Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Updated Post – Jan.6, 11:45

Any Martino of SNY reports that grown “very frustrated” in their negotiations over the last couple of days with Scott Boras. Martino notes that the Mets are considering walking away from a deal with Carlos Correa.

Despite all of that, the source told Martino, they “still believed the sides stood a strong chance of reaching an agreement.”

Updated Post – Jan. 6, 10:50

According to Jim Bowden of The Athletic, the Minnesota Twins are still in the sweepstakes for star infielder Carlos Correa. Jon Heyman of the New York Post noted on Thursday night that the camp for Correa had been in contact with at least one team besides the Mets as negotiations move past the two-week mark.

Correa hit .291/.366/.467 with 22 home runs and a 5.4 WAR in 136 games for the Twins in the 2022 season.

Updated Post – Jan. 5, 20:05

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that Carlos Correa’s camp had contact with at least one team and possibly two teams outside of the Mets on Thursday.

Heyman notes this happened because there has been a hiccup in the renegotiations of the original 12-year, $315 million deal that Correa and the Mets agreed to before Christmas.

Despite the contact with another team, Heyman talked to a Mets person that was still confident they would sign Correa, “Ultimately, I don’t think Mr. Cohen is going to let him go.”

Updated Post – Jan. 5, 15:15

Andy Martino of SNY reports that the New York Mets and Carlos Correa continue to have ongoing discussions that include lawyers to work out what’s expected to be a complicated deal.

Martino says that he’s hearing that a resolution could come sooner than later. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that a deal could get done by the end of the week.

The Mets and Correa’s agent Scott Boras have now been working on the revised deal for over two weeks after the team expressed concerns about the lower right leg of Carlos.

Original Post – Jan. 3, 18:52

While it’s largely been quiet on the Carlos Correa front for the last week or so, there have been rumblings on Tuesday as the anxieties from Mets fans grow by the day.

The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal, who reported on the Mets having concerns with Correa’s medical results like the San Francisco Giants did, said that he expects the Mets’ final deal with the 28-year-old shortstop to look “dramatically different” than the original terms that were agreed to.

The Mets and Correa agreed to a 12-year, $315 million deal on December 21, just after the Giants postponed their introductory press conference due to concerns over Correa’s ankle. Before they could return to the negotiating table, Mets owner Steve Cohen swooped in to offer Correa and his agent, Scott Boras, a deal.

Since Rosenthal’s report on December 24–just three days after the initial agreement–it’s generally been radio silence in terms of news. He now says that the deal will not include 12 years and $315 million fully guaranteed. “The question is to what extent does language change,” he said. When Boras negotiated new terms with J.D. Martinez and the Boston Red Sox over concerns of a potential foot injury, mutual options were worked into the deal that vested if Martinez lost time due to a specific injury to the foot in concern.

Look at this post from Carlos Correa’s IG 👀 pic.twitter.com/pO3S5yRjbN

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) January 3, 2023

Earlier Tuesday, Correa teased his potential future home on Instagram, with his son donning an “I Love New York” shirt as the shortstop was “going to work” with his kid.

Before the calendar turned to 2023, MMO’s Mike Mayer said he had not heard of anyone from within the Mets organization who was pessimistic about a deal happening. We’ll see if that holds up as we enter Week 3 of the Correa saga.

The post Report: Mets ‘Very Frustrated’ With Correa Negotiations appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Credit: USA Today

As the calendar turns to December on Thursday, there still hasn’t been a run on free agents like we saw pre-lockout in 2021. Discussions and rumors have returned to their normal slog this winter with expectations they will ramp up ahead of next week’s Winter Meetings.

However, the Mets will make initial moves beforehand with free agent starter Carlos Rodón, according to SNY‘s Andy Martino.

The Mets will reportedly meet with Rodón and his camp via Zoom on Tuesday, Joel Sherman reported. The soon-to-be-30-year-old is the top left-handed starter on the market this offseason and one of the top overall behind Jacob deGrom and Justin Verlander.

Rodón opted out of his contract with the San Francisco Giants this offseason after just one year with the team. It was his best year as a pro. He tossed 178 innings, accumulated 6.2 WAR with a 2.88 ERA (2.25 FIP), 33.4% strikeout rate and just a 7.3% walk rate. It was also his healthiest year in MLB, spending just the final weekend on the injured list when feeling “under the weather.”

Pitching of all sorts–starting and relief–is a vital need for the Mets. Though they are remain the likeliest team for deGrom (per multiple reports), the team is also expected to pursue Verlander, Kodai Senga, and now Rodón. (Multiple ESPN insiders predicted Rodón would ultimately end up with the Mets with deGrom leaving.) Other teams including the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins reportedly have interest in Rodón, too.

Check out our free agent profile of Carlos Rodón.

The post Reports: Mets to Meet with Carlos Rodón Tuesday appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

According to our own Michael Mayer, the Mets would love to bring back right-handed free agent reliever Adam Ottavino, but also realize that he will cost significantly more than he did the last offseason.

Ottavino, who will turn 37 this coming Tuesday, Nov. 22, signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Mets earlier this year. In 65 2/3 innings, Ottavino posted a 2.06 ERA with 79 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings, in which he went 6-3. He also had 2.3 WAR and 0.975 WHIP.

A New York native, Ottavino cemented himself as the Mets’ go-to eighth-inning pitcher and a worthy set-up man to Edwin Díaz in 2022.  The Mets successfully replaced Jeurys Familia by taking a flier on Ottavino, who had previously posted ERAs of 5.89 and 4.21 in 2020 and 2021 with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, respectively.

His bounce-back season was much more in line with 2019, in which he went 6-5 and had a 1.90 ERA in 66 1/3 innings pitched with 88 strikeouts. Ottavino lasted two seasons with the Yankees but spent his formative playing days in Colorado with the Rockies for seven years (2012-18).

The Mets bullpen is lacking quality arms and depth despite their re-signing Díaz before he was able to hit the open market. Relievers Seth Lugo, Mychal Givens, Joely Rodriguez, Trevor May, and Tommy Hunter, and bulk-inning pitcher Trevor Williams are all free agents in addition to Ottavino.

The Mets have attempted to add depth on the waiver wire with claims of lefty Tayler Saucedo and fireballer Stephen Ridings.

The New York Post’s Jon Heyman also reports that the Mets want Ottavino back and that the interest between the two parties is presumably mutual.

The post Reports: Mets Want Adam Ottavino Back appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Texas Rangers have contacted the agents for free agent pitchers Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodon, and Kodai Senga. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported late on Wednesday night that deGrom had let the Rangers know he is interested in them.

Players can officially sign with new teams starting at 5:00 p.m. ET tonight at the same time that the options and qualifying offer deadline.

It’s been widely speculated since the Mets season ended that the Rangers were going to be in the market for deGrom as they looked to add pitching after spending big money on middle infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien last offseason. DeGrom officially opted out of his deal with the Mets earlier this week and will receive the qualifying offer from them today.

DeGrom, 34, made his 2022 season debut on August 2 and proceeded to dominate with a 1.66 ERA and 63 strikeouts compared to only four walks in his first seven starts of the season. The Florida native’s overall numbers for the year in 11 starts were a 3.08 ERA, 2.13 FIP, 0.75 WHIP, and 102 strikeouts in 64 1/3 innings.

Despite deGrom having pitched only 156 innings over the past two seasons, he’s clearly still one of the top pitchers in Major League Baseball and could command a contract similar to the one Max Scherzer got from the Mets last year of three years, $130 million. Where that type of contract comes from remains to be seen, but there’s certainly going to be heavy interest all over the league in the Mets ace.

The Mets have starters Chris Bassitt, Taijuan Walker, and deGrom set to hit free agency and haven’t yet made a decision on Carlos Carrasco’s $14 million option for the 2023 season.

Losing deGrom would be a big blow to the Mets rotation that currently has Max Scherzer, David Peterson, and Tylor Megill as the only definites for next season.

The post Reports: Rangers Showing Interest in Jacob DeGrom appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Multiple reporters including Will Sammon of The Athletic say the Mets could have interest in bringing back outfielder Michael Conforto, particularly if they aren’t able to re-sign Brandon Nimmo.

Conforto, 29, missed the entire 2022 season after a shoulder injury forced him to have surgery in April. Conforto’s agent, Scott Boras, told reporters on Wednesday that Michael was throwing from 120 feet and is able to generate full extension in his swing.

The left-handed hitter struggled in his final season with the Mets in 2021 when he slashed .232/.344/.388 with 20 doubles and 14 home runs in 125 games. His 106 wRC+ and 1.4 fWAR last year were his worst since his first full season back in 2016. Still, Conforto is fairly young at 29 and has a 124 wRC+ for his career over seven seasons.

As MMO has noted many times before, the outfield market drops off significantly after Nimmo and superstar Aaron Judge. There are some hitters with similar career numbers as Conforto in guys like Joc Pederson (118 wRC+), Mitch Haniger (122 wRC+), and Michael Brantley (118 wRC+), but Michael is still the youngest of the group.

Of course, for the Mets, bringing back Nimmo would be the preference for their outfield situation with him coming off a 5.4 fWAR season and his newfound ability to play center field defense above average. If they aren’t able to do that, the Mets will have to get creative given that the center field market is even worse than the corner outfield group.

Signing Conforto –or one of the other options referenced– means that Starling Marte would have to shift back to center, a move Mets’ GM Billy Eppler says the organization is fine with. Marte didn’t play center field at all in 2022 and recently had surgery to repair a core muscle.

Boras characterizes the free agent interest in Conforto as “so broad” and still believes his client can get a multi-year deal this offseason.

The post Reports: Mets Have Interest in Michael Conforto Reunion appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets have reportedly come to an agreement to re-sign Edwin Díaz to a five-year, $102 million contract, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Bob Nightengale was the first to report a potential deal. Our own Michael Mayer also reported back on October 12 that the Mets wanted to lock Díaz up before free agency began.

The extension has an opt-out after the third year, a full no-trade clause, and a sixth-year team option, according to Tim Healy of Newsday. If Díaz returns for his sixth year, the deal would total six-years and $122 million.

The new contract between the Mets and Díaz makes the closer the highest-paid reliever in the history of MLB. The old record was the five-year, $86-million contract between Aroldis Chapman and the New York Yankees. The Díaz deal, which carries an annual average value of $20.4 million, tromps Liam Hendriks ($18 million), Chapman and Kenley Jansen ($16 million), as well as Ryan Pressly ($15 million) in terms of annual average.

Díaz is receiving this record-breaking contract after a historically great year with the Mets. In 2022, he recorded a 1.31 ERA and struck out 50.2% of the batters he faced. Díaz was clutch the prior season as well, saving 32 games in 35 opportunities.

Not many had Díaz staying in Flushing long-term after the closer struggled in his first year with the Mets. After blowing seven save opportunities in 2019 and allowing 15 home runs in 58 innings, the trade that brought Díaz over was under fire. However, since the 2019 season, Díaz has been elite, cementing himself as the game’s top closer.

The post Reports: Edwin Díaz, Mets In Agreement On Record-Breaking Deal appeared first on Metsmerized Online.