First and foremost, congratulations to Dick van Dyke who is celebrating his 100th birthday today! Even Jamie Moyer seems young by comparison. While van Dyke headlines the main news, the odd signing of Jorge Polanco by the Mets is the biggest story in today’s baseball newsroom.

Crowded House: Mets Infield

On the surface, the past few days have been a zero sum game for the Mets’ infield. They just lost 1Bman Pete Alonso to the Orioles and now have added a free agent infielder of their own in Jorge Polanco.

Polanco joins Brett Baty (the presumed starting 3Bman), Francisco Lindor (entrenched at SS), Marcus Semien (the presumed starting 2Bman), Jeff McNeil (a good infielder and so-so outfielder), and Ronny Mauricio (excellent at 3B, decent at 2B).

The early mumblings suggested Polanco could be plopped at 1B where there is now a need. Thing is, Polanco has somewhat limited experience at 1B in the big leagues. To be more exact, he hasn’t played a single inning there. McNeil could theoretically move to 1B and he does have infinitely more experience there, mathematically. McNeil has logged 3 career innings at 1B.

More likely, Polanco is seen as a primary DH in a rotation that might put him occasionally at 2B if the iron man Semien needs a day off or hits the IL. But even adding the DH spot as a position there is a clear logjam — especially if the Mets still intend to add a true 1Bman to the roster, which you would think was on their holiday shopping list.

Baseless Speculation A La Blogfather

Sometimes the Winter Meetings produce a lot of moves and oftentimes they lay the groundwork for trades and signings soon after. The Polanco signing is a prime example.

A’s GM David Forst was among many executives who came out of the Winter Meetings claiming that groundwork had been laid for activity in the coming days.

Here’s a theory that has absolutely no basis in known information. Perhaps the A’s and Mets have had serious conversations around McNeil and/or Mauricio, with a deal potentially in place but the Mets holding off to make sure they closed the Polanco deal.

With the deal announced today, perhaps the Mets are about to turn around and trade one of their many, many 2B/3B infielders. Maybe that trading partner is the A’s. We’ll see — and if so we will also find out what the Mets want in return that the A’s are willing to deal. (There is rumor of a big trade brewing between the Mets and Padres, but it probably wouldn’t involve a 2B/3B going to San Diego as it’s not a need with Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Jake Cronenworth on the roster — unless one of them is going to New York…)

The market for closers continues to shrink, with Robert Suarez signing with the Braves and rumors swirling that the Tigers are on the verge of signing Kenley Jansen after taking Kyle Finnegan off the table just days ago.

The Mark Leiter Jr. signing, especially at 1/$2.85M, was a shrewd get by the A’s but if Leiter is the best reliever they add this off-season they have not done great in that area. Who is still out there who could potentially be an A’s target?

One possibility is Pete Fairbanks, whose diminished fastball velocity (from 99.0 MPH in 2023 to “only” 97.3 MPH in 2025) hasn’t rendered him any less effective. Relying heavily on a sharp slider, Fairbanks allowed just 45 hits in 60.1 IP last season, posting a 2.83 ERA for Tampa Bay with 27 saves (5 blown saves).

Another is Brad Keller, who came out of nowhere to post a brilliant season with the Cubs following 5 seasons of utter mediocrity. If the A’s believe Keller broke out at age 30 they could be in play for his services at the back of the bullpen.

Luke Weaver, who has been vaguely tied to the A’s in idle speculation around the league, is still out there though recently he was linked, in rumors, to other teams.

Rotation? Trades? What’s Next?

What remains to be seen is whether the A’s try to fortify their rotation and bullpen through the trade or free agent markets. It’s not a question of if the A’s will add more pitching, it’s more a matter of how and who.

And often those moves come out of the blue (to fans), not the names you’ve been hearing or the deals you conjured up. It’s what makes “hot stove season” both titillating and aggravating — and that’s before the actual transactions that have the capacity to be thrilling, agonizing, exhilarating, or dispiriting.