Inside The Mets’ Winter Meetings Strategy With Jon Heyman | Straight Outta Flushing

Inside The Mets’ Winter Meetings Strategy With Jon Heyman | Straight Outta Flushing

With MLB Winter meetings officially underway, all eyes are on the New York Mets and what David Sterns and this front office plan to do next. From Pete Alonzo and Edward Diaz to the rotation to the bullpen to potential surprise moves. This is a critical stretch for the direction of this Mets franchise. And joining me now to break it all down is one of the top insiders in the game. It’s the New York Post baseball columnist, my guy John Haymon. joins me now from Florida where I was going to say the weather is really good but John just told me the weather’s not good. It is rainy there. John, how you doing man? I’m good. How are you, Dexter? I’m doing I’m doing okay. I’m doing okay. Hopefully the weather gets better for you there in Orlando, Florida. But John, let’s start talking about the winter meetings because they’re now underway. So, let me ask you this. How active do you expect the Mets to be compared to other teams that are looking to contend for a World Series title in 2026? Yeah, I expect the Mets to be among the most active team, if not the most active team. Obviously, Toronto’s made some waves already. We know Philly’s got a lot to do, but I mean, the Mets are a big market team with a big payroll uh with great free agents, Diaz and Alonzo. Uh they’ve got to improve the rotation. They’ve got to fill out a bullpen that is I won’t say empty, but it’s about half full right now. So, there’s a lot of work to do. Uh they obviously have a uh deep pocketed owner. Uh they did not have a good year. Very disappointing season with 83 wins, missing the playoffs, being beat out by Cincinnati. So uh they’ve got the wherewithal to do a lot and they have the incentive to do a lot and I expect them to do a lot. All right. They do have the means to do a lot. And one of the things at the top of the list, you and I have talked about this before, bringing back Pete Alonzo and Edwin Diaz. That’s going to be the center of this Mets off season. Of those two players, which do you believe a decision on either of those two players is more urgent for David Sterns? Would you rank Alonzo over Diaz or Diaz over Alonzo? Which one do you think is more urgent? I mean, to me, uh, they’re both pretty urgent. Uh, you know, you might say Alonzo slightly more at this moment because they did bring in Devin Williams, who has been a very effective closer, at least in Milwaukee. He was a very effective closer, was not that with the Yankees, was pretty good in the setup role. I I mean I to me this doesn’t give them tremendous cover, but right now they have no cover at first base. So I guess if I’m pressed at the moment, I guess we’ll say they need Alonzo back more being the right-handed bat and big slugger all-time home all run hitter for the Mets, but I I do believe they need Diaz back as well. Uh he is the best closer out there and there’s no real debate over that. Robert Suarez very good but few years older doesn’t really have the outpitch quite the stuff that Diaz has and uh you know I I would say both are imperative but if I’m pressed today I have to pick one I’m going to say Alonzo by a hair. All right so going with Alonzo there let’s keep it with Alonzo real quick here John because how real is the market for Pete Alonzo and what kind of contract range do you believe that he’ll ultimately command because there’s a lot that’s been floating out there since the offseason started. What’s the market for Alonzo? Well, we know he struggled a bit last year and ended up coming back to the Mets and that worked out obviously for both sides. He had a big year, much better year this year. Does not have the qualifying offer to weigh him down. I get that he’s a year older, but I mean the difference in the years is enormous. He had over 270 this year, right? That that’s a pretty good batting average in today’s day and age. The the Toronto Blue Jays uh were the top team at 265. So 270 pretty good. I think he was the best clutch hitter with the Mets as well. Uh, so I think he should have a very very good market. The market’s been kind of slow to develop I think for a lot of things. Uh, I do think that Boston is in on uh, Alonzo. Uh, they do have other alternatives and good ones, but uh, to me he really fits them as the right-handed slugger, which is exactly what they’re looking for. Baltimore, another possibility right now. Those look like the two best outside possibilities, but I’m sure that he will have other possibilities. All right, we will see how that market shapes up for Pete Alonzo. Now, when we go to Diaz, when you look at the history of big money closers and some GMs may be reluctant to invest in them. How do you think the Mets are viewing Edwin Diaz’s future, especially with someone who’s going to want a long-term contract, John, and maybe that contract doesn’t look as great on the back end of it? How do you think the Mets are viewing Diaz’s future and what they might plan to offer him? Yeah, I mean, that’s the issue right now. It is the ears. Uh no surprise that’s the issue in most of these big deals. Uh he has said uh we know this that he would like a 5-year deal. That’s been out there publicly. Uh we’ve even written that at post. Uh they do not want to give a five-year deal. The Mets are seemingly fairly adamant about that at this moment. Not not at the salary that he’s been getting around $20 million a year. Uh right now I do believe the Mets would be willing to do a three-year deal. Give him one extra year. uh that probably does not suffice for Edwin Diaz and that’s why we don’t have a deal at this point, right? So, uh he’s going to be out there hitting the market and certainly Toronto is a team that’s got money. They’re a team that is looking at the closer situation. Um you know, there are other teams looking at closer. Detroit, although I’m not sure sure they’re going to spend that kind of money. The Dodgers potentially, I’m even sure the do I’m not even sure the Dodgers are going to spend that kind of money. So, I I think Toronto is probably uh the main um I would say competition for the Mets at the moment, but there certainly could be others because Diaz has been one of the best closers in baseball over the last several years. Uh it’s really Diaz and Robert Suarez who I said a couple years older than Diaz. The two main guys out there, it wouldn’t be a shock if one ends up with the Mets and one’s one ends up with Toronto. We’ve got to think that uh the marriage with Diaz has been so good that uh the Mets should be able to figure this out and Diaz too. I don’t put us all on the team. They should be able to figure out and then Suarez would then end up potentially with Toronto. But uh there’s certainly two big market possibilities for these two great closers. There are other closers on the market. They certainly could look at those as well. Um certainly uh Kenley Jansson, Brad Keller, uh good backend guys, but they’re not in the category of Diaz or even Suarez. I I would agree with you on that. Let me just ask you this as a follow-up really quick, John. If the Mets can’t come to a deal with Diaz and they go into next season with Devin Williams as a closer, do you view that as a failure in your eyes? Well, that’s certainly not good. Uh, I would not that’s not a success. Uh, to move from Diaz, who I think is the one of the best New York closers we’ve seen. Obviously, he’s not Mario Rivera, but he’s one of the best closers in the game. Devin Williams was outstanding in Milwaukee. Uh, he was not very good with the Yankees overall. Certainly not good in that closer role. So, I to me that I don’t want to say failure, but that certainly would not be a success. And they would have to make up for it with many other things. They’d have to uh really bulk up that bullpen with other excellent pitchers. They’d have to uh bulk up the offense. Look, this is a team that won 83 games. This is a team that didn’t make the playoffs when there were really only five really good teams in the league. There there was room for them to make the playoffs if they could have gotten that 84th win. They were shut out by the Marlins. That is not it’s beyond disappointing. That’s a disaster of a season for a team with a $340 million payroll. So they can’t really be moving backwards in in in several areas and certainly not at closer. Not in my mind. Uh if they bring in Suarez, too. I mean, we can live with that. You Suarez and Williams, maybe that works for them. Maybe that’s the hundred million that they’re not going to spend on Diaz. Uh potentially. Uh but I it still would be a disappointment if you they don’t bring back Diaz. No, I I think that’s that’s more than fair for sure. You and I talked about this the last time we got a chance to chat. we talked and I’m going to be very careful about my term here. I’m not going to use the word ace, but do you believe the Mets are more likely, John, to trade for a front-end starter or sign one in free agency? Which of the two do you think is more likely for this team? I’m going to say trade. At this point, they don’t seem to be at the forefront in EI. They are they are in they’re in on everything. So, you know, to judge exactly how far in they are, it’s a little difficult at this point. You know, there have been reports out there about Ferro Valdez. I’m not sure how invested they are in that one as well. So, I mean, those are the two aces that are out there, right? There’s I would say Ren Suarez is a very good pitcher, uh, free agent pitcher. Is he a number one? Probably not, but he’s been outstanding in October. It certainly would be a good pickup for the Mets. I don’t think they’re leading that one either. So, that’s why I’m going at uh trade more likely. Uh, you know, obviously uh there have been some big names that are kind of floated out there. Is school ball getting traded now? That would be obviously an ace. Probably the best pitcher in baseball. Certainly the best pitcher in the American League, a one-year thing. So, you know, to me, it’s hard for me to see the Mets really mortgage their future for a one-year pitcher, even somebody as good as Scooble. So, I wouldn’t say that one’s particularly likely. But, there are several trade candidates out there. They’re familiar with Freddy Peralta. Certainly Stern’s had him in Milwaukee. Uh he he there is a decent chance I think that he will be dealt. Better chance for him to be dealt than Scooble. So that’s a possibility. I think Gore from Washington will be dealt somewhere. I’ve heard that Cabrera’s name is out there from the Marlins and I understand these are division rivals, but you know I I I’m not ruling it out. I I do think that there there is a potential for a trade for a very good starting pitcher. I I would say even more so than through through free agency. Than through free agency. We have had a lot of Mets fans bring up to me and you just mentioned him Framber Valdez. Uh you said you don’t really think that’s likely. Do you think it’s realistic fit for the Mets at all? And do you have any concern when it comes to Valdez, which some people have brought up about his injury history? Is that part of the concern for you with maybe him being a good fit for the Mets? No, I I think Robert Valdez is got a reasonable history on durability. He’s won as many games as anybody over uh this decade. So, you have to be fairly durable to do that. He’s second in quality starts to Zack Wheeler, former Met uh unfortunately for the Mets. Uh you know, I I think Romero Valdez is in the equation. It’s a possibility, but I I think the reports early on were a little bit premature, overblown uh on Valdez and the Mets. Um I do think, you know, there there are other teams that are going to be out there right now. I’m not sure that any of the big starters are going to be signing that quickly because uh you know they they’re going to want to shoot at that $210 million that Dylan Case got and I’m not sure it’s out there at this moment for Valdez and we’ll see on Emi. Emi is a little bit more of a wild card coming from Japan uh with big stuff. Uh but it doesn’t it doesn’t feel at this moment that the Mets are at the forefront of these free agent pitchers. I could be proven wrong. I know that there were reports out there earlier about Framber. My issue, my question on Framber would be the second half was not great. He had a 5year in the second half. Uh and he certainly logged a lot of innings. Uh so the question would be going forward, is he going to be able to maintain the success that he’s had, but he has does have a terrific track record and certainly would be a big plus if they did sign him overall. All right, interesting stuff there on Framber Valdez. I want to talk to you about Kodi Senga John because you know his name has come up in trade talks although he has stated that he wants to remain in flushing. How serious is that discussion around the league about SA and possibly moving him? And if the Mets do move SA what does that tell you about how they view their rotation both short and long term? Yeah, I I there are definitely are talks going on about uh Sena and you know they’re definitely talking to teams and I’m not going to be surprised if they trade him. the fact that he says that he’d like to stay, that’s not going to weigh, I don’t think, in any of this, you know, it’s a business. You, you know, they’re going to, if they feel like they have a good trade for Sanga, uh, they will trade him. Uh, I do think there probably is a market for him, although last year he was great at the beginning of the year and then after he came back, uh, following the injury, uh, he was poor. I mean, they sent him the minors and never called him back. So, uh, you know, it’s a little bit of a tricky situation to trade for him. you know, he was an ace his first year with the Mets. Second year he was injured, and then last year he was up and down. Uh, literally, he was up at the beginning and clearly way down uh at the end. So, it’s it’s going to be difficult to find the right uh uh value on him. That’s really the issue, not what he wants to do because uh that doesn’t really weigh into it in terms of a trade. Yeah. Unless someone’s got a no trade, then then it weighs in, right? Yeah. Big question is what is the value for Kodisen? A couple more for you, John. Want to ask you about center field. How big of a priority is center field for the Mets this off seasonason? And what do you make of their internal center field options versus going out and actually acquiring an established defender there in center field that can also hit a little bit? Well, they obviously do need a center fielder. So, I I would say that is a priority. Is it number one? Maybe not. And the reason I don’t think it’s the number one priority is because they really love this Carson Benj who had a terrific year in the minor leagues for them and they really have high hopes for him perhaps even for this coming season and I think they’ve been out there saying that they’d like to give this guy a chance to win a the center field job. So uh that being said I think we’re looking at priorities being starting pitcher, relief pitcher, first base and left field over center field. you know, you’ve got so many other priorities and really requirements to get done. Uh it does feel like center field would be on I don’t say the back burner, but if it’s uh priority number five, uh you know, they better get this other stuff done, which includes obviously uh the bullpen and first, and we talked about Diaz and Alonzo, and if you don’t get Diaz or Alonzo, you’ve got to improve the the bullpen and first base. You need a first baseman, right? It wouldn’t look too good if you don’t have a first baseman. And I I’m just not sure how they replace Alonzo. So, to me, center field is probably number five on the hit list. So, is that a priority? You could call it that, but I think they feel pretty good about Carson Bench, the kid that they got out of Oklahoma. Yeah, they’ve been they’ve been very high on him. You just talked about the bullpen there, John. Do you think it’s possible the Mets could rebuild their bullpen this winter and try to build like a Super Bullpen with multiple high-end relievers or do you think David Sterns is going to go bargain basement shopping with the relievers? How do you see them going? How do you see them going about that? Well, I don’t think they’ve given up on Diaz. And if you have Diaz and Williams, that’s a pretty pretty super bullpen. I mean, it’s not Diaz Suarez and Williams, but Diaz and Williams is a pretty good start. So, I’m not giving up on on Diaz. And I’d still call that a pretty super bullpen if they bring Diaz back. if they don’t bring Diaz back, uh, you know, and they sign Suarez, I mean, it’s still a pretty solid backhand there, but it’s certainly a disappointment not bringing Diaz back because, uh, Diaz is beloved by the fans and frankly better all around than Suarez. Suarez doesn’t really have that out pitch. He does throw strikes, he does throw hard. We saw that in the playoffs against the Mets a couple years ago. Very, very good pitcher, but he isn’t quite Diaz. So, uh, you know, let’s get a bullpen put together before we really start talking about super bullpen, though, cuz right now you’ve got one right-hander in that bullpen, and that’s Devin Williams. Uh, potentially, I guess Brazabond could be another guy that they’re looking at. Uh, but it’s a pretty thin bullpen at the moment. So, we got to build up to average first and then we go to super. That That’s fair. The bullpen is bare. Got to build it up before you can even get to super. More more than fair, though. Couple more for you. If you had to predict one, I would say surprise move, John, what type of move do you think the Mets could make that might surprise the fan base? Well, this has been out there a little bit, so I don’t know how much of a surprise is, but if if they don’t sign Alonzo, could Schwarber be a possibility? I I know they’ve checked in. I wouldn’t say it’s a likelihood. Does he really leave Philly to go to the rival Mets? Does he shoe the hometown Cincinnati Reds to go to the Mets? I mean, I’m not going to rule it out. That’s why it’d be a surprise, right? But certainly a consideration if you don’t have uh Alonzo, uh Schwarber could potentially be the guy. But to me, Alonzo makes more sense because you need to fill first base, right? So, even if they don’t see Alonzo as a full-time first baseman at this moment, more of a everyday player, obviously, one of the better sluggers in the game, everyday player who’s a a DH a lot of the time, he’s still going to be playing some first base, whereas Schwarber, you know, he’s played a little first base, not that much. You know, it seems like to me the fit is better with Alonzo, but that’s why we you said surprise. So, I’m going to say Schwabber as a potential surprise move. I think Phillyy’s more likely. I think uh probably the Red Sox are more likely. Other teams have checked in as well. Could the Cubs do it? Maybe. Uh you know, it’s probably a surprise if he goes anywhere but Philly, including the Mets. That would be that would be a surprise. He’d be getting some power in there, but still would have to worry about first base. Right about that. Last thing for me here, John. All right, let’s put it like this. When the Mets leave the winter meetings, what would success actually look like for this front office when they leave the winter meetings? What’s a successful winter meetings? Now, we know how baseball free agency can go. Things can be very, very drawn out. But if you had to say, “Hey, this is successful winter meetings for the Mets when they leave this week.” What does that look like? Okay. Uh, you know, I’m going to give them more time than the the win. I know we’re starting the winter meetings and last year they signed Sodto and a lot of great stuff happened at the winter meetings not just with the Mets but with many teams. It doesn’t feel like there’s going to be a I mean we’ll see. We don’t it’s hard to predict how much action there’s going to be but uh 90% of the free agents are still available and we have a lot of time to go. It’s not basketball where there’s a deadline and everything gets done right away. Now, there is a little bit more uh interest at this moment and there’s more contact and it’s face to face. It’s not just texting. So, I do expect a fair amount to happen here at the winter meetings, but I I I’m hesitant to give them a grade and say, “Well, they got to do this and that and the other thing within the next five days.” I think that’s a little tough. Certainly, uh by the end of this winter though, you got to have a good first baseman, preferably Alonzo. You got to have a better back end of the bullpen, preferably Diaz. They need to get an outfielder. Could that be Bellinger? Maybe. Uh I do feel like the Mets are going to do a lot. I think they’re gonna uh really improve this team. I don’t feel like they can come back with the same team. I think they feel the same. And I do believe they’re going to have a big winter and it’s going to be an exciting winter, but I’m not going to hold them to doing it in the next four to five days. That’s a little tough even for me. It’s tough. It is tough. Let me ask you this, Res insider. One last thing. Do you wish there was more activity at the winter meetings? You wish it was a little bit more like basketball and there was sort of a deadline. It would make all of our lives easier. Sure. Not just mine. It would make it would make their lives a lot easier, right? If it all gets done and then they can rest. Uh but you know when Al Lonzo, when did he sign? You know, Bryce Harper signed on February 28th memorably with the Phillies. There have been a lot of big stars who’ve signed uh into spring training. Uh you know, and that’s a long time from now. You know, we’re just at the beginning of December at this point. So, uh, that’s the way it goes in baseball. I’m sure there ex a lot of executives would like to do it with a deadline and just have a lot of frenzy activity. We do have a deadline and in the summer at the trade deadline and you know it certainly creates a lot of excitement at that moment, but you know uh this way I guess there’s anticipation and excitement throughout the off season. last year I think was a you know that was helpful when we got sodto got signed and crochet was traded freed was signed uh a lot got done and it still had already been done by that point I believe last year right and so there wasn’t I I think there’s going to be a lot to do after this one I I don’t know the reason is it because there’s a concern about the collective bargaining agreement is it a concern over the fact that Dylan CE the guy with a 456RA got 210 million and nobody wants to repeat that. I mean, if if someone with a four or five RA is worth 210 million, you know, what does everybody else get? We’re talking about Framber, you know, I mean, he’s got a quite a good track record. Is he worth more than 210 million? I, you know, uh I think it’s going to take a while for everybody to figure it out, for them to come together to compromise. So, I I do think there will be activity. There’s going to be trades. There’s going to be free agent signings. uh we’re not going to see something like Sodto impossibly of course because we don’t have Sodto on the board but uh you know I think we’ll see some good stuff happen here but things will go on for months unfortunately for me but for them more because it’s a lot of work. Yeah it’s a lot of work a lot a lot of waiting for you but you know John John Haymon’s always on top of it the great baseball insider and columnist for us here at the New York Post. John, I appreciate you taking some time to help us get started with these winter meetings around the New York Mets here on Straight Out of Flushing. And I will talk to you soon, my friend. Thank you so much. All right. Thank you, Dexter. See you later. [Music]

The MLB Winter Meetings are officially underway, and the New York Mets are once again at the center of the baseball world. On this episode of Straight Outta Flushing, Dexter Henry is joined by New York Post Baseball Columnist Jon Heyman for a full Mets Winter Meetings primer.

Dexter and Jon break down:

• The urgency surrounding Pete Alonso and Edwin Díaz
• The Mets’ pursuit of a frontline starting pitcher
• The buzz around Framber Valdez
• The possibility of building a super bullpen
• Why center field remains a major offseason priority
• The latest on Kodai Senga’s name in trade discussions
• And what a truly successful Winter Meetings would look like for David Stearns and the front office

#edwindiaz #petealonso #newyorkmets #straightouttaflushing #sports #baseball #mlb #frambervaldez #kodaisenga #davidstearns #stevecohen

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