New York Mets

The New York Mets wasted no time replacing Jacob deGrom in the starting rotation, signing Justin Verlander to a two-year, $86 million deal with a third-year option, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

The Mets already had the highest payroll in MLB at $184.7 million, per Spotrac, but the latest deal creates a massive cost under the league's luxury tax:

Justin Verlander + Max Scherzer + Francisco Lindor = $120M of tax salary, 51% of the $233M threshold this year.

The #Mets new 40-man season opening tax projection sits at $287M.https://t.co/dYc44nFPEv

— Spotrac (@spotrac) December 5, 2022

It also sets up an exciting starting rotation led by two of the best pitchers of their generation:

1. Max Scherzer
2. Justin Verlander
3. Carlos Carrasco
4. David Peterson
5. Tylor Megill

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported the Mets plan to add another starting pitcher this offseason.

The Mets had work to do to rebuild the starting rotation after deGrom signed a five-year, $185 million deal with the Texas Rangers. The two-time Cy Young winner had spent his entire nine-year career with the organization before opting out of his contract this offseason.

Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker, who finished first and second on the team in innings pitched last year, are also free agents. Re-signing one or both of these players would help shore up the back of the rotation.

New York is still in good shape at the top of the rotation with Max Scherzer and Verlander.

Scherzer, 38, has won three Cy Young awards and posted a 2.29 ERA in 23 starts during his first year with the Mets last season. Verlander, 39, won his third Cy Young this past season with the Houston Astros, tallying an 18-4 record with a 1.75 ERA and 0.829 WHIP before helping his team win the World Series.

Even with both approaching 40 years old, the future Hall of Famers have proved they can still get it done on the mound.

Carlos Carrasco bounced back from a rough 2021 with a solid showing last year, totaling a 3.97 ERA in 29 starts. Consistency was an issue, but his 2.94 ERA in 14 starts after July 1 should provide plenty of momentum going into 2023.

David Peterson also proved to be a trustworthy option last year with a 3.83 ERA in 28 appearances (19 starts). The 2017 first-round draft pick should have a spot in the rotation going into April after spending significant time in the bullpen in 2022.

There are more question marks about Tylor Megill, who went 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA in April before a biceps injury derailed his season. He finished the year with a 5.13 ERA and could be forced to prove himself before guaranteeing a starting role next year.

Elieser Hernández, who made 10 starts for the Miami Marlins last season, could be another option after coming over in a trade last month. José Butto, the team's No. 15 prospect on MLB.com, should also get an opportunity after reaching the majors last season.

The New York Mets are "among the teams talking" with free-agent outfielder Andrew Benintendi, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Sherman said the Mets' discussions with Benintendi are "an indicator of the club seriously contemplating life without free agent Brandon Nimmo."

The New York Yankees, Houston Astros and "several other clubs" are also pursuing Benintendi, per Sherman.

The 28-year-old hit .304 with five home runs, 51 RBI, 54 runs, eight stolen bases, a .373 on-base percentage and a .772 OPS in 126 games between the Kansas City Royals and Yankees last season, making his first All-Star Game.

The combination of getting on base and stout defense in left field (2021 Gold Glove winner) should make him a highly sought-after player in free agency. His time in New York after a midseason trade was disappointing, however, as a broken bone in his right wrist cut his regular season short and kept him out of the playoffs.

For the Mets, he wouldn't be the most natural addition since the team has Mark Canha available in left field. If Nimmo signs elsewhere and the Mets add Benintendi, that would mean shifting either Canha or Starling Marte into center field.

Marte has more experience playing that position, though as Sherman noted, shifting either player centrally "has never seemed [to be the Mets'] preference for both defensive purposes and wear and tear, particularly on Marte."

However, general manager Billy Eppler has said the Mets would be comfortable moving Marte into center field if needed.

"Can Starling still play center field? Yeah, we believe he can," he said on Sherman and Jon Heyman's podcast The Show in November (h/t Danny Abriano of SNY). "That opens up some optionality for how we ultimately would fill out that outfield. But that being said, it's not a closed case by any stretch of the imagination."

It seems like a contingency the Mets will need to plan for. As SNY noted Monday, "Nimmo's market is robust, with the Mets, Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners and others having been linked to him."

The Mets have also splashed major cash to bring Justin Verlander aboard, which may factor into what they are willing to offer Nimmo:

Justin Verlander’s deal with the Mets is for two years and $86 million, per source. It includes a vesting third-year option. After losing Jacob deGrom, the Mets replace him with the American League Cy Young Award winner, who will be paired atop their rotation with Max Scherzer.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 5, 2022

Benintendi would be a logical backup plan as the Mets look to shore up the outfield.

The Baltimore Orioles are reportedly among the teams pursuing free-agent pitcher Carlos Rodón.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported the Orioles have joined the New York Yankees, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants in the mix for the lefty.

Rodón, who turns 30 on December 10, spent the 2022 season with the Giants. He went 14-8 with a 2.88 ERA and 1.03 WHIP while striking out 237 batters in 178 innings pitched.

The Mets are expected to be active in the free-agent pitching market after losing Jacob deGrom to the Texas Rangers. Heyman reported the Mets' top focus at the moment is Justin Verlander, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see them get more aggressive with Rodón in the aftermath of deGrom's departure.

The Yankees have been more intently focused on Rodón as they attempt to shore up their rotation behind Gerrit Cole. It's likely they will lose Jameson Taillon to the open market this winter, and Rodón would be a significant upgrade in that rotation slot. The Yankees also remain intently focused on retaining AL MVP Aaron Judge.

The Orioles are coming off a solid 83-79 season and could see the playoffs on their horizon if they find consistency in the rotation. Baltimore finished 21st in starter ERA last season, and Jordan Lyles was the only starter who topped 150 innings pitched.

Rodón has some major injury concerns—the 2022 season was the first time since 2016 he'd topped 150 innings—but his top-of-the-rotation stuff is undeniable. Landing him would be a major coup for the Orioles and would strike a blow to the rival Yankees' offseason plans.

The New York Mets and Texas Rangers are reportedly among the "many" teams pursuing free-agent pitcher Jameson Taillon.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported Taillon will get an "extremely good deal" in what's been a player-friendly market thus far.

The righty spent the last two seasons with the New York Yankees after injuries derailed a promising start to his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Healthy the last two years, Taillon compiled a 22-11 record with a 4.08 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 61 starts.

The Mets and Rangers both being interested creates an intriguing dynamic given the fact Texas just signed Jacob deGrom to a five-year contract. DeGrom spent his first nine MLB seasons in New York, emerging as the best pitcher in baseball, and is coming off back-to-back injury-plagued campaigns.

The $185 million deal might make the Rangers a little more budget-conscious in filling out the remainder of their roster, which could take them out of the Taillon sweepstakes.

Meanwhile, the Mets have $30-$40 million in surplus cash now that was previously earmarked for deGrom. No one would argue Taillon is even close to the same stratosphere as deGrom from a talent standpoint, but he's a solid arm for the back half of the rotation.

The Mets could use the money saved on a deGrom contract to create a more well-balanced—and, hopefully, healthier—roster for the 2023 season.

As it stands, it appears Taillon will be getting paid above his expected market value given the interest so far.

Two-time National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom is available to sign with any team on the open market, but the New York Mets are confident that the prized free agent doesn't want to go anywhere.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that while the Mets know there's a chance deGrom walks in free agency, the team is prioritizing him this offseason and believes he is interested in staying put as well.

"Mets people seem to think he prefers to return (well, he could have fooled me!), and there's some concern about losing their homegrown uber-talent and watching him win Cy Young awards elsewhere, so he may still be their top remaining target," Heyman wrote.

Heyman also predicted that the Texas Rangers would be the team with the second-best chances to sign deGrom this offseason, but he listed the Tampa Bay Rays as a long shot despite the franchise's proximity to his hometown of DeLand, Florida. He noted that the Rays are not known for big spending in free agency, while deGrom will undoubtedly command a hefty price tag.

The 2022 season didn't go as deGrom had planned, as he was forced to miss the first few months because of a stress reaction in his shoulder. After making his season debut in August, he finished with a 5-4 record in 11 starts. He posted a 0.75 WHIP and 102 strikeouts in 64.1 innings pitched, but his 3.08 ERA was his first time with a plus-3.00 ERA since 2017.

DeGrom had a particularly tough finish to the regular season when he allowed three or more earned runs in four consecutive starts. However, he had a strong showing in Game 2 of the Mets' wild-card series against the San Diego Padres, allowing two runs with eight strikeouts in a 7-3 win. New York went on to lose the series in an upset after being pegged as a World Series contender earlier in the year.

While deGrom likely has multiple teams courting him in free agency, the Mets have a strong core that can once again contend for a title in 2023 if he decides to stay. Max Scherzer will surely be motivated after his postseason disappointment, and New York was able to retain star closer Edwin Diaz at the start of the offseason. Keeping deGrom in the mix would give the Mets a strong chance at bouncing back next season.

Terry Francona of the Cleveland Guardians and Buck Showalter of the New York Mets took home top honors in the Manager of the Year voting announced on Tuesday.

Francona beat out Brandon Hyde of the Baltimore Orioles and Scott Servais of the Seattle Mariners for the American League award. It's the third time he's been named Manager of the Year with the Guardians (2013, 2016).

Oh, captain! Our captain!

Terry Francona has been named American League Manager of the Year for the 3rd time in his Hall of Fame career.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/AqinuSWyZF

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) November 15, 2022

Terry Francona has been Manager of the Year in 3 of his 10 seasons in Cleveland. That's 30% by my math.

— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) November 15, 2022

Francona received 17 of 30 first-place votes and 112 total points. Hyde, who led the Orioles to a surprise 83-79 record, finished second with 79 points (nine first-place votes). Servais finished third thanks to his second- and third-place votes that gave him 43 points.

Houston Astros skipper Dusty Baker finished ahead of Servais in first-place votes (three to one), but he was only named on a total of 13 ballots. Servais was named on 23 ballots.

Expectations were understandably muted for the Guardians coming into 2022. They were coming off an 80-82 record in 2021, had the youngest roster in MLB the third-lowest payroll this season.

The steady hand of Francona, as well as breakout seasons for some of those young players, resulted in Cleveland winning the AL Central for the first time since 2018. Andrés Giménez and Emmanuel Clase joined veteran superstar José Ramírez as All-Stars this year.

Steven Kwan finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting and won the AL Gold Glove award for his contributions in left field.

The Guardians' young roster included 16 rookies who made their big-league debut in 2022. Despite all of their inexperience, they rarely looked overmatched on the field. Their season came to an end with a five-game loss to the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series.

Francona led MLB's youngest team to 92 wins and the ALCS. He did it by investing/believing in his players and adapting his team's play style to his roster's strengths. He has already had a HOF career, but it may be his best managerial work yet.

He should win Manager of the Year.

— Guardians of The Land (@OurCLEGuardians) November 15, 2022

Francona did start talking about the end of his managerial career because of a series of health issues that kept him out of the dugout for most of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

"When the day comes that losses don't affect you," Francona told reporters shortly after Cleveland's season ended, "then it's probably time to hang it up. I'm not there."

The Guardians' success in 2022 and potential to keep improving next season appears to have given Francona a new lease on things. The AL's best manager will look to get his team over the hump in 2023.

Showalter joins Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox as the only managers in MLB history to win Manager of the Year four different times. He previously won in 1994 with the New York Yankees, in 2004 with the Texas Rangers and in 2014 with the Baltimore Orioles.

Your 2022 NL Manager of the Year! 👏 pic.twitter.com/d8Yvst8C9f

— New York Mets (@Mets) November 16, 2022

The first manager to win the award in 4 separate decades. The first Mets manager to win the award.

Congrats to Buck Showalter on being named 2022 NL Manager of the Year! 👏 pic.twitter.com/8eyvyctIWo

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) November 16, 2022

Brian Snitker of the Atlanta Braves and Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers were the other finalists from the senior circuit. All three managers came from teams that won at least 101 games during the regular season.

Voting was incredibly tight, with each of the top three finishers receiving at least seven first-place votes. Showalter pulled ahead with 10 second-place votes and seven third-place votes.

Roberts only had nine total second- and third-place votes. Snitker received five votes each for second and third place, but he had to settle for third place overall because Roberts had one more first-place vote (eight to seven).

Buck Showalter wins his first NL Manager of the Year award to go along with his three from the AL. As in the AL, no manager appeared on all 30 ballots. The full vote: pic.twitter.com/AVPVP7X5fb

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) November 16, 2022

This is the first time a Mets manager has ever been honored as the NL's top skipper.

As has been the case throughout his managerial career, Showalter immediately stepped in and turned around a franchise lacking a consistent organizational vision. He's only had eight losing seasons in 21 years as a manager.

"He loves to point out other teams messing up, I'll tell you that," Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt told The Athletic's Andy McCullough and Ken Rosenthal in May. "It's everything—rundowns, cutoffs, relays, everything. He's like, 'Listen, this wins and loses you ballgames. This is how we're going to do it. We're going to do it the right way.' Not always the easiest way. But he wants you busting your butt and doing everything the right way."

Showalter got the Mets to do things the right way. They were starting from a position of power with the highest payroll in MLB after signing Max Scherzer and Starling Marte.

But Mets fans saw in 2021 what can happen when there is a lack of direction and organizational philosophy when the team collapsed in the second half of 2021 under Luis Rojas.

Things got so bad at one point in 2021 that Mets players were mocking the home fans for how they reacted to the team's struggles.

Congrats to Buck Showalter, who has won NL Manager of the Year. Of all the moves the Mets made last off-season, the most critical one was putting Buck in charge. He changed so much about how the team played and operated. It’s hard to overstate the significance of the hire.

— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) November 16, 2022

Congratulations to Mets manager Buck Showalter on winning the 2022 NL Manager of the Year

He absolutely changed the culture here and led the Mets to only their 4th 100+ win season in team history. He also led them to a 24 win improvement from 2021

— Joe DeMayo (@PSLToFlushing) November 16, 2022

With Showalter at the helm and better injury luck, the Mets led the NL East for most of the season and made the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Even though New York's season came to an early end with a loss to the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card series, Showalter's managerial expertise and owner Steve Cohen's deep pockets are going to keep the franchise close to the top of the NL standings in 2023 and beyond.

Facing the possibility of losing Jacob deGrom, the New York Mets are keeping their eyes on other top-tier starting pitchers available in free agency.

Per SNY.tv's Andy Martino, the Mets are "considering" making a run at Justin Verlander and plan to pursue Japanese star Koudai Senga.

Martino noted the Mets front office has been floating the idea of signing Verlander to a short-term deal with a high annual salary, similar to Max Scherzer's deal, for months.

Even though Martino did say the Mets remain engaged with deGrom's camp, there does appear to be significant interest in the two-time National League Cy Young winner from other teams.

MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported last week the Texas Rangers have interest in the top of the free-agent pitching market, including deGrom and Carlos Rodón.

The Rangers seem poised to make a big splash in free agency for the second successive year. They signed Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Jon Gray to deals totaling $556 million, but the team still finished 68-94 in large part because its rotation was one of the worst in MLB.

Texas was previously linked to Clayton Kershaw, but The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported the left-hander is nearing a one-year deal to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Verlander and deGrom are in somewhat similar positions this offseason. Both players come with injury concerns, but their short-term upside is so huge it could completely transform a rotation.

Injuries have limited deGrom to 156.1 innings over the past two seasons combined. The right-hander did pitch well in 11 starts this season with a 3.08 ERA and 102 strikeouts.

Verlander is the favorite to win his third career American League Cy Young award. He led MLB with a 1.75 ERA and 0.83 WHIP in 175 innings during the 2022 regular season after missing all of last year following Tommy John surgery.

Senga, 29, has spent 11 seasons pitching for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Nippon Professional Baseball. He has a 2.59 ERA with 1,252 strikeouts in 1,089 innings in 224 NPB games.

The Mets seem like they are going to be aggressive this offseason after winning 101 games in 2022. They lost to the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card series.

The New York Mets made one of the first, and most important, moves of the Major League Baseball offseason by signing Edwin Díaz to a long-term deal.

Some of New York's focus should turn to the trade market to add help for Díaz and even bolster the starting rotation that could lose Jacob deGrom in free agency.

According to MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Mets are among a few teams that are interested in the available pitching that the Tampa Bay Rays have on their roster.

Sources: Mets, Cubs, and Reds have been in touch with the #Rays about their available pitching. The Angels have shown interest, too, as previously reported. @MLBNetwork @MLB https://t.co/WToEdP5PYf

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 14, 2022

Tampa Bay is notorious for trading some of its top talents, and it already made one deal this offseason by shipping Ji-Man Choi to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The most notable name on the Tampa Bay roster is Tyler Glasnow, but he would require a large return of prospects. The Mets have a slew of prospects, led by catcher Francisco Álvarez, ready to hit the majors in 2023, and it may not be wise for the front office to trade away some of their top young players in this instance.

The best approach to trading with the Rays could be to go after their bullpen arms to add help in front of Edwin Díaz ahead of the expected fight between the Mets, Atlanta and Philadelphia in the National League East.

Jason Adam, Brooks Raley, Shawn Armstrong and Pete Fairbanks could be available for a lower cost. The Mets could add one or two of them to the bullpen and it would make that unit better going into 2023.

New York could even go after Drew Rasmussen, Jeffrey Springs or Ryan Yarbrough to build up depth at the back end of the rotation, or for the fifth and sixth innings to bridge the gap between starters and the top bullpen arms.

As of Monday morning, the Mets have Max Scherzer, Carlos Carrasco, Tylor Megill and David Peterson on the 40-man roster as potential starters. They may be better off chasing a starter in free agency than sending a mix of top prospects to Tampa Bay for Glasnow.

There are only three left-handed arms on the current 40-man roster. The Mets could call up the Rays to look at Springs, Raley or Colin Poche to balance out their pitching staff a bit.

Raley, who had a 2.68 ERA in 2022, has some playoff experience from his two seasons in Houston. He had 61 strikeouts to 15 walks in his 53.2 innings of work in the regular season.

Poche is a younger bullpen option than Raley. He produced 64 strikeouts in 58.2 innings, but he also walked 22 batters and had a 3.99 ERA.

Springs could be a back-end starter, a role that Yarbrough and Drew Rasmussen could also fill if the Mets pursue an addition to their starting rotation.

Both Springs and Rasmussen threw over 135 innings and struck out over 120 batters in 2022. They would be capable of filling a No. 4 or No. 5 starter role that could help the Mets overtake the Braves and Phillies on pitching depth.

The word "depth" is vital to the Mets' approach this offseason. They need to have depth behind Scherzer in the rotation and in support of Díaz in the bullpen.

Tampa Bay has a plethora of available arms who could help the Mets with that, and they may not come at expensive prices. A mid-tier prospect or two would be worth the deal for one pitcher, or the Mets could package some promising prospects to bring in multiple arms from the Rays.

A trade with Tampa Bay is one of the many avenues the Mets should explore, and it could become even more important to add pitching depth in a deal with the American League East squad if deGrom bolts in free agency.

The New York Mets are reportedly "most worried" about the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers as they attempt to re-sign starting pitcher Jacob deGrom, who opted out of his contract to become a free agent.

SNY's Andy Martino reported Tuesday the Mets are expected to make a "strong" offer to bring back deGrom early in free agency but aren't planning to stay in a long-term bidding war with the Braves, Rangers and other interested clubs if that's how the situation plays out.

Martino also noted the two sides have had "preliminary contact":

https://twitter.com/martinonyc/status/1590084279551528960

https://twitter.com/martinonyc/status/1590084769186185217

The top of New York's pitching staff is the main point of concern as free agency gets prepared to open Thursday, especially after the team was able to re-sign closer Edwin Diaz to solidify the back end of the bullpen.

There are a lot of question marks behind Max Scherzer, which means multiple additions could be necessary if Carlos Carrasco and Chris Bassitt also depart.

DeGrom coming back would provide a major boost, but it doesn't sound like the Mets' front office is willing to meet or exceed any offer to keep him.

The club is willing to pay fair market value or "perhaps go a bit higher" but will otherwise attempt to fill the void in another way, per Martino.

Watching the two-time Cy Young Award winner, who's pitched his entire nine-year career with the Mets, land with the NL East rival Braves would be a tough pill to swallow, though.

Atlanta already features one of MLB's best rotations with Max Fried, Spencer Strider, Kyle Wright and Charlie Morton, and picking up a starter with a 2.52 ERA across 209 career starts would give the Braves the best starting group in baseball.

Meanwhile, deGrom represents a bigger need for the Rangers, who have more talent on their roster than their 68-94 record in 2022 would indicate. One of the missing pieces is a true ace.

In October, Texas general manager Chris Young didn't hide his intention to enter free agency with an eye toward improving the rotation.

"We will be active on the free-agent market with the intention of signing multiple starting pitchers," Young told reporters.

Landing deGrom would be a massive step in the right direction toward rebuilding that area of the roster.

All told, it's hard to imagine the Mets won't do everything in their power to keep their longtime ace, but all signs point toward ample competition on the market.

Jacob deGrom's time with the New York Mets may end this offseason.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Monday that there is some belief the right-hander "seems pretty likely to leave." It may come down to money, as Heyman wrote that there are "strong indications" the National League East team will not be the one to offer him a megadeal that is higher than Max Scherzer's record $43.3 million per year contract.

There is no questioning deGrrom's talent.

His resume includes two National League Cy Young awards, an NL Rookie of the Year, four All-Star selections and an ERA title. He is nearly unhittable when healthy and would be the ace for almost any staff in the entire league.

Yet the "when healthy" part is doing plenty of heavy lifting.

The 34-year-old may be somewhat past his prime and has struggled from a durability standpoint. He made 30 or more appearances four times in a five-year span from 2015 through 2019 but pitched in 12 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020, 15 games in 2021 and 11 games this past season.

Nobody knows better than the Mets how up-and-down life with deGrom can be as arguably the best pitcher in the league but also someone who struggles to stay healthy. After all, he has pitched with the team his entire career.

While his ERA jumped from 1.08 in 2021 to 3.08 in 2022, there were other impressive numbers in a small sample size this past season. He finished with a sparkling 0.75 WHIP and 102 strikeouts in 64.1 innings, which are statistics that would put him in position to compete for another Cy Young if made across more starts.

DeGrom will surely command a major salary as a free agent this offseason, given his talent and what he can be when he is healthy.

But it seems like the Mets might not be the ones to pay it.