Good morning Mets fans, and happy Friday! Today’s hot stove rumor roundup features an actual major-league signing, as well as some continuing developments in the Manny Machado saga and an update on a familiar (and recent) name in Met lore.

Rangers Sign Mathis

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is the first to report that the Texas Rangers and catcher Jeff Mathis have agreed to terms on a two-year contract (pending a physical, financials not yet known). Mathis, 35, has little to offer as a hitter, as his career .198/.258/.306 line and -4.5 oWAR can confirm. Even so, he has made quite a name for himself as a solid defender, quality game caller, and elite pitch framer.

Since he first arrived in the National League in 2013, Mathis has nabbed 34% of runners while boasting a catcher ERA below 3.50 and combining for a frame rating of 25.8 runs above average (include a league-leading 14.1 this past year, per Statcorner). On a deeper level, Mathis has earned a reputation around the league as one of the game’s best batterymates, capable of working with and leading just about any pitching staff from Miami to Arizona.

As the Rangers enter a competitive lull within their rebuild, signing Mathis looks to be one of the many measures the organization will take in cultivating and strengthening a viable pitching core. The 14-year veteran coming off the market, the defensive aspect of this year’s class of catchers has suddenly thinned.

Rest of Catcher Market Heating Up

The Oakland Athletics have shown interest in bringing back catcher Kurt Suzuki according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The A’s are looking for a starting catcher with 2018 starter Jonathan Lucroy on the free agent market.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that Houston Astros are a possible landing spot for Miami Marlins’ star catcher J.T. Realmuto. The Marlins would prefer to trade Realmuto outside the NL East and the a starting catcher is one of the biggest needs this offseason for the Astros.

Phillies Eyeing Corbin 

The Philadelphia Phillies are hoping to improve their young rotation, and Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports they have interest in lefty Patrick Corbin. The New York Yankees and Washington Nationals have shown interest as well in Corbin.

Morosi says this about the Mets in the same piece, “The Mets also could trade Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard and sign Corbin or another free agent, if they aren’t optimistic about coming to terms with deGrom or Syndergaard on long-term contracts.”

Yankees Offput by Machado’s Recent Comments

In a recent discussion with USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale, New York Yankees’ owner Hal Steinbrenner referred to Manny Machado‘s behavior and anti-hustle comments during the postseason to be “troubling.”

The horse here can only be beaten for so long regarding the discussion of Machado’s talent outweighing his ego (or vice versa), but it may be worth noting that Steinbrenner also added that general manager Brian Cashman would be expected to spearhead a conversation with the All-Star infielder as part of the team’s pursuit (which has not been affected):

“If we’re interested in any player, to sit down with them face to face and ask him, ‘where did this come from? What was the context around the entire interview? Was there a point? How do you justify it?'” Steinbrenner offered. “Because that ain’t going to sell where we play baseball.”

While Steinbrenner implied that other players likely wouldn’t stand the same chance in negotiations to play for an elite baseball team in New York with such a rapsheet, Michael Kay of the YES Network has added that the team is still expected to be “in [on Machado] in a serious way.” The standard is clearly different in Machado’s case, and understandably so, but the notion of “playing in pinstripes” will nonetheless need to be understood.

An Update on a Familiar Face

As new Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has embarked on constructing his coaching staff, Mets fans will be happy to learn that former starting pitcher Jeremy Hefner has been named the team’s new bullpen coach (first reported by Derek Wetmore of 1500ESPN). Hefner had recently served in a scouting and analysis role within the Twins’ front office after announcing his retirement in 2017, and will replace another former big-league hurler in Eddie Guardado.

At just 32 years of age, Hefner’s career was curtailed by a pair of Tommy John surgeries in 2013 and 2014. His only major league experience came across the 2012 and 2013 seasons, where he turned in an 8-15 record and 4.65 ERA in 50 appearances with the Mets (36 as a starter). He is best remembered by some for a stretch of eight starts of two or fewer earned runs allowed in the summer of 2013, but was also the first Met pitcher to notch his first homer and win in the same start when he debuted in May 2012.