Morning Briefing: Starling Marte Reaches Base Three Times

Good morning, Mets fans!

In winter ball action, Starling Marte went 1-for-3 with a single and reached base twice on hit-by-pitches. Notably, Marte played the entire game defensively in right field for only the second time since playing winter ball this offseason.

Marte is hitting .300 with a .812 OPS in six winter games.

Latest Mets News

The Mets officially announced the signing of pitcher Sean Manaea. In a corresponding move, they designated Diego Castillo for assignment.

On Friday, Mike Puma of the New York Post reported that Ronny Mauricio prioritized playing winter ball against the wishes of the Mets due to financial reasons. According to Puma, the Mets tried to persuade Mauricio to skip winter ball or at least wait until January to start playing, but Mauricio chose to play for the money. Mauricio’s financial struggles reportedly stem from an agent and family member who have control of his finances and keep most of the money away from him. Mauricio wound up tearing his ACL while playing winter ball and is now expected to miss the entire 2024 MLB season in what would have been a crucial year for the 22-year-old.

Mauricio, however, made an Instagram post Friday evening that appears to be disputing this claim, though he didn’t mention the Puma report specifically. It’s unclear whether he’s saying that Puma’s entire report is completely false, or just a certain part of it.

The Mets are commemorating the life of Bud Harrelson with a digital sign on the outside of Citi Field.

Héctor Gómez became the second reporter on Friday to write about the Mets showing interest in designated hitter Jorge Soler. The Mets currently do not have a true, reliable power hitter on the roster outside of Pete Alonso, and Soler would certainly add pop to a lineup that desperately needs it.

The Mets claimed pitcher Max Kranick off waivers from the Pirates. In a corresponding move, they designated Cooper Hummel for assignment. In addition, the Mets signed pitcher Danny Young to a minor league contract.

Sam Dykstra of MLB Pipeline interviewed Grant Hartwig this week, who talked about his major league debut during the 2023 season.

Latest MLB News

The Braves announced on Friday that they agreed to a contract extension with general manager Alex Anthopolous that will keep him signed with the team through the 2031 season.

Per Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Giants signed Jordan Hicks to a four-year, $44 million contract. Hicks, who spent 2023 between the Cardinals and Blue Jays, is expected to be used as a starter in San Francisco.

The Dodgers hired former big leaguer Raúl Ibañez as their VP of Baseball Development and Special Projects.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that Charlie Culberson is signing a minor league contract with the Braves, but as a relief pitcher. The 34-year-old Culberson has been in the big leagues since 2012 as a position player, but has a 1.23 ERA in 7 1/3 career innings as a mop-up pitcher.

Sam Blum of The Athletic wrote about Max Stassi and how the premature birth of his son overtook baseball as his biggest priority during the 2023 season.

Robert Murray of FanSided reported that Drew VerHagen signed a one-year contract with a player option with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan. Murray reports that VerHagen can make as much as $8 million over the two seasons.