Today is December 4th! The Winter Meetings will be held December 8th to December 11th in Orlando with the MLB Draft Lottery on December 9th and the Rule Five Draft on December 10th.

On this date in 2024, the Mets announced that the club has signed RHP Frankie Montas to a two-year major league contract with a player opt out after the 2025 season.

Paul Blackburn turns 32 today! The righty pitcher pitched for the 2024 and 2025 Mets, coming over in a trade with the then-Oakland Athletics for right handed pitcher Kade Morris. He pitched for the Yankees after leaving the Mets.

Carlos Gomez turns 40 today! Gomez debuted with the Mets in 2007 before being traded to Minnesota in the Johan Santana deal. He played six years for Milwaukee with two All-Star appearances. He was traded to Houston in 2015 and played two seasons with Texas and then Tampa Bay in 2018. He finished his MLB career back where it started with the Mets in 2019 at age 33.

The Mets are teaming up with New York Cares for their 19th Annual Coat Drive presented by your local Toyota dealers on Wednesday, December 10, from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. at the Mets Team Store at Citi Field. Free parking will be available in Lot G. Fans bringing a new or gently used winter coat will receive a voucher redeemable for two (2) tickets to a select Monday – Thursday Mets home game in 2026. Fans will be limited to one (1) ticket voucher. Fans who donate will also receive an exclusive 20% discount at the team store. Some exclusions may apply. Please note that non-winter coats like windbreakers, jean jackets, raincoats or other light jackets will not be accepted. Fans will be limited to one (1) ticket voucher. Free parking for the Coat Drive will be available in Lot G. Lot G can be accessed through Gate 1 on Seaver Way.

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  4. The Athletic has an interesting article on evaluating a free agent’s “makeup” this morning, talks specifically about Valdez (and other players who are unfairly evaluated such as James Wood) 

  6. The more I think about it, the more Framber Valdez makes a lot of sense for the Mets.

    The biggest issue last year was length from starting pitchers. There are very few pitchers in all of baseball who eat innings like Valdez. From the last 6 seasons:

    * 2025: 192 IP (8th in baseball), 6.1 IP per start (6th in baseball, min 20 starts)

    * 2024: 176 IP (29th), 6.1 IP per start (2nd)

    * 2023: 198 IP (6th), 6.1 IP per start (3rd)

    * 2022: 201 IP (5th), 6.2 IP per start (2nd)

    * 2021: he broke a finger in Spring Training (against the Mets, funny enough), so did not debut until 5/28. From that point on: 134 IP (8th), 6.1 IP per start (8th)

    * 2020: 70 IP (16th), 6.1 IP per start (8th)

    * From 2020-2025: 973 IP (5th), 6.1 IP (2nd, min 50 starts)

    Not only that, but he hasn’t really bled anything in terms of velocity and stuff as time has gone on. He’s elite at generating groundballs, which should pair well with an improved infield defense. I don’t really believe in the “safe” option as far as pitchers go, any of these guys could break, but Valdez seems like as reliable an option as you are going to find.

    The big negative for Valdez comes from one pitch, and unfortunately for him, that’s the pitch he’s now most famous for. He purposefully drilled his catcher with a pitch late last year, it was a horrible look. I also don’t think any of us are in a place to judge an man’s personality based on one moment, and none of us have any idea how Valdez’s personality will fit in within the Mets clubhouse. That is for the front office to figure out. If they meet with the guy and decide they have character concerns, I’m totally fine with the team moving on and going after someone else. But we as fans don’t have the information to make that call.

    Skubal is still the starter I want the most, Imai would be my second option, but if the Mets lose out on both, I think Valdez would be 3rd. If you can look past that one pitch, he pretty clearly fits this team quite well.

    EDIT: rounded the IP per start to make it more intuitive

  7. It’s game four of the division series and the Mets are leading the Phillies 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth at CBP.

    Diaz takes the mound to thunderous boos and strikes out that doofus Bohm. He walks two batters.

    Harper hits a rocket to Lindor, he flips to Semien who throws a bullet to Alonso and the ballgame is over.

    Philadelphia weeps.

  8. Pete Hoffman got roasted by Evan and again this morning on midday show for his awful takes. I love it.

  9. How many years of control does Joe Ryan have left? Two? I like him as a trade candidate, but the reports saying they want Tong…it seems like a high price.

  11. Whose jersey should I buy? Accepting suggestions from strangers because last year I got Manaea’s 🥲

  12. Buxton really is one of the most elite players (talent-wise) in the sport history that just so happens to be made of glass. 

    It’s so easy to forget and it is so unfortunate.

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