Meet the Mets
In his rundown of what he is hearing at the GM meetings in The Athletic, Jim Bowden writes that the Mets will be players for Tarik Skubal and that the Blue Jays are involved as well, but Skubal may not just pick the highest offer. Freddy Peralta and Michael King are also expected to land big contracts, but likely will not sign until Skubal sets the market.
The Mets are interested in Ty France and Alec Bohm as potential options at first base.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders how far David Stearns
should go in prioritizing 2027 when it comes to giving up draft capital for short-term success.
Mets pitching prospect Ryan Lambert has been tinkering with a new pitch in the Arizona Fall League and hopes that it will help him land a spot on the big league roster in 2027. “It’s a feel pitch for me,” Lambert said of his new sweepier breaking ball. “It comes off my fastball pretty dang good.”
Around the National League East
After signing Evan Phillips to bolster their bullpen, the Braves are still interested in Rasiel Iglesias, who is also drawing interest from the Tigers.
Meanwhile “relievers who command multiple years and significant money are probably off the table” for the Nationals, despite Washington having one of the league’s worst bullpens last season.
Alex McFarlane had a strong rookie campaign for the Phillies in what was otherwise a pretty dismal year for their bullpen. He is looking to cement himself as a long-term option in 2027.
The Marlins have hired Trayce Thompson—brother of Miami Heat guard Klay Thompson—to their baseball operations department.
Around Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is running ads on its social media platforms representing the league’s proposed changes to the game as we hurtle toward a potential lockout.
Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic covered the latest offseason storylines and rumors, including the Red Sox operating as a big market team should with the addition of Jake Bauers, the Brewers’ potential options at first base now that Bauers has departed, the Braves’ possible next moves, the case for Jazz Chisolm, and more.
Diamondbacks officials met with Ketel Marte’s agent during the GM meetings this week, but did not come away with a clearer picture regarding which teams for which Marte would waive his no-trade protection to approve a deal, according to reports.
The Arizona Fall League handed out its annual awards.
The 2026 MVP campaign in both leagues represents a cautionary tale when it comes to trading top prospects, writes Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. But the executives he interviewed understand that big mistakes, like the Mets made when they traded NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong as a prospect, come with the territory.
Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue
Vasilis Drimalitis took a look back at Christian Scott’s bounce back 2026 season.
This Date in Mets History
Darryl Strawberry (inexplicably) finished second in the MVP voting to Kirk Gibson on this date in 1988.
