⏰ Catch me up in 60(ish) seconds…
PLEASED TO MEET YOU: The Mets introduced Jared Porter as their new general manager on Monday. You can watch the full press conference here (more in a bit).
RELIEF: Top free agent reliever Liam Hendriks is drawing interest from the Mets, among several other teams, per ESPN. The Amazins’ appetite for Hendriks could depend on whether they sign enough starters to move Seth Lugo back to the bullpen.
STARTER MARKET: Interest in free agent starter Jake Odorizzi is “heating up” with the Mets still in the mix, per Jim Duquette.
SIGNING: Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff is reportedly signing with the Mets on a minor league deal that would pay him $1.25 million with $750,000 in incentives if he makes the big league club, per USA Today.
🧓 JB’s quick take: The Mets continue to add veteran pitching depth to their farm ranks (after recently bringing back LHP Jerry Blevins on a similar deal). Both will at least be non-roster invitees to Spring Training. Eickhoff gives them a starter for AAA Syracuse (where Chad Kreuter is expected to return as manager). He had some success with the Phillies after arriving from the Cole Hamels trade, but injuries have littered his career: he hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2019 and his ERA has been above 4.5 runs since 2017.
SUPER TWO: Both Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis qualify for Super Two status, meaning they will reach arbitration a bit quicker than the typical three-year service time requirement.
EXTENSION: Scott Boras told reporters on Tuesday that negotiations on a potential long-term deal for Michael Conforto wouldn’t get serious until later in the offseason.
🍎 + 🍔: Boras also told reporters about Steve Cohen, “It’s nice to have an ownership with big apples.” And on the James McCann signing, “They didn’t let anybody eat their lunch. They went out and got a Big Mac.”
📚ON THIS DATE IN 1982: THE FRANCHISE RETURNS TO SHEA. New York Times: “The Mets completed three days of contract talks with Tom Seaver yesterday, and will announce today at a luncheon in Shea Stadium that he has agreed to be traded back to the team from the Cincinnati Reds. Seaver, 38 years old, will rejoin the Mets five and a half years after they sent him to Cincinnati for four players.”
Sandy Alderson introduced Jared Porter as the new general manager of the Mets on Monday, and I really wanted to listen to what the new braintrust had to say, but I have to admit, on first watch, I couldn’t focus on anything but their respective video backdrops.
[3 minutes into presser] text from my dad: What’s up with the gnomes behind Sandy?
Nothing symbolizes the generational gap between the last person to lead the Mets to the World Series and the man charged with being the next than peeking into the rooms behind them during the Zoom presser.
While Sandy appeared to be hosting the call from his grandmother’s dining room table, if you told me that Porter has a fully-stocked cocktail bar with crystal glasses for every possible drink hiding just out of view, I would believe you. Although, learning more and more about Porter’s work ethic, he probably only serves the drinks to minor league scouts while sipping on seltzer and trying to gain intel.
/Googles Christmas Gnomes
So I guess Christmas gnomes are a thing. And it turns out I’m not the first person to wonder what they are all about. As I learned from reading this Better Homes & Garden article (yeah, I fell into the rabbit hole), searches for Christmas gnomes have increased 525% since 2015.
From BH&G:
In Scandinavia, these gnomes (known as nisse in Norway) are associated with the Christmas season. Much like the American Santa Claus, the julenisse—basically Kris Kringle in gnome form—visits the homes of good children on Christmas Eve. Children leave a bowl of porridge out for him, and in return, the julenisse brings presents to their front door.
Either Sandy Alderson has Scandinavian roots or his antiquated-looking background is in fact quite chic to modern Christmas decor, but neither tells you much about the Mets or saves me the 20 minutes I spent reading about Christmas gnomes, so moving on after one more point:
The pictures on Porter’s wall are of Muhammad Ali with the Beatles, Dave Matthews, and Bruce Springsteen. He’s a keeper.
Big Spenders
With the signing of James McCann now official, Mets fans are left hoping this is only the beginning, a baby step before the organization makes a giant leap in signing someone like George Springer, Trevor Bauer, or dare I say, both.
But inking McCann for $40 million (with a $600,000 signing bonus) is only small potatoes in this new Cohen world order. The 30-year-old catcher who was non-tendered by the Tigers only two winters ago becomes the 7th most expensive free agent the Mets have signed away from another team in franchise history.
To be fair: McCann’s $8 million salary in 2021 (his contract is backloaded to pay him $16 million over the first two years and the remaining $24 million in 2023-2024), is more than double the annual value of the highest paid player in 1991 (you might recognize the name: Darryl Strawberry). When Strawberry left the Mets for the Dodgers, his 5-year, $20.25 million deal was the second largest in baseball to Jose Canseco. It wasn’t until the mid-aughts when a large number of players were earning at least $10 million per season.
And to be extra fair: If you include contract extensions or signings for players who were recently acquired in trade, the Mets have opened their checkbooks for Johan Santana (6-years, $137.5 million), Mike Piazza (7-years, $91 million), and Yoenis Cespedes (initially, 3-years, $75 million).
Back to 2020: As for luxury tax considerations, adding McCann’s average annual salary to the books leaves the Mets with approximately $50-$55 million in breathing room before they hit the first luxury tax threshold.
We don’t know if Mr. Cohen cares about the luxury tax, or whether his first season as owner turns into an anomaly, in one fashion or another: either he is more likely to spend to prove how much better he is than the Wilpons; or he will shy away from overspending as a graceful entrance to the exclusive MLB ownership club, while the group prepares to form a steel wall against the union when the current CBA expires in 2021.
THE PAYOFF PITCH: The Mets are open for business. James McCann is a start. But with around $50 million to burn before they have to worry about the luxury tax, Cohen is in perfect position to flex his financial muscle and sign at least one of the big name free agents.
Interesting links from other sites…
🔗 The Mets New GM, by Bill James: “I wouldn’t want you to think that I was Jared [Porter]’s mentor; I wasn’t. I don’t remember that we ever talked about sabermetrics much. I hope he wouldn’t mind my mentioning this, but Allard Baird was his mentor. Allard spent a lot of time with him, teaching him. Jared was always more of a scouting guy than an analytics guy, but that wasn’t any kind of barrier.”
🔗 A visualization of James McCann’s improvements as a player, by David Capobianco: “It’s one thing to look at the numbers on the stat sheet and be skeptical when lines like McCann’s appear to be anomalies, and it’s still possible he doesn’t perform up to his contract with the Mets. But when you go back and actually look at the pronounced adjustments he’s made to become basically a completely new player, McCann becomes a lot easier to buy into as the Mets’ number one catcher for the next few years.”
🔗 Jared Porter’s work ethic, MLB track record speak for themselves, by Joel Sherman: “If you listened to Porter’s introductory Zoom conference Monday, you could hear where the passion lies for the guy who could talk two hours straight about Cape Cod League players. The guy who would work 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Fort Myers, then set out on his own time and dime to watch a Florida State League game to improve both his scouting skills and player knowledge.”
🔗 A-Rod has found a new project after losing out on Mets bid, via Rene Rodriguez of the Miami Herald: “A-Rod will be a platform investor in a $650 million hospitality fund with CGI Merchant Group, a Miami-based investment firm focusing on real estate and private equity. The fund aims to acquire and develop 20 hotels across North America and the Caribbean over the next three years. It will reposition its hotel acquisitions under the Hilton brand.”
🔗 MLB Pipeline 2021 Mock Draft - Mets select Ty Madden, RHP, Texas: “A top-three-rounds talent on a loaded Cypress Ranch HS (Cypress, Texas) club in 2018, Madden has continually gotten stronger and better at Texas. He's now dealing with a mid-90s fastball, a plus mid-80s slider and a solid low-80s changeup, not to mention a quality delivery and control.”
Thanks for reading! More to come on Friday!
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Christmas Gnomes
Great article LOL