Good morning, Mets fans!

On Wednesday, Boston Red Sox and Rafael Devers agreed on an 11-year, $331 million deal. Former MLB player Carlos Baerga reported the news on his Instagram. The one-year, $17.5 million contract that Devers previously signed this free agency to avoid arbitration will be superseded by the extension. In 2022, Devers had a hitting slash of .295/.358/.521 with 27 home runs and 88 RBIs. It is possible that frustrations over losing Xander Bogaerts to the Padres in free agency prompted the Red Sox to give such a large offer to keep Rafael Devers. Christian de Block has more on the story.

Now, it is time for the morning briefing.

Latest Mets News

Will Sammon of The Athletic reports that Drew Toussaint will be the Mets’ amateur scouting director. A member of the Mets’ scouting department for several years, Toussaint was most recently the club’s assistant director of amateur and international scouting. Michael Mayer also reports that Dick Scott is going to be the Triple-A Syracuse Mets manager for 2023. Scott served as the Mets coordinator of coaching development and instruction the last two years. He was also the Mets bench coach in 2016 and 2017. Ross Bentley has more information on these stories.

Michael Mayer reports that on Jan. 7 at 2 p.m., Steve Cohen invites all New Yorkers to a community visioning session at Citi Field to discuss the future of the 50 acres of asphalt around the stadium. You can RSVP at this link.

Michael Mayer also reports that Dick Scott is going to be the Triple-A Syracuse Mets manager for 2023. Scott served as the Mets’ coordinator of coaching development and instruction the last two years. He was also the Mets bench coach in 2016 and 2017.

Wayne Randazzo was recently hired as the play-by-play commentator for the Los Angeles Angels. He released a farewell statement regarding his time with the Mets.

Bryan Kalbrosky of ForTheWin interviewed Mets HOF catcher Mike Piazza.

Latest MLB News

Robert Murray of FanSided reports that free agent outfielder Roman Quinn in agreement on a minor league contract with the Cleveland Guardians. Quinn, who spent last season with the Phillies and Rays, gets an invite to spring training. The Guardians have also signed RHP Touki Toussaint, C Cam Gallagher, RHP Michael Kelly to minor league deals that include spring training invites, according to Zack Meisel of the Athletic.

Daniel Kim of ESPN reports that the KBO announced their 30-man roster for the World Baseball Classic. As expected, big leaguers Ha-Seong Kim, Tommy Edman and Ji-Man Choi all made the team and will be representing Korea.

Latest on MMO

On this Date in Mets History

The post Morning Briefing: Red Sox Give Rafael Devers Huge Extension appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Good morning, Mets fans!

The Atlanta Braves and catcher Sean Murphy, who they acquired in a trade with the Oakland A’s, agreed to a six-year, $73 million contract through the 2028 season. It was yet another longterm extension made by the Braves. In a press release posted on their social media pages, the deal includes a $15 million club option in 2029.

Meanwhile in Mets land, it’s been one week since New York and Carlos Correa stunned the baseball world and reportedly agreed to a massive 13-year contract. The Mets and Correa’s team, including agent Scott Boras, have continued to talk even after the Mets were seemingly displeased with Correa’s medical reports just as the San Francisco Giants were when Correa signed there first.

At least three other teams have been in talks with Correa even with the deal with the Mets still on the table. Teams can still discuss contracts with unsigned free agents, as Correa is technically one since he has yet to agree to his deal with the Mets. Still, both sides remain optimistic that they will get a deal done.

Latest Mets News

MMO‘s Michael Mayer reports that the Mets officially announced the resigning of reliever Adam Ottavino. The Mets reportedly made the deal last week before the Correa news broke. To make room on the 40-man roster, right-hander William Woods has been designated for assignment.

Latest MLB News

Jeff Passan of ESPN reports starter Rich Hill and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in agreement on a one-year, $8 million contract, pending physical. Hill, a former Met, will turn 43 in March and is entering his 19th season in MLB. The left-hander made 26 starts and throwing 124.1 innings for Boston this year.

FanSided’s Robert Murray reports the Texas Rangers are adding another arm to their starting rotation in Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi started 20 games for the Red Sox last season and had a 6-3 record with a 3.87 ERA.

Latest on MMO

Chris Bello looks at the top six free agents the Mets could look to sign.

Patrick Glynn ranks the top five best Mets offensive performances of the 2022 season.

On This Date in Mets History

1967: Johnny Murphy became the Mets’ third ever general manager.

Birthdays: Benny Agbayani (51), Ray Knight (70), John Milner (73)

The post Morning Briefing: Braves Give Sean Murphy Six-Year Extension appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, Mets fans!

The Phillies have removed the interim tag on Rob Thomson, giving him a two-year contract to manage the team. Thomson took over the team after a disastrous 22-29 start under Joe Girardi, and the Phillies went a strong 65-46 under Thomson’s lead. After winning a playoff series for the first time in 12 years, Thomson and the Phillies are set to do battle with the Braves in the NLDS.

Speaking of the NLDS, all four division series begin today. As usual, they will be best-of-five. The Phillies take on the Braves at 1:07. p.m. ET, then the Astros vs. Braves at 3:37, Guardians vs. Yankees at 7:37 and Padres vs. Dodgers at 9:37.

Latest Mets News

Right-handed pitching prospect Dominic Hamel was named South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Month for September. The 23-year-old made two starts in the month, tossing 14 scoreless innings, allowing just seven hits and one walk with 17 strikeouts.

Francisco Lindor spoke about how he felt following the team’s disappointing finish, and how they didn’t meet the expectation of winning the World Series. Lindor however said he felt this year was a step in the right direction, and praised the fans for showing up all year.

The Mets announced a few coaching changes to the team’s minor league system. Triple-A manager Kevin Boles, hitting coach Joel Chimelis and pitching coach Steve Schrenk will not be returning to the organization, and neither will Double-A pitching coach Jerome Williams.

With the offseason beginning, the Mets now have nine players set to hit free agency. The Mets also announced that Billy Eppler and Buck Showalter will be retained heading into 2023.

Latest MLB News

The Braves announced they have signed fireballer Spencer Strider to a six-year contract worth $75 million. The young righty is battling back from an oblique injury, but he’s been phenomenal this year, striking out 202 batters in just 131 2/3 innings (13.8 K/9) and registering a strong 2.67 ERA/1.83 FIP.

Mookie Betts is producing a film about Jackie Robinson that will debut on FS1 on Wednesday. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic spoke to Betts about the project.

The Giants have hired former Astros assistant general manager Pete Putila to be their new GM. Putila has spent the last 12 years in the Houston organization.

Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts announced that southpaw Julio Urías will start game 1 of the NLDS against the Padres. Clayton Kershaw will take the hill for Los Angeles in game 2.

Journeyman catcher Dustin Garneau announced his retirement from baseball. The 34-year-old played for six different teams in his eight-year MLB career, spending this season with the Tigers.

Latest on MMO

Nate Mendelson reflects on the Mets’ disappointing end to the season.

Chris Bello examines the upcoming free agency for Brandon Nimmo.

On This Date in Mets History

1988: Kevin McReynolds hits a two-run homer and David Cone throws a complete game to keep the Mets alive and force a game 7 of the NLCS with a 5-1 victory. McReynolds collects four hits, finishing a triple shy of the cycle, while Cone throws 120 pitches, allowing five hits and three walks with six strikeouts.

2000: Mike Hampton tosses seven shutout innings, and Todd Zeile and Jay Payton both hit homers in the ninth inning as the Mets take game 1 of the NLCS from the Cardinals, 6-2.

Birthdays: Orlando Hernández (57), Ty Wigginton (45)

The post Morning Briefing: Phillies Give Rob Thomson Two-Year Contract appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Photo Credit: Ed Delany of MMO

Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer gave fans quite the treat on Sunday at Clover Park. DeGrom got the start and threw the first three innings before handing the ball over to Max Scherzer, who threw the last six innings of the game to close out what was dubbed Cy-Young Sunday.

DeGrom (1-0) pitched three innings, giving up just one (earned) run on four hits. He struck out five on 52 pitches (38 strikes). His ERA so far this spring, after two games, is 1.80, with a total of 10 strikeouts. He was credited with the win in today’s game.

DeGrom started strong in the first, striking out the first two batters he faced. After giving up a two-out hit, he retired the fourth batter of the inning with his third strikeout of the day. In his second inning of work, he collected his fourth strikeout of the day and retired the two other outs via a groundout and fly-out. He gave up two-out hits in both the first and second innings but worked his way around them.

The third inning started strong for deGrom as he struck out Kramer Robertson for his fifth strikeout. He then gave up a one-out double by Dylan Carlson, who was driven in by Harrison Bader later in the inning on an RBI double for the only run deGrom gave up. He got out of trouble with a pop-out to end the inning.

Scherzer, as scheduled, threw six innings. He gave up just two (earned) runs on five hits, one walk, and one home run. He struck out seven on 90 pitches (63 strikes). His ERA this spring is 2.45 after the two games he’s pitched in, and he has 12 total strikeouts. He was credited with the save. He averaged 93.8 mph on his four-seam fastball and had a 43 percent whiff rate.

Scherzer looked dominant in his first inning of work, retiring the first three batters he faced in a perfect fourth inning. Strikeouts dominated the fifth inning (Scherzer’s second inning on the mound). He struck out the first two batters of the inning and lined out the third to end the inning, retiring the first six batters he faced. In the sixth inning, Scherzer collected his third strikeout of the day. He did get into a pinch with a two-out hit-by-pitch and a walk but retired Brendan Donovan to get out of the inning.

The seventh inning is where Scherzer got into a jam. He gave up a lead-off single to Alec Burleson, followed by an RBI double by Ali Sanchez to give the Cardinals their second run of the game. However, he retired the next three batters to get out of the inning before further damage was done.

Scherzer settled back in in the eighth inning (his fifth inning of work). He struck out the first two batters of the inning for his fourth and fifth strikeouts of the day and retired the third batter of the inning via a pop-out.

Scherzer returned for his sixth inning of work in the ninth inning. He gave up a quick lead-off home run to Anderson Tejeda. Still, he settled right back down, retiring Burleson on a groundout and striking out the last two batters of the game for his sixth and seventh strikeout of the day to close out a very dominant day of work and a special Sunday at Clover Park.

Both deGrom and Scherzer spoke to the media after their outings this afternoon.

DeGrom said it was “definitely cool” to pitch in the same game as Scherzer, but he would’ve liked getting to watch Scherzer. Instead, he had to do extra work and talk to the media after he got done throwing in the game.

In talking about throwing his curveball, deGrom said the first two he threw well, and then after that, he was trying to bounce one and wasn’t able to. After that, he wanted to see if he could throw it as a strikeout pitch, but the first two were better than the strikeout attempt. He plans to continue working on it and hopes to be able to use it more this season.

Max Scherzer spoke with the media as well. He said he talks a lot to deGrom about what they can learn from each other.

Together deGrom and Scherzer combined for 12 strikeouts and gave the fans at Clover Park a show and a taste of what they can look forward to this upcoming season.

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