BREAKING: Mets SIGN Jorge Polanco! (Mets News)

BREAKING: Mets SIGN Jorge Polanco! (Mets News)

We are live. How we doing everybody? Even though I feel like I actually may know the answer to that. It’s probably confused. It’s left with a lot of questions. Still a little frustrated with David Sterns. I’d say that’s an understatement. But we got breaking news everybody. I just posted not even an hour ago on X. I dare you New York Mets to go out and make a move today that is not a minor league signing with a spring training invite. And lo and behold, he listened to me. Wol Sammon, great friend of the platform, was talking last night on SNY’s baseball night in New York and breaking down how Jorge Palano could very well be an option for the New York Mets. Obviously, he was saying this because he knew that the deal was basically going to happen, but what happens in the space with reporters especially, including someone like myself who’s not a reporter, but when relayed information, there are times where I may say the following. Yeah, I really like this player in particular. And that comes right before the Mets actually land them cuz you know a thing ahead of time. So, Shadow Wall Salmon, who of course threw it out there yesterday, so some Mets fans at least had some level of an idea as to who Jorge Palano is in case you guys have been living under a rock. The news has officially broken today from Jeff Pass and everyone else in company that the New York Mets are signing Jorge Palano, infielder/DH, to a 2-year, $40 million contract. Now, let me just get this off my chest right away. Jorge Palano is going to be the Mets majority first baseman for next season. You may not love that. You may absolutely hate that. And why? Because he’s not Pete Alonzo. So, I’m not trying to sell to you or pitch to you that oh my god, this is such a tremendous pickup night in day difference from himself and Pete. Far from it. But what we are here to break down is why exactly the Mets made this move. The upside with Jorge Palano, and I’m going to be completely frank, I do like him as a player. I liked him a lot with Seattle this year. He put up over an 800 OPS against both left-handed and right-handed pitching. He’s a very balanced player, but and can play all over the place, but doesn’t have elite defensive value, which is why the Mets are going to play him more at first base NDH than anything else for the 2026 season. And yes, this does mean that the New York Mets are more than likely going to land another bat, potentially a lefty bat in particular, to be a contrast to Jorge Blanco to further platoon at first base in DH. One player that sticks out like a sore thumb to me right away should happen is one Ryan O’Harn or someone along those lines. To be determined if the Mets actually go ahead and do that exact move, but I am confident that the route that the Mets are going right now under David Sturds is they’re trying to add guys that not only bring plenty offensive value, but also guys that can be very versatile for them in ways that Palano doesn’t need to solely be at first base. Wol Sam of the Athletic is already relayed in his latest piece that you guys can check out, but I’ll just summarize it for you that Palano is expected to get the majority of work at first base for the Mets next season. He’s coming off of a very impressive year with the Seattle Mariners. We see 64 runs scored, 26 home runs, 78 RBI’s, six stone backs, a 27 uh pardon me, a 265 average. My graphic is completely flawed here, so I honestly think I might need to fix it in real time. Please ignore the on base. The onbase down below is incorrect. It is not 236. It is, I believe, 326. And I honestly flip-fpped the numbers by accident like the idiot that I am because I was rushing to get this set up as fast as humanly possible. So, while I go ahead and try to fix that in real time, in the meantime, do not hesitate from telling me Mets fans exactly how you feel with this latest move. As you guys again can see it right here, right now beside me. I’d also like to make something abundantly clear, folks. I told you all that we were going to have a video that dropped on the platform today. That video did not drop yet because more news has come out. And that video was always planning to discuss players from the San Diego Padres’s. And lo and behold, the Mets are in trade talks with the San Diego Padres’s. No, I’m not joking. It’s factually correct. And I’ll expand more on that in a video that’ll drop later on today, separate from this live stream. Because I know you may wonder, Warie, what do you mean? Is Tatis going to get dealt? Is Landor going to get dealt? No. If you guys are under the expectation that that will happen, I have a bridge to sell you. The Mets are not in trade talks with the Padres’s to trade Lindor or to acquire Tatis right now. They’re all in on their pitching and we’re going to expand more on that cuz the Padres’s are the most feasible team for the Mets to trade with this offseason for pitching. And like I said, I got a lot to say on that front. There’s a lot of pitchers I love from the Padres’s organization. But what it will take to land them, that is to be determined. So, give me just a quick second everybody so I live in real time can go ahead and adjust this Jorge Palano graphic because I’m a schmuck and did not have this exactly how I need to look for each and every one of you. And in the meantime, again, don’t hesitate from letting me know your excitement, your frustration, and everything else in between and the live chat. And to our replay viewers that’ll be watching this after it’s been live here, hit that like and subscribe button on your way. And we’re getting awfully close to 37,000 subscribers, folks. and we’re giving away another brand new Mets jersey to one lucky subscriber once we hit that milestone. So, make sure you smash those buttons in case you guys haven’t already. Thank you so much for getting involved here and thank you so much for being a part of the WordN family. So, now let me go ahead real quick. Let’s go adjust this just for a second so that way I make sure I have Palano’s on base correct here. 326. Yeah, I literally looked at the numbers and I just did the complete opposite of what I was supposed to do. The graphic down below I have at 236 when it should be 326. So, let me go ahead and adjust this real quick, everybody. I’m aware that I have plenty that I need to address on the donation front. I will get to all that for you guys here in literally just one single second. Just bear with me as I get this all set up exactly how it’s supposed to look here. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Let me also send out this graphic so I have this in place as well. Give me one second, folks. Hold on one second. Um, oh my god, my phone is blowing. up right now. Actually blowing. I’m not surprised, but it is kind of funny to see all at the same time. All right, guys. Let’s get into this. Let’s talk about the newly appointed New York Metropolitan and Jorge Palano. Again, if you guys did not see the reports, I will get to your donations. I promise we’re going to address them all here in a second. This was the initial reports here that you guys can see. Let’s go. Wolf Salmon of the Athletic, the first to be on it with this one. Did a fantastic job. The Mets and Jorge Blanco have agreed to a two-year contract. Jeff Passen reaffirms this stating that infielder Jorge Palano and the New York Mets are in agreement on a two-year $40 million contract. Sources tell ESPN he’s expected to play first base NDH. This is wholeheartedly true. Jorge Palano, just to give you guys some context, started last year for the Seattle Mariners getting reps at third base because they wanted to bring him back and they want to move him to a position of an area of need. That wasn’t bad when he was there. However, they ultimately had Palanco play the bulk of his season last year at DH. To be quite exact, Palano played right around 74% of his 2025 reps in the Seattle Mariners lineup at the designated hitter position. And that is more than likely something that he will platoon at first base with the New York Mets heading into next season. Now, I know you may say to yourself, Wardy, why in God’s name did the Mets just sign someone who’s not a true first baseman to go get consistent first base reps? And the reason is clearly the Mets are confident that given Jorge Palano’s ability to play third, play second, play all over the diamond effortlessly, is going to be a smooth transition for him at first because otherwise it’s a complete contradiction as to why you did not heavily pursue Alonzo to bring him back because of his lack of defensive value. Now, I understand lack of defensive value wasn’t the sole decider and why the Mets did not bring Ponzo back, but one way or another, they did not bring him back. And Alonzo being arguably the worst defensive first baseman statistically in baseball certainly was a factor one way or another. When we look at someone like Jorge Palano, let’s get into him. Let’s take a look at his baseball savon page. The page that you’re about to see is not his numbers. So please disregard that. That is Auanio Suarez, who I was initially planning to discuss in a video today, but I have a feeling I’m not going to now because I don’t see a world where the Mets with Brennan Suarez at this rate after Briny and Palano unless they get really creative about what their configuration is going to be. As you guys can go ahead and see here, 74th percentile for Jorge Palano and XWBA, 78th in expected batting average, 73rd in expected slugging, 66th in average x velocity, 62nd and barrel percentage, 63rd in hard hit. We see right around league average in sweet spot, just below league average in bat speed, 89 percentile squared up percentage, right around league average and chasing whip percentage, 83rd in k percentage. So I love that he has a very good eye at the plate clearly and right around league average and walk percentage. He’s in the 83rd percentile in batting run value, 62nd in base running value, a little bit below league average and fielding run value. As we know, he played all over the diamond last year, which led to a 17 percentile outs above average, 20th in arm strength, and right around league average there in sprint speed. So again, you’re not bringing in Jorge Blanco to be a guy that’s expected to shr up the hot corner consistently. That was initially what my mind brought me to, but then after seeing how much Blanco played at DH this past year, it was abundantly clear that he’s not someone that’s gonna be getting consistent third base reps. So, if there is a role where the Mets trade Brett Batty this offseason, not enough that I wish it, I’m just saying, who knows what’s going to happen. Should that happen, it will more than likely not be for Palanco to be the replacement. He will be getting most reps at DH and first base for the Mets in 2026. But here’s the thing, because he’s not going to be fully committed to one sole position. That’s why I’m inclined to believe that the Mets are either going to sign someone that has more of a DH profile than Palanco and give him majority reps up first base or B they’re really going to get creative with a platoon like a Ryan O’Harn who I think would make a lot of sense at this point given the route that they’re now going between these two. And the beauty about this and I’m saying and I say beauty with an aster because I completely understand again if you are a Pete Alonzo fan if you don’t want anyone besides Pete Alonzo nothing that I say is going to satisfy you today and I’m not trying to sell you on that. I’m just trying to tell you what is the philosophy of David Sterns no matter how much you love it or hate it. That’s why we’re here to break down the platform covering everything at Mets land 24/7 365. But what is also true is that Ryan O’Harn would fit a team need splitting time of Palano between first base and DH. So again for the times that Palanos at first have O’Harn at DH and vice versa. O’Harn has very good splits that we have seen him do. He’s a guy that can handle lefty pitching well even as a lefty batter that we have seen. He didn’t transition too well when he when he landed in San Diego after having a great first half that we saw with the Orioles this past season, but he’s a fantastic defensively minded first baseman. So, that’s why he’s without a doubt the first guy that comes to mind to me depending on matchups. I have been on record stating each and every one of you, I am not a fan of the Mets continuing a platoon route at DH. I I’ve honestly am fed up with the idea of going after guys that, oh, they look great against righties, but they’re terrible against lefties and vice versa. However, what is also true is that the bar has been so unbelievably low in that regard for the Mets the past couple years that if they go down a route, say like Palano, say like O’Harn or someone of greater value, that is still without a doubt the best route that they’ve went down in that regard since the DH became universal all those years ago. Cuz think about it in context. If we go back through the years of 2021, 2022 range, you of course had the beginning of JD Davis and Dom Smith before it blew up entirely. Then you had the Darren Russ, the Tyler Aquins of the world. Then of course we had Sterling Marte, Jesse Winker, and then more of that this year with Ventos getting reps at DH. But the one commonality is that at the DH position, the Mets have been absolutely horrendous in finding consistency. Palano, who had an over 800 OPS against both righties and lefties this season, is going to come in to hopefully shrub up that area. Again, for context, he had an 802 OPS against uh that we saw uh this season. Um and then 880 OPS, 888 OPS there. So again, plenty to like about Palanco. I think that this is going to be a nice pickup for the New York Mets. He’s someone that’s going to come in and bring them not only value on the offensive end, but someone who’s a veteran, someone who I’m sure is a very good clubhouse character as well. And I again, I I cannot say this enough. I completely understand Mets fans that do not love this because you’re not going to be satisfied with any moves that aren’t blockbuster groundbreaking news that looks like it’s going to be a slam dunk of a pickup. So, once more, I’m not trying to sell you on that. I’m just telling you how it is. I’m telling you what the Mets are doing and what they’re doing at the moment is that they are making moves and they’re going to make a lot more moves. I will not be shocked at all if we find out either later today or in the coming days that the Mets have a trade with the Padres’s having solidified. We’re going to expand on that in content later on today. So, make sure you guys are on the lookout for it. And yes, we’re going to talk about it as well because the Mets have been in trade talks with the Padres’s after their pitching. Not only are they after starters of their rotation, but they’re all they are after their relievers. And yes, the Mets are in the market for the best relievers that the Padres’s have to offer. And yes, you know who those relievers are. And yes, I have a lot to say about it, but I’m not going to spoil it in this one, as that’s what our video for later on today is all about. But let’s get to some of these donations real quick. We’re we’re going to talk more about Jorge. We’ll get into his game. But actually, before I do the uh comments for a second, I did just want to give you guys a little bit more context as to what Palano’s been doing in his career. Now, bear in mind where he’s been, the lineups he’s been a part of, and the commonality that he’s never played for a big market team. So this is without a doubt the biggest adjustment that Palano is going to have in his career. How does he handle New York? He spent a decade in Minneapolis with the Twins and then he’s been the past couple years with Seattle Mariners. Very small market, loyal, diehard fan bases in which he’s been beloved there. How will that transition now the New York Mets in the big on the big stage in the big market to be determined. So I’m telling you right now, Jorge Palano looks like that he is scared of his own shadow and cannot handle the New York market. I’ll be the first to tell you how much of an idiot David Sterns was for yet again going with small market player options to try to define a big market club when these players don’t have the track record nor can handle what the market has to offer. I’m not saying that Jorge won’t be able to handle it. I’m just saying that there is a big question mark as to how will we handle New York after playing after playing in small markets literally his entire career. And this is the same thing that I’ve said to you guys about literally everything regarding whoever the Mets acquire this off seasonason. Whoever they land for good or bad reason, everything in between, you have to make sure that these guys can handle this kind of market. And I saw the Pat Regazo tweet. Again, I’m going to expand on that in my video today. I’m not worried about that tweet right now cuz all the players from Padres’s, I assure you, I’m going to break down thoroughly. That was always my intention and plan for today’s video. So, I’m actually so grateful that I didn’t do it yet because news actually came out that connecting the dots that oh, the Padres’s are a clear trade fit for the New York Mets. Now, they are as the Mets are in active talks to try to land some of their pitching. But, nonetheless, as you guys can see here, 26 home runs for Jorgey Palanco. That’s the most he’s had in his career since 2021 where he had 33 and 98 RBI’s in one of his final years there for the Minnesota Twins. Last season, Palanco in 118 games. And albeit, let’s also bear in mind, he’s been batting in Seattle. They haven’t had a deep lineup and that bat always goes to die in that ballpark. 16 home runs, 45 RBI’s, a 213 average, a 296 on base, a 355 slug, good for a 93 WRC plus just below league average in 2024. The year prior we saw only 80 games, so I don’t care about that. Let’s get a sample size of at least 100 120 plus games. That was 2021 with 33 home runs, 98 RBI’s. He had 22 home runs, 107 runs scored, and 79 RBI’s in the 2019 Juice Baseball era season. So, Palano’s a career, as you can see, 263 hitter, 330 on base, 442 slug, almost 20 award to conclude what has been a very good career for him and not conclude, but to collect what he’s done so far in his career. So, that is immediately what you’re getting in Palano. You’re going to be getting someone that again can play all over the diamond, can play second, can play third. If you need him at short, even though the Mets obviously don’t, you can put him there. But that is not what the Mets are really bringing him for. They’re bringing him to handle more first base in DH. And yes, goes without saying Jeff McNeel is not going to be a New York Met next season. Okay, if you guys have not figured that one out yet, figure it out now. It’s been abundantly clear since the start of the offseason. But this reaffirms exactly that. The Mets are shoring up every single position to make sure that Jeff McNeel has literally no value on this team whatsoever cuz he is not going to be starting the left field for the New York Mets in 2026. I promise you. And if he does, you can correct me. I’ll say how much of a schmuck I am and how much I hate the confir the configuration that David Sterns found himself building. So, having said that, let’s get to your comments. Let’s get to these donations. Hit that like and subscribe on your way in everybody as we’re breaking down all the latest breaking news here in Mets land. And we have north of 2,000 people in the live chat. So, all I ask is if you guys haven’t already, please help us get to 500 plus likes in the live show. Really means a lot. All I’m asking is for a quarter of you guys to hit that like button. I know we’re not at 500 yet, so smash those buttons right now. Thank you kindly for that. Let’s get into it. But to completely answer you, I like the player. I don’t dislike the pickup. I’m just not satisfied until we see more moves for this Mets team. And I don’t think I’m alone for feeling that way. So, both things can be true. Jorge Palano is not a bad pickup. But in the context of how much more the Mets need and how much uncertainty there is at the moment, you don’t love it. So, let’s get into this. Okay. God, someday I can’t stand my own fan base. Everyone’s acting like season starts tomorrow. This is true. This is what happens. especially after you lose top fan favorites in Diaz and Alonzo. And for a sliver of time, my dog Tyler Rogers, hey Jack, thank you for the dono. Great member. Here we got Uncuffed Sports Podcast. Thank you for the donation. Juan Stood telling Sterns to fill this team with Dominicans so they can so they can outnumber Lindor. That’s hilarious. I don’t believe that to be true, but that is funny. Thank you so much for that donation. Is Palanco Dominican? Okay, that would check out. Let’s attend Nahala. Hey, hi Wardy. Big fan. Can’t help but think this off seasonason is a win lighter mentality. I can’t see how this team can improve enough to make up for the stars we lost. Don’t see Sterns making a splash this year. That’s perfectly fine to feel that way. And I’m not going to tell you that’s a guarantee that anything’s going to happen. All I’m going to tell you is it’s only December 13th and the Mets still have so much more moves to do. So, let’s still wait and see to figure out what exactly they’re going to do. Hopefully for the better for this club instead of it being for the worse. Because right now, I don’t follow any Mets fan that are still rightfully frustrated by the top players we’ve lost. Nice player, nice move if followed by big moves that I agree with, Mark. I think that’s a very valid response to make. Thank you for that donation. Pat with the $2 says, “Good player. Not a fan of him being our first baseman.” That’s valid. Thank you for that donation. Yoshima with the $5 says the following. And of course, right as I was about to answer, it pops away from me. Someone said Palpano’s Swedish. Oh, that that was way too funny. I found that way too funny. That’s Oh, you just look at Palanco and he has blue eyes, blonde hair. He’s playing hockey out of nowhere. Like, what what happened here? Okay, let’s see. Um, good player. Not a fan of him being our first baseman. Okay. Yoshima says, “I had a change of heart last night. No use being negative. We got to trust the process. Like this move a lot. Let him DH more and get Okamoto.” If I’m being completely transparent, guys, I’ll be very surprised if the Mets land any Japanese players this off seasonason. And there isn’t a specific reason really why I feel that way. My gut is just telling me that the Mets aren’t going to land Imi. They’re not going to land Akamoto. And they’re not going to land Murakami. I hope I’m wrong because I like all those players to varying degrees, but the jury is still out as to really how much interest the Mets have in those markets. Right now, I’d probably say it’s more preliminary with at least the position players and I your guess is as good as mine right now. From here on out, I am professor positive. I I respect that, Yoshima. Thank you again for the donation. That’s the kind of vibes that we need, especially with everything being so depressing lately and Mets land. But to continue on here, everybody, why did the New York Mets make this move? They made this move because they’re trying to land players that have versatility but also plus upside. And I don’t blame the Mets for liking someone like Palano when you look at the season I had. The only qualm that I have with acquiring someone like him is twofold. It is a the fact that again he’s never been in a big market his entire career. This is going to be injustment for him. He’s never dealt with a fan base that is going to be as miserable as Mets fans will be. And Palano can’t hit a lick his first month in Queens. If the Mets are going to boo, just imagine how they’ll treat a veteran like this who doesn’t have the same track record. And secondly, and I think this is also a very important one to make note of as we evaluate someone like Palano, is the fact that this is the best offensive season he’s had since 2021. So there’s something to be said about yes, he’s hopefully going to be added into a lineup that should be deeper on paper in 2026 than what he’s had in previous years, but until that’s established, until that comes to fruition, until we know exactly what we’re getting building around Sodo, Lindor, Palano, and this entire Mets lineup, there’s just so much uncertainty. And that uncertainty rings true when you’re a fan trying to connect the dots as to, okay, this is a nice pickup. I don’t hate it, but what else are we going to be doing here? Because if you do not properly allocate the remainder of the lineup, it’s hard to envision Palanco having a season as productive as he just had with the Seattle Mariners. And I will preface this by saying that I understand the Mariners is not a batters box. This is a guy that really thrived in a location in a spot where you don’t see guys thrive all that much offensively. Now, I know Cal Riley, the big dumper, has something to say about that. I know J-Rod has had his fair share of success, but the point stands when you think of the Seattle Mariners for many years. It’s been headlined by dominant pitching in an offense that just cannot get it fully together. They finally took another step up this year and a key part of their puzzle, a key focal point in their lineup was a veteran and Jorge Palano helping in that regard. So, I like Palano. I like the upside that he brings to this Mets team. I like the fact that he can handle both righty and lefty pitching without a problem. That is all good things. And guys, Steve Phillips is literally a schmuck and has no clue what he’s talking about. I know he used to be in the Mets for an office. Doesn’t mean he’s smart. This is the same Steve Phillips that said in confidence that Carlos Kareah was for certain staying with the New York Mets when all the turmoil was going on. Steve Phillips has quite literally never been right over the past 5 years of myself covering the Mets when talking about the New York Mets with MLB Network or on radio, whatever it is. He has no clue what he’s talking about. If he’s referencing Lindor the Padres’s that’s because he like everyone else that doesn’t do their homework that’s an idiot and doesn’t pay attention went out and saw oh wow Lindor rumblings to the Padres’s when in reality the only reason why those rumblings started was because Master Flip who’s a friend of mine a troll X that is a diehard Mets fan has posted Tatis Queens as a hashtag and with a Tatis photoshop of him in a Mets uniform for a month straight. So much so to purposely piss off Padres’s fans to the point that the Padres’s fan base on X has countered that with Lindor Padres’s. They started it as a troll. Now we have idiots in the media and idiots talking local Padres’s radio that are actually saying, “Oh, according to my sources that there is something to be said about Lindor, Xander, etc. They have no clue what they’re talking about. Lindor will not betray this offseason, the Padres’s. Should the Mets make a trade with the Padres’s, they’ll be landing pitching. They’ll be giving up top prospects in doing so and potentially controllable MLB talent. I’ll talk more about that in our video later on today. But again, Steve Phillips has quite literally no clue what he’s talking about at all. And I say that in confidence because I know damn well it’s true. All right. Thank you guys for those donations. Let’s get to a couple more here and that’s then let’s continue on in the live show. getting your first chopping. And in breaking news, the Mets have officially signed Jorge Palano to a two-year $40 million contract to be their first base DH profile for next season and potentially 2027 given it’s a 2-year deal. Does this mean Contrarus is out of the pick? Yes, I would say this means Wilson Contrus is out of the picture. That is correct. And what was relayed from Will Sammon yesterday, he was literally saying things that he knew that he just couldn’t say in certainty yet because it wasn’t official. Salmon in his se I’m actually just going to play it for you guys. I think that that’ll be easier. Sammon said in his segment yesterday verbatim that Contrarus, well that’s someone the Mets have been talking to. That price is a bit steep right now for someone like him. So that’s why he talked about, well, if you the Mets don’t go down that route, here’s the options they may go down. Sam knew in confidence last night that the Mets were going to sign Palanco more than likely. That’s why he said everything that he said. So correct, this means that Wilson Contrarus more than likely is not going to be traded to the New York Mets. Is it possible that I’m wrong? Sure. Maybe the Mets say, “You know what, Palano, you’re going to be our majority DH next year.” Which is more than fine because if Palanco can give you production of hopefully 25 home runs and 70 to 70 to 90 RBI’s, I’m not complaining from that. The DH position, that’s still the best DH production that we’ve gotten out of every effing year since it’s been Universal. The bar is that low. So yeah, I’m not complaining if that’s the route the Mets go down, but I’ll have to see it to believe in the sense of the Mets actually landing Contraras after making a move like this. I’m not expecting it. Now we got my guy Dan with Divide. Aha. Thank you. Danny says he’s played a single game at first. I think the McNeel replacement DH still need um still need Contraras. Yeah. No, again I like Contras a lot. He was tremendous at first this past year and the Mets would like a more defensively sound first space first baseman I’d imagine to pair with Palano, but I don’t know exactly who they’re going to land. Are they still going to go all in for Wilson Contraras? I’ll be surprised. I think a guy like Ryan O’Harn or someone along those profiles, especially as a lefty bat, would be more feasible at this point in time, but to be determined. Is there at least 30% chance we get Tatis? Not a chance in hell. No. No. Try like 5 to 10% right now. Jim, thank you so much for the fight. Ahala Woody Palanu should be the DH. And do you see them at signing Luis Arise for first base? No. I hate Luis Arise. Oh, that’s a fun transition. I’m so glad he brought Luis Arise. Literally one of my least favorite players in the league. You want to know why I can’t stand Luis Arise? You want to know why I hope that man never lands in New York? And if he does, I’m not going to try to spin it that I like it. I will tell you verbatim that I don’t like it. Here’s why. Luis Arise is a tremendous contact bat. He’s the best contact bat in baseball. He has the best eye in baseball. No one commands a strike zone better than Luis Arise. But here’s what lies a problem. Luis Arise, pardon my French kiddos, put on the ear muffs. I’ll give you a 321 count. three, two, one is dog at every position he plays. Arise is worse defensively than even Jorge Palano. Whether he’s at first, whether he’s at second, wherever you put Arise, he’s such a lack of defensively sound player and he has zero power whatsoever. So, if Arise starts to drop off with his contact ability and as soon as he drops off the way that McNeel did, he has no value. Jeff at least has had some somewhat positive defensive value, including the outfield. He doesn’t even have that. Okay. So, no. Luis Arise is someone I pray to God is never a New York Met. There’s nothing about him that makes any sense whatsoever. Any sense. There’s nothing about that makes any sense to land if you were in the Mets shoes at all. So, no. I hope that doesn’t happen. Now, again, I like this move. I don’t dislike Palano. As you guys can see from the highlights beside me, he has his value. As you can see from the numbers down below, he has his value. But all I care about now is how do you handle this New York market? And what else do the New York Mets do? If you land at O’Harn, if you land maybe someone more established at first base and then you hopefully add I would I will say this much and then I’m actually I may correct myself in the real in meantime. Palano is someone who’s going to play DH in first, right? So what is one other player that you could justify giving first base reps to which would push Palano more to DH for the times that this player doesn’t play the outfield? And you want to know who that player is? is absolutely Cody Ballinger. I believe the Mets still like Cody Ballinger. I believe the Mets would like Cody Bellinger a lot. The problem with Cody Ballinger is that unfortunately he’s someone that may get a long-term contract this off seasonason. And we know how Jeff Mc not Jeff McNeel, we know how David Sterns operates. He’s not a guy who loves long-term deals for guys already at the age of 30. But Bellinger checks off the box. Ballinger is still what justifies. Lindor is not on the trade block per sources. You have no clue what you’re talking about. Stop buying into the stupid narrative out there. My god. People, do your homework. It isn’t hard. Takes two seconds to just figure out where this stems from. And it starts from Twitter trolls on X. I digress. Cody Bellinger can play outfield for you elite at any point. He can play first base for you elite at any point. And in doing so, for the times that you would say have Bellinger at first, you have Palanco at DH. And for the times that you say have someone like Palano at first, then you keep Bell in the outfield depending on what your configuration is going to be. That is a route that makes sense. And what about Ventos? Goes without saying Mark Ventos will not be in New York Met next season. I’ll be shocked if Mark Ventos is is a Met next season. What the Mets just did is box Mark Ventos out of the organization even more than they ever have before. Mark will not be getting any third base reps next year, more than likely. He’s a guy that obviously is a true DH profile. We know he doesn’t even have a glove to handle first. So what does that mean? The Mets just landed someone who had 74% reps at DH last year. I’m inclined to believe that the Mets are still not going to be going ahead and landing. I’m bringing back Mark Vientos. Let’s see here. You said that Haymon reported the Mets are out on Tucker and Bellinger. Did he just report that? Because if he didn’t, then you’re not then you’re inaccurate. Yeah. No, he did not just report that. So, that that is fake news. That is not true at all. The Mets are still in those markets. It was literally just reported yesterday, as a matter of fact, that the Mets are still in the market for Bellinger and like him quite a bit. It’s never been reported that the Mets are out of Tucker’s market, even though I’ll be genuinely surprised if they land Kyle Tucker. I have a feeling that one of these top outfielders is going to go to the LA Dodgers. Andrew Friedman just said an interview yesterday when breaking down the Edwin Diaz signing that, you know, we feel pretty good about something, but we might need to be a little patient. So whether that’s Tucker, whether that’s Belly, or whether that’s TKO, all I know is that the Dodgers are destined to continue to rip the heart straight out of my chest this off season is that’s what they tend to do best. So, Dodgers are far from done and we’ll see what the Mets do. If they’re going to move lateral or if they’re going to do something great. I want to support your channel, but seriously at the Mets and Sterns, losing Pete Diaz was last draw. Lost me uh lost me right now that I don’t blame you, Isaac. Thank you so much for the donation. I appreciate your support. You’ve been a longtime follower here. Thank you kindly for all that. And again, I’m not trying to sell you at all on being happy, being sad, being somewhere in between in regards to what is happening with the Mets right now. I’m just telling you why they’re doing what they’re doing. It’s one clip. Here is Wilson, not Wilson. Here’s Wool Salmon last night knowing damn well that Jorge Blanco is going to be New York Met saying why he was a feasible option for the Mets. Listen up everybody. Wilson Contras from the Cardinals could be a possibility that’s been rumored about in trade trade talks online etc. He he could be an option. I think they’re going to shoot a little bit higher than Wilson Contras though at least initially. He’s a good option. He’s got a good bat, but he’s an expensive player that just went over the first base. To his credit, play the position fairly well, but I think they’re going to probably want a little bit more security defensively there. Some people to keep in mind, you know, Matt Bellinger, who you mentioned, there’s also somebody like Aore Palano, I think, is a creative choice. Actually, everybody thinks of that guy as a third baseman, maybe a second baseman in this market. I think he could play some first base, too. And that’s not really the name that jumps to people’s minds, but he’s a pretty good offensive player. I’m going to let him break it down. I’m sorry. I’m just laughing because I’m like, there’s a there’s a reason that Jorge Palano’s name came out of thin air last night. This is the reason. And I just find it hilarious. He’s like, “Oh, yeah. Yeah, know he’d be a nice fit.” Of course he’d be a nice fit cuz the Mets were closing in on signing him. He knew. He knew. And Will Litley has had almost every significant scoop this off seasonason for the Mets and across Major League Baseball. It’s honestly been very impressive. He’s quite literally been one of the top guys in all of MLB this year. He’s done a very good job player and I feel like his defense is a little bit underrated. I know he’s taken some ground balls at first base. It’s just a possibility, right? There are numerous other ones. Ryan O’Harn is out there in free agency. There’s a bunch of other trade candidates that they could explore, but I think they’re going to target defense. No surprise, right, from what we’ve heard all offseason so far. And then just make their way to see the market act with that discipline perhaps. sell and see what’s out there. Okay, I like Palanco. That’s not bad. I watched him during the Sorry, Danny, you do great work. And Danny Wexleman, if you guys don’t know know her. Make sure to check her out. She’s without a doubt one of the best baseball minds, especially in the New York sports space. Cannot emphasize enough. She’s very smart, very savvy. I have a good relationship with her as well. Don’t be surprised if we have her on the platform this offseason. But let’s go back ahead and let’s get back up here to more on again the Jorge Palanco news. I’m still so pissed off about Tyler Rogers going to the Blue Jays. Ah, that pisses me off. It really does. But let’s get to some more comments here, everybody. Then I’m going to cut things off for replay viewers. First, let’s talk about Ji Palano’s home and away splits. Something to bear in mind. Contrary to what usually happens with batters in Seattle, Ji Palano actually thrived in that ballpark. And that’s encouraging. And you want to know why? Palano thrived in a huge pitcher park in Seattle. 288 average with a 9002 OPS last year at home. On the road, Palanco had a 243 average, 740 OPS. But here’s the thing. Even though I don’t love that OPS, that’s still better than Francisco Lindor. Francisco Lindor was dog water on the road this past year. Like even worse. I’m not exaggerating. It’s a fact. Well, take a look at Lindor splits. He was horrendous on the road this past season. Great at home, loved and thrived with my girl with having all the fans cheering for him, having his family in attendance. But on the road, Lenor looked like Jorge Palanco from the 2024 season. If you know, you know. So, as we continue on here, let’s get into more on these splits. Let’s take a look at how he handled, of course, number of outs. Take a look at clutch stats. Okay. Jorge Palano. Oh, baby. I love what I’m seeing. Okay. Two outs, runners, and scoring position. Jorge Palanco in what was a limited sample size had a 400 average and 1,100 OPS. And late in close situations this year, Palanco batted only 241, but a very respectable 852 OPS. In tied ball games, Palano had a 265 average and an 861 OPS. When we look ahead in ball games, Palano had a 266 average and 829 OPS. When the team was behind, a 265 average and a 773 OPS. So, honestly, pretty balanced. I’m very encouraged to be looking at someone that didn’t fall off a cliff depending on the circumstances he was in there. That’s important. Now, let’s get on to the following. This is very interesting. Okay, so in the high lever circumstances, this is what you want to know. This is what the Mets need. They need guys who can step up in the clutch. Jorge Palano is that in high lever situations this year in 102 played appearances, a 402 batting average, and a 1,100 OPS. Tre tremendous and medium leverage 220 average 731 OPS not nearly as good but also it’s medium leverage and low leverage 249 average 760 OPS Palano is a dog a literal dog he stepped up he was one of the most clutch batters for the Seattle Mariners this past season. That is what you’re looking for. That’s what I’m encouraged by and that is what I’m happy to see now now that he’s landed with the New York Mets. That’s exactly what you want. And again, two outs, runners in scoring position. Palano 400 average, 1,100 OPS. He has the numbers that you’re looking for in those high leverage clutch or lack thereof spots. That’s what you need. And if we also take a look at it, everybody, Jorge Palano’s numbers, 800 OPS and innings 7 through nine last year. Okay, that’s good. That’s good. Very good. as a matter of fact because you want to know what the Mets did in the ninth inning this past year in the eighth inning nothing literally nothing couldn’t find a clutching clutching if it smacked him across the face so that again is what you’re getting a Jorge Palano as the overall player someone who clutched up in postseason someone who had a very good year in Seattle for the Mariners as a veteran mostly DH option but of course can play all over that we know Palano brings his value he will hopefully be more at DH in first base next season cuz that would make sense from a defensive value standpoint and knowing that this guy stepped up, hit a couple bombs against Terrick school in the playoffs, clearly he’s doing something right. So, both things can be true. Can you be upset about this is not being Pete Alonzo and can you be upset about losing your fan favorite players? Absolutely. No doubt about it. I’m in that contingent of fans as well. But in that same breath, can you also say that the Mets didn’t make a bad move here? That they brought in a guy that clearly is going to bring value to them? Absolutely. Both things can be true. And I think that’s where we’re at right now. And Palano doesn’t strike out. Exactly. He’s a very good eye at the plate. I said it earlier, but I’ll say it once more just for those that need to see this in the back. Again, Palano has very, very good numbers that you guys can see here. K percentage, 83rd percentile, 89th, and screwed up percentage and above league average or just around league average and pretty much every statistic on the offensive front that you’d be looking to find if you’re Palano. Or does this mean Mart is as good as gone? I don’t know. That’s a good question. But I would say given the fact that Palano will probably get a good amount of reps at DH. Yeah, I’d say there’s a solid chance on that Mart still out of here, but to be determined. The OBP sucks. Who who cares? Literally, who cares? Like, genuinely, who cares if the OBP isn’t dominant because he’s not an OBP player. Have you not realized that? I care about the fact that he was just under 500 slug this past year. That’s good. That’s what I’m looking I’m looking at a 265 average. I think he’s going to honestly be a nice fit for this team as long as he can handle the pressure. And he did in playoffs. So, God willing, he can do that with the Mets as well.

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