Mets Free Agent FRENZY With @GiraffeNeckMarc | MLB GM Meetings Day 3 | Mets News & Rumors

Mets Free Agent FRENZY With @GiraffeNeckMarc | MLB GM Meetings Day 3 | Mets News & Rumors

live. How we doing everybody? It’s your guy Wardy here. That is Mark Luino aka Draft Neck. Mark, co-host of the Mets podcast and the Windup Show. And tonight everybody, we have ourselves quite the discussion at is day three of the GM meetings there in Vegas. David Sterns continues to yap with the media and give us some key quotes that we’re going to live react to. We’re also going to live react to some of the remarks from Scott Boris today, the notorious agent there of one Pete Alonzo. We’ll talk about where things stand with Alonzo as there’s actually some breaking news which has dropped just over the past 20 minutes at the time of us getting live now. So we’re going to live react to that regarding Alonzo where things stand on the Mets front. We’ll also talk about Edwin Sugar Diaz, what his contract demands are looking like, some external targets for the Mets, not just Cody Bellinger that was listed today, but others too that Mark thinks is maybe a perfect fit for this New York Mets team while answering whatever comments, questions, and concerns that you guys got for us this evening. So, thank you guys so much for hanging that like and subscribe on on your way in everybody again if we have some hiccups with the audio as we’re troubleshooting this live in real time. So, you’re very positive from the early takeaways from Sterns. And for me, I am to a degree. I I’m in the contingent of fans that has a lot of optimism with Sterns. Still understands that one year does not necessarily define a president, especially when a lot of it was injury based. However, I am still in the category of fans, I know you guys are in this category as well, of wanting him to prove to us that this is not going to be another offseason of kind of working around the margins. Now, I know I say that with a massive aster because the Mets had the largest contract in North American sports history an offseason ago. And while Sterns, I’m sure, was a helping hand in that regard, we can all agree that doesn’t even get close to happening if Steve Cohen is not owner. So, you know, he was most certainly a heavy hand in making that happen. So when I look at the biggest acquisitions that Sterns has made so far as Mets president looking at these off seasonasons, it really is more to do with either bringing guys back like Allonzo that obviously had a lot of internal ties separate from Sterns or doing something with Sodto that Cohen was always going to have his eyes and heart set on doing. So now that this is the first year where David Sterns, in my opinion at least, truly has a level of pressure breathing down his neck by Steve Cohen for this first time as president after everything failing in 2025. What do you think is the best thing for Sterns to do now this off season versus maybe what he didn’t do his first couple years as president for the club? Honestly, it’s just like I think stick with his guns. I think last year the biggest mistakes that were made were obviously signing Frankie Montas which they kind of jumped the gun early because everyone was talking about all the pitching that they needed and they got the wrong guy. There’s no doubt about it. I think even like in retrospect we see the Sha Maniah contract kind of sucks a little bit too. And I think those are contracts he would have not previously given out to that extent if he didn’t have the money backing. So I think be yourself. Go spend the money that you know is appropriate and fair like Pete Alonzo. Go spend the money there. You know he’s a good ball player. I think at the fair price for both sides, David Sterns is happy to shake hands and say, “Welcome back to the Mets, Pete. No problem.” I think he’s going to get Diaz back on a fair deal for both sides. Like, I don’t want to overspend. I don’t want him to sign guys that even with the money that the Mets have, he wouldn’t be interested in. Like, I think at the end of the day, be smart, stick to the process, but also know that you have the ability to maybe spend a couple more dollars if you really want to go get your guy, and that’s okay. Yeah, I and also apologies everybody for the choppiness. That honestly might be more something on my end than it is on Marks because I’ve had this issue at times when I’m bringing a guest in. So, blame me. Don’t blame the guests here today should that be the case. But for me, you know, especially on being a bit more not so much conservative, but really going out there and being progressive with his spending is very important, I think, moving forward because we know that he can go ahead and pretty much land anyone he wants with the sense of financial uh the finances not being the X factor to hold him back the way that we saw in Milwaukee. And I think we’ve all watched in real time how Sterns is kind of solely but truly adapted to this new kind of environment where he doesn’t have nearly as much of the chains, but rather a really long leash. He just has to go out there and start to run. We’ve seen a jog, but we haven’t seen that sprint yet. And that is something I really hope that we see this off seasonason. Not only including bringing Alonzo back and bringing Diaz back, but looking at the Dodgers winning back-to-back championships and knowing that there really isn’t any point in your efforts each and every offseason if you do not do something to finally separate yourselves and get yourself more in that Dodgers category and lessen the current category of a team that missed playoffs in three of the first five years under Cohen. So now that begs the question mark, what exactly is that? How can they operate differently in that regard? And there’s a couple things that come to mind personally and it goes in hand with what Sterns has stated not only in the media over the past 24 hours but also going back to what he was saying in his end of the year pressor and it really is amplifying that progressiveness you know in moments either in the offseason or especially in season when things apparently are going ary do not believe that you’re going to have all your internal options there for you when there’s an absolute reality where you will not have that and that’s why Sterns it’s imperative for him to head into next season but I adding not only an abundance of depth, but adding more quality to the point where the Mets are going to have multiple guys that would be everyday major league players on different rosters, but for us, they’re going to be our extra players essentially, whether they’re on the bench or whether they’re backend rotation options because how deep this team ultimately becomes. I believe it’s not just that. It’s of course bringing in top talent which means really doing everything in your power to bend over backwards for say a TKO for example as he looks like the most obvious fit if the Tigers have at all an appetite to trade away their back-to-back sign award winner. Congrats to Trick as he won it officially tonight out of the American League. Very exciting stuff. But outside of those things, I also just look at the fact that this is a David Sterns that I think needs to approach the spending with more deferments. And I want to know your opinion on that because Steve Cohen himself doesn’t need necessarily to do these heavy deferments. But knowing that we’re currently in a structure in Major League Baseball where you’re taxed 90 plus percent for any cent you spend beyond 300 million, the Steve Cohen tax, the Dodgers have been able to really manipulate that in their own ways that we’ve seen the past couple years where they do not have to worry about the level of taxation because of these deferred dollars. At least they won’t have to worry about it for an extended period of time. Do you think that’s a route that the Mets should find themselves more in for the sake of actually bolstering this team to more of an all-star status or do you think that they have all the means to spend big, maybe even bigger than before and do it in a way that’s going to be able to separate themselves from even teams like the Dodgers? I mean, the Mets are open, but I don’t think there’s any team in baseball that wouldn’t defer contracts. When people talk about how the Dodgers like get away with it, it’s like everybody can do this. There is no advantage that they have. they are just signing players that are willing to do this kind of stuff. So, sure, if a player wants to take deferments, I think David Sterns would have no problem. I don’t think that there’s any from a business standpoint for the New York Mets, it is a much better decision, obviously. And from a player standpoint, it’s not. You want your money now, but if they’re willing to take that, then I I think then you go for those. But like the biggest thing, like you mentioned, for this team is I think they need to get a real center fielder. I love Carson Bench. I think he’s going to be great, but I don’t want to put all the pressure on him to be that center field guy opening day or even in June if he doesn’t have to. Let’s give him some time. Give him a second. Fill up the fill up center field hole because Tyrone Taylor just shouldn’t be the everyday guy out there. Get some more depth players like you mentioned for the bench because this bench was extremely weak this past season. And then it’s be aggressive on the trade market. Like we know two of the best players at their respective position are at least being listened to for trades with Terk Scubal and Catel Marte. We have a loaded farm system, top five in Major League Baseball. Take a shot, take your chance, then you spend that money on a guy like well to make sure that he never leaves once you get him. Like that’s where I think David Sterns would really impress me this offseason is pulling off a trade for one of these top players because truthfully on the free agent market, the most enticing guys to me to bring into this team, like obviously I’d love Kyle Tucker, but that’s not happening, are the guys that the Mets had in Diaz and Alonzo. everybody else on this free agent market, I kind of go, nah, whatever. Like, I don’t think this is the year to go crazy with spending the money. Yeah. So, I agree with you on this isn’t the year to go crazy with spending the money until we reach two conclusions. One, there’s going to be a lockout a year from now, and we have no clue as to what payouts will be for players when that is all figured out. There’s a level of concern with not only a floor, but the biggest one that being a cap. While I do not think it’s a lock to happen, there’s a lot of uncertainty there. I also think of the fact that because a lockout is happening, there is going to be a massive sense of urgency for certain players in this year’s market to try to maximize their longerterm ability for contracts, which for David Sterns might not be overly appealing. But depending on how these profiles are going to be for the organization, for example, Cody Bellinger, who the Mets are actively targeting per John Haymon as of yesterday for the New York Post, one does have to wonder how far is Steve Cohen going to go in a year where he again saw the team that he’s desperately trying to build in New York that he idolizes in LA continue to dominate and plan to approach this off season only looking to get better. They have 90 plus million dollars coming off their payroll and it’s all players that were a non-factor for them came the World Series. So for me and knowing that the Mets only have so much time in a win now window with Juan Sodto with Francisco Endor to lesser degree Brandon NMO hopefully the return of Pete Alonzo how long can the Mets go without just honestly going ballistic and crazy and just going allin now that they have a farm finally positioned to do so because Sterns in his comments with the media today literally said the following that the Mets are in a greater position that they’ve ever been in like a very long period of time, which we’ve all known, but it’s nice to hear him um you know, actually say that himself that we have a lot of the talent currently and we have one of the best farms in baseball. We are perfectly positioned to not only make a blockbuster trade, but also have guys that can impact this team next year from within. That’s why we talk about Carson Benj. That’s why we talk about to certain degree Jet Williams. That’s why we talk about obviously the plethora of pitching prospects from Christian Scott returning from the reconstructed Tommy John surgery, Deore on Jonah Tan, Brennan Sprro to certain degrees and the guys who are high-risising, Zack Thordon, Will Watson, Jonathan Sanuchi, Jack Wenger, I mean RJ Gordon, the list goes on and on. The Mets have so much and I didn’t even get to the point of talking about, you know, like top reliever types and Dylan Ross is upside, Ryan Lambert, who I know you know very well. um to the great young pieces who thrived in the heading lab and AJ Ewing and Jacob Rhymer. Like there there’s just a laundry list in all these respective areas for the Mets of their farm right now where not only will they have guys knocking on the door to make the bigs next season, but in a world where they do say trade away four, five of those assets in a blockbuster deal for say a school or someone of similar light in the sense of just providing a lot of impact right away for them. Now’s the time to do it. I really just don’t see how it isn’t time to do it because there’s a lot at risk if you go another year without really dipping into a farm where maybe some prospects regress. You’re going to have guys rise, but you’re going to have some guys that maybe take a step back. You never know. Injuries are inevitable as well. It completely derailed the value and uh obviously the success level both Drew Gilbert and Jet Williams back in 2024. So, we’ve seen kind of the both the pros and the cons that come with holding on to your guys for too long before either giving them a look or partying ways with them. And Stern’s made it known that the Mets are clearly going in the direction of wanting to have more of that youth movement next season. To what degree do you think that the Mets have such an appetite to do so? I think that Carson Benj will be up at some point. I think if Jet Williams is not traded, he will be up soon, close to similarish time as Benji, maybe a little bit earlier. He talked about Akunia, talked about what is valuable about him with his defense and his base running and that they hope the bat can improve. As much as I am a Luis Anelkunia doubter, I am interested to see what his offense could look like if he returns to the bat speed that he had in 2024 because last year it fell off a cliff. It seemed like they tried to prioritize contact. It’s not the game we want. We want him swinging out of his shoes. Like he’s just that’s when he’s at his best is if he does some damage and he’s obviously a good fielder. He’s good good running. Like he’s a free bench guy. Cool with it. One of the 26 25th last man on the roster. That’s fine by me. I think that’s kind of where we’re looking on the offensive side. Like maybe Ryan Clifford gets the look too, right? He had amazing numbers in AAA. The play discipline’s fantastic. The lazy comp I always give is he’s the next Lucas Duda. Lucas Duda was great. Like I would take another Lucas Duda type person on this team down the line. But where the young guys are going to make the most impacts on the pitching like I think that’s that’s really where we’re going to see these young players shine and help this Mets team. We know about Nolan Mlan, but I I hope to see Jonatong make an improvement this off seasonason. Maybe look to add a cutter or a slider to his repertoire because we know the two pitches right now are good. Not good enough to get it done consistently enough. You also still have Brandon Sprro who’s great. Again, if none of these guys get traded, they’re all here. I expect them to be very active being guys that are used in the bullpen, guys that are being used in the rotation, different roles, because they are good. They are talented. And at the end of the day, it’s free. Like as much as we have all this money in the world, being able to have players that make an impact on these rookie contracts for free allows you then to go spend $50 million a year on a Wanoto, $30 million a year on Lindor, maybe $30 million a year on Pete because all these other spots now are filled with impactful players that you pay the league minimum to. Brilliant point. And this is something again the Dodgers do as well. They lean on having to a degree Yep. early contracts of guys are either on pre-ARB or just getting to the point of ARB. And the Mets can find themselves in a similar fashion now with their rotation. You know, I said going back over the past really, I’d say north to four months now that do not expect the Mets to have a drastic change in their rotation for next season unless they dabble in the trade market. That’s the only exception to do it because they currently have again eight pitchers under contract right now that are all expected to impact them to varying degrees next season. And I agree. I’m not in the contingent of fans that say, “Oh, let’s run it back completely.” Maniah, Sangga, Holmes, Peterson, etc., and expect something different. Like, as much as I am enthusiastic and am um positive in my way of thinking with Justin Willard, who has yet to be officially announced as the Mets new pitching coach, um I think he’s going to bode really well with the youth movement, as he did in Boston as their director the past couple years. But the point still stands. There’s so much uncertainty there. And I think we would be following in a very similar fashion how we did this past year entering spring training where there was just way too much uncertainty in the rotation that you have a lot of names but the names are only names until they actually go ahead and show their worth for an extended period of time. And I think we learned a bit not just on the trade interest in Kodi Sanga, but the gassing out down the stretch in the David Pearsons to the, you know, buying in on what was honestly an anomaly of a second half for Shawn Maniah because no one was able to adjust to him as he made his adjustment with his arm slot angle. There are things that Sterns can learn from and obviously goes without saying Frankie Monttos being out of shape to begin spring training. Um, you know, that was a bet that he made and it failed miserably. So, how does his evaluation with this rotation change heading in the offseason will be key because the Mets h can easily find themselves at least I think in a role where they do say tra straightaway one or at most two of those rotational pieces and maybe one of them is part of the youth movement as we mentioned like a ton or a Sprro. Not that I want either to be dealt, but at the same time, if you had to trade one of those guys to either bring in say a Joe Ryan or to a certain degree, a Pablo Lopez or of course shooting for the stars in Ter School, most Mets fans would be content with that knowing that you’re getting clearly ace caliber upside starters right away for you. Um, and the Mets really don’t have anyone established there with the exception of Mlan and if he’s not a mental magic, Kodai Sena. So to talk more on that rotation front when you look at these eight starters right now from let’s start with the youth and Kristen Scott Jonaton no Mlan Brandon Sprro to then getting into Kodi Sanga David Peterson Clay Holmes uh Shawn Maniah and I’m might be missing one guy but I don’t think I am uh because of injuries Tyler McIll’s out. What would your ideal rotation be heading into next year that you expect David Sterns to try at least to configure? Tercoal one, nan 2, Klay Holmes, Maniah Peterson. I think Sanga is going to be a guy that could be on the move. I’ve lost all confidence in SA, but also at the same time I’ve lost confidence in the mental side. On the physical side, it was a bad year. He has to make a change. So, like we’re really going to put this guy to the test this spring training and at the start of the year as long as he’s with the Mets to see what this guy’s made of because when things are broke, you got you got to make a change. And if he just comes back and does the same thing over and over again and we see that he struggles again or he can’t mentally handle it, then we kind of know we’ve got a lame duck there in Kodai. So, I think he’s someone who’s I don’t want to say going to earn his way into the rotation. But also, I’m cool with a six-man rotation. We saw how fresh and awesome Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell and Glasnow and all these guys were down the stretch. Just because baseball had been played for a long time where we do fiveman rotations doesn’t mean that sixman isn’t the best option for this New York Mets team. And especially if they were to bring in an ace like a scubble or a Joe Ryan or this and that. Maybe you use Sanga or Klay Holmes or Maniah in one of those weeks where we have six games in a week or seven games in a week to just fill in, give someone an extra day off because the amount of starters that we have along with the young guys behind us. Like I I would love for Sprro or Tong to win a spot out of spring training, but truthfully, they still have some growth. They still have some things to adjust. We saw them make it. They kind of got thrown into the gauntlet at the end of the season. Wasn’t really fair to them. They did a great job in their small sample, I thought, but I don’t want to put the pressure on them to need to be in this rotation. Go out, get an ace. Go get Derk Scubble if he’s truly available. Go get Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez, something like that for this front of the rotation because I do think that while there is no ace, I have confidence in every other pitcher in this rotation to be completely acceptable at the worst. Yeah, I I I agree with you in the sense that I think the floors for a lot of these guys won’t be as bad as last year as long as they can stay relatively healthy. You know, that’s the key wording there, relatively healthy. Sanga’s stuff was clearly there up until his injury, which was so frustrating because I think I don’t know if you felt this way, but as soon as we saw Sango go down in June of this past season. I literally said in my head right away, this is going to be the start of the end when you see the dominoes fall because it held true. Tyler McIll went down a couple days after the fact. We saw Griffin Kenny rupture his Achilles somehow. Like, how does that happen for a starter? It’s not funny, but just like like how still. And then you look at every other aspect of this rotation between the setbacks like having Frankie Molotos pitch his max days a month’s worth of rehab and like you don’t want to call him up but you have to call him up. Shawn Mania looking like he’s kind of scared of his own shadow and starter roles like didn’t look terrible to begin when he was getting those stints of kind of being piggybacked there with Klay Holmes against Kansas City there. Um but then when he really trying to get a flow of being a starter, it just didn’t work. than the loose body in his elbow that he might not need surgery on now, which I really don’t know how that makes sense heading into next season without it coming back to bite them per se. Um, what I do know is that if the Mets are going to be adding to this rotation and yes, we can talk all day about how appealing a guy like Scooble is, Joe Ryan, among others, there needs to be a balance of realistically being able to get certain guys. And when you look at players that are currently available in this year’s market, especially the Fragen market that actually are feasible for the team in the sense that they don’t have to give up a qualifying offer and they have upside as good as being in the middle of the rotation if not a topend guy for you. Let’s go from talking about one Japanese starter to another this time in Tatsua because as we know according to Scott Boris that we saw today um it does appear that he will be officially posted on November 19th. The fact that he is going to be Scott Boris Klein, if I’m not mistaken, it would only bode well for the Mets who have spent more money on Boris Klein than any other team since Steve Con has become owner. But EMI put up really impressive numbers this past year with a sub 2 that we saw in 163 innings. He had a K per nine of just under 10, a walks per nine of 2.4. What I like about EMI is the fact that he touched 100 miles per hour for the first time in his career this season that we saw. And every single year over the past five years, he has gotten better and better with his walk rate. Going from as high as, you know, a seven walks per night with only a 6k per nine to getting all the way down to what we saw this season getting set now to hit the major league level. And from everything that we’ve seen at this point, he is more of a profile as a Kodi Sena in the sense of what his market value is expected to be of around 100 to 150 million is what’s being speculated at the moment. Knowing you have to don’t give up a qualifying offer. Knowing that I is only age 27 and entering his age 28 years. He turns 28 in May. And knowing that the Mets do have a fellow countryman that could only I think bode well for them and potential negotiations for the player. There’s been a lot of speculation that the Mets are fully anticipated to be in this market. But I’m curious to know what are your thoughts on the Mets potentially going after another Japanese starter after their failed pursuit. It wasn’t for a lack of effort, but a failed one nonetheless in Yoshino Yamamoto a couple years ago. Yeah, I’m interested. Like I think I hope people know he’s not Yoshino Yamamoto. I hope people know he’s not Udarvish. Like he is a a very different pitcher coming over. He is going to be good. I I don’t have a doubt in that. But he is not to the level of dominance that we saw with those guys. So yeah, I’m interested. He doesn’t walk guys. We know how much we hate walks and how much that hurt this Mets rotation in bullpen last year with how many guys they put on base for free. the NPB is not nearly, you know, the same quality of talent that you’re seeing one through nine every single night in a lineup. But for him to be able to put up the numbers that he has the last few years, super interesting. The one weird thing is about the breaking ball. He kind of rocks a backup slider, which I don’t think is going to work at the major league level. So, we’re gonna really need to see him then either improve upon that slider or really fit like get that third pitch between the change up splitter sinker somewhere just so that it’s a little more a little more in his arsenal. But yeah, for the right price like I’m I’m interested in them. The the guys over there that pitch like they’ve they’ve been really good. I do get concerned about these smaller pitchers at times that are a little bit slight. Like I think he’s like 510 or 5’11, weighs like 160 pounds. if that’s an actual accurate representation of his size. That’s smaller than me. So, like I get worried about that for sure, but he has track record over in the MPB. We now know that those pitchers, especially if he’s throwing 99, like we know what pitches need to look like in order to be successful at the major league level. And it seems like he has those pitches. So, sure, I’m I’m down to give him a shot. Why not? I just I don’t think he’s a frontline ace guy. And I hope people also have that in their mind, too. like temper expectations like he’s probably a really good two. That’s where I’m looking at ceiling wise, right? And that’s okay if you have Noah Mlan healthy and really looking to be your one throughout the course of the season. But again, I completely understand every Mets fan that’s like, listen, I’m all for EMI, but I want something more certainty if we’re only like guaranteed to land one true starter this off season. And that is the case. How can you not do everything in your power to put all your chips in honest? Maybe to a certain degree a Joe Ryan. I’m a big fan of Pablo Lopez. I know that you like him quite a bit too. He’s coming off of an injured second half. Before then, I really love the idea of the Mets trading for him. I think he would have been traded at the deadline if he wasn’t hurt because the Twins are on a massive selling spree. So much so that Byron Buckton may actually say, you know what, consider it. I’m going to leave Minneapolis. Um, which is unfortunately not the profile that fits the Mets that are trying to have health and certainty in center field. Byron Buckston is the opposite of that. But by God, I’ve been wanting him since 2021. I would still be ecstatic if somehow someway that happened. Imagine him as kind of a placeholder until Benj was ready and then he shifted to your GH or you rotate your DH then between him, Sodto, and Nemo. You could get creative about the corner outfields. Honestly, I’m kind of talking myself into it now. I I mean, put him in center field and let Bench play the corner cuz like NMO Nemo can’t play the outfield very well anymore. Like I want I mean we could put NMO more in DH. I’m not opposed to that either. I Yeah, that’s where I would lean in more like NMO DH a little bit more. Obviously it doesn’t have to be every day, but I think if the Mets aren’t going in with like an everyday DH, like let’s use that to like be flexible with this roster. We can still get a good bat in the lineup every day. Improve defense depending on what the pitching matchup is, what team we’re playing. Give guys like kind of like a half day off. I think it it helps a lot. I think the Mets could find themselves without a true guarantee of a DH with that rotation as long as again they have the viable bat options to do so because we heard Sterns talk today about how Ventos again he’s going to be leading bat first and there will be opportunities for him. But I’m left wondering really where will there be opportunities because we I’m I’m I’m hoping and praying they learned that you can’t allow someone who is not proficient at the hot corner to play there once or twice a week and then not play for another week and expect the guy to get better. Like I I really can’t fault Mark’s lack of progress there when the Mets appeared, at least from the fan point of view, to not necessarily do enough to put him in the right position to succeed. I mean, he was the same guy who’s saying to the media at the trade deadline how he basically wasn’t getting any help from anyone. Um, and you know, if the Mets are going to look at him as a bat first guy, I think Mark still has potential absolutely to thrive full-time DH. But I also think that the Mets swan and missed on their opportunity to figure that out with him because that’s what should have been the case this past year. He started off more in that position. He went down with injury. Marte succeeded when he was getting more reps in that role. And once Ventos got back, it was kind of jackal and hide. You know, he looked good to begin August for the first couple weeks and then we had no clue what happened to him again. And that was really kind of the story of the season. Just nowhere to be seen on the consistent front. Do you think that Mark Vantos has a future in this organization or do you think that it’s all but a guarantee now that he’s going to be traded this off season? I I as a Mets fan, I hope he’s traded. I don’t I don’t see how he makes sense on this team even if we don’t have Pete Alonzo. I just I don’t see it. Like I hate to be a hater, but a guy who has zero zero value defensively. He can’t play third, never will be able to at a proficient level. And the bats way too streaky. And we kind of knew under the hood that it was going to be a bit of a coin flip every single year with him offensively. Like he was so awesome in 2024. That was great. He hits the ball hard, but we know that under the hood, it’s like how he gets to that hard contact is not the most consistent, not something that you can rely on. And then in 2025, we saw it, like you said, and you look month by month outside of August, he was a horrible hitter. He was horrendous. Like he didn’t have a single OPS outside the month of August above 700. That that just doesn’t play. And I know he didn’t get consistent playing time, but part of that is because wasn’t playing well. And if he isn’t playing well, brings no value defensively, clogs up the bases, it’s it’s difficult to figure out what the role of Mark Ventos is on a team that’s trying to win when last year he just didn’t really make this team any better. I think I think it’s hard to have players that are clanky or I don’t want to say clanky, what’s the right word? Um clumsy. clumsy like him where if he’s not hitting, he has no value and he’s on the bench and you’re you’re hoping he runs into one. Like I don’t I don’t I’m not interested in players like that. Send him for Luis Rober if they still want that. I’m I’d do that in a heartbeat. Yeah, the Luis Rivera stuff is interesting because they obviously opted in for the $20 million which, you know, is probably one of the most overplayed, you know, current AES in baseball at the moment. and Robert’s more than likely going to get traded by next year’s deadline because why wouldn’t he at this point? Um, the Mark Vientos saga appears to have come to an end again more so on just how much went wrong this past year, you know, where things were out of his control. Things were in his control to a degree and one way or another they just didn’t hit. It’s unfortunate because I really do like Vientos and I loved what we saw in 2024. How can you not? he felt like was him missing his not only consistent playing time but his quality of play this past year severely hurt the Mets too. You know, like we talk about, oh, the Mets didn’t get much out of him. It’s not like he was much of a factor. I would say that he was actually a negative factor for the Mets this season because of how much they relied on him like unintentionally in 2024 expecting that to a degree in 2025 not getting it. And I get it, you added Juan Sto the lap, so it shouldn’t really matter that much to you. But Mark was a guy that was doing great job protecting the other bats that we saw more towards the top of the order and was thriving with runners in scoring position throughout great stretches for all of 2024 into postseason play. Not getting that for at all a substantial period of time really felt like it was going to be the demise for him. Pair that with the fact that he doesn’t have a minor league option left on his contract. there’s a greater world where if the Mets do not trademark Ventos that he would be DFAD then I think he would be staying on the team truthfully throughout the year because how long are they going to let a roster spot be eaten up by someone that maybe they’re going to give less and less playing time to the biggest problem is that exactly go ahead he can’t go down and shout out you know Billy Eper for that one appreciate it but like it’s it’s he’s a he’s a tough player to roster if he is not mashing and he hasn’t mashed for a year Now, he did mash in 2024, but we do have just a lot of data on him where it’s like the teams have identified what he can and can’t do, right? Can he make that adjustment? It’s hard in the season. So, I’ll give him that. If he’s back on the team next year, I think he’s got an incredibly short leash and it’s one of those where you DFA him if he can’t cut it and one of the bad teams is going to pick him up. So, he’s not going to hurt you. Like, he’s not going to go through waiverss and fall to a team that you’re going to compete with, especially because you have to go through the American League first. Like I’m okay giving him another shot if we have no other options. But in a world where if if we can move Mark Ventos in a piece to help make this team get better, like I always say Luis Robera, I’ll be honest, I don’t think the White Sox would take that. Like I think if you are moving Ventos to help go get another reliever, I I I say yeah, sure. Like let’s do it. I would be down to do that, especially if it’s a reliever that has some club control to him, that clearly has some upside. you know, let’s pry one of the millions of talents from the Rays because we know Sterns is always salvating the trade with Tampa. I’m sure we could find a pitcher from there to make it work at um in Flushing, Queens. But Mark Ventos, we’ll see what the future holds for him. I’ve been saying it all year long, I’ll say it again, not chance in hell if the Mets run it back with Batty Ventos, Mauricio Akuno, at least one of these guys will not be here to begin spring training. Um if not multiple. So, just a matter of who exactly that’s going to be and why. But going on now from talking about Mark Vientos, let let’s just stay briefly here on the topic of DH before we expand as to what’s going on with Alonzo and Diaz because there’s again some key news regarding Alonzo that I’m excited to share. Same thing with Edwin. But before we do, let’s just talk, you know, for a minute on if the Mets do decide to go more of an actual full-time route for DH. And this is something that I’ve been longing for more so because while I understand the upside of having versatility in the DH position, I also understand that it has been far from a needle mover for this Mets team since we’ve had the universal DH. Like the Mets have actually been impressive and how much they have failed to proper utilize their DH since it has been here. And that and that frustrates me knowing that the Mets are in a position where if they add someone who can consistently slug in that position, the Mets lineup, which you know, even with all the flaws they had was still top five in baseball last season, can get so much better. And that’s why I don’t look any farther than the guy who’s been raking against us for the past number of years and Kyle Schwarber as someone who especially in a world where maybe the Mets allow Alonzo to be parted with. Why wouldn’t he be someone that you do everything in your power to try to land and pry away from your rival there in the NL East? Because the Phillies have a rightful reason to change up the core a bit similar to the Mets, you know, for just wanting to have a bit of a culture change in that clubhouse both on and off the field. Schwber’s coming off of a career year makes sense. It was his walk year. He probably will not put up 56 home runs again. He may get close to 50, but I think that this was the year that Kyle Schwarber peaked as a player for the most part. So, what’s your thought about Schwarb’s potentially landing in Flushing Queens? Yeah, I mean, I’d love it. I don’t think it’s going to happen just because Pete kind of him I don’t want to say they become redundant, but like I think their eyes are on Pete and then by the time that the Mets will probably have their answer with Pete. We’ll probably know where Schwarber is already. It’s one of those things where you have to prioritize and I do prioritize Pete over him, but Schwarber’s awesome. Like there’s no doubt if you’re at the DH spot, there really are only a few actual legit good DHS. Otherwise, it’s like a very fluid position. And Kyle Schwarber’s one of those guys. Like they got him in this lineup. I would be thrilled. I’d be happy. I don’t I don’t particularly care about the price tag on him either. I don’t think it’s going to be anything insane where you would be like nervous down the line towards the end of the contract. But I just assume that he’s going to go somewhere else most likely back to the Phillies just because the Mets can’t really they’re going to be playing the waiting game with Pete and I have a feeling Schwarber is going to be like I have all these teams after me. I’m not waiting to sign for the Mets down the line. He doesn’t need to. Yeah, you’re right. He doesn’t need to. And I think that’s a perfect transition now to go from talking about Schwarber who I again would love in Queens. I agree with you. I don’t think it’s necessarily overly logical that’s going to happen right now, but I do think that’s definitely something in play for this team because I think the Mets should be approaching this off season in the manner of let’s just go crazy. Let’s bring in Pete. Let’s bring in Schwarber. Let’s get crazy. I understand that first base defense will be non-existent. That goes against the Stern’s philosophy per se, but at the same time, I don’t think Allonzo’s lack of defense will ever outweigh his upside with his offense. you know, like it’s going to have to be so detrimental that we’re talking like um Dante Bashette being a career like negative war player after everything he did in Colorado. You know what I mean? Just because he played the outfield. It’s like if you put that guy at first base, he probably been all right. Like just just for context, like Pete is horrendous at first base. He’s got great scoops. I wish that could somehow be calculated because again, there’s nobody better at the position at that. But looking at like how they calculate offensive war, defensive war, according to baseball reference. Last year he was horrendous defensively, negative 1.8 defensive war. Offensively, he was 4.4. It’s still a major positive. It’s a major. We would love to see that number be zero in a perfect world that he doesn’t hurt us defensively, but for 40 home runs, close to 900 OPS, and 120 RBI’s a year, like I couldn’t care at all. I couldn’t I could not care less. Right. And I think what we should care about is the fact that Alonzo and the Mets have some common ground currently because what we’re here to talk about now is the latest reporting that came out from John Haymon of the New York Post and I’m going to expand on this more content tomorrow everybody. So make sure you’re on the lookout for it. But he came out with a piece over the past hour which states Mets Alonzo off to a pleasant and productive start in talks. Better feeling this time around. And then here rundown of potential teams including a surprise or two cuz you know Haymon has to have those surprise teams. Can’t forget the sleeper teams you never heard of or weren’t expecting to see in the mix for Alonzo. But currently, the Mets have opened talks with Pete Alonzo. At least one of the surface one, pardon me, and at least on the surface, there seems to be a better feeling around those talks this year than last. Let’s see. The nice start to discussions could possibly bode well for the Mets chances to retain Alonzo, obviously. um who doesn’t have the qualified offer attached this time around. Sterns has reiterated how much he would like Alonzo back obviously and his presence is important you know as a terrific producer and a protector there um you know for Jan Sodto. Um we also see here a quote that I find very interesting and though the feeling around these talks seems much more positive. Alonzo’s market should be better than last year when the Blue Jays comprised practically the entirety of the competition. And this was something I was unaware of, offering around a hundred million dollars before pulling the offer for Alonzo. Eventually, Pete took the 54 million across the two-year deal with the Mets and Clue the optouts after they had that three-hour meeting in Tampa with club higherups. Um, so here are the possibilities. Obviously Mets one, he has Giants 2, Red Sox three, Mariners four, Orioles five, Angels six. Yeah, I think that’s all val I think the Angels should be higher just cuz never doubt Ry Marino’s ability to just do something that makes absolutely no sense given like Pete Alonzo’s seven-year contract like someone along those lines. Let’s run it back pool holes. Let’s get another bad contract. But starting from the top, were you aware of that Blue Jays offer previously? I had heard some murmurings about it, but I didn’t realize how serious of an offer it actually was. But it makes sense. They were probably doing like the the Vlad Jr. uh insurance there at the time because they weren’t sure if Vlatty was going to go or not. So that was probably their insurance thing. But like it’s always hard for me to really take anything John Haymon says seriously. Now hear me out. I don’t think he’s a bad reporter by any means in this regard, but it’s he is a puppet for Boris. Like we know it. Scott Boris has his hands so far up John Haymon. He’s controlling what he says. So when we look at what Haymon says there, I I see the spin zones. Mets positive. Pete Alonzo does. Is that an alert to all the other teams in the league? Hey, Pete Alonzo and the Mets are getting close. Let’s get some offers. Is that to get the Mets fan base to put some pressure on the Mets? Oh, it’s great. They’re going to get him. They have to get them. Put some pressure on them there. Is this him just lying? Scott Boris is like, “Yeah, it’s great. It’s going great. The Mets have been friendly. We’re talking.” Or is this the truth? I tend to believe that the Mets are probably having better conversations with Pete this year. He had a much better year. I think it made us believe in Pete longer term than we did after 2024 because we kind of forget 2024 was not a great year for Pete at all. It was terrible until Devin Williams said, “Let’s make this easy.” You know, literally like he did not come through one time in 2024 until he physically had his entire Mets career on the line. That’s why it was so much more impressive when it happened, which like thank god it did. But like the the offseason’s different. I think the Mets willingness is different. And I do think that David Sterns, I hope at least from the outside perspective. While at times we do undervalue first base, it’s kind of like running backs in the NFL. I think there is kind of becoming a switch where when you do something as well as Pete Allonzo does, which is hit the baseball hard and and hit it for power and be a run producer, you look at how can you fill in those 38 home runs and 126 RBI’s. you can’t do it. There’s not an option. And without that run producer, this offense is worse than it already was. And I think David Sterns is smart enough to realize that while maybe this isn’t the perfect contract for this Mets team to be successful going into 2026, you still you still need this guy. Otherwise, you’re going to be looking at all these different areas to try and get what you’re missing from Pete. And that’s just pretty much impossible. Now, not that the Mets should care a lot about this, but after a year where so much went wrong and a lot of turmoil in 2025, it would be nothing short of an absolute PR nightmare if the Mets allowed Peter Lonzo to walk this off season, especially in the manner of it being that oh, he say went to a very good contending team still in the National League because the Mets weren’t able to meet him on like one extra year, let’s say, hypothetically like that’s that would that would be stupid. That would be insane. Exactly. And that’s a concern that I think a lot of us have. And for me, my concern isn’t as much just about the potential of Alonzo still leaving, even though I am somewhat encouraged to see this reporting from him. And I’ll expand as to why that is, but knowing that there’s just still so much uncertainty when it comes to how these negotiations go that you can be led to believe that, okay, all right, everything’s looking good now, and then bam, we find out a week later, oh, there’s a complete stalemate and we, you know, it just it’s going to be this seessaw. We we all anticipate this. I I expect it. You expect it, too. And for me, I just I care a lot about Alonzo returning for him being not just the home run. Kane feels like yesterday I was in attendance for his first ever home run at City Field. Crazy that he’s now the leader in that regard for this organization. Um I care so much about what he’s done for the fan base, both in the clubhouse, on the field, and the community. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I equally care, if not care, more about just how to properly replace him in a role where you did that. And I do wonder for David Sterns and the Mets on shaking up this core group in this roster next season, are they willing to go the lengths to really get creative to the point of allowing Allonzo to walk because you maybe make sure that you’re not going to get as much power production at first, but that’s because you’re getting more of a balance elsewhere. Does an Alonzo walking amplify a pursuit of say an Alex Bregman while also considering amplify more of the pursuit for Cody Bellinger who they’re actively in the market for? Like is there a world where the Mets kind of deviate away from how the roster currently looks and get unbelievably creative and say, “Okay, if first base is not going to be our premier uh power position, let’s spread the wealth here and do it greater than what we had done in years prior.” That is something that I really do wonder how Sterns and Cohen are going to be going about this. But I think that’s a lot of jumping through hoops that they would like to avoid by simply just bringing Alonzo back at a deal that’s relative to what he’s looking for without it getting to the point of being like I’m sure that they do not love the idea of six, seven years. I think five they may have an appetite for if he says I will play more DH for you. 5125. Let’s 5125 would be more than fine. I think that would be fantastic for the team. But if Alonzo just says that there’s a willingness to DH the way that supposedly Scott Boris stated today that he has more of an appetite to do. We don’t really need to have much of a debate here. You know, it’s not like we’re giving this guy a $400 million contract the way that Scoo’s going to be demanding, for example. Like this is someone who’s looking for his payday but not looking for something that’s going to completely rewrite the market. So for all those reasons and knowing that you have an owner that’s pretty pissed off right now has seen firsthand how valuable Allonzo’s been. Allonzo showed you this year with his own adjustments with his biomechanics heading into the season how much more productive he could be with runners of scoring position even if he does not get to the 40 home run plateau each season. I think Alonzo would be not only detrimental to losing him, but if you do not bring him back, there’s just a lot of different configuring you have to do. That’s honestly feels like maybe an unnecessary headache for the Mets when their answers are right in front of them. If they didn’t have that, I I wouldn’t feel the same. If it was between like Alonzo and Bregman, Alonzo every single time, right? If it’s between, and this is gonna sound crazy because obviously this involves a trade and the likelihood of it, but like it’s between Alonzo and Catel Marte. Well, now now you you’ve piqued my interest cuz we’re talking about like one of the 10 best players in baseball. But until that’s a legitimate possibility, that’s that’s a scary game to play. That’s a scary bet for David Sterns to make. And I don’t I don’t take him as the betting type like that. Like I don’t see him being risky. I know if anything, he’s risk averse. It seems like with David Sterns, he he’s trying to make the safest decisions possible. And I know he didn’t go get starting pitching, but the guys we got were cheap. All that nonsense stuff. Alonzo makes this team’s floor so much higher because offensively, you know, one, two, three. You have three of the better hitters in baseball with Lindor. So do Alonzo. And then you can fill out the rest of the team. And I think that makes David Stern’s job honestly easier with the rest of the team if we take care of first base. Know Pete Alonzo is going to be there. And no one’s a bigger fan of Mark Ventos right now than Pete Alonzo because his bad season made Petonzo even more valuable because Ventos I think they were like he could probably fill in at first and then he stunk. Yeah. Like the fact that we actually still have a level of concern with Vientos getting reps at first tells you all you need to know. You know that’s the one position that we should not really be concerned too much as to who’s going there, especially with how low the bar is with Allonzo’s defense. But all this is to say we hope Alonzo returns. It’s good to see that this reporting is um coming out from Hmon. And the reason why I will say is that people should be to a degree happy about this is because while Jon is obviously gonna play the game as you know being kind of paired to a degree with Scott Boris and I’m not going to say he’s a complete puppet or anything, not trying to upset Haymon because I know that, you know, there’s there’s there’s a certain there’s a certain personality out there over the past year that did that over the radio that I think did more than enough damage at the time. But what I will say is that he clearly has his connections and there’s a reason why he was able to break the Wan Sodto news and have everything to a tea leading up to that point and you should take that in stride as a good thing as Mets fans when looking at the Alonzo sweep stakes because again he’s going to have his hands all over this in regards to what’s actually happening. John will probably know exactly what is happening regarding Alonzo and his future before anyone else will maybe the exception of Andy Martino because Andy does get his uh pieces from time to time to kind of first put it out there. Um I know everyone’s favorite personalities if you couldn’t tell. So I do think that this is encouraging. I just hope that naturally what comes out of this is obviously the resolution but that it reaches a fairly quick conclusion because you stated okay what is the purpose for this? Is it because his market has really heated up with the Mets already and they’re trying to get a lot of other competitive suitors for him? Is it because the fact that the market hasn’t picked up and they’re trying to speed it up? You know, if the market is really starting to pick up for Pete now, that would be massive because all we want is a world where we do not need this to drag as long as it did a year ago. You know, because now Alonzo understands how the market’s going to be this time around. He understands that he will have free range to talk to A1 without there really being any limitations other than his own lack of defense for the most part because the qualifying offer is no longer a problem for him and I think he learned last year as well how teams are going to continue to evaluate him because of something as small as that. I wonder how much he maybe felt slighted a year ago and how much he still appreciates the Mets for still wanting to do everything in the power to bring him back. Just not at the point of like, “Buddy, we already gave you a seven-year contract extension a couple years ago. That would have equated to at least a 5-year deal.” Like, it was right there in front of you and you said no. So, how much more do you kind of want us to bend over backwards versus what you view your value as? So, I’m intrigued. We all are. That’s going to continue to be the hottest topic regarding the Mets and this off season. But if it’s not going to be Pete Alonzo is a hot topic, then the other obvious one is Edwin Diaz. And we did see early reporting that came out today uh of course from Kenh Ken Rosenthal and Wolf Sam and shout out to Will and he did state that as of now Edwin Diaz is seeking a yearly similar structure contract to the five years over 100 million that he signed with the Mets a couple years ago. Not overly surprised to hear this, but at the same time this is a different front office. This is no longer Billy Big Bucks. This is David Sterns. Is Sterns gonna have the appetite to spend $100 million for Edwin Diaz? Or does it really not matter because this is really Steve Cohen’s way to step in, flex the guns? He knows it really isn’t a problem for him, so why make it one? What’s your thoughts on that? I I I think Diaz will be back, especially because if he’s not, he’s a Los Angeles Dodger and that just can’t happen. But he’s worth it. I think Sterns and Cohen have both shown that for elite players, they will spend whatever the price is. And when we’re talking about closers, end of the game, there’s maybe one guy better than Edwin Diaz, maybe in being Mason Miller, and he’s going to probably become a starting pitcher. Like Edwin Diaz is elite. There’s no signs of him slowing down anytime soon. And having a guy like Edwin, and this is not going to make Mets fans feel great, allows for Sterns to do the chaos stuff that he loves to do with this bullpen. If you know that you can get the three outs to end a game to make sure you guaranteed wins like the Mets do with Edwin Diaz, that’s when you can take shots and do your little projects and spend some money on some crazy guys in the back end. You can’t you can’t do that if you don’t have Edwin. I know the Dodgers just won a World Series without a bullpen. They’re built differently. Mets need someone to get those final three outs. And he makes the game shorter. Like it’s valuable to basically take away outs from the other team. Every time the Mets step on the field, the other team has 24 outs. That’s an advantage right there. Yeah. I mean, you really can’t look for a better closer, a dominant closer option than what’s right in front of you as well. Like this is the interesting thing about the free agency for the Mets is like the only couple guys that they have as free agents are like guys that they like kind of absolutely need back. You know, you can’t find more viable options to replace him, especially Edwin. And I don’t say this as in the Mets can’t find a dominant closer because I’m sure they could. I’m sure there’s maybe a world where if they actually ran it back with Ryan Hley, then maybe it would work if you started him as a closer from the beginning. I know it sounds crazy. I know it’s another PR nightmare, but I’m just saying it it really isn’t that crazy when once you really think about his track record and what he can do. Point I’m trying to make is as fickle as relievers can be, Diaz has continued to be a great certainty that we’ve seen the past four years now. And for him to overcome, and I always say this because I never short of impressed by it, for him to land with the Mets in 2019, be scared of his own shadow, being batting practice in every single closer role imaginable, to have the entire fan base, pitchforks and all, wanting the worst for him, thinking Jared Kellick is the second coming to Mike Trout to then fast forward all these years later and Diaz just gets better and better. his best two years of course when his walk years the knee injury has shown not to at all be an X factor in how he will be pitching moving forward in his career and we’ve seen including guys like Aldis Chapman that you can be a fine wine as you get into your late 30s so even if you say added Diaz until his age 36 37 season are you really losing sleep over it you probably shouldn’t be especially knowing how much of an appetite Stephen Cohen tends to have to eat bad contracts in the end should he have to do so he’s already done it with James McCann and Thomson Canó, if he could do it for those guys, I think he could do it for just about anybody. Okay. Um, so I it’s crazy the Canó stuff, too. But Edwin Diaz, let’s bring Sugar Back goes without saying. You will not find a better closer. And as much as I like the upside of Dylan Ross, Ryan Lambert, and others, there’s a lot of proving that needs to be done there. I think we’re going to learn so much about how great the upside of the Mets internal bullpen options are. And that’s why you guys will probably be heading into spring training maybe a bit underwhelmed on the structure of the bullpen outside of maybe a Diaz reunion because the Mets will be leaning more into those internal options than I think they did a year ago because we actually have now top relief prospects that are right on the cusp of being like, “Hey, we’re here. We’re ready to dominate. Time to give us an opportunity.” So Edwin Diaz, let me some sugar. And Mark, I know you got to get out of here in a minute, but before I let you go, let’s talk here just briefly on who the Mets were technically linked to today. And I truly think he’s nothing short of slam dunk fit for the Mets, even in a world where you do bring back Alonzo just because of how much versatility you have. And obviously by bringing someone like this, you would likely have to part ways with Jeff McNeel because it would be a bit redundant by having two on this roster. But what’s your thoughts on the Mets being in the market for Cody Ballinger’s coming off of a very good year here for the Yankees? Just around 30 home runs, just under 100 RBI’s, a 272, 334,480 clip. Can play above league average defense in both corners of the outfield, center, and at first base. There’s a lot to like about the setup both offensively and defensively with Bellinger. He’s proven his ability to play big in all big markets from LA to Chicago to now New York. And he checks off kind of multiple boxes for the Mets currently. So, it would be kind of silly if they weren’t at least doing their proper due diligence here now. Yeah, I I love Cody Bellinger. I would have loved him in center field a few more years ago than I do now. He’s he’s graded okay the last few seasons in center field, but he’s a good hitter. He gets on base. He has some pop. I don’t think it’s pop that’s going to be 30 home runs a year with the Mets. But I do love that he can play all the outfield positions. He can play first base like you mentioned. He’s a good baseball player. I’m interested to see what his market is. He’s one of those where for the right price always interested don’t want to give a mega contract to I don’t trust him in that sense but he is a very good baseball player and he would help this team out massively like to be able to have actually a good center fielder with some pop from the left side even if you wanted to platoon had days where he plays center field against everybody else Tyron Taylor gets to play against some tough lefties like sounds great to me I I just I wonder what his market looks like because he’s only 30, so he’s not very old. But we also know he’s not going to be a center fielder for more than probably a year or two. So, what do you look at for a guy like that? Yeah. No, you’re right. And I think the center fielder aspect has already figured itself out. And here’s what I was saying earlier in my separate video that I posted today. You rock with Bellinger to start the season. The outfit, let’s say you bring Allonzo back and you sign Ballinger. Let’s say that’s the Mets really trying to amplify both their offense and defense continued by adding that kind of a style bat. You have Bellinger start the year in center field once Benj has kind of done everything at TripleA is like all right you got to call me up now. Then you bring him up, let Benj get his continued reps in the outfield and then you can go about either A splitting time between Alonzo and Bellinger at first base to DH. B having a scenario where you say have Sodto get some days off, put in DH cuz Bellinger’s playing right. Nemo gain days off while Belly’s in left so he’s at DH. Like that versatility I think is just what is the biggest sell on Bellinger while having it bat that unlike McNeel can still rake and give you 20 to 30 home runs every single season. So, I think that paired with the fact that he’s a World Series champion already, knows what it takes to win in these big in these big markets, and has clearly been nothing short of a positive clubhouse guy from everything we’ve seen. He’s a clear vibes guy, a Cody Bellinger. I’ve always been a fan of his and I think now would be a prime opportunity to for a second consecutive offseason pry a top lefty bat away from the Bronx. Not that I want everybody from there, but it’s not my fault that the Yankees, believe it or not, have a lot of good players, too, each and every year. So, uh, it’ll be another battle to see if Cman will best David Sterns here for the coveted outfielder, but it definitely appears like the Mets have Bellinger on their radar as maybe one of their more higher, you know, top of the list priorities when evaluating position player targets. So Mark, I know you got to get out of here, but before I let you go, what is your expectation now moving forward for not just the remainder of the GM meetings, but ultimately as we get closer to finalizing those dates on QOS as well as, you know, tenders, non-tenders, just the next couple weeks, what do you think will be the landscape for this Mets team? I think we’re just going to hear the Mets involved in everybody. I really do. I think David Stern is going to dot his eyes, cross his tees, leave no rock unturned. He’s going to make sure that he makes his team better. last year was unacceptable. I think to his standards it was unacceptable and I don’t think he has any interest in having another failed season like that. It’s a waste like you mentioned. There’s you only have certain time with these guys. Got to maximize it. And I do think that the Mets are going to be pretty heavily involved in everybody that they should be. And ultimately I think we’re going to bring the boys home. I hope so. I I really do. Bring Allonzo back. Bring Diaz back. And just add, you know, I’m not asking that they sign everybody, but no, you need to make a statement. You know, I just I I can’t I can’t look at this, nor can I believe Steve Cohen can look at what the Dodgers continue to do where the Mets continue to miss the mark. And I know Rome wasn’t built overnight, so that’s a huge factor behind this. But having said that, you’re now entering year six zoner, year three with the present that you’ve been wanting since the start. It’s kind of like get your [ __ ] together now, please. Because we’re reaching our I don’t think that we’re at a point where if we don’t win it all next year, we’re gonna lose our minds completely. But we’re getting a little bit more frustrated as fans because it hasn’t been for lack of effort by the Mets, but they have still missed the mark and sworn and missed and more ways than one this past year. So guys and gals, thank you so much for watching. I’m going to continue on the live show for the next 10 to 15 minutes to answer whatever questions you guys got for me. But that is Mark Lino. Everybody, make sure to check him out in all of his content. He’ll be back on here soon. We got to get James back on here as well. But Marcus, thanks so much for joining me tonight, my guy. And hopefully we see something positive in Mets land in the coming days. See you guys. Peace out. All right, guys. That was Mark Lino aka DraftK Neck. Mark, thank you so much to everybody that enjoyed the live stream with him. Now, we’re going to continue our conversation by again getting your comments, questions, and concerns. And the live stream among other things, Josh is spamming the chat. David Robertson right now. I don’t know why we’re yelling David Robertson unless the Mets sign him. And I know that that did not happen. I know specifically that the Mets did not sign David Robertson because reporting has already come out that Robertson does not intend to sign with a team to begin 2026. Like if he’s going to continue his career, it’ll be like what he did this past year where he legit doesn’t join until like the second half of the year because he doesn’t need to. Like he legit doesn’t need to. He’s in his 40s now and it doesn’t matter. Like he’s a dog. he’ll he’ll get a nice payday for a second half of a season for a playoff run for a team. And that’s all he’s kind of looking for at this point in his career and I can’t fault him. So, let’s consider let’s now answer whatever comments, questions, and concerns you guys got for yours truly here in the live show and then we will wrap it up from there. But everybody watching replay, we will be cutting off the live stream. Now, I’d like to thank you all so much for watching. Please let us know your biggest takeaway on all the following topics that we had in the comments down below regarding Alonzo, Diaz, Benj, I mean Sanga, and so many others. Thank you so much for watching. To everyone watching live, what’s continue on the live show. Everyone watching replay, this is where we’re cutting things off.

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00:00 Hey! Here’s Today’s Topics
1:00 GM Meetings Key Takeaways
15:57 Kodai Senga’s 2026 Role
20:51 Mets Target Tatsuya Imai
24:40 Byron Buxton Trade Talk
25:46 Mets DH & Mark Vientos
33:08 Potential Kyle Schwarber Pursuit
36:44 Latest Pete Alonso News
48:04 Latest Edwin Diaz News
52:40 Mets Target Cody Bellinger

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