BREAKING: METS TRADE BRANDON NIMMO! | Mets News

BREAKING: METS TRADE BRANDON NIMMO! | Mets News

The New York Mets just traded Brandon NMO. Dan and I have a ton to get to. What this means for our New York Mets now and in the future. Let’s get to it next on Metcast. [Music] [Applause] [Music] What’s going on Mets fans? Breaking news. John Haymon. The New York Mets just traded Brandon NMO to the Texas Rangers. And I know my guy Dan’s feeling his favorite player on the New York Mets. But there was a lot of warning signs around. We had that article come out last week. Dan talking about how Brandon NMO might not be too pleased. He had the no trade clause. So clearly something went ary. When we hear about David Sterns overhauling this core, does it happen any better than the longest tenyard Met, the former first round pick, Brandon NMO. Now, in return, they got Simeon, uh, a more versatile second base. We’ve seen the power with him in the past, a better defender. This opens up the outfield to potentially a massive contract coming to the New York Mets, but we’ll address that shortly, Dan. I want to get to your thoughts. Guys, make sure you let us know what you think down in the comments. What’s going on with this trade? What do you think it means for our New York Mets as we go along tonight? We’ll be sure to get to a couple of your comments. Dan, seven years, 175 for Marcus Simeon. That’s what he has remaining on his contract through shocking. This is something that I did not expect. Uh I’ve been on the record many times coming on this live with you, Ray, talking about Numo, talking about really how much I loved him as a Met, right? He just loved what he brought to the table in terms of how he brought him about himself as a leader. Uh and and now we kind of see the reasons and some of that stuff has eroded over time. Marcus Simeon is a New York Met. Brandon Nmo is a Texas Ranger. I I don’t even know where to start. Again, one of those bombshell moves. Still reacting to it. Still trying to process behind the scenes. Was this a NMO thing? Did he instigate this? Did a player on the team bring it up? Obviously, we heard the rumors again of the Mets proposing to other teams that they’d be willing to move on from NMO’s contract. I didn’t think they actually would, and they did. And now, this is the first shakeup of what could potentially be multiple shakeups. Is Pete Alonzo not going to be back? Right? Is Edwin Diaz not going to be back? This is just the beginning of that. This is a seismic move. Um, I just remember 2016, 2017 Brandon NMO and seeing what he’s become as a big leager and he’s out the door. So, we have to kind of expect Marcus Simeon now who is a good player. Um, but I don’t know if it’s a sizable replacement and we’ll get to that. Yeah, I agree. Look, last year major down year for him. So, look, it’s a gamble for me right now. It is a gamble for the New York Mets. You look at his numbers last year, 470 at bats, not a full season. The power was still there, 15 home runs. It’s just about 20 home runs. 230 batting average, 669 OPS. So unless he was, you know, managing an ailing injury, you kind of got to go off his career stats right in the middle, mid20s home runs. You go back to 2024, 23 home runs, but you know, again, a below 700 OPS. So unless this means another big move is happening, Dan, for me it doesn’t make any sense. I’m not going to lie. I understand getting stronger up the middle. Simeon could play shortstop second base. He will be the second base for the New York Mets. Also, what does this mean? Maybe, just maybe, Dan, what I’m thinking, the Mets have another trade potentially in the works. Maybe a Jet Williams. And I hate to say that, but right now he’s got no position. Jet Williams is not unless you’re going to play him in center and Carson Benjen left in the in the future. Doesn’t make any sense for me. Also, we have to address one thing. Like you said, seven years left on the contract. He’s already th What? How old is he? 35. Going to be 35. Going to be 30. And how many how many years are left on that contract? It’d be three. Okay. This is a win now move. This is an absolute win now move. And look, it’s hard to grade a trade right off the rip because you don’t know what subsequent move is coming. Maybe the Mets are opening that left field. And that’s where I’ll get to in my next point. The rumblings have been out there. John Heymon said, “Don’t rule the Mets out on a potential Kyle Tucker situation.” Or what have we been hearing for a couple weeks, Dan? They deny they’re going to do it. But don’t be shocked if you see a Fernando Tatis Jr. move due to that contract, due to the ownership situation, the potential sale, trying to eliminate money. They’ve been bleeding money left and right in San Diego for years. You have him on that massive contract. Maybe he’s the subsequent move and then if you’re able to pull something off like that, then you immediately move to pitching know this lineup is settled. But Dan, what do you think of Marcus Simeon as a player? you know, in this regard. We’ve seen him have these massive seasons in the past, guys. And when I say massive, he’s had back in 2021 with Toronto. Uh, he had 45 homers and hit 265. Never been the same since 26 29. I mean, he does play outside of last year. Maybe that’s what the Mets are looking for is some health. Six in the last four in the last five years. 162, 161, 162, 159, but then last year the 127. I mean, and one thing, another thing we keep talking about, the Mets wanted to put the ball in play. He’s not necessarily a strikeout machine. 92 93 last year, but it’s not like he does not strike out at all. That OPS plus dip below 100 last year, so maybe he sees something that we don’t. Or is it just what David Stern says, Dan, the run prevention, the defensive aspect of this, which I’m not a fan of. Brandon NMO, you know what you’re getting out of him every year. Simeon, in my opinion, his best days are well behind him. But I don’t know what you think about that, Dan. I think you said it best. It’s a win now move for the New York Mets. You are now solidifying second base. You can basically kiss away Jeff McNeel, the same thing we’ve been doing for the past couple weeks. He is officially gone as of this move. Um, so that’s very interesting. Again, a lot of moving pieces, a lot of things to try to digest at this moment in time. Um, yeah, Brett Batty not going to be playing second. This is Simeon’s spot and it does open up those avenues for Jay Williams as well. What is the trade market look like for him? Is he going to be a factor moving forward? Simeon can also play shortstop a little bit. I don’t believe again those days are behind him as well. Um, the defense is legit. He he plays and I do appreciate that about Simeon. He he has a winning pedigree, something that this team needed, right? Think about that 2023 run. I I I looked at, of course, the talk of the town earlier was Cory Seager. Is he going to go to the Yankees? This could be a big selloff by the Texas Rangers that we’re seeing, but yeah, Simeon’s going to slot in at second base. He’s going to be a good decent enough bat. Again, I don’t think it was a good swap for Brandon NMO on the surface. It does feel like a bad trade. NMO is still the better player um by far. It’s not even close. So, but this is a win now move and in the same way we could have brought in a Bregman to do the same thing. We have a winner in the clubhouse now. Somebody who knows what it’s like. Obviously, you know, Sodto of course, but we have somebody now who can really be a veteran presence on this team. It stinks with Randy NMO and I don’t know again we’ll find out. Did he approach the Mets? Did he say, “Yeah, this would be something because he had to wave the no trade.” And that was the big talk we were hearing from Martino just days ago that they haven’t even approached him yet about waving the no trade clause. So now he’s officially okay with it. I think a part of this too is he’s teaming up with his old buddy Jacob Deg Grom in Texas. And I think once Brandon NMO heard that was on the table, he was probably okay with it. So a lot of moving parts. Still trying to just process this trade. Excuse me, Dan. Do you think that money could be involved here? How much money How much money is Simeon making per? Do we know? What is that? uh whatever it would be coming out to. I I’ll tell you right now. Yeah. Run that really quick. So, what is it? 25. So, he’s making 75. Yeah, 25 a year. So, he’s making I mean, maybe that’s Texas. We keep hearing how Texas wants to get rid of some salary that’s $5 million a year. Now, look, I’ll be honest with you, Dan. I think when we’re looking at this, I’m trying to digest this right now with you guys as we’re going. I’m trying to get as much information as I can. I’m reaching out to everybody that I know in the community trying to figure out what happened here and if there’s a corresponding potential move for the New York Mets. So, bear with us as we’re going through here. Go ahead. Yeah, in this case, the Rangers are shedding a little bit of salary. I mean, this that was the whole point of trying to sell off some of these guys. Um, yeah, it’s not the contracts do line up. That’s why we were hearing stuff with Mike Trout being floated in for Brandon NMA. I didn’t like any of that. Simeon. Yeah, it opens up the outfield, which is the next move, right? Like now we know who our is. Who is going to be the left fielder for the Mets? Is it Jiren Durant? There’s a corresponding move coming. Yeah. I I don’t know. Is he Well, you have to assume I mean, you’re not gonna go in next year with Tyron Taylor in center and Carson Benjon left. I mean, you’re not selling any tickets. I just I want can we just address one thing really quick? I know I’m not saying NMO’s ever going to see this cuz odds are he’s not going to but I want to say one thing through thick and thin NMO’s been here. He’s never been a player to complain. He always loved the fans stopped for every autograph. I go down and cover their spring training every year. One of the nicest guys, and I say that sincerely, that I’ve ever met in the game. I met him very briefly, just a holo, but he didn’t have to do it. They never got an autograph from him. But seen him at spring training, always in the cage, always says positive things, loved being in New York, never had a negative interaction. You never heard anything off the field. And when he was a free agent, you knew this was the place he wanted to be. So, I want to say thank you to Brandon NMO for being the utmost professional, one of the more profession the he is probably, in my opinion, the closest player to David Wright that we’ve had in this organization in the last 10 years. Yeah, Pete’s great. I’m not saying Pete is not. That’s not a shot at Pete Allonzo. Don’t take it that way. But from a guy that I watched from when he was a kid in high school drafted in first round by the Mets, watching him come through the system and you know with a bad ownership, bad expectations, always had his head down and he was the nitty-gritty guy. If you wanted him to get have a high on base, he would lead off and have a high on base, higher batting average. Then the Mets told him, “We need run drivers. We need RBI producers. We need strength. We need power.” He did it. When they asked him to move from center to left, and I’ll tell you right now, for a lot of players around Major League Baseball, when you ask him to switch positions, they give you the middle finger half the time. You think the Mets could ever approach Lindor right now and say, “Hey, we got a great shortstop coming up. Can you move to second base?” There’s no way that’s happening. It’s not a shot at Lindor, but a lot of these guys have pride, and that’s what makes them great. But NMO knew his limitations, knew how to extend his career, and it was by moving to left field. And he accepted the assignment without one IOTA complaint. You never heard him out there saying, “Well, I want, you know, if I had my decision, I’d be the center fielder, but I got to do what’s best.” No, you didn’t hear that. No. The Mets want me to play left. I’m there because we’re trying to win games here. So, I just want to thank Brandon NMO for that as we’re going through this, guys. Guys, this is nuts. And don’t forget he had to wave his no trade to do this. So clearly he had some involvement. Dan, think about he got to choose where he went. So maybe it’s closer to family towards the end of the career. But what do you take from this, Dan? And then guys, we’ll get to some of your comments very shortly. I promise. We’re just trying to contain this. So if you guys are in here, do me a favor. Smash that like button and become a subscriber. Consider becoming a member to be guaranteed to get your voices heard. all the breaking news, all the lives, all the post games. You are the first ones we always go to and it’s the best way to support support the channel. But Dan, what do you make of this? Are you now thinking those rumors that we were hearing, the Angels, the Rangers, potentially Minnesota in a Buckton trade? Do you think that NMO was forcing his way out of here with those reports that we had last week? I I don’t know if the two are together like they were telling Brandon Nmo, hey, these are our plans. I think they just kind of had the plans and and moved Brandon NMO aside. Um, you’re right. We have to give him his moment in the sun because he’s not a player you can just push aside. He’s not a player that Jeff passing can just leak on this list of six players. You know, talk about Vientos and Akuna and McNeel and then he slips Brandon NMO in there. It’s like he deserves definitely his his time. And you’re right, Brandon Nmo’s been a class act. I’ve said a lot of times on this show that if I had nine Brandon NMOS on a baseball field, you would be a World Series champion. He is the utmost person you want a son or daughter to look up to and say, “I want my kid to play like that someday. I want them to be that role model. And that’s who Brandon NMO is. I mean, every Sunday you go to those games running out to left field. He goes down on one knee to talk to these kids. You don’t see guys like that uh given that time a day to those types of kids. And he’s just he’s the utmost what you wanted to be. There’s a lot of fans who are happy today that Brandon NMO’s gone. I am not one of them. Ray, you are not one of them. Um we just want to make that very clear. I want to say this. Yeah. I’m not happy about this trade necessarily. I’m not saying I’d be completely closed off to NMO because look, I’m not blaming NMO. I want people to think know that right now. I’m not blaming NMO for last year. But in my mind, something needed to change. We all knew regardless of Dan, we could talk to all the people that you’ve seen on our show. Every single reporter that’s in that clubhouse every day, I talk to all the time and they all told me the same thing. There’s nothing wrong with that clubhouse. But then you hear NMO being upset. You hear the Adavino comments. You see the Will Sammon articles. Clearly, there was a divide in that clubhouse. And I honestly think the person who was causing that divide is still in that clubhouse. I know I’m not talking Juan Sto, but I’ll keep my mouth shut with that. But I’m not saying I was not open to a shakeup. And unfortunately, Lindor’s contract’s not tradable. Allonzo’s a free agent. McNeel, I think, will be traded, but he’s not an impactful player. NMO is the only guy in my opinion that has value. He’s a good player still. You look at 20 million for 25 home runs to 750 plus OPS consistently. You know what you’re going to get? He has value. So I’m not saying look I didn’t want I I would prefer to have NML on this team. I think he’s a glue guy but I’m not totally like you know what I mean. Go ahead. Finish your point. No. And there’s a couple things there, right? And from a secondary source here, you know, Brandon Nmo’s time in the clubhouse, like he became the fifth or sixth best player on this Mets team very quickly, right? We talk about Pete, oh, they brought in Sodto, how’s Pete going to feel? Well, we don’t think about how Brandon NMO felt. And y people were talking how in 2025 potentially, you know, it’s just he’s still trying to be that leader and he’s the fifth or sixth best player on the team. And that stuff does not really fly well in clubouses. it’s not as well perceived as it was five or six years ago as it is today. So, I just wanted to make that very clear. That could be something that’s going on behind the scenes. I think this speaks to the bigger picture and I think that’s really once we’re over this moment, which we will be very soon. We’re going to miss Brandon obviously, but it speaks to the bigger picture that you alluded to before when you’re thinking about the bigger picture for the Mets and does this mean Fernando Tatis Jr., which I am starting to believe that that could very well be the case. I I don’t think do that to you. I hear you trying to continue your excitement, man. It’s very exciting time. No doubt about it. That’s what it is, bro. It sucks. It’s almost like It’s You know what it is, Dan? My best friend next door just moved away. And I know he’s going to a place he wants to move to with his family, but it still sucks because we grew up next to each other. I was like in high school when NMO was drafted. I mean, I’m in my 30s now. You know what I mean? Like that’s that that’s kind of like just graduating high school. It’s my best friend next door moved away, but he’s going to greener pastures. Now, I’m not Look, like I said, Dan, it’s very easy for you to sit here and be upset and me to be upset, but what’s the corresponding move? I got to think if something mega does not happen does not happen, I will be livid and I will call it out. I will call it out to the 3,000 people that are in here right now and to anybody who will listen. I will call it out. I will say this too. If you guys are going to the Queen’s baseball convention, Dan’s gonna be there doing a live show with Mark Healey and crew. So, if you’re going to be there, make sure to stop by. They got a awesome audience happening. And I’m sure I’m sure by then there may have been a corresponding move. And who knows, maybe Dan will turn that frown upside down. But Dan, what do you think the corresponding move is right now? I mean, you got to think something big’s I think I look, Kyle Tucker is not out of it. I’m telling you right now, Steve Cohen is effing pissed from somebody who Steve Cohen follows us over on X. So, I’m not going to say he told me this, but from somebody in his inner circle that I know very closely, been friends with for a long time said he was effing livid. That’s all he would say. Had one conversation with him, how he felt about it. He was effing livid and he w and he didn’t say he was going to make changes. He didn’t say anything. But what happened, Dan, the last time Steve Cohen was pissed off, what happened? Everybody paid for it. And I got a feeling Cohen knows, Dan, we talked about this and you I know you don’t totally agree with me. There’s a gap between us and Philly. And the way you change that is by changing this core. you get better def defense. And look, that’s what that’s the only negative I could think of NMO. I ran the advanced stats. For anybody who doesn’t like the advanced stats or know the advanced stats, NMO was a minus defender last year. He graded out in like the 47th percentile, slightly below average. And when you look at his current injury, him getting older, I’m not saying he’s going to completely tank, but could I see him going to from 47 to 42 next year? Oh, absolutely. And David Stern preaches run prevention. And one thing, Dan, what does Fernando Tatis Jr. have that nobody on this team has? He won the platinum glove last year. And for anybody who doesn’t know what that is. I know most of you Mets fans do, and the fans that are in here do, there’s one given out to the greatest defender in Major League Baseball, and it went to him. He is the move. Maybe, just maybe, Sodto swallows his pride, says I will move to left. You bring Tatis in here and look and look, you better bring Pete Alonzo back. Oh my god, Dan. That’s another thing we could get to. Are they going to bring back Alonzo? Is that still in our cards? Something we need to address here. I mean, I want to address that contract. That might work out better for us, but what’s going on with Pete Alonzo? Yeah. Uh, that’s the next question, right? And real quick on the pivot moves, there’s probably about four pivot moves. That makes sense. And then we’ll we’ll leave this Brandon NMO topic. Um, Byron Buckton, of course, you floated him a lot, Ray. That makes sense. He’s willing to wave. They tried last They tried in mid-season. Yeah, but he wasn’t willing to wave his no trade. Now he is to a contender. So, the Mets are a contender. Byron Buckton. Number two, Fernando Tatis. AJ Prowler definitely would be the type of guy to do it. He feels like potentially his time with San Diego could be coming near to an end. So, you never know. Anything can happen during those meetings. So, um, Tatis is definitely a name that we’ve heard floated. Another one would be again like a Cody Bellinger. I still think that could be in the equation. Now, now it’s definitely in the equation, isn’t it? Right. Oh, for sure. So, even more so than it was. Mets are going to be targeting one of these guys. Again, I think Kyle Tucker is more on the outside looking in. Um, and then always the in-house option, which at this point it really would surprise me of a Carson Bench going out there to play set even left field on opening day. I just don’t see it. Yeah. So, one of those seismic moves is coming. Whether it’s a Buckton, a Tucker, a Tatis, uh there is definitely going to be something that is going to happen because you don’t just trade Brandon NMO, a fan favorite amongst many. Still a good player, still in you could say the back end of his prime in some ways. Like he he still is able to produce. Um it’s frustrating and we’ll see what happens with Pete. I think this is definitely one of those pivot points, right? Because the Mets have now broken up the core. They have done it. Whether we like it or not, it is officially separated and severed. Um, why not go any further and why not keep doing it and not bring Pete back? They’re going to give him a team friendly deal. I think the Mets want Pet. Well, he’s not coming back on a team friendly deal. I’ll tell you that. Not especially now. It’s his best friend right in the clubhouse. At least that’s what we’ve heard. Yeah, one of them for sure with McNeel who’s probably going to be the next guy out. Again, the Mets brought in a second baseman. You’re not going to have McNeel and Simeon on the same team. So, um, with Pete, it’s just watch and wait. I think the Mets are going to give him some offers, but they might not be fair relative to his market where it’s going to creep up. Um, we’ll see. But yeah, the this this NMO move stinks, but you have to think about the bigger picture. The Mets are probably thinking about a Buckton or I would hope a Bellinger and maybe even Tatis. And let’s be honest, guys, not to pat ourselves on the back, but our boy Dan right here, he’s the one that had the the Pete Alonzo offer first. Three years. That’s what we were hearing. Three years. We got some numbers potentially right in the ballpark. And the following day, Salacotta on WFAN says he’s hearing two plus one. It ain’t happening. Pete Alonzo, there’s a reason why this past trade deadline for anybody who doesn’t know. A guy named Ryan Clifford, they had a crazy, what I was told from two sources that they had a crazy high price on him. Big slugging first baseman. went all the way from single A, double A, triple AAA last year, mashing home runs, probably has the best raw power in all of minor league baseball, 22 years old. He was the blue chip in my opinion in the Justin Burlander deal, which netted us him and Drew Gilbert. Drew Gilbert’s already in in San Francisco. He ain’t staying here. So that tells you that I think the what and and one thing that we did haven’t talked about in a while, Dan. What did uh Mark Vantos just say in his re most recent interview? What did he say? He said, “The Mets have me taking equal reps this off season at third base and first base.” Why would you do that? If you know his third base defense is atrocious, wouldn’t it be 100% there? Why are they having him learn first base, which he just started to last year and it was on a part-time basis? Let’s go back spring training. Allonzo’s deal was not done yet. Remember Valentine’s Day it happened. So right before then, remember the Mets put out there Brett Batty, Mark Ventos taking reps at first base. I’m telling you, dude, the the writing is on the wall. And for anybody who’s questioning the contract right now, I have it pulled up right here. 26 next year, 26 the following year, and 20 after that. It’s not 26 like we thought. So the Mets by doing this, think about this Dan. If money’s not going the other way, NMO the final two years of NMO’s contract at 20 million per will still be on the books when this falls off for the New York Mets. So it maybe they’re thinking long term as well, but I got to think of subsequent moves coming. Uh Dan, get to your thoughts and we’re going to get to some of your guys comments as we keep heading down the we were actually going to do plan on doing a live in a couple of hours this news breaks. We got to bring it to you. And I thank so much of you guys for being in here. We’re approaching 4,000 people live. Appreciate that so much. Do me a favor. Smash that like button. And if you want to be locked in to get your voice heard, become a member. Just $2 a month over on YouTube. That’s where we’re reading our comments. Have a bunch of them saved. I’m going to get to a lot of you guys who are members over there. Dan, get to your comments on that as I star some of these comments that we’re going to get to and have some discussion. Yeah, I mean the the Rangers took on the contract. The Mets paid down a little of it. they got the contracts to even out. It all makes sense to me. Um, just again, it’s it’s really one of those days where you sit back and say, “Wow, the Mets are really serious about winning a championship.” And this was one of the moves that you always knew it could happen. You always had the idea in the back of your mind. I just never believed that it actually would happen. And today, um, definitely, you know, roll with the punches. That’s life. I mean, Brandon Mo is traded. He is not met anymore. I thought he was I was delusional enough to sit here and say that number nine was going up in the rafters someday because I believed that he was going to break Ed Crane’s record for the most amount of games played in a Met uniform. Um he wasn’t injured the way people thought. I mean the Planters of course was an issue, but he still found ways to go out and give you 155 games a year. Um, but again, those messages grow stale in the clubhouse. Going back to that point of him trying to force his leadership on other people and it ended up rubbing some people the wrong way and that could be Lindor, that could be Ventos. I don’t know. I would hope that the Mets approached some of these guys before they made a move like this and said, “Hey, would you be okay with this? Do you think this needs to be redacted or should we go forward with it?” And they probably all said the latter. And it is what it is. But um I I just hope that he does well in a Texas Ranger uniform. I wish nothing but the best for Brandon NMO in the same way. Teammate Jacob Deg Grom in the nothing but the best. Dan was praying he was seeing was on the other end coming back. Oh yeah, right. Yeah. All right, guys. We’re gonna get some of your guys comments really quick. Got some of our members pulled up here. I know. Andre starts it off. Holy smokes. Mets world says, “Great trade. Ava chiming in. How stupid is this guy to trade NMO? Like why couldn’t we trade McNeel? I actually think Ava and we’ll ask Dan. I think he’s the next one to go. Yeah. Yeah. It don’t make sense. You look at that contract, Dan. Two years 15 and change per. And the Mets just brought in a second baseman, guys. Like, where is McNeel going to play? And we’re talking about Donovan, too. Donovan’s going to take McNeel’s place as the utility guy. Akuna got hit in the hand. He could be out. I don’t know. Hopefully nothing’s broken, but um you know, it’s I don’t know what the future is, but I do know that Marcus Simeon’s going to be the Mets opening day second baseman. I do know that. Let me ask you straight up, Dan. Who do you think won a loss? Is there is it just straight up those two guys or I thought there might have been somebody else involved? There might have been. Again, we hopped on the live u I’m sure there might have been something else in there, but um I’m pretty sure it might have been just a one for one. Some people keep saying Tucker’s gonna want 400 million. I don’t care. Yeah, I don’t want I don’t want Yeah, I don’t want Tucker personally. I know he’s a good player. There’s there’s reasons to want Kyle Tucker. There’s also reasons not to want Kyle Tucker. I’ll leave it at that. Um Bucks take him all day long. Last year 26622 and 500 at bats. You look at that OPS 41. He’s not Juan Sto. I will say that. But would you take Kyle Tucker or would you take Byron Buckton or Tatis? I mean, you would obviously prefer. What would you have to give up for Tatis? Are you giving up? I mean, we could always get into that conversation, right? I think Jeff Williams is in that conversation. If I had my choice between all three of those guys, I’d prefer Tatis, Tucker, Bellinger, Buckton. And I only say that because we always call Spade a Spade here, don’t we, Dan? Buckton is never healthy. And I got to put it out there. I think last year’s the most games he played in the last three and it was 120. He still missed 50 games last year. Yeah. So, that’s that’s the question the Mets are pondering. They could trade Carson Benj at this point if they’re just really going Tyrone Taylor as the fourth outfield. I’d be shocked. I listen I’d be shocked too, Ray. But I’d be shocked if they traded Brandon NMO and they did. So I don’t know. Well, we’ve been talking about it for two months. Yeah. I just didn’t. I mean, clearly this has been going on for a while. There’s no way, Dan, the Mets today, hey, Brandon, by the way, want to go play in Texas? Because he’s got the final say. He could say, “F off. I’m not going anywhere.” I’m just going off what the reports are, right? Andy Martino, you can choose to believe him or not. As of Thursday of last week, he was sitting here saying, “Hey, yeah, we haven’t approached Brandon NMO at all.” So, I do think Well, they might not tell you that. What if what if that gets out there and then he doesn’t get moved? Imagine you want to talk about a clown show in in spring training. Hey, Brandon, how’s it feel that uh the Mets were shopping you this off season? Like, you know what I mean? The Mets the Mets operate. That’s one thing I could appreciate about the Mets. They have been operating way different under Sterns. Remember last year the Mets are in fifth place, the Mets are in eighth place for Juan Sto and the whole time we’re in first. You know, you hear that all the time. The Mets are very tight lift, especially with their own. I’m sure NMO like anybody else when the Mets when he this story got out there that he wasn’t happy about the whole thing with Lindor. I doubt that’s what drove him out. But listen, crumbs are crumbs. Smoke is fire. something that we talked about just last week then where there’s smoke there is fire. NMO probably said, “Listen, I’m open to a trade. Here are the destinations I’m willing to go.” That I doubt he just said, “I want Texas or nobody cuz then it wouldn’t work out.” But there’s a reason why we heard the Angels. There’s a reason why we heard the Twins. There’s a reason why we we never heard about Texas. Did you ever hear about him going to Texas? No. I mean, that’s, you know, we don’t need the Midwest, you know, things outside of baseball. Say Texas, you know, nice little state for Brandon, but I did not hear anything. No. So, you’re right. These things happen. Mets don’t leak. Um, they certainly don’t in this case. Um, especially with their own. They’re not going to tell they’re going to tell Andy Martino, “Yeah, we’re shopping Brandon NMO. So, if we don’t get a deal done, spring training’s really a clown show.” Yeah. It’s two sides of the coin on that. You’re right in what you’re saying. I think, too. I mean, it just I believe that hey, Martino might have gotten it right and the Mets didn’t approach him and all this stuff happened pretty quickly. I do think that could have happened, too. But, um, I guess we’ll never know. Uh, which stinks, but Well, we might. We might. Well, we might. Sure. Your co your coworker John Hammond is pretty damn good at his job. I will say that. Maybe it breaks or Jeff passing. Who knows? Let’s get this explosive says news come out of came out NMO didn’t want Lindor as captain a few days ago and now he gets moved. I don’t think one has to do with the other. I think that was just a really good, you know, Adam Adavino pushing buttons. Maybe it is. Maybe Adavino and and NMO talk. I don’t know. I don’t know. But it’s it’s not safe to assume. I would like to wait for a little more reporting to come out. I’ll tell you one thing. And listen, we honest we do we really know these guys 100%. You don’t know anybody 100%. That’s one thing I’ve always learned. One thing in my career field, you never know anybody 100%. But Brandon doesn’t strike me as a guy who’s calling up Adavino and saying, “Hey, f these guys. I should be c I don’t see that. I just don’t. We I’ve watched NMO. I’ve watched his body language, Dan. You’ve watched him. You’ve covered him. You’re part of the media for a decade now. Do you you don’t view Brandon as that kind of guy?” No, I don’t. Um, and I think a part of this too, again, goes back to that point of NMO wanting to be this leader, thinking he’s this leader, and then trying to get the others to believe that or try to, you know, follow in his his footsteps in a way. Not to say that’s bad. I think every player needs that. But three years in a row, as he’s a declining player himself, that message can grow stale. And I think a part of this, too, they might have approached Francisco Lindor and said, “Hey, um, how do you feel about NMO?” like do you think he could be a trade piece? Uh these are things that do you think he’s going to Lindor now or do you think they’re going to sodo? I think both. I think they’re both the faces of the franchise in their own respective way. Um you could make the case one or the other over the other. I totally understand that. But you’re not going to make a decision without at least Francisco Lindor or Juan Sto knowing. Preferably both. I don’t think Sodto cares one way or the other. But Lindor might have had a say. And I guess we’ll have to wait and see if that ever materializes. Yeah, guys, if you say anything inappropriate in the comments, I just ban you for life. Wishing death on somebody, that’s not happening. I’ll just put it out there right now who’s been watching the comments. Ain’t happening. But I want to get to somebody who a lot of people think he’s a clown. I don’t. I think he knows his stuff. He put the Mike Trout rumor out there a couple days ago. Let’s think of Salacotta’s initial instincts as to the Mets deal. Let’s give it a listen. Hi, NMO had to go. As nice a guy as he is, high character individual, uh we talked about it in season last year. I thought that the Mets needed to try to trade NMO then. Clearly, they needed this kind of shakeup here to get things started in the offseason. No way you can improve defensively if you have NMO and Alonzo back on the same team. I believe that they’re going to keep Alonzo. I felt that way all along. They need to do that. This should clear a path now for Pete to be first base DH and an outfield spot. And maybe that’s where they go big here. Hey, put on the big boy pants. Go get Kyle Tucker. But now that NMO has accepted the trade to Texas, they save some money and they get better defensively. Simeon’s not going to be the offensive stud that he once was. But he could be productive still offensively at second base, but you’re getting an elite level defensive player. Huge move. Had to happen. This is exactly the type of move the Mets needed here to get things started this off season. All right. You see that? Maybe you view it from that perspective, Dan. Something that we’ve talked about, it’s hard to bring Alonzo back to be a first base/DH when NMO in two years is probably a permanent DH going forward. So maybe you’re able to move it that way. You bring back Keonzo now. Simeon’s a way better second base than we have on this team. Lindor’s a solid shortstop. If you do go the Brett Batty route at third base, we know how he could be a pretty damn solid third baseman, maybe you can then bring a Peter Lonzo where he’s not forced to be diving and scooping balls and doing all this stuff all over the place. He could just play first base fulltime next year. I I’m not one of those guys who says Peter Lonzo’s got to be a DH full-time next year. I’m I just don’t. But I do think that he could be a full-time first baseman next year. The next year you move to DH. Hopefully Ryan Clifford comes in at that point, but I would sell Kyle Tucker, Tatis. Now look, the positives with Tucker Dan is you’re not giving up any major assets. I’m assuming Jet Williams, one of the pitchers and another prospect, maybe Jacob Rhyr or something, would have to go back for Tatis knowing they’re trying to move him. But the Mets have the farm system. Shout out to MLB’s top 150. Just count their new farm system rankings. The Mets are five. Number five. They have they if they want Tatis, they can go get him. It provides us flexibility now. And a positive thing for Mets fans. You know, something else coming. You know it. And I hope it’s not Brandon Donovan. It better not be. If Donovan’s the big move, I’ll be livid. We need a big bat here. It’s Brendan Donovan cannot be the big move. You’re right. It’s either Buckton, Tatis, or Tucker. I don’t even think Bellinger at this point could be that big move. It would be a big move. Maybe Bellinger. And again, you you want to say Catel Marte, those days are done. No more Catel Marte trades. We got a Marcus Simeon trade. So maybe I don’t think Catel was ever coming here by the way. No, I hear you. I hear you. And I think Bregman could be again another big trade to pair with a Bellinger, a Schwarber, right? But if you really want to swing big, specifically in the outfield, which the Mets at this point have Tyrone Taylor and Juan Sto as the two outfielders for 26, you have to figure it out. And I think Benj could be traded. I think Jet Williams could be traded for a Tatis package. You could even trade Ryan Clifford. Um there’s ways to work around it. He’s not the end all beall, right? If especially if Pete Alonzo’s back. Um and again, Simeon has good range. He doesn’t have the same range that Luis Helkunia did. We saw that last year. He was unbelievable with the glove, but he just couldn’t hit. Simeon still gives you good range. It’s just, you know, he’s a second baseman and that’s what he is and we’ll have to live with it. So, um, you’re right though. I I think Kyle Tucker’s a good player. I don’t want him anywhere near the New York Mets. And that’s just me. Um, I think there’s better players. He was getting booed at Wrigley Field this year in front of his home fans. Like there there was problems with Kyle Tucker, especially this year. So, um, a very slow start. Yeah, I’m interested. Don’t get me wrong. You have to make a big move now that you traded Brandon NMO. Like everybody’s watching the Mets because you can’t just go into next season with Benjamin left, Tyrone Taylor in center, and Sodto at right. No way. So, absolutely. Yeah. All right, guys. We’re gonna get to a few more comments before we wrap things up tonight because I got to get running. Dan says, “Ray, the first to break the news. Great job.” Well, first to be on YouTube maybe or or live. I’m not totally sure about that. Andre says Simeon’s contract is shorter. Yes, that does help the Mets two years shorter. I guess who knows what’s going to happen with this new CBA. BJ Jacks, one of the new members. Appreciate you, my guy. Wow. Didn’t see this coming. Sterns is not playing around. Well, let’s see if the It all depends on the corresponding move. That’s where we’re at. I mean, if you’re able to get a Tati stand and hold on to Carson Benj, there’s a potential this outfield could be set for the next decade. That’s something that I just talked about in a video. Your outfield set, then you focus on pitching, pitching, pitching. If you’re telling me this off seasonason the Mets come away with a front end starter, they get Diaz back, Alonzo back, Marcus Simeon, and then Tatis is in left field. I’ll roll with that. Yeah, it’s a good it’s a good plan. Um it it’s it works, right? I think also trading for Scooble could make a lot of sense even at this point because it’s a big move, right? Obviously the offense needs to be fixed in the absence of Brandon NMO, but it’s not like we’re replacing Pete Lonzo, right? trying to make that that up. You can make up that gap pretty quickly by just bringing back Pete and figuring out the outfield, going trading. Again, Steven Quan makes a lot of sense. Even a Dalton Var show on the lower end. If you really want to plug out this outfield for me, you got to trade for a pitcher, man. You you have to do it. And I know this a lot of holes still. A lot of holes. Freddy Peralta, Joe Ryan, TK Scooble, we’ve talked about the names. Um it’s put up a shutup time for the Mets. This is a winning move. As you said in the open, Ray, the Mets are ready to win a world championship. They just have to go out and have a off season like a World Series champion and I think this is the first sign of that happening. Totally agree. All right, let’s get to a few more here. Ryan says, “Show me Fernando Tatis.” I’m I’m with you with that. Mitch says, “I don’t like the move at all. Tatis is an albatross.” I wouldn’t say that. I wouldn’t say that about uh Tatis. Yeah, he got caught, but still very productive. Lulu. Oh, a longtime listener of the show. Appreciate you. These days I try not to root for the number on the back of the jersey, but I have to say I will miss NMO. Just want to say how much I appreciate him, his years with us. Wishing NMO the very best. I think we all are right now. Jay says it opens up the spot to sign Kyle Tucker or Bellinger. I think that’s a name to watch. You want to talk about defensive versatility, you could you could bring in Alonzo and and Bellinger. Now, that’s not out of the realm. And we’ve always been saying, Dan, when are you going to get real protection for Pete Alonzo? Bellinger would be the guy. F Morgan says, “Has to be more to this. Appreciate you being a member. Clue, always appreciate you as well.” Scoo trade incoming next. Buzz, what’s going on, my guy? Long time. Something has to be cleaned up. He has uh something has to be up. He had a no full trade. That’s why I think that he asked for it. Bob, another one of our members. Appreciate you, Bob. I don’t think Simeon adds much to the Mets. Two years older than NMO, middle infielder, usually doesn’t age well. I will say this, even John just tweeted it out. He is an elite level defender. And you want to talk about run prevention. How many times are the Mets throwing the ball around the field? How many times were was a ball going under someone’s glove that it shouldn’t have? Too much. And I will say this, if you’re bringing him in to put him towards if you’re going to replace NMO, say with the Bellinger, and then you add Simeon to the bottom of this lineup, it gets longer. How many times are we going to talk, Dan, about the Mets top of the order coming up, there’s never anybody on base. That happened the entire season last year. Yeah, I I think when they say prioritize defense, I I didn’t think they were talking about second base when Sterns gets up on the mic and says, “Yeah, this is something, you know, whatever he said they’re talking about defense and run prevention, right? I thought he was talking about Ventos at third and Pete at first and Siri and Mullins in center field.” I didn’t think he was talking about second base. I didn’t think second base really needed to be improved because you had a Kuna who was very good at defense. he just needed to hit and I thought the Mets were just going to trade McNeel and bring in a better version of him and Brendan Donovan and they didn’t. So, um this is a weird move. I you asked me before like who won the trade again. We’ll have to wait and see. We’ll have to wait and see, but I think on the surface the the Rangers won this trade and we’ll see. Again, like I don’t know how Brandon NMO is going to look next year, but if he gives you the 30 home runs that we always expected from him and he stays healthy and he I don’t know, man. I It’s a weird trade, especially being two years older. Marcus Simeon, I didn’t expect it. I would have rather Cory Seager to play second base. I would have rather Bob Bashette or Catel Marte to play second base, but this is what we got on our Thanksgiving plate, Ray, so we might as well eat. I also think one thing that we got to talk about, Dan, and we can’t misate this. Simeon plays outside of last year. It’s 160 games, 150 plus every single year. NMO is a guy that he’s got the foot thing. So I I maybe that played into it a little bit. Having unst instability in the infield. I mean how many times we showed up every day. Nobody knew who third who’s playing third or second. Literally nobody. Nobody knew. That was an issue. Some guys like Cliff Floyd always used to say, “I like coming to the ballpark knowing I’m in left and I’m hitting fifth every day. I don’t want to be running around the bush.” You know what I mean? Mhm. Randy, a new member says NMO sucks. Bottom line. Ah, I wouldn’t go too far. I think NMO is more than capable of what he does. I think the injury concern and I think that they’re trying to get more consistency. They want to plug a guy in, know he’s going to be there every day. And guys, we saw a few years ago what Jose and Glacius did for this team defensively. And obviously I’m not saying Simeon’s that kind of bat, but he is that kind of defender. I mean, if you’re gonna have I think David Stern sees the writing on the wall, too. Peterson ground ball pitcher. Maniah ground ball pitcher. Sanga even with a splitter, depending on if he’s going to be here or not, a splitter type of pitcher who induces a lot of ground balls. You want to be strong up the middle. That’s something Sterns talked about. He said in a in the perfect scenario, we would be very strong up the middle. That’s why outside of outside of, you know, a couple of guys could By if Byron Buckton comes in here, and I know he ain’t going to be healthy, but if he plays 130 games for us, he’s got a he is in the 100 percentile in sprint speed. I mean, it’s just there’s no there’s no going around it. You clearly see what’s going on here. At least I do. I think I do. Yeah. Two-time Gold Glove Award winner. Um, again he brings that that winning pedigree. He has a championship. These are things that makes again Alex Bregman so appealing. There’s not many guys like that that come available that say they can improve from a leadership perspective too. I think, you know, Simeon’s going to be looked at as a leader of this clubhouse and rightfully so. And I’m excited for him because I think he’s at the point in his career where he’s deserving of it. Is he going to the Hall of Fame? No. Neither was Brandon NMO. But I think he adds a part to this puzzle that you’re right, really good defender. Really excited to see that. And I don’t want to make this about they pushed Brandon NMO out of the Mets clubhouse. I don’t think that was the case. But to sit here and deny that we watched 162 Mets games, we follow this team very, very closely, Ray and I. We know the ins and outs of this team and the sport. 160 post games. Yeah, guys, we’re here every every game. We look at this Mets team from a a weird lens where there are those problems in the clubhouse whether they’re reported or not. You get you you hear wind of it and it makes sense and I don’t know if there’s that was a part of this equation where the Mets they looked at guys like Batty and they looked at guys like NMO and Pete and McNeel and they were their own group and then you had the series the Martes the Stos and then you had the Lindors the Vientoses. I don’t know. And I hope that this move, bringing in Simeon, talking about the the NMO stuff where he’s kind of forcing, you know, his leadership on people. I think Simeon kind of just eases the room out spreads out this lineup and hopefully spreads out some of these mentalities where they’re not crossing over each other and and hopefully something’s fixed. And I think something will be. But it’s a sad day for some NMO NMO fans out there. I I I feel for you guys. I do. I thought this guy was going to be up in the rafters someday in the Mets uniform. So, I’ll take an L on that. Live and learn. But, uh, Marcus Simeon is a New York Met. So, really quickly, I want to get to Martino’s comments on this. Um, oh, sorry. It’s not as easy doing this live. It’s easier when I’m able to edit. I’ll tell you that. Here’s Andy Martino SNY’s comments on this. Mets trading Brandon NMO to Texas for Marcus Simeon. So why? Well, I can explain why uh based on what I’ve heard here uh this evening. Uh the Mets of course looking to get better in their defense. This is a move in that direction in that two positions this trade can impact at. Now Simeon is an elite defensive second baseman. Uh NMO not an elite defensive corner outfielder. So, what this does is give the Mets a chance to improve their outfield defense. Uh, they could do that in free agency if a Cody Bellinger say breaks to them. I’d say a Kyle Tucker is suboptimal because that has Juan Sto moving to left field if you were to sign Tucker. Uh so in terms of the run prevention, the term that David Sterns of course likes to use, it would make more sense uh to either promote from within, leave room for some of the young outfielders they have coming, Jet Williams, Carson Benj roster spot for that. Uh while again getting so much better at second base, Jeff McNeel can play a little left now. Jeff McNeel can play some first base depending on what happens with Pete Alonzo or even if Alonzo comes back to to DH a bit. McNeel can play first. So that’s me spitballing with some information of course in reporting. All right, Andy, you’re fired. I will say this, Dan. There better be two outfield moves. Two. If this team, you cannot go into this season with Marcus Simeon and Tyron Taylor starting. Now, I’m not saying Simeon’s got a terrible bat, but it’s the same crap as last year, if you ask me. You need a center fielder and a left fielder. Now, look, if you swing and get me Kyle Tucker, I know you’re not the big person with that, but if you get Kyle Tucker or Tatis Jr., which I think Tatis the Mets are going to lean towards him or Bellinger, but if you’re able to get me that, then you could live with Tyron Taylor and Carson Benjuking it out at the bottom of the lineup. But it better not be if if it’s an average player, Dan, this fan base, including myself, will roast this executive staff like you have never seen before. The big new, the big move needs to be made. I’m talking a Janoto impact, obviously not player cuz he’s not available, but a Janoto impact exciting move that’s going to rejuvenate this fan base and say, you know what, it makes sense to move NMO cuz all I just saw is the Mets just acquired a 97 OPS plus player and gave up a 110 OPS plus player, a player that is drastically better at the plate. Now, it all depends on the subsequent move and it better not take long because people are going to get worried there. But what do you take away from Martino’s comments? Yeah, I I think he’s spot on, right? I I think they want to improve defensively. That upgrade is clear now. Like even if it was McNeel versus Simeon, there’s an upgrade at a position defensively. That’s a win for the Mets. They don’t have a left fielder, right, which needs to be obviously, as you said, fixed. Whether that’s a Bellinger that can get it done, whether it’s a Tatis, you move, you know, Sodto over to left, which I’ve been saying to you a couple times, Ray, I mean, I think that’s probably a better position to play left field. I think he will, too, now that he’s been paid, by the way. Right. So, they’re going to have to figure out right field. That’s where Tatis makes a lot of sense. You can let Bench run out there in center field with Tyrone Taylor. Um, I do think too it’s not really to play the outfield, but I think again Adoleiss Garcia who was non-tendered by the Rangers, he was good friends with Marcus Simeon. So maybe this is one of those moves where they just tack on instead of a Starling Marte for the last bench bat, it would be a Dol Garcia. So that could be something to think about. But yeah, it’s it’s definitely an upgrade in terms of defense. It’s a downgrade in terms of instant offense, but I think they’re going to make up for that in other places. bringing back Pete feels like it’s more likely than it was before because we were always saying is it Brandon Nmo or is it Pete? Are they both going to be back in the same offseason? Is it one or the other? I No one thought both would be gone, right? Well, that’s kind of where I’m leaning to. So, I think again this increases the likelihood that Pete’s back. We’ll see what happens with Edwin Diaz. That really isn’t involved here, but um yeah, that there’s a lot of different moving pieces, but the Mets better make a big swing. And I do think that they will now that Brandon NMO’s out of the picture. And I will say this guys, and we got to leave it here because I got stuff I have to do. I had commitments. We just wanted to jump on with you guys. This will be our live for today, but I’m off during the week. So any breaking news, you know where to be. We’ll bring it to you. I’ll be sure to have guests during the week. I’m going to definitely get a couple writers on who cover the New York Mets. So make sure you subscribe. We have a New York Mets jersey giveaway at 10,000 subs. We’re just a couple hundred away. So make sure you smash that like button. Over 5,000 people here. We appreciate you guys. But I’m telling you right now, my prediction, within the next seven days, you’re going to see breaking news come across your screen. The New York Mets have signed Cody Bellinger. Mark it down. Because you know what that allows? It allows the Mets to say, “Well, we’re not sure where we’re going to play him. Hey Pete, you really want to be a Met? We’ll welcome you back, but your placement’s right here. But if you don’t, if you want to come and be a part of something big, we could move him to left field or center field and you could be first base and have the real protection that you deserve. Just saying the versatility of Cody Bellinger changes everything. And Dan, what’s it cost the Mets? Just a little more of this video. Final thoughts, Dan. Well, Ray, um, I’m happy we were able to get on this live in a timely manner. Happy Sunday to everybody again. Bringing you the best here on Metcast. We always appreciate Ray getting this live set up. Um yeah, crazy day for the Mets, right? Simeon NMO out of the picture. A core piece of this Mets team. The Mets are going for it. Don’t get confused. This is not a punt season. This is not We’re playing it till 2027 after the lockout. The Mets are getting ahead of the lockout and this proves that they improve defensively at second base. McNeel probably out of the picture. We’ll see who the outfielders are for the Mets moving forward. The hot stove’s heating up and it’s just getting started, right? Let’s go. Yeah, I’m looking. John Haymon Brandon approves trade, huh? Yes. Yeah. One for one. One for one. All right, guys. Make sure those notifications are on. Like and subscribe. Become a member like all those people are to get your voice heard. Let’s go Mets. Let’s go Mets. God bless. [Music]

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