Good morning Mets fans! It should come as no surprise to know that the Mets want to upgrade their catcher’s position this offseason. What may come as a surprise however, is the idea that free agent Martin Maldonado may already be the frontrunner to fill the position according to Mike Puma of the New York Post.
Latest Mets News
Brodie Van Wagenen continues to put just about every possibility on the table as he may now be interested in bringing Asdrubal Cabrera back to Queens as reported by Puma. Puma pointed out that Van Wagenen mentioned that Jeff McNeil is already “penciled-in” at second base right now. If signed, Cabrera may compete for some time there and/or platoon at third base with Todd Frazier.
Jonah Keri of CBS Sports wrote a piece about how a few low-cost pickups and good luck could jumpstart Van Wagenen’s first season as Mets GM.
Steven Matz hosted his “Strikes With Steven” charity bowling event at Bowlmor Lanes in Midtown Manhattan on Thursday as reported by Matt Kelly of MLB.com. The proceeds from the event go towards scholarships to children of fallen first responders.
Tim Britton of The Athletic wrote about the Mets’ search for bullpen help despite there being multiple options in front of them.
Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports reported that the Mets have checked in on both Maldonado and Wilson Ramos so far in their catching search.
Heyman also noted that the Mets are one of a long list of teams that have shown interest in Marwin Gonzalez thus far.
Latest MLB News
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that they signed Jung Ho Kang to a one-year contract.
Tony Clark, MLBPA Executive Director, issued a statement in response to Bill James’ comments on Wednesday about MLB players being overpaid and replaceable. The statement read: “The Comments Bill James made yesterday were both reckless and insulting considering our game’s history regarding the use of replacement players. The Players ARE the game. And our fans have the opportunity to enjoy the most talented baseball Players in the world every season. If these sentiments resonate beyond this one individual, then any challenges that lie ahead will be more difficult to overcome than initially anticipated.”
General managers voted on nearly two dozen items on Thursday morning as their meetings wrapped up. One of the things that Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports highlighted was their agreement to disable the center field Hawk-Eye replay camera that feeds into teams’ video rooms during games.
Latest NL East News
Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times noted that the Los Angeles Dodgers offered Yasiel Puig in a trade for Bryce Harper after claiming him off waivers in August.
Nick Markakis won the Silver Slugger award for his superb offensive production at right field for the Atlanta Braves in 2018.
Likewise, J.T. Realmuto took home the award from the catching position for the Miami Marlins.
Latest on MMO/MMN
John Sheridan wrote about Tim Tebow being likely to start the season in Triple-A Syracuse after Van Wagenen clarified his comments that suggested that Tebow could make the Opening Day roster.
Christopher Soto recapped the Winter League games that Mets prospects participated in on Wednesday.
Matt Musico wrote that Van Wagenen’s comments at the GM meetings are just creating more questions for the Mets.
Gerry Silverman reminisced about Aug. 30, 1999 when Edgardo Alfonzo went 6-for-6 with three home runs.
Liam Quinn graded Seth Lugo‘s performance in the 2018 season.
This Day in Mets History
1978: The Mets announced that board chairman M. Donald Grant would step down at the end of the year. Grant was the one who infamously traded Tom Seaver in 1977, and also traded Dave Kingman and Rusty Staub.
Birthday(s): Jon Nunnally turns 47.
