mets will be a team willing to pay him $100 million or so on a multi-year deal.

Also.....

Edgar Allan Potpourri

Quoth the raven: SQUAAAAWWWWKKKK!!!!!! Because, you know, he’s a raven. OK, time for some random musings around the A’s, baseball, and possibly ominous black birds... Semien I love Marcus Semien...

www.athleticsnation.com

 

[DevilishWon]

SOS is now SUS

Save Us Steve!

 

[Nasty_Magician]

 

[Nasty_Magician]

So Cano is done, he's probably never playing an MLB game again. That $24 million is huge, bonus money for a team that already had room to spend. I would also feel a lot better about signing Realmuto now knowing Cano is probably off the books moving forward.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

So Cano is done, he's probably never playing an MLB game again. That $24 million is huge, bonus money for a team that already had room to spend. I would also feel a lot better about signing Realmuto now knowing Cano is probably off the books moving forward.

Here's the ESPN article.....

Mets' Cano banned for season because of PED

Mets infielder Robinson Cano will be suspended for the entire 2021 season because of a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug.

www.espn.com

And 2 from the MLB website....

Canó receives 162-game PED suspension

NEW YORK -- In an announcement with significant implications on both Robinson Canó’s career and the Mets’ near-term future, Major League Baseball revealed Wednesday that Canó has received a 162-game suspension without pay for testing positive for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance...

www.mlb.com

Here's what Mets can do next without Canó

Robinson Canó has been suspended for the 2021 season after a violation of MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, and given that it's his second such suspension -- he was popped in 2018 as a member of the Mariners, too -- the conversation is going to clearly be about

www.mlb.com