Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Despite turkey and gravy replacing rumors and signings on the MLB Hot Stove this week, the Mets still had an action-packed week ahead of what may be the final days before a longer stoppage in free agency

Eduardo Escobar, Mark Canha, Starling Marte…

Come on down!

The Mets made a slew of big moves Friday night, inking Eduardo Escobar to a two-year, $20 million deal, Mark Canha to a two-year deal of his own and Starling Marte to a four-year, $78 million deal. The team has a third-year options for Escobar and Canha.

Marte and Canha help fill two massive outfield holes, and Escobar helps fill a crucial utility man role. You can read about what Marte’s and Canha’s signings will mean here and what Escobar’s signing will mean here. We’ve got it all covered.

It was reported the Mets locked down deals with all of these players within about six hours of each other.

All three players will play 2022 at the age of 33.

After this, the Mets are expected to focus on the starting pitcher free agent market. They’re reportedly involved with the likes of Max Scherzer, Kevin Gausman and Jon Gray.

And with these signings, it could mean the Mets will look to deal players like Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis as their playing time looks to severely dwindle. MMO’s Michael Mayer reported that several teams have already been in contact with the Mets about McNeil.

Matz, Agent Spur Cohen

Steven Matz signed a four-year, $44 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals this week. That wouldn’t typically be huge news on a Mets offseason recap, only the Mets thought they were in on a deal for Matz before he signed with St. Louis.

The Mets reportedly had a two-year deal with Matz in place, one they thought Matz would take based on dealings with his agent and the fact his agent–Rob Martin–reached out to the Mets with interest in “coming home.”

Soon after the news broke, Steve Cohen took to Twitter to express his frustrations with Martin:

Nevertheless, the Mets closed the week with three new additions to their 40-man roster, including Escobar and…

Minor Signings/Claims

Amidst the Escobar news and lack of Matz news, the Mets signed two players: outfielder Nick Plummer (major-league contract) and pitcher Antonio Santos (claimed off waivers from the Rockies). Both joined the team’s 40-man roster.

A former first-round pick in 2015, Plummer never fully panned out in the Cardinals’ system, but he had an encouraging 2021 season with an .894 OPS in Double-A and Triple-A. The Mets will be able to get a good look at Plummer in spring training, and if they like what they see, he could make the team as a fifth outfielder. If not, they can simply cut him or pass him through waivers and open up a roster spot for someone else (like Khalil Lee).

The Mets made a similar move–offering a major-league contract to a lifelong minor leaguer–with Sam McWilliams ahead of the 2021 season. Plummer, though, already is the Mets’ ninth-best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

As for Santos, this was a no-harm, no-foul claim by the Mets. The reliever is slated to make the league minimum, and the team can try to make something of his toolset.

What’s Next?

This week is a big week not for the Mets but for baseball in general.

First, the players may enter a lockout when the calendar turns to December 2 unless the Players’ Association and the owners come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. This will bring the free agency market to a standstill, in all likelihood.

Before that happens, though, the tender deadline comes for all pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players on November 30. The Mets have one of the rosters with the most players who need to be tendered a contract, but most of the decisions are no-brainers, like Pete Alonso, Seth Lugo, Brandon Nimmo and Edwin Diaz. Some players who may or may not get tendered a contract include:

Both pitchers fill a similar role–long relief/backup-backup starters–and are entering their final year of arbitration.

The PA and MLB moved the tender deadline up from December 2 to Tuesday in order to give non-tendered players a chance to sign a contract before the impending lockout, CBS‘ R.J. Anderson says.

We’ll also see how involved the Mets are in the rest of this free agency period pre-lockout.