Justin Willard has been officially named the Mets’ pitching coach for the 2026 season. He confirmed the news as a guest of the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast.

Original Report – Nov. 1 at 17:02

The Mets are closing in on Justin Willard as their pitching coach for the 2026 season, according to Will Sammon of the Athletic. Joel Sherman of the New York Post also reported the news from a separate source.

Willard was hired by the Red Sox in 2024 to be the director of pitching, and was widely successful during his tenure in Boston. Last season, the Red Sox finished fifth in the majors in team ERA, and saw bounce-back years from multiple pitchers, including Aroldis Chapman, Brayan Bello, and Lucas Giolito.

Willard was highlighted before the 2024 season as someone who watches hours of film, looking to maximize pitchers’ mechanics and fix biomechanical issues to better performance. Ian Browne of MLB.com spoke with him in February, where he explained his philosophy.

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Martinez’s one-year deal worth a total of $12 million with the Mets was initially reported by The Post’s Jon Heyman late on Thursday night. Martinez spent all of his 2023 campaign with the Dodgers, where he posted a .893 OPS with 33 home runs and 103 RBI.

Photo by Roberto Carlo

“Martinez gave advanced consent for a specific minor league stint, likely 10 days, to build the at-bats he missed by being unsigned for almost all of spring training,” Sherman wrote.

A ten-day stint in the minor leagues, whether in Triple-A or extended spring training, would place Martinez’s regular season debut around when the Mets head to Atlanta for their first series with the Braves in 2024.

The news of Martinez starting the year in the minor leagues also gives way for one player to make the Mets’ Opening Day roster that otherwise would have been optioned, with the most likely beneficiary being Mark Vientos. He has struggled at times this spring, but he currently leads the Mets in homers with five while producing a slash line of .226/.255/.547.

Beyond Vientos, other options to make the Mets while Martinez ramps up include veteran first basemen Luke Voit and Jiman Choi in addition to infielders Jose Iglesias and Zack Short. However, none of the aforementioned players have minor league options, meaning that selecting their contract just to later remove them from the roster for Martinez would likely result in the Mets losing valuable depth from their organization.

Ultimately, whoever cracks the Opening Day roster will likely lose their spot to Martinez once he is ready to make his debut with the Mets. The now 36-year-old will give the team their first full-time DH since the National League adopted the rule ahead of the 2022 campaign. The Mets have tried to platoon at that spot over the past few years with Daniel Vogelbach representing their most prominent bat at the position during that time frame. Ultimately, Martinez will be a staple in the lineup this season, which could make all the difference in the world for the offense.

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Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Despite the sour finish to both his own and the team’s season in 2022, it’s hard to call Max Scherzer’s first season in Queens anything but a rousing success. The three-time Cy Young Award winner finished with a career-low 2.29 ERA and 169 ERA+ in 145.1 IP while finishing the season at 38-years-old. Scherzer also brought a strong presence to the Mets clubhouse. Along with NL Manager of the Year Buck Showalter, Scherzer had an undeniable hand in helping turn the Mets into a respected, well-run team during their 101-win season.

If there were any trepidations Scherzer had about signing in New York ahead of the 3-year, $130 million contract he signed in the 2021 offseason, it sounds like those fears went away pretty quickly. During an appearance on The New York Post’s “The Show with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman” podcast, Scherzer described the special vibe of the Mets clubhouse last season.

“I got there and fell in love immediately”, Scherzer said. “Especially with Billy and Buck in charge, I thought they were great in what they were able to do. I fell in love with the team a lot quicker than I even thought I was going to. Really good dudes, and we had a really good clubhouse. It didn’t feel like we had any bad eggs, and when you have that kind of chemistry that’s when you go out there and you win.”

Scherzer also touched on his reaction to seeing the Philadelphia Phillies, a team the Mets went 14-5 against in 2022, go on a surprise run to the World Series despite finishing in third in the NL East behind the Mets and the Atlanta Braves.

“We faced that Phillies team a lot, and even though we had some success against them, we also recognized they were a team that could do damage in the postseason. They had the pitching, they had some bullpen, they had a lineup that could slug … I’m actually kind of happy the NL East keeps putting teams in the World Series … I look at it as the NL East keeps producing great ballclubs.”

The Mets, Braves, and Phillies will likely do battle again for NL East superiority in 2023, and Scherzer will play a huge part in whatever success the Mets have. If Mets GM Billy Eppler and the rest of the front office are able to put together a clubhouse with nearly the same amount of chemistry and talent as they had in the 2022 season, it will put the team in a great position for a return trip to the playoffs.

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Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen was a guest on the latest episode of The Show – A NY Post Baseball Podcast with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman – on Wednesday and there were a lot of interesting nuggets to take from the interview.

Cohen has been basking in plenty of praise from Mets fans as of late having successfully brought Old Timer’s Day back to Queens, culminating in a truly special day at Citi Field on Saturday, and his team are in the midst of a great season under manager Buck Showalter.

It was perhaps the perfect time, then, to go on a podcast with two of the biggest baseball writers around and discuss a whole bunch of topics in relation to the Mets. After all, Cohen’s team is locked in an intense pennant race with the Atlanta Braves and hopes are high in Queens that a deep postseason run all the way to the World Series could actually be a realistic goal.

There were a number of interesting nuggets to emerge from the podcast, including the future of closer Edwin Diaz, competing with the Yankees and blowing through the luxury tax threshold. Here’s perhaps some of the biggest takeaways from Cohen’s conversation with Sherman and Heyman…

Winning a Ring

When Steve Cohen took ownership of the New York Mets around two years ago, he said right off the bat that his goal was to win a championship within his first five years. Two years in and that dream is looking very achievable, with the Mets well positioned to make a deep run this October.

“We’ve made a lot of progress,” Cohen said. “I would love to win the World Series – that would be fantastic. Only one team wins the World Series every year and, if I remember correctly, the Dodgers won seven or eight division titles before they actually won a World Series so it is hard to win. The only thing you do is put yourself in position where things can happen and hopefully that’s the case for us. I like this team, I like what they do, they are tenacious, they never give up and that is a pretty good character trait once you get into the playoffs.

“I like to set high goals and try to achieve them. There’s no guarantees we’ll get there. Like I said, only one team can win every year but you have to set high goals otherwise you just aren’t going to stretch and try and achieve things that others may think are difficult or impossible. That’s what I like to do and that is the type of thing I do in everything I do. I think that’s the right approach.”

Ballpark Experience

Citi Field has been a fun place to be this year from Edwin Diaz’s walk out song that’s now become a whole show to jersey retirements and other little additions that have made a big difference. Having a winning product on the field helps too, of course, and Cohen shed some light on what ownership have done to improve the overall ballpark experience for Mets fans this year.

“We’re always experimenting,” Cohen said. “We have DJ nights on Friday night and we’re always thinking of new ways to enhance the experience for our fans and we’re always trying new ideas. It is at the forefront of our minds and if we can get the young fans involved, then even better.”

There is no doubt that the overall fan experience has been so much better at Citi Field this year. And, again, while winning helps, it is clear that Cohen has made it his mission to ensure the fans leave the ballpark happy and eager to come back no matter the outcome on the field. And that’s important.

Competing with Yankees

The Mets will always be compared with the New York Yankees given that they share the same city, that’s just a fact of life. And, for decades, the Mets have been the little brother while the Yankees have won World Series after World Series and made yearly trips to the postseason. Cohen’s arrival changed the dynamic instantly and, with the Mets now a legit championship contender, Cohen was asked about competing to be the kings of New York with the Yankees.

“Do I want to kick their butt? I don’t need to kick their butt,” Cohen said in response to a question from Sherman. “They’re the Yankees, we’re the Mets, we’re going to do our thing and they are going to do their thing. Wherever it falls it falls and I really believe there is room for both of us in the city. It is a big city and I just don’t worry about the Yankees. I don’t feel like we’re competing with them. I feel like we’re trying to establish our own identity, our own brand, so I don’t really think about them.”

Given that the Wilpons had a long-standing obsession with the Yankees, an obsession that no doubt hindered what they were trying to do, it is refreshing to hear Cohen make it clear that he’s only worried about what the Mets do. After all, the Yankees are always going to be a huge brand so it makes perfect sense just to focus on making the Mets their own unique thing.

Sandy Alderson

One of the biggest storylines involving the Mets throughout Cohen’s ownership has been the presence of Sandy Alderson, who is currently the president of the Mets. There was a narrative back in the winter that Alderson’s heavy presence in the front office was off-putting to a lot of potential GM candidates, especially with Alderson’s son also involved with the organization.

There are some who believed that with general manager Billy Eppler in place, Alderson could eventually move on but Cohen made it clear that the long-time baseball executive still has a big role to play with the Mets.

“Listen, Sandy is going to continue to be a part of this,” Cohen said. “He’s been invaluable to me and he will continue to help me in any way that he can.”

Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Keeping the Band Together

Cohen was asked about the large number of key free agents the Mets will have to deal with after this season, including the likes of Jacob deGrom and Edwin Diaz. While revealing that contract discussions have not yet really begun with any of their players, Cohen did stress that those decisions will be made when the time is right and that the Mets will be competitive in trying to keep the players they want to.

“To be perfectly honest, we haven’t really sat down and we’ve been so busy thinking about what is going on in the present,” Cohen said. “We will sit down at the appropriate time and go over what our needs are for the next season and who we want to bring back. We’ve got a lot of great ballplayers here, they are doing extraordinary things, they are all free agents and they’ve earned that right. That is part of the deal and this is a big moment for them. I’m sure they will entertain offers and they should. Hopefully we will be more competitive and we will make those decisions when the time comes. We’ll see what happens.

“No one has an unlimited budget. The numbers can get extraordinary. We’ll have to figure it out and we will, we just haven’t got there yet.”

Cohen was then asked to dive a bit deeper on the futures of deGrom and Diaz, with the latter recently going over to the Cohen house for dinner.

“I haven’t had a direct conversation with Jacob on this,” Cohen said. “Obviously he’s been a great Met and he’s somebody that I would love to have back, but it is appropriate to have that conversation after the season. He’s been very clear that he wants to opt-out and he’s earned that right. At the appropriate time we’ll sit down and talk. I said it the other day and I’ll say it again; he’s the best pitcher in baseball and we’ll do whatever it takes to bring him back.

“I had Diaz out for dinner a couple of weeks ago. Terrific guy and he’s just had an extraordinary season. He’s just a great person and he’s got a great demeanor for the role, so calm, just comes in and does his thing, very likeable and I would love to have him back. They are people and they are not just employees. This isn’t just an impersonal relationship. They are important to me and I want them to know that they are important to me. It is not just you give me performance and I pay you, I think it should be beyond that. It is a great opportunity to get to know them, get to know what makes them tick and it is my style. It is what I do in my Hedge Fund. I always use the opportunity to get to know people on a personal level. It has worked for me and it is the proper thing to do. I’ll continue to do it.”

The fact that Cohen has built personal relationships with his players can only be a good thing when it comes to free agency, and it is also another clear-fire sign that the Mets owner is determined to do things the right way and make the organization one current and potential future ballplayers want to play for long-term.

Being Disciplined Financially

When it was announced that Cohen would become the new owner of the Mets, one of the biggest topics of conversation was just how much money he would spend given that he automatically became the richest owner in all of baseball. That naturally concerned a few of the other owners in MLB, and it has been a narrative that has stuck throughout Cohen’s tenure.

However, while Cohen has flashed the dollars in terms of bringing the likes of Max Scherzer and Starling Marte to Queens, he’s been pretty consistent in being sensible and not completely blowing through the luxury tax threshold. And, after being asked about the payroll in particular, Cohen addressed what the payroll may look like next season.

“We’ve been very disciplined this year,” Cohen said. “You’ve got to remember that we had a bad contract with Robinson Canó and we eat that contract, so I think we’ve been pretty disciplined in that regard. You’ve got to remember that we’ll be paying Canó next year as well. We’ll see what happens but I haven’t really even thought about what we’re going to do next year as far as the budget. I haven’t sat down with Billy (Eppler) and the rest of the team but that’s going to happen after the season. We can figure this out pretty quickly so I’m not worried about it. These decisions aren’t that hard. It really depends on who we want to bring back, what the other opportunities are out there and we’ll figure it out. That’s part of the process.

“I’m part of a community and I don’t want to just be flippant about what I want to do relative to what is going on in the rest of the baseball community – I’ve got to live in this world. I can’t just act like it doesn’t exist. We’re almost at $300 million – you should be able to build a pretty good team at $300 million dollars. If you can’t do that then that’s a problem.”

Old Timers’ Day

It took over two decades for the Mets to bring Old Timers’ Day back and Cohen was at the forefront of those efforts, culminating in a very special day at Citi Field a couple of weeks ago. Cohen also sprung a major surprise during the celebrations in retiring Willie Mays‘ No. 24 jersey, and Cohen finished his interview by explaining the decision behind that.

“It was really my decision,” Cohen said. “When I heard there was a promise made to Willie by Joan Payson and there was no follow through on that, I just felt there was an obligation by an owner that needed to be kept. I was going to follow through on that and I just felt that was the right thing to do. I had spoken to Willie, he had confirmed that and I’m glad I followed through on that. We want celebrate our history, I was very clear on that from day one and there will be others.”

All in all, it was a really insightful conversation with Cohen who hit all the right notes on a number of important issues. He gave some really honest answers on things like payroll and the crop of free agents the Mets will have to deal with very soon, and it is refreshing to here the owner of the New York Mets speak so in-depth and so candidly on a public forum.

Mets fans can listen to the full interview with Steve Cohen on The Show – A NY Post Baseball Podcast with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman – by clicking here.

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The Mets thought they were on the one-yard line with free agent starting pitcher Trevor Bauer on Thursday, but when Friday rolled along, he chose to take his talents to Los Angeles and join the Dodgers.

According to a report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, multiple sources informed the paper that at a point during the last 24 hours leading up to the deal, the Mets felt they had agreed upon terms for a contract, and were working with one of Bauer’s agents, John Fetterolf, to complete the move.

“A source said that Mets president Sandy Alderson, who has been involved with three organizations over the past four decades, felt he had never proceeded to this extent of negotiations and not finalized the deal,” Sherman said in the article.

The Mets and Dodgers had similar offers to Bauer, but the California native decided on a homecoming and released his decision via his YouTube channel.

Leading up to his announcement, Bauer’s Linktree and website briefly made it seem as though he was going to be heading to Flushing, by posting merchandise that was Mets related. It was shortly taken down, but not before fans saw it and were under the impression he had made a decision.

On Sunday night, Bauer penned a statement to Mets fans in a series of Tweets, which can be found below:

Mets fans, I owe you an explanation and apology.

My intention this entire offseason was to engage with fans in ways that made the off season and free agent process more interesting. I woke up early on Friday not knowing what my decision would be and spent the next 5 hours on

— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021

Bauer’s agent, Rachel Luba, also doubled down on his statement, saying no one felt more awful than her client for what happened.

When (Trevor) discovered what happened w/ his merch while we were finishing the negotiations, nobody felt shittier about it than him,” Luba said. “It was very important to him that he took the time to understand the mistake & give your fan base a sincere explanation & apology.”

Regardless of Bauer’s intentions being legitimate or not, it could work as a blessing for the Mets, who now won’t have $40 million this year tied to one player, who also comes with personal baggage off the field.

To read more about my thoughts on the deal (or lack thereof) please follow this link.

The post Trevor Bauer Pens Statement After Rebuffing Mets, Fans on Friday appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Rosenthal later added that families would be allowed to be part of the bubble. They must quarantine with the the player that they will be going with for seven days before the playoffs. He also added that this would be in effect for the Division Series, Championship Series, and World Series.

Here’s the 2020 playoff bracket:

The plan will be to have the NL Playoffs in Texas and the AL Playoffs in Southern California, per Joel Sherman of the NY Post.  The World Series will subsequently held in Arlington, Texas.

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Updated August 24, 12 p.m.:

Per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, the Mets will resume play Tuesday against the Marlins at Citi Field. The teams will play a twi-night doubleheader starting at 5:10 p.m., with the Mets as the home team for the first game and the Marlins as the home team in the second matchup.

Original post:

Mets baseball is back… again.

According to Joel Sherman, the Mets have not had any more positive COVID-19 cases since the player and the staff member tested positive on Tuesday. The team will begin to play again on Tuesday.

Tuesday is when the Mets were set to start a three-game series against the Marlins, the same team they had to cut short playing due to the positive COVID cases.

The fact that no one else has tested positive for COVID-19 despite two within the organization having it is such great news.

The final game of the Marlins series on Thursday was cancelled, as well as the Subway Series that was supposed to happen this past weekend.

On Sunday, it broke that the Mets and Yankees could potentially play five times next weekend to make the games up. In fact, Sherman also tweeted that this will likely (kind of) happen, with the Mets and Yankees playing a doubleheader this Friday, a single game Saturday, a doubleheader Sunday, and then a single game on Thursday, September 3rd.

That is a lot of Subway Series action, Mets fans. Get ready!

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On Monday morning, it was announced that the Marlins cancelled their game tonight following eight additional players (12 total now) and two coaches testing positive for COVID-19.

Marlins’ CEO Derek Jeter released a statement on the outbreak.

https://twitter.com/jareddiamond/status/1287775697935663110

Later in the morning, it was announced that the Yankees vs Phillies game in Philadelphia for Monday was cancelled. The Phillies hosted the Marlins over the weekend when the outbreak occurred.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Major League Baseball has called a meeting with all 30 owners on Monday at 12:30 p.m. ET.

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Good morning, Mets fans!

Saturday marked another day closer to the 60-game 2020 season!

Latest Mets News

As owners of the Mets, the Wilpons have amassed quite a bit of loans throughout their tenure.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes that both the Mets and Yankees have the most to prove in the shortened 2020 season.

Latest MLB News

MLB is not ruling out the possibility of fans in the stands during the 2020 season.

Latest NL East News

A marquee matchup of the Yankees ace Gerrit Cole vs Nationals ace Max Scherzer is reportedly going to kick off the 2020 MLB season.

Latest On MMO

Sal Manzo says the Mets will have a plethora of lineup options at the start of the 2020 season.

Marshall Field believes the Mets are wrong for adopting the universal DH and extra inning rules.

On This Day In Mets History

Birthdays: Richard Hidalgo (45), Joe Sambito (68)

Stay safe, and let’s go Mets!

The post Morning Briefing: Eastern Aces Set To Kick Off Season appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

As of mid-evening on Wednesday, the MLB and the MLBPA are still talking and appear to be nearing an agreement that would save the 2020 season.

Commissioner Rob Manfred and Player Association representative Tony Clark met earlier in the day and the meeting was called productive. A few hours later, Manfred released a statement acknowledging the meeting with Clark.

“We left that meeting with a jointly developed framework that we agreed could form the basis of an agreement and subject to conversations with our respective constituents. I summarized that framework numerous times in the meeting and sent Tony a written summary today. Consistent with our conversations yesterday, I am encouraging the Clubs to move forward and I trust Tony is doing the same.”

According to several sources, the framework that Manfred alludes to consists of a 60-game season with a 100% prorated salary. In addition, it also includes a $25 million postseason pool.

Further, the MLB asked for inclusion for a universal designated hitter for not only the balance of the 2020 season, but for the 2021 season as well. With the CBA expiring after the 2021, it seems a foregone conclusion that it will be added to a new CBA, bringing the DH to the National League long-term.

A proposal for an extended playoffs is also being included by MLB. It would expand the playoff field to as many as 16 teams.

So should we be hopeful as baseball fans?

Joel Sherman of the New York Post, is still pessimistic about a deal, claiming he’s been to this dance before. Yet he did tweet this earlier in the day:

“It probably should be assumed if Manfred flew to meet with Clark that he was authorized by his bosses (the owners) to deliver an offer that was either acceptable or pretty darn close to it. Even the most pessimistic folks I am texting with right now say momentum is toward a deal.”

Jon Heyman suggests optimism as he tweeted at 8:25 PM:

The framework of the deal between Manfred and union chief Clark included: 60 games at 100% full prorated pay, waiver of grievances, 16-team expanded playoffs for 2 years, universal DH, more. Owner sources say it was agreed to pending constituency approval, meaning owners, players

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 18, 2020

Please stay tuned to MMO for all the latest as it is likely this will be updated as more information unfolds.

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