Domino Effects

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On Saturday night, a Passan Bomb was dropped: the Chicago Cubs signed third baseman Alex Bregman to a five-year, $175 million contract. The deal contains no opt-outs and a full no-trade clause - the Cubs are really committing to this guy! Yes, there’s some money deferred. $70 million of it, in fact. 

What does this have to do with the Mets, you might be wondering. The Mets seemed to have no interest in Bregman - they seem to be totally cool with Brett Baty at the hot corner. While this is true, the free agent signing changes the calculus of the teams that are actually trying for the high-end free agent hitters left available, which gets the wheels a-spinnin’, which in turn impacts the Mets. It also fortifies the positions of Scott Boras, who represents Cody Bellinger, as well as Kyle Tucker’s agent Casey Close. Bregman’s AAV of $35 million made Boras and Close’s eyes bulge like in old cartoons, their pupils turning into dollar signs. 

But there was good news on the Bellinger front when it comes to the Mets’ perspective. Buster Olney wrote that the Yankees and Belli are “at an impasse”, and the club is moving on. The Yankees reportedly made multiple offers, including a five-year, $150 million one, which Boras and Bellinger turned down. Boras reportedly is looking for his client to get seven years, the rationale being he’s 30 and Bregman is 32 who just got five years and will be a Cub through his age-36 season. He’s also presumably looking to match or improve upon Bregman’s AAV. 

If the Yankees are truly out on Bellinger, that gets rid of one fewer obstacle towards the Mets nabbing him, arguably their biggest one. The Mets don’t want to give Bellinger seven years, but it doesn’t seem like any of the other teams linked to him - the Cubs, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Giants, Angels, and Phillies - want to either. And if Boras and Bellinger concede to fewer years and/or some opt outs, the Mets being around $45 million under budget are in a position to offer the most money per year compared to everybody else. Besides, the Cubs are probably out now that they made their big free agent splash with the Bregman signing, the Dodgers and Blue Jays seem to much prefer Kyle Tucker, the Giants are reportedly hesitant to make a big signing this offseason, the Angels are the Angels, and the Phillies prefer Bo Bichette. 

Meanwhile, the Mets are making moves with Kyle Tucker. Jim Duquette reported that the Mets, along with the Dodgers and Blue Jays, met with the right fielder either in person or over Zoom. Pat Ragazzo at SI added that the meeting between King Tuck and the Metsies “went well” and the team is “cautiously optimistic” when it comes to their chances of landing him. Sadly, Ragazzo didn’t have more details on the meeting. Was it a Zoom? Did Tucker wear something nice? Did he cheat so to speak and wear pajama bottoms? Or did he respect the Mets by actually putting on dress pants? The world wants to know. 

Anyway, I find the seemingly sudden infatuation with Tucker to be a little strange. Cody Bellinger seems like a much better fit for the Mets, considering his defensive versatility. It leads me to believe the Mets are using the Tucker negotiations to send a message to Boras that they’re not desperate for his client. And/or it’s an insurance policy for if some sucker actually offers Bellinger a super long-term deal. It’s a David Stearns Masterclass if he pulls it off. 

Luisangel Acuña is apparently not only accounted for in Venezuela - he’s positively thriving. Acuña, playing for the Cardenales de Lara, hit four home runs against the Bravos de Margarita in a 21-9 trouncing in a Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional contest. It was the first time in that league’s history that someone went yard four times in a game. Acuña hit exactly zero home runs in 2025 in both Triple-A and the big leagues. Go figure. 

Joel Sherman in the New York Post wrote about how the Mets think they’re already in good shape for 2026 (while swearing they’ll make more moves). One reason is that the Mets consider Sean Manaea a front-line piece with Nolan McLean. They consider 2025 a wash because the Mets think they rushed him back from his oblique injury, and even then his strikeout rate was at a career high. Considering the lack of consistency in Manaea’s career, I think this is overly optimistic thinking. Get Framber Valdez or Ranger Suarez please and thank you.

Or Freddy Peralta. Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal wrote that the Mets might be in the best position to acquire the current Brewer ace. The Brew Crew apparently want a “young, major-league ready replacement”, and the Mets can theoretically offer them Brandon Sproat, Jonah Tong, or Christian Scott. The question is if it’d be a good idea to trade one of those young arms for only one guaranteed year of Peralta. 

Pat Ragazzo revealed that the Marlins wanted Brett Baty and prospect OF A.J. Ewing for RHP Edward Cabrera, but the Mets wouldn’t do it. Cabrera was dealt to the Cubs last week for three prospects. 

The Mets spoke to the Nationals about their young lefty starter Mackenzie Gore, but the Nats’ asking price is too high.

The Mets new top 10 prospects according to Baseball Prospectus: 1. Nolan McLean 2. Carson Benge 3. Jonah Tong 4. AJ Ewing 5. Jet!(t) Williams 6. Jacob Reimer 7. Ryan Clifford 8. Brandon Sproat 9. Will Watson 10. Mitch Voit

NBC announced that they'll air the Opening Day game between the Pirates and Mets on March 26th at 1pm ET. They'll also have the June 21st Mets-Phillies and August 30th Astros-Mets Sunday night games at 7PM ET, and the July 5th Mets-Atlanta game at 12:30 PM ET.

Old chum RHP Ryne Stanek signed with the Cardinals.

Mets prospects attempted to play a celebrity guessing game. It went poorly.

Get to know prospect RHP Truman Pauley why don’t ya?

John Franco remembered getting traded to the Mets on MLB Network.

You can be the next Mr. Met! No, you don’t have to be lowkey jacked like the current one.

20 years ago today, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling were named analysts for Mets games on SNY.