Morning Briefing: Cardinals Sign Brandon Crawford

Good morning, Mets fans!

The Cardinals are signing longtime Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford to a major league deal. The 37-year-old Crawford is expected to be the backup to rookie Masyn Winn while Tommy Edman recovers from wrist surgery. Crawford endured the worst year of his career in 2023, posting a weak .587 OPS and -1.3 rWAR. He finishes his Giants tenure as a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glover, and two-time World Series champion.

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Latest Mets News

Trayce Thompson crushed a grand slam and drove in five runs as the Mets downed the Nationals in West Palm Beach on Monday, 6-3. Max Kranick, who grew up a Mets fan, struck out two over two spotless innings, and Tyler Stuart tossed two scoreless frames as well. Pete Alonso drew a walk and hit two doubles, and Luisangel Acuña collected a pair of knocks as well.

The Mets return to Port St. Lucie for a matchup against the Marlins this afternoon. Adrian Houser will make his first start of spring training against southpaw A.J. Puk. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PM and the game will be televised on SNY.

On Sunday, Francisco Álvarez conducted an entire interview with Gary Cohen and Ron Darling in English, even declining the need for an interpreter. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com wrote about how Álvarez used to be too scared to order food at Chipotle, but he worked hard to learn the language by practicing with his teammates.

David Wright joined Vito Calise and Jonathan Baron on “Meet the Apple“, the new official podcast of the Mets. On the show, Wright spoke about coaching his kids’ soccer team, his famous GQ cover shoot with Jose Reyes, and pranks.

Reporter Jorge Castillo has inked a multi-year deal with ESPN to cover the Mets and Yankees. Castillo has spent the last six years with the Los Angeles Times.

Latest MLB News

The Dodgers have re-signed utilityman Kiké Hernández to a one-year deal worth $4 million. The Dodgers re-acquired Hernández from the Red Sox last summer, and he hit .262/.308/.423 with five homers and 30 RBIs in 185 plate appearances after the trade.

To clear room for Hernández on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers traded Manuel Margot to the Twins for shortstop prospect Noah Miller. Margot was acquired from the Rays in December along with Tyler Glasnow. Miller was a first-round pick in 2021, but he’s posted just a .644 OPS in 1,091 minor-league plate appearances.