Good morning, Mets fans!

Steve Cohen reactivated his Twitter account Tuesday afternoon. He marked his return with a tweet announcing he’ll be back at spring training this weekend after making rounds last weekend.

Cohen said he felt “the positive vibe amongst the players” when he was down in Port St. Lucie.

Now let’s get into the morning briefing.

Latest Mets News

Dick Scott, the former Mets bench coach, returned to the team in a new role, according to MLB.com‘s Anthony DiComo. He says Scott’s new title is “Coordinator, coaching development and instruction.”  Scott had been in a front office role with the Miami Marlins since leaving the Mets after the 2017 season.

Catcher Austin Bossart–the player the Mets traded Jason Vargas for after falling out of contention in 2019–retired from baseball, according to Jacob Resnick. Bossart didn’t play above Double-A. It was peculiar at the time when the Mets traded for him on account he turned out to be Jeff Wilpon’s son’s roommate in college. Do Steve Cohen’s kids have any talented friends we should be on the lookout for?

Latest MLB News

Jon Heyman says Anibal Sanchez has turned down “multiple” big league offers from teams so he can assess how the COVID-19 safety protocols are being enacted across the league. Heyman made sure to note Sanchez hasn’t opted out of the season–he’s just playing it safe so far.

Scott Kazmir continues his march back to a major-league baseball mound with a minor-league contract with the San Francisco Giants, according to ESPN‘s Buster Olney. The 37-year-old last pitched in the majors with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016. He’ll have an invite to the major league spring training camp on the deal.

The Yankees designated Greg Allen (who they traded for at the beginning of January) for assignment and the A’s did the same with Paul Blackburn, according to the respective teams.

There’s a bit of price gouging going on with Dodgers tickets from season ticket holders. The LA Times reports single game tickets are costing thousands of dollars–upwards of $9,000–on the secondary market for one seat.

The Dodgers haven’t committed to letting fans in the stadium yet, but the LA Times says season ticket holders are assuming they will once they get approval from the state government. The limited capacity in stadiums across baseball will drive the demand up for tickets–but hopefully not this high.

Speaking of the Dodgers, they received outfielder Ryan Noda from Toronto as the second player-to-be-named-later from the Ross Stripling trade, according to the Orange County Register‘s Bill Plunkett, thus completing the deal.

Latest on MMO

John Flanigan analyzed Francisco Lindor‘s comments on Monday about analytics. Flanigan also covered Michael Conforto‘s comments on a potential contract extension and Edwin Diaz‘s positive mindset heading into 2021.

Brian Devine ranked where J.D. Davis ranks among all NL third basemen. (Hint: it’s not last!)

Taijuan Walker said the Mets were one of his top choices in free agency due to the commitment to winning, along with the roster, writes Alexis Farinacci.

MMO Digital

On today’s episode of Locked On Mets, host Ryan Finkelstein is once again joined by fellow MMO contributor Jack Ramsey for part two of their conversation about the Mets pitching depth. Today they examine if the Syracuse Mets rotation compares favorably to some of the lesser rotations in Major League Baseball.

On This Date in Mets History

In the land of birthdays, Hall of Famer Eddie Murray turns 65 today. He played two seasons with the Mets in 1992 and 1993.

On this day in 2010, the Mets signed Rod Barajas, who smashed 12 home runs–11 in the first two months–then traded to the Dodgers for premium Wilpon target Cash Considerations in August.

Also on this day? The late, great Tom Seaver signed his first professional contract with… The Atlanta Braves. However, commissioner William Eckert ruled the contract broke the rules about signing college players (Seaver’s USC team was playing at the time, but Seaver wasn’t after being drafted and passed on by the Dodgers). Seaver’s contract then entered a lottery with the Mets, Phillies, and Cleveland. The rest is history, as they say.