Morning Briefing: Mayor De Blasio Announces Citi Field As Vaccine Site

Good Morning, Mets fans!

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced yesterday, while fully donned in Mets regalia, that Citi Field would become a mass vaccination site for city residents. Vaccines would start being administered at the park on January 25. De Blasio said they’d be able to vaccinate 5,000 to 7,000 people per day at the stadium.

Following suit with the Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, it’s expected the Boston Red Sox will announce Fenway Park will become a vaccination site for Boston residents, too.

Now let’s get into the morning briefing.

Latest Mets News

Carlos Carrasco‘s introductory press conference was Tuesday afternoon. The Mets’ new pitcher, whom Mickey Callaway said is a “number-one caliber starter,” preached about his belief in the 2021 Mets and how his leukemia diagnosis affected his outlook on life.

Carrasco also made a pitch to Trevor Bauer and Corey Kluber–two former Cleveland teammates–to join the Mets.

Sandy Alderson said on Jon Heyman’s Big Time Baseball podcast the Mets are still “loosely” in on George Springer, assuming they haven’t been crossed off his list yet.

Alderson also said on the podcast he doesn’t expect Dominic Smith to be “going anywhere,” hoping the DH rule will be reinstated soon and help ease the day-to-day decision making for Luis Rojas. Heyman and Alderson further discussed the Lindor trade, Seth Lugo‘s potential role with the team, and more on the podcast, which you can listen to here.

The Mets hired former major league pitcher Carter Capps–yes, the jumps-off-the-mound-when-he-pitches Carter Capps–as a rookie-level pitching coach and coordinator. The source himself tweeted out the news Tuesday night.

James McCann landed on No. 10 on MLB Network’s Top 10 Catchers list.

Latest MLB News

Andrew Benintendi trade rumors are swirling, according to Red Sox beat writer Sean McAdam. He says the Oakland A’s, Texas Rangers, and Houston Astros have all “checked in” on the outfielder, and ultimately a trade “won’t be with Miami” as previous rumors suggested may happen.

Speaking of the Marlins, Craig Mish says Miami’s interest in Cubs catcher Willson Contreras is “peaking.”

Daniel Robertson, who’s spent four seasons with the Rays and Giants, signed a one-year major-league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, says Robert Murray.

Catcher Drew Butera signed a minor-league deal with the Texas Rangers, according to Bob Nightengale.

Michael Fulmer avoided arbitration with the Detroit Tigers, settling on a one-year, $3.1 million deal. Nightengale reported this news, too.

Dodgers pitcher David Price said he’s “never felt better” in caption of a video of him throwing a bullpen.