Prospect Timelines

Morning Dose: Tuesday, January 7

☀️ Good Morning:

No Met will ever wear the number 5 again.

Steve Cohen continues to pay homage to the organization’s history by retiring the numbers of fan favorites.

Since taking over as majority owner in 2020, the Mets have retired five numbers, including Willie Mays #24, the same total retired in the previous 58 years of the franchise.

After placing Jerry Koosman’s #36 where it belongs near Tom Seaver’s #41, Cohen made sure Keith Hernandez got his due in 2022, along with Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry in 2024.

David Wright will have his number retired and enter the Mets Hall of Fame, another Cohen invention, on July 19 before an afternoon game against the Reds at Citi Field.

The Cohens: “David Wright personified class on and off the field,” Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement. “David is the definition of a Met.”

Wright, a seven-time All Star, is the franchise leader in hits (1,777), RBI (970), runs (949), doubles (390), extra-base hits (658) and walks (762), while ranking second in games played (1,585) and home runs (242), third in batting average (.296) and fourth in stolen bases (196) and on-base percentage (.376).

Drafted as the 38th overall pick in 2001, he made his major-league debut with the Mets on July 21, 2004 against the Expos at Shea Stadium. He later became the organization’s fourth captain. He played his entire career in the only colors that suited him, blue & orange.

I’m not someone who gets too excited about retiring numbers, but I love how the team is embracing their history and there are few players worth celebrating more than David Wright.

☕️ Grab your coffee for your morning dose of Mets Fix!

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📐 Prospect Timelines

It was a day like today, in the middle of the winter, when the Mets received the draft pick that would become David Wright.

As compensation for losing Mike Hampton to the Colorado school system, the Mets received the 38th overall pick in the 2001 draft. A pick they used to select their future captain.

It’s worth remembering this point as the Mets navigate the rest of the offseason.

• As competitive tax payers, the Amazins won’t get a pick as high as 38th for losing a qualified free agent. The pick they netted for Luis Severino comes after the fourth round. They could gain an additional pick if Pete Alonso signs elsewhere.

• More costly, they have already forfeited their second- and fifth-highest selections in the draft, along with international bonus pool money, for signing Juan Soto. They could lose additional picks (and international bonus pool money) for signing another player who received a qualifying offer.

It doesn’t pay to spend money when it comes to the draft and the international amateur market. Teams must be creative to maximize the return on their investments and draft bonus pools.

🎓 LEARNING FROM THE BEST: The Dodgers made a trade on Monday that offers some valuable lessons to a team like the Mets.

• The defending champs sent 27-year-old second baseman Gavin Lux to the Reds for outfield prospect Mike Sirota (a third-round pick in the 2024 draft) and Cincinnati’s Competitive Balance Round A selection, which lands 37th overall, one spot ahead of where Wright was selected.

• After signing international free agent Hyeseong Kim, a Gold-Glove caliber second baseman out of Korea, Lux became expendable.

What can the Mets learn from this?