REPORT: Mets Alonso & Diaz Opt OUT, Minter RETURNS, NEW 3B Coach Revealed (Mets News)

REPORT: Mets Alonso & Diaz Opt OUT, Minter RETURNS, NEW 3B Coach Revealed (Mets News)

How we doing everybody? It’s Wardy here and as you can see we’re back at it breaking down all the latest news and rumblings in Mets land. And today, November 3rd, 2025, we have multiple Mets reports to break down right here, right now. Headlined by both Pet Allonzo and Edwin Diaz opting out other contracts, making themselves active free agents for this upcoming offseason. Which now begs the question, is David Sterns and Steve Cohen going to come together and bring back these vital players for 2026 and beyond? or are they going to walk for slim to nothing in return? What is going to happen with Sugar Diaz? Where do things stand on their potential contract demands of both he and Pete Alonzo? What is the current philosophy and mentality of David Sterns and Steve Cohen heading in this off seasonason that we know reportedly to this point? From there, we’re going to talk about the guys that are opting out along with the guys that are opting in. That being in one AJ Mener, the veteran southpaw who will be returning to this Mets bullpen for 2026. We’ll talk about all the pros that come with Mentor and his game and what his role is expected to be there in this bullpen for 2026. From there, we’re going to get into the other active penning for agents for this New York Mets team. Who’s likely staying, who’s likely leaving, and why. And to wrap up this show, everybody, you know how we broke down the platform yesterday, the Mets pitching coaching hire to be that being in the guru from Boston and those Red Sox, that being and Justin Wellard. Check that video out in case you guys haven’t already after watching this one. Today we’re here to break down the Mets third base coach hire to be. And this is going to be a really interesting move as of now. Reportedly, it’s going to be someone coming over in more of a lateral move from an organization that honestly had a lot of success last season and is technically a rival to a degree of the New York Mets here in the National League. We’ll expand on that and what you need to know about this individual and a whole lot more. Everybody, all he asks is that you hit that like and subscribe button on your way as it’s a fantastic way to support the platform. We give away Mets jerseys to one lucky subscriber. After every new 1,000 subscriber milestone we hit on WordN. And we’ve done it plenty this year. And once we hit 36,000, we’ll be doing it again. So smash that like and subscribe button. Hit that notification bell. Let me know your thoughts down below if you’re for or against both the Polar Bear and Edwin Diaz returning or walking this off seasonason, everybody, along with the other pending free agents that we’re going to break down shortly. And I don’t want to waste any more time. So let’s just go ahead and deep dive and get right into the thick of it. as you guys can see right here right now. Let’s begin here with Mr. Sugar Diaz. Edwin reported initially that we saw by everyone and then I reaffirmed that there on X just to, you know, say the exact same thing for the most part at the Wardenym. Give me a follow there for the the big X account and for my smaller personal account that still has a good following. Check it out separately. Mets roster news. Edwin Diaz has officially opted out of his contract, making him a free agent. And he isn’t the only one. And as we know, Edwin Diaz is coming off of nothing short of a stellar season for the New York Mets this past year. And he is owed $38 million in the final couple years of his contract. That is obviously not happening as he knows he can get a much higher AEV. Really good-looking market value on a multi-year deal in similarity to what he previously signed, which was obviously north of five years or so, 100 plus million dollars with the New York Mets, making the first reliever in Major League Baseball history to actually receive a 100 plus million dollar contract. Now going on from Edwin Diaz, he is not the only man here to break down as we also have the polar bear here as Pete Lonzo has opted out today as well. Now let me make something abundantly clear. Unless you have been living under a rock or unless you just have not paid attention the past two and a half 3 months then you would know very well that both these things were beyond expected. This is less breaking news as it is okay this is all part of the course once the offseason was officially going to be upon us. And the reason for this is Pete Alonzo said verbatim in the Mets final game of the year he was opting out. Right? It’s all about negotiations. Allonzo wants a longerterm deal. We know this. He’s been seeking this for the past three and a half years. The Mets threw him a seven-year contract extension, but it would have bought out his final year and a half, if not two years of his previous contract before hitting the open market a year ago. He denied that, signed with Scott Boris, hit the Frasier market a year ago. It got soured because the Mets threw the qualifying offer on him, which meant any team that sought Alonzo at the time would have to give up a draft pick as compensation for signing him to the New York Mets. And no one wanted to do that an offseason ago, which is why Alonzo’s negotiations dragged out into the late goings of winter, getting closer to spring training, and then he inked that three-year deal with the Mets with player options after each of the first couple years at making over 20 mil AEV. And now Allonzo, rightfully so, is hitting the open market again. This time without a qualifying offer, which means there are less chains attached and there’s more ability for him to get the kind of contract he’s been longing for each of the past two and a half, three plus years now. So beyond Allonzo, who we have a lot more to say as to what his current contract demands are and where David Sterns and Steve Cohen may technically stand, let’s also talk here just for a brief couple minutes on Edwin Diaz because Edwin did make it more known in the media that he wasn’t certain as to if he was initially going to be opting out or not, which had some Mets fans somewhat cautiously optimistic on the idea of him not opting out, but it would have been, you know, of a disservice to him and his family if he did not do exactly that. Now, for me personally, my opinion on all this has been the following. Initially, at least it was. I think it would have been a big smack in the face of Steve Cohen. Initially, if he opted out of his contract to the free agent market because I’m like, Edwin Diaz got the largest contract ever to a reliever in baseball history for the most part. He blew his knee as soon as he signed that contract and was out for a whole calendar year. Steve Cohen took care of him without a problem when the man didn’t even hurt his knee in a Major League Baseball game. It feels wrong to do that to the man after everything he’s done for Diaz. But I also see the counter, which is Edwin is of course not getting any younger. He’s in the peak prime of his career. He’s coming off of another jaw-droppingly good season with the New York Mets with his sub two-year ray. And mind you, his two best seasons as a New York Met were in his walk years. And that obviously is not a coincidence because guys are going to have greater incentive when they’re entering their walk years. They’re either going to crumble or they’re going to absolutely step up. and Diaz has stepped up in both those 2022 and now 2025 seasons. So for Edwin, while he’s yes, making a pretty penny, he’s looking for a bigger bag because the market has changed. And knowing that there’s going to be a lockout after next season almost inevitably means that a lot of these guys are going to be looking for their big bags on a multi-year long contract now, understandably so. And for Edwin Diaz, why settle at $38 million in the next two years when you can easily settle at double, if not triple that when looking at the finances as well as the years. I think that would be silly of him not to heavily consider. And for Steve Cohen and David Sterns, it’s now going to come down to where is their line in the stand when stand when evaluating Edwin. Let’s not forget David Sterns is not the one who extended Edwin Diaz all those years ago. It was Billy Eper and Steve Cohen. So, how is the dynamic going to be? This is a David Sterns that has not been overly willing to spend big on relievers in the past. But we also shouldn’t compare too much on the spending that he did in Milwaukee or lack thereof because when you had a penny pitching owner that gave you little to no wiggle room to work with, it’s easier said than done to have success in the Frasier market versus what he has now been able to do as Mets president including giving Juan Sodto the largest contract in North American sports history. And yes, Steve Cohen was the factor behind that, but David was still most certainly a part of all those negotiations. So, how much does David Sterns value Edwin Diaz? Well, it’s simple. If David Sterns value certainty, run prevention, and dominance on the mound, look no further than Edwin Diaz and his ability to close out games for you. You know, for what was a very questionable and up and down bullpen throughout the course of the 2025 season for the Mets. The one certainty was yet again Edwin Diaz. And Edwin is giving off all the makings of a player that can easily go into his age 34, age 35 season and still be a very solid, if not very dominant reliever at the major league level. You know, if there’s one thing we’ve learned from an enrolled Chapman this past year, it’s that you can most certainly have longevity and not only your ability as a dominant pitcher, but in velocity, too, if you’re taking care of your body and doing the right things. I mean, it’s crazy to see Chapman still pumping at times like we saw this past Cal year. 105 on the gun when he is a role as Chapman in his late 30s now, but Edwin Diaz has a lot more to give, a lot more left in the tank. He’s been healthy. He’s been reliable when the Mets have called upon him more often than not. The man was far from the Mets’s biggest problem this year. He was one of our biggest bright spots and some other individual player performances. So for all those reasons, you got to bring Edwin Diaz back because yes, you can look at the abundance of relievers available in the free agent market. Yes, you can consider some trade options most certainly. I’m not saying that Edwin Diaz as a lone great reliever in baseball. He’s far from the only one. However, who do you want right now? Edwin Diaz or Robert Suarez entering his age 35 season and a player that the Padres’s are more willing to let walk than potentially bring back. Is that not a sign to say, “Oh, maybe there’s a reason for that. Maybe, just maybe, it’s in the Mets best interest to bring back the guy who’s dominating New York, who, mind you, has done something that very few New York Mets have done, and that’s land with the Mets, get ridiculed by the fan base terribly, look like a show himself, and find himself again in more ways than one. One thing that I love about Edwin Diaz more than most that I’ve seen in recent history while covering the Mets as well as just being a fan cuz Diaz has been here since 2019. I was just a normal fan like everyone else before I started doing the YouTube content covering them as well. And you know that 2019 season was dreadful. I remember Edwin Diaz you know giving up bombs while I was in attendance in Philadelphia after the Todd father and Todd Fraser tied in the ninth inning somehow and I believe a Junior or July game that kept us in it and then Diaz still blew it in the bottom of that same game. Um I’ve seen Diaz blow a lot of games. I’ve seen him have horrendous outings for the New York Mets. And I’ve also seen him dominate and his mental fortitude is what I appreciate so much about Diaz. He’s a man that took all the cries from the fans, all the negative and used it as a good. Went into the 2020 season when Shortier wasn’t bad. Went into 2021 wasn’t good on back-to-back days in certain situations outside of when he was in safe spots, but he was still good. 2022 jaw-droppingly good. Cue the trumpets. Cue the theatrics for every rightful reason. 2023 blown knee WBC. Nothing to talk about. 2024 rock solid. One of the better relievers in baseball and had the VO pumping big time heading into the NLCS. 2025 dominant best year since 2022. Edwin Diaz looking like a fine wine that’s only going to get better with age. So if you’re David Sterns, you have far more that you’re losing in my opinion and Edwin Diaz walking than anything else here. You have to bring him back. for Steve Cohen. You know you have the money and you know that what does Edwin Diaz want? He wants more than Tanner Scott money. Rightfully so. Tanner Scott, for those that don’t remember, got 70 plus million dollars across four years. Was dreadful for the Dodgers in his first year this year, mind you, because that’s what happens when you invest on guys who have been kind of fickle and haven’t as much consistency. Terrace Scott’s been good, but he has not had a dominantly consistent career as one Edwin Diaz, which is why Diaz has been the highest paid out reliever on a one single contract to this point that we’ve seen in history. Edwin is looking for another four to fiveyear contract of around, you know, this similar AEV. No, he’s looking if he’s seen a Tanner Scott get over 70 million on four years, right? Um, and including a 20 plus million signing bonus, including 20 plus million deferred. Obviously, that is at minimum what Edwin would be looking for. So, let’s say Edwin Diaz is looking for, say, a four-year $85 million contract, making it at least 20 mil AV. You’d be silly not to do that if you’re Edwin Diaz. If you’re if you’re the New York Mets with Edwin Diaz, Edwin is not a guy I believe the Mets will have to go to the lengths to give a $100 million to. Again, I could be wrong in saying that. Maybe that would happen with say a massive bonus, per se. Not entirely sure there. But what I am sure of is that Diaz, I don’t think he’s as focused as rewriting the market again as he is about just getting his rifle payday and wanting to stay comfortably in flushing Queens with the New York Mets. All the Mets need to do is make sure that they meet this man in the middle on what these demands are. And I think they’re going to be smooth sailing otherwise. You know, we’re going to be looking at a lot of big paydays this offseason, but Edwin is far away from the biggest contract that we would see one David Strings and Steve Cullen throw out there. So why not do everything in your power to bring back someone who clearly loves New York, loves to be here, knows how to succeed in New York, and is the biggest guarantee of a dominant closure that we would have heading in next season versus any other alternative option for the most part available in the market. For more reasons than one, bring Edwin Diaz back. Now, to go from Edwin Diaz, let’s just touch back uh briefly here on the polar bear and Pete Alonzo. And the final thing I’ll say about Pete for now is what we know is that Pete is obviously going to be starting the off seasonason on a seven-year contract. Ask this no different than how he started last year’s offseason. So, no one, and I mean literally no one, should be shocked or surprised by this. Okay. So, Edwin Diaz looking for the big payday. We know that. Pete Alonzo looking for the big payday. We know that. But Alonzo has been looking for more of those years, especially with the pending lockout happening a calendar year from now. So if you’re Scott Boris, if you’re Pete Alonzo, how do you play this market? You play this market by of course looking for that AEV of 25 to 30 mil AV across those years, but you want the player control as well. So is there a world where Pete Allonzo signs for seven years? There’s a world, but is a realistic one? Far from it. I think unless you’re a schmuck of a president who has no clue what they’re doing, Kofkov, RD Marino, there are select few teams out there that I believe will go the lengths to reach seven years for Pete Alonzo. Do I think four through six range is feasible? Yes, I do. And I think Allonzo will land on a contract greater than what he previously had of the three years that he had with the Mets at over 20 mil AV each year. I think he’s going to be landing in more that four to six year range and it could be north of six. You know, there’s some people believing that he get a sixyear 177 185 million contract. You know, I’ll it’s kind of hard to envision totally for Petonzo because I think there needs to be certainty on his ability to lock in and play more of a DH sooner than later in his career because he is a defensive liability. He was a horrible defensive third baseman this past year. Yes, that goes in hand with him being off the bag a lot because he’s dealt with a lot of bad throws in the infield. I’m not saying that’s entirely wrong and he saved the Mets from a lot more errors this past year when you look at the bot throws by Bentos among others. So, I will give credit where credit’s due. Allonzo isn’t horrendous every single time out there and he lays the body out there all the time. But the numbers are what the numbers are. We saw the yips tossed to first. We saw the botch throws to home. We know that Alonzo is far from overly proficient first baseman consistently. Where he will thrive mostly is as a true DH where I really think he could be one of the best, if not the best in baseball. He’s a home run cane. He is the Mets home run game. The fact that this man made his debut in 2019 and already leads the organization home runs tells you all you need to know. It would be not only disservice to the fan base, but truthfully a smack in the face to the ones who have invested so much time and commitment into the players that have obviously lawned to stay in New York. And I think Pete Allonzo fits that category as someone who wants to be here and wants to stay here. Now, Pete Lonzo just wants what he believes he deserves. And that will again be at an overpay but not overly drastic on the ears honestly. And we know Steve Cohen has the money to make this happen. So what do we look at? We look at a David Sterns that doesn’t love the defense. We look at a David Sterns that hates the idea of not only the lack of defense at first base, but someone who may be a little stubborn in his ability to transition out of that first base position. Now, I say this fairly loosely because the reality is that not only does money talk, but Steve Cohen talks. And Steve Cohen was supposedly swayed quite a bit in the final negotiation between Petonzo, David Stern, Scott Boris, and himself there. And last year’s negotiations, the final big negotiation sit down before the signing happened. Pete said verbatim to Sterns and Cohen’s face that he’s going to go down as a 500 home run hitter. He will go down the Hall of Fame regardless as if he’s a New York Met or not. And that kind of set the tone for why, you know, Alonzo was not only charged and frustrated because he feels he’s proven so much to this Mets team already. Why can’t they just, you know, meet him halfway on a deal? And the Mets did do that, but now Alonzo has more talking here. Alonzo has more say because he’s gonna have an open market without a qualified offer attached, which is going to have more teams enticed. And Alonzo may be a bit more of an appetite to consider DH and that is going to help prevail him for a big long-term contract. So, we’re going to see the back and forth of negotiations inevitably happen throughout the offseason. Do not be surprised when I talk one day on how reports are saying that a return looks unlikely, then one day a return looks likely. We know it’s going to flip-flop this and that and then until a decision is actually made. But for right now, what we know is that there is rightful reason to believe that David Sterns doesn’t love the idea of a Peter Allonzo lockdown long term. We also can see that Steve Cohen is going into an offseason scorched earth pissed off and knows how vital the polar bears been the organization. So unless this is about Allonzo really looking for a contract that’s just so out of the realm of possibility for the Mets, which feels hard to believe if I’m being honest with you because Steve has the money to even eat the final years of that deal if it really does not work out after the first say three or four the Mets could handle it. Appeal is not a New York Met next year. I think it’s a combination of David Stern’s lack of interest in bringing someone like him, thinking he’s not for the better of the team, which will obviously be a terrible sell the fan base. Pair that with Pete Lonzo’s interest in parting ways with the organization. Maybe he gets heavily swayed by an opposing team like the Chicago Cubs, like the Boston Red Sox, whoever the case may be, and they really give him a good pitch and understandably so on how he could thrive there and how much they want him. Because that’s the other thing. Alonzo is going to see an off seasonason where he’s going to have a lot of teams that show how much they actually want him in a way where they weren’t really able to showcase that a year ago because there wasn’t the same level of interest given the qualifying offer attached. And you have to wonder an emotional Allonzo. How much is his emotions going to factor in to his decision-m if at all here? Is he going to stay levelheaded and even kill on just wanting to return the New York Mets if he gets the money he’s looking for? So you look at those aspects and then you look at the one final propo repo proponent of this all with Peter Allonzo and what the future of him is going to be. you know, he is a Scott Boris client as we know and Scott has done a lot of great work with Steve Cohen in the past and Scott is obviously going to do everything that he feels is in the best interest of him and the player. But knowing that we have the CBA, knowing that there’s so much uncertainty and knowing that there’s an adeimacy to get these contracts down, there is truthfully a reality where that level of desperation could trump all here in negotiations to the point where Alonzo decides to deviate away from the organization because the Mets don’t show enough certainty or for the Mets, they decide to push Alonzo aside, focus on both defensive and out offensive output, knowing that they cannot allow another offseason where Allonzo drags things from January to February and every other feasible DH and or first base option falls off the market. They can’t risk that because if they do and then Allonzo doesn’t sign with them, then they’re not going to have feasible replacement options. And you have to wonder how enticing are some of these other options out there from the first base and or DH market for David Sterns right now. So things we ponder, but rest assured everybody. Do I want Alonzo back? Yes. Is it guaranteed to happen? That has yet to be seen. So we will wait and see on the front of the polar bear and his future. But I definitely want to know from you guys in the comments down below if you’re for or against Peter Allonzo returning for the 2026 season and beyond. We have more than enough money to make it happen. So you can’t really use as a heavy factor to say, “Oh, why it didn’t happen per se, but there’s one factor that is not being accounted for enough. I know this may sound silly, but please just hear me out. Is there a world where David Strings and Steve Cohen believe that Pete Lonzo is not part of the culture change they’re trying to build? Is there a world where Peter Allonzo may not exactly be the leader to the degree that they hoped he could be and they believe that they could fill that void elsewhere more significantly that’ll benefit them both on and off the field? I don’t know. And the reason why I don’t know is why I ponder this and I bring this up to each and every one of you because I’ve only seen Allonzo carry himself very well with the players for the most part with the team. And yes, the media he’s fluctuated, but who hasn’t? That’s a non-factor in my opinion. What’s a factor is the uncertainty behind how willing the Mets are to break away from this score this off season. And you can’t fault them for wanting to maybe deviate away because what has this score brought them? Nothing but disappointment. Let’s call it how it is. Some fun moments for sure, but fun moments are fickle when you see the LA Dodgers win back-to-back World Series championship. So definitely want to hear your thoughts in the comments down below about all that everybody. So now let’s go about from potential negatives, but still can be positive should they return. two guys who are attorney and that is AJ Mentor. And AJ has opted into his $11 million and he’s making a bag for doing nothing. Let’s call it how it is. But he unfortunately was cooked earlier this year. In case you guys do not know what happened with Mr. AJ Mentor, if I’m not if I’m not mistaken, I believe it was a completely torn labroom. But I’m just double checking for Mentor here because I I I want to make sure I don’t say the wrong injury here. Oh, it was see this is why I checked myself. Season ending surgery. He had a fully torn lat is what happened. So that is what happened for AJ Mter. It was like fully off the like it was nasty is what he said. It was not good. It just fully tore off. And he did post a 1.64 RA with the New York Mets. Uh expected numbers not as great but still very rock solid numbers is very limited sample sizes of like 11 innings or so. And that included a K per nine of over 11 and a walks per nine of around four. And initially to begin last season, it was going to be AJ Mentor and Danny Young as the Mets lefty options in the bullpen. But both them went down with season ending injuries in the first half of the year. And then Brooksley who was anticipated to pair with AJ Menure at minimum as another quality lefty in the bullpen didn’t return until both those guys were down with injury. So now as we enter 2026, the Mets are going to finally have that tandem that they have been longing for in both mentor and I think that can easily be one of the better lefty tandemss in all baseball. My only concern with mentor is just the process of coming back from injury. It’s easier said than done coming back from injury when you are going through that significant of an injury and also you have to look at the velocity. You have to look at a lot of things because this is backto-back years for AJ Mentor where he has a total now of 44 innings pitched. Not that it’s a massive deal, but for a guy who is pitching relatively consistently the previous four or five years with the Braves, you know, you do have to wonder does this weigh on him at all given the fact that he’s missed a good amount of time. How does this impact his velocity, his effectiveness for someone who still has a career two uh pardon me, 3.23 year rate and a 3.16 expected year rate, a 10.9 K per nine and a 3.2 walks per nine in 397 games throughout his young career. Mentor is entering his age 32 season. And really, who posted a sub3ear rate for the Mets this past year, is a fantastic lefty reliever, the most reliable option in this Mets bullpen by far without a doubt outside of Edwin Diaz. They look like that they’re going to be a nice duo. One just has to wonder, will AJ be fully ready to go by the time we reach spring training or will it kind of be in similarity to last last year where they slow rolled him in spring training and then he impacted the Mets, you know, pretty much right away. It wasn’t long after the season started, but maybe just not immediately for that first game or two. To be determined, but nonetheless, AJ Mentor, sign him up. Bring him on down. For those that don’t remember, AJ Mentor is actually has been one of the best lefties in baseball for the past 5 years. His injuries aside during his time in Atlanta and his effectiveness in getting both lefties and righties out has been absolutely chef’s kiss. This is a man that can not only be a dominant lefty specialist for you, but a man that can get righties out at such great of a rate that you would not really even care the hand in this matchup when you see him go up there for the most part. So excited to see more of AJ because we only got a cup of coffee with him this past year. But let’s talk about guys who maybe we got a cup of coffee with and that’s going to be it when looking at their future with the New York Mets, everybody. Cuz now let’s take a look at the pending free agents for the New York Mets before getting on to their soon to be official third base coaching hire that no one’s talking about yet. Granted, I understand you didn’t wake up today and say to yourself, “Oh my god, did we talk about our latest third base coach hire to be?” I I I’m salving at the mouth for it. You know, I realize it’s not going to be that kind of reaction from you guys, but nonetheless, coaching staff’s important obviously to varying degrees, and I’m excited to break down who this individual is going to be. But Griffin Canning, who was awesome for the Mets for the most part before he ruptured his Achilles this year, Ryan Hley, Stallion Marte, Cedric Mullins, Tyler Rogers, Gregory Sodto, Ryan Stanick, Jesse Winker are all now officially free agents. So, let’s go down the laundry list of ones that I personally expect to return versus who I think are going to be parted with. Starting with who will not be returning. I love the man to death. I wish him the best, but unless he takes like basically just one or two million to be on this roster and even then I don’t think that’s enough for David Sterns. I think David Sterns was so deterred from a Jesse Winker to make one single play in the outfield last year be the only play he made before going down with what would be the end of his season in that double header game and a rainy start to that game against the St. Louis Cardinal with Blade Tidwell on the bump. It was the first game all year he played in the corner outfield. Made one play for a ball. grade two oblique strain came back back flared up tightened up right away hasn’t been the same. I love Jesse to death. I was so excited to see a full season with this man on this team. I think his lack of aura and positive energy really hurt the Mets and not kind of getting that it factor throughout the year because it doesn’t need to be the best player to just be a guy who can help be a momentum swing. And not having Jesse for pretty much all season did not help this team in my opinion for the vibes because we know Jesse isn’t going to be a needle mover every time with the bat, but he can be a needle mover with the way that he impacts his surrounding cast. And as much as I love Jesse, I do think his time with the Mets has come to an end. So I wish him the best with his future endeavors. Ryan Stanick, wish him the best. And his wifey making the nice sourdough loafs, whatever they’re making, the bread loafs after every big victory. She can go ahead and do that for a different team because it’s not going to be in New York. Gregory Sodto was awesome. His first 10 11 innings with the New York Mets. He was jaw-droppingly good. He looked fantastic when he first was aboard with the New York Mets and then he was batting practice in the worst ways possible. Gregory Stood brings the velocity that you want from a lefty. That’s contra that’s contrary from a AJ Mentor and a Brookselli, but he lacks the effectiveness and position in in the zone for I think David Sterns to prioritize him. So, barring changes because I don’t think it’s completely impossible for Union, I do not anticipate a Sodto reunion as of now. Tyler Rogers is a fascinating one because Tyler Rogers pitched fairly well with the Mets when he was trade and he’s such an anomaly of a pitcher as a submariner that I think it would be silly for the Mets not to at minimum consider bringing him back. So, this has more bias behind it, but I really do hope Tyler Rogers returns to this Mets bullpen as another crafty seventh and or eighth inning option for the Mets next season. He is just fantastic and velocity will never really be an issue with him because he is the cane of the lack of velocity. Still getting maybe not too much swing and miss, but just really deceiving batters into plenty ground. I’d say he does at such an elite rate. So, beyond there and Tyler Rogers, we have Cedric Mullins. Cedric be best with your future endeavors. Not a chance to know you’re a New York Met again. Stley Marte. This is a fascinating one. Marte had a really rock solid season. His limited sample sizes mainly facing left-handed pitching. Buddy batted north of 280 like I predicted heading into the season. But the bigger issue for Marte is he’s just a man with out of position. He’s a man with hips down. Just does not have a lot of things to really be happy about when it comes to his ability on the field. He’s only going to get more and more of a liability on the defensive end. He’s only going to be more and more of a guy that can’t run for you as he’s entering his age 37 season if I’m not mistaken around there. Marte was a contract that we knew was going to age like milk from the time of it signing, which is why it was so important to win with Marte in our first year or two with him and we did nothing of it. So, Starling Marte, thank you for being the UNC of this team. Thank you for being the so-called captain, according to Juan Sto, who loves you dearly. And I’m sure Juan’s going to heavily advocate for your reunion. And maybe, just maybe, you will return to this team because of that reason alone. But if we’re going to prioritize roster maximization, I have yet to figure out where Stony Marte feds. It’s really hard to envision that with the exception that is Marte really that lone veteran that they run it back with because they just know how valuable he is both on and off the field. Marte can give you some clutch pinch headsets for sure. He can give you some value at DH, but is he someone that we want to rely on at any point whatsoever? No, not for the most part. So Marte, I do not anticipate to return, but if he does return, I guarantee Juan Sto is going to have something to say about that. Now, Ryan Hley did not look good as a New York Met was tipping pitches. However, if Edwin Diaz does not return as Mets closer, do not be surprised if the New York Mets actually consider Ryan Hley for that role because as bad as he was in the setup role, that in itself was the issue. He’s a closer through and through. a high tempo, a fiery closer who had the most saves out of the National League a year prior with the Cardinals. We shouldn’t lose sight of that just because unfortunately got the yips and everything went wrong. He was settling down towards the end there. And unless he’s a man that just simply cannot handle the big market after having a normal spring training and adjustment with the Mets heading in the season because that was the first time he’d been traded in season as well. Not everyone’s going to handle that well, especially relievers knowing how fickle they are. So, for more reasons than one, Helley wasn’t his sharpest with the New York Mets. But do I think that there’s a role where Hley returns if Diaz somehow someway does not return and he’s the closer replacement? Yes, I do. That would be an exception because Helley absolutely is a guy who I think could still impact this team positively. But he’s looking for closer money this offseason understandably so. And if you’re David Sterns, you know, is it really great sell the fan base to let Edwin Diaz walk and let Ryan Hley be the replacement after what he did in his limited sample size here? He’s just asking for the fans to throw tomatoes at him. Griffin Canning I hope returns to the Mets and I think he will return to the Mets knowing how well he was thriving with the team and knowing how much I think the Mets could utilize him in kind of a rubber arm situation the way that they probably would have utilized Tyler McIll if he wasn’t going to be out for the next calendar year with injury. I think Griffin Canning is perfectly primed to slot into that McGill role for this upcoming season to be utilized in various ways as long as he fully returns from that ruptured Achilles and a handle situation be more than willing to do so. I think that will more than likely happen barring changes. I think him going down with injury when he did as prematurely in the year as he did is something that David Sterns, Canning, and everyone else in company don’t want to see the end of his tenure be. I could be wrong in saying that, but that’s just what I’m going to go with for now. So, all right guys, going on from those free agents, let me know who do you believe is going to be staying versus leaving out of all those following. But now folks, before we wrap up the show, let’s get into this reporting because we got some reports here. And this is from Tim Healey. Not Tim Healey. I apologize because he’s on the comments down below. I guess the Tims have a pod or he’s joking about that because Tim Tim and Tim Tim Healey used to be on the beat for the Mets through News Day. Now he covers the Red Sox because he’s from Boston area if I’m not mistaken. Tim’s a great guy. Tim Bridden also very good guy from everything that I know. He and Wolf Salmon are your go-to for all things New Dark Mets reporting through the Athletic. and Tim with a report here. Not even on X, but on on um uh let’s see. Um I’m I’m butchering this. I apologize. Um is it Blue Sky or B Sky um app social? I I don’t use this one. I know that this was like the alternative to X that they made a year and a half, two years ago. I just personally have not been overly active on it, so I apologize. But Tim did report this that very few have seen, so I’m going to talk about right now. One thing to look out for in the Mets coaching search, Padre’s third base and infield coach Tim Liper. Mets have interviewed Liper for a position according to industry sources. Now Andy Martino of SNY followed that up essentially and said that the Mets are closing in on a third base coach hire. That was as of just over 24 hours ago when Justin Ward report came out through Will Salmon that he’ll be the next pitching coach more than likely for the Mets. And that will be confirmed in the next 24 to 48 hours. Be on the lookout for it everybody. But Tim Liper is an interesting one because it does appear that the Mets are going to be bringing him in a lateral move. Now, how would the Mets land the active Padres’s third base coach to come in as their third base coach? Well, it’s actually pretty simple. Mike Schelt, who was, of course, the manager for the San Diego Padres’s, retired from managing altogether and is out of Major League Baseball as of now. And him retiring means that naturally there’s going to be a changing of the guard to the coaching staff regardless of maybe the success level, especially for a third base coach where they’re not always a needle mover, per se. Um, but this is the kind of veteran who’s been around the game for a little bit that I’m not really surprised to see the Mets go down the route of. I would have loved a Ron Washington at third base, but I could see maybe Ron doesn’t sign any kind of role like that with any team this offseason, per se. But Liper has been with the Padres since the beginning of the 2024 season. Has been working side by side with one of the best third baseman in baseball, Manny Machado. So that certainly does not hurt anything and has been a key factor into the infield configuration and success of the Padres’s each of the past two seasons. Prior to that, he was actually working in the Toronto Blue Jays coaching staff. And you want to know how he got his coaching career started? It was by being in the staff of one John Gibbons, who was most recently the Mets bench coach up until his departure over the past month or so. So there’s some internal ties going on there. I’m sure that maybe Gibbons had some nice words to share in regards to Tim if he was asked on that front by Mendy and I’m sure he was to a degree and Liper looks like he’ll be coming over in a lateral move barring changes to be the Mets now third base coach. So with Liper coming in now for third base for the New York Mets. He will be replacing Mike Sarbal who really missed the mark towards the end of this past season. Sarbal who had levels of success in Cleveland especially when he was working with both JRM and Francisco Endor. Now the Mets are going to be having one Liper come in and hopefully provide some positive input on what he’s learned. What working side by side with Manny Machado among others or the past two years with Brett Batty, a Mark Vento, Selisan Helkun, Ry Muricio among others, barring when they are inevitably traded because not all those players will be New York Mets next season. I just I have to see to believe it because it just makes so much sense as to why that shouldn’t be the case. But now with Liper in the fold at third base, now with Kai Kareah there at pardon me at bench coach, Mendoza of course as manager, your heading coaches, obviously we did the internal promotion and Jeff Albert who will be our director of hitting about the major league level now. You pair him with who the Mets just brought in there and Troy Snicker. Yes, that is a son of Brian the longtime manager for the Atlanta Braves and he has been each the past seven seasons the hitting coach for the Houston Astros in which they have been very good. So, the Mets have really rounded out their coaching staff hires fast over the past calendar month. They still have to figure out their bullpen coach hire and maybe like one or two other areas, maybe assistant pitching coach there, but for the most part, they are really settled on the big hires that they need to do this off seasonason to get set for next season. So, Mets fans, let me know all your thoughts in the comments down below to everything that we broke down today. from the Alonzo and Edwin Diaz news to the other active free agents to the reunion of one AJ mentor and now the upcoming new third base coach and a lateral move from the San Diego Padres’s and one Tim Liper. If I’m butchering his name, I apologize, but I believe that’s how you say it. Leaper Liper. I feel like it’ll be Leiper given that’s Ellie Ali, but if I’m wrong, you guys let me know in the comments. Either way, thank you so much for watching. This is your guy Wardy signing out. I’ll see you all real soon for more Mets content all week, all offseason long. Let’s go Mets, baby. Peace out, everybody. Have a great one.

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