A new Mets Fix... Podcast
Morning Dose: Friday, November 3
☕️ Good Morning,
Let the offseason begin!
Whether you were rooting for or against Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom and the Texas Rangers, the World Series has been decided, and free agency has begun.
To get you ready for the offseason, we have an exciting announcement:
🎧 The Mets Fix Podcast launched early this morning. You can find it wherever you catch your pods. It’s me, Blake and Peter, talking Mets. We will try to record once per week. We still need to add some intro music and work out the kinks, but as many of you were with us from the ground up with the newsletter, we appreciate you joining the ride on the podcast.
We also have a jam-packed newsletter for you this morning, with the latest news and a preview of the key dates to start the offseason.
🛬 Craig Counsell arrives for interview, decision expected within a week. The presumptive favorite to become the next manager of the Mets arrived in New York on Thursday for an in-person interview, per Andy Martino and Jon Heyman. While the Mets are expected to offer him the most money, along with familiarity under president David Stearns, the possibility of Counsell returning to Milwaukee remains. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports if the Brewers match the top offer, they will “almost certainly retain him.” Cleveland is also considered a “dark horse” for his services.
🍎 Green, Mendoza, Kotsay in manager mix. The Mets have interviewed Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza, per Joel Sherman and Andy Martino. They have also interviewed Cubs bench coach Andy Green, per Sherman. And Oakland manager Mark Kotsay “has been in the mix, but it’s unclear to what extent,” per Martino.
“Mendoza is a strong candidate for this job,” per Martino. “His interviews have gone well, he has an excellent reputation from his time as Aaron Boone's bench coach.”
☀️ Buck Showalter a strong candidate for Angels. The former Mets skipper is “squarely in the mix” to replace Phil Nevin in Anaheim, according to Jon Heyman.
🏆 Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso named 2023 Silver Slugger finalists. The winners will be announced on November 9.
💰 Scott Boras talks Pete Alonso’s next contract. “The revenue system of the game has dramatically changed over the last few years,’’ Boras said while appearing on The Show with Joel Sherman & Jon Heyman. “I don’t think the (Freddie Freeman and Paul Goldschmidt) contracts are really relevant to anything that has to do with what’s going to happen in the future, particularly with Pete Alonso.”
👮 Mets hire former NYPD commish Keechant Sewell for newly created public safety role. Sewell will become the organization’s first senior vice president of security and guest experience, according to the NY Post. “The opportunity to bring my passions of community building and public safety to the Mets is truly a dream job,” she said in a statement. “As someone who grew up in Queens, this legendary organization is vital to local communities and so many across the world. I can’t wait to help be a part of building this world-class fan experience.”
💵 Steve Cohen’s refinancing of Citi Field debt will save the Mets millions of dollars. The Mets owner was able to lower debt payments by refinancing the bonds used to build Citi Field. According to Forbes, “prior to the refinancing, the stadium was paying $44 million annually. (QBP also pays annual rent of $500,000.) This year, the payment will plummet to less than $5 million. Long term, the refinancing will continue to pay dividends as the PILOT debt service is about $37 million annually.”
An outline of the key mile markers to begin the offseason.
🔹 When does free agency begin?
Yesterday! As of Thursday, players on expiring contracts became free agents. That means Carlos Carrasco is a free agent. There are also three players with options attached to their contracts (whom we will talk about in a bit).
🔹 When can players sign with new teams?
While free agency is formally underway, players have until Monday (November 6) to negotiate with their resident teams before they can begin pursuing other opportunities. That’s when the Hot Stove season really begins. Shohei Ohtani Watch will kick into full swing on Monday.
You can expect some early action with the GM Meetings set to take place November 7-9 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
🔹 Who are the top free agents?
We will spend plenty of time discussing free agent targets in detail over the coming weeks and months. But here is a list of 10 players who are either at the top of the market, the top of the Mets’ wish list, or both:
Shohei Ohtani (29), DH/RHP (duh)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (25), RHP
Blake Snell (31), LHP
Cody Bellinger (28), OF
Aaron Nola (31), RHP
Josh Hader (30), LHP
Sonny Gray (34), RHP
Jordan Montgomery (30), LHP
J.D. Martinez (36), DH
Teoscar Hernández (31), OF
📚 LEARN MORE: Keith Law’s top 50 MLB free agents: Shohei Ohtani is the headliner, but depth of class is weak
🔹 What about the players with options?
Catcher Omar Narváez already made the easy decision to exercise his $7 million option to back-up Francisco Álvarez. That’s a pretty penny to play once or twice per week. At $7 million, he is currently the ninth highest paid catcher in 2024. Narváez wasn’t going anywhere. Plus, he has already played (and had success) under David Stearns in Milwaukee.
Veteran reliever Adam Ottavino has a $6.75 million player option. Ottavino told Anthony DiComo in August that he “intends to exercise his option,” but in October told reporters he wants to see how things "shake out" over the next month.
Meanwhile, the Mets hold a $6.5 million club option (with a $1.25 million buyout) for lefty Brooks Raley. This should be an easy decision for the Mets. Southpaws always draw interest on the open market. The Cubs are reportedly one of the teams eyeing Raley if he reaches free agency. If you don’t bring Raley back, you are just going to have to sign someone similar to replace him. Without many other lefties in the organization, keeping Raley is the easy choice.
🔹 What about the 40-man roster?
November 6 marks the time free agents can sign with new teams. It also marks the time when all players on the 60-day IL must be activated. Combine that with the upcoming Rule 5 Draft, and that’s why teams are starting to place players on waivers.
The Mets started the process earlier in the week by waiving LHP Anthony Kay (claimed by the A’s), RHP Vinny Nittoli, C Michael Perez, OF Rafael Ortega, INF Jonathan Arauz and INF Danny Mendick.
On Thursday, again with a mind that 60-day IL players must soon be activated, they reportedly placed RHP Bryce Montes de Oca, RHP John Curtiss, RHP Elieser Hernández, RHP Denyi Reyes, RHP Peyton Battenfield and OF Tim Locastro on outright waivers. Since Montes de Oca and Battenfield are being outrighted for the first time, the Mets can retain them if they go unclaimed, but the rest will become free agents, according to Anthony DiComo.
Assuming each of these players becomes free agents, that would leave seven open roster spots on the 40-man roster (including Ottavino and Raley).
Montes de Oca is the name that jumps out the most from the six most recently placed on waivers. He has a live arm, capable of throwing over 100 mph with ridiculous extension and movement. However, he has been out of public eye as he recovers from Tommy John surgery (which will continue into next season), so it’s hard to handicap where he stands relative to his promise before the injury.
New York made one addition to the 40-man roster by claiming right-hander Penn Murfee off waivers from the Mariners. The 29-year-old, who pitched to a 2.70 ERA over his past 80 major-league appearances, underwent UCL surgery in the summer, but is under team control through the 2028 season.
🔹 Other considerations
Since Carlos Carrasco is the only veteran free agent on the roster, the Mets won’t have any difficult qualifying offer decisions.
Beyond the start of free agency, the next dates to look out for are outlined below. We will talk in detail about each as we get closer to these dates.
November 14 - when players must be added to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft.
November 17 - the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players.
December 4-7 - the Winter Meetings.
December 5 - the draft lottery (will the Mets fall back 10 spots?).
December 6 - the Rule 5 Draft
◾️ The 2023 World Series was least-watched Fall Classic in TV history.
◾️ Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. was voted player of the year by his peers.
◾️ Nelson Cruz announces retirement after 19 MLB seasons, nearly 500 home runs.
◾️ Dodgers extend Max Muncy to 2-year, $24 million deal.
🔗 MLB Contract Projection Machine: What could the best free-agent position players sign for? by Tim Britton, The Athletic ($): “There are always two ways of looking at Ohtani. First, let’s identify comps for Ohtani the hitter, other comps for Ohtani the pitcher, and add them together.”
🔗 Knight forever in Mets lore after heroics in 1986 title run, by Bill Ladson, MLB: “Knight followed, but before he stepped into the batter’s box, he looked up into the stands and noticed that his then-wife, golf legend Nancy Lopez, was crying. She obviously thought there was a possibility that Knight was going to make the final out of the series.”
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Nice to see you and good luck with the podcast; looking forward to giving it a shot. If MLB makes most of its money from TV and streaming contracts, then can we conclude that low ratings are a big deal? I am already bored with the Craig Counsell Chronicles. I know nothing about him except this: he has not won the big one and making him the highest paid manager in MLB will not change that. So let the bidding begin and wake me up when it's over.
You really shouldn’t call Craig Counsell the presumptuous favorite unless you know for a fact that he is smug. However he is most likely the presumptive favorite although do you that for a fact or are you making an educated guess? You can also presume that he is more likely to stay in Milwaukee given his ties to the community and his success with the Brewers.