Well, he can sign Bassitt…. As for a trade, the Torrens move was absolutely golden. Time to trade him at his peak as many teams would be able to use him.
Gus, Torrens at his peak but he is worth more to the Mets as a backup catcher than any trade would yield this off season. Romo and Senger are terrible offense catchers, much worse than even Torrens. Alvarez keeps getting injured every year. Prospect , Chis Suero, stalled when he was promoted to Binghamton. Torrens is a solid backup catcher.
Looks like Edward Cabrera is coming off the board as the Cubs are working on a trade for him with Miami. Seems like he would have been a good addition in Queens, but Stearns is so damn slow at doing anything. I'd welcome Bassett back - he seems to still have it.
Marlins sold high on him. His control is spotty and he hasn’t done well in MLB until this year. Good promise and team control, but Sproat can be better than him by July.
Read what Andy McCollough wrote in The Athletic and make up your own mind:
“Cabrera profiles as closer to a No. 4 starter than a No. 2 starter, and he has dealt with injuries to his shoulder and his elbow in recent years. But in a market where two years of Adrian Houser costs $22 million and one year of Dustin May costs $12.5 million, the Cubs are betting that Cabrera can post every fifth or sixth day and maintain the command improvements he made in 2025. We’ll see how it goes.
Miami may view last season as the high watermark for Cabrera, who had posted a 4.59 ERA and 4.55 FIP across 2023 and 2024. It is possible they are wrong about his trajectory. Still, things often go sideways for pitchers, as the club has experienced while monitoring the market for Sandy Alcantara the past 12 months. So, to get Caissie, a fringe top-100 prospect heading into 2025 who has clubbed Triple-A pitching the past two seasons, feels like a solid return. Caissie is the obvious headliner: Hernandez, a 22-year-old infielder, did not hit much the past two seasons at High-A South Bend, and De Leon, an 18-year-old outfielder, has yet to make his debut stateside.”
From Sam Blum in the same article:
“Cabrera has some red flags in his underlying metrics, particularly his penchant for allowing hard contact. Despite improvements, he’s still below league average with his walk rate, and throws a poor sinker that generates whiffs on just 9.6 percent of swings. It was lit up to the tune of a .373 opponent batting average last year.
Still, he is coming off a career season, where he was worth 2.8 bWAR, threw a career-high in innings, and posted a career-best 3.13 K/BB ratio. His changeup and curveball are two of the more valuable pitches in the game.”
————————-
Also important to note that Cassie has had major strikeout issues in the minors. Almost the same exact writeup and ranking as Ryan Clifford.
Tick Tock Tick Tock. I just read that the Cubs are closing a deal for Edward Cabrera. Cubs see a need and they go out and fill it. Let's see what they are paying for this. Cabrera is 28 years old with three more years under contract. That feels like it meets Stearns' requirements. It also probably closes the window on Alcantara. One more good pitcher off the market while Stearns sits on the sidelines pondering his moves. I like teams who are decisive and go after who they want. Torrens was an excellent pickup. Look at his overall hitting last year. Not much different than Alvarez. Torrens defense is big step above. Wonder if it makes sense to have Alvarez as a DH and have the defensuve stamdout behind the plate.
I’m not losing sleep over Cabrera going to the Cubs. He’s comparable to the guys we have, and not a top of the rotation guy, so I wouldn’t classify this as Stearns moving slow or being indecisive. There always seem to be complaints at any move that other teams make but are we really broken up that we didn’t trade for Cabrera? I’m not.
I am just a naturally impatient person. Cabrera hadca 2.8 WAR last year. Only Mets pitcher with a higher WAR was Diaz with a 3.1 WAR. With his age and stuff, he could break outbin 2026. His BAbip was .293, the highest of his career. His walk percentage dropped from 12 percent in 2024 to 8.3 percent in 2025. So, his control improved by alot. He has three years of control left. His salary for 2026 is 3.75 million followed by two years of arbitration. If the Cubs did not pay a high price for him, then you ask, what would you do? As a number three starter behind Ace A and McLean, he would be a very good number three starter. Would I make the trade uf the price was reasonable? Yes.
Here are some numbers for Stearns. Baseball Reference Team Hitting WAR, Pitching WAR, Wins and Errors.
2016 Brewers
Hitting WAR. 14.7
Pitching WAR 13
Total. 27.7
Wins. 73
Errors. 136
2017 Brewers
Hitting WAR. 17.3
Pitching WAR 18.3
Total. 35.6
Wins. 86
Errors. 115
2018 Brewers
Hitting WAR. 29.8
Pitching WAR 7.9
Total. 37.7
Wins. 96
Errors. 108
2019 Brewers
Hitting WAR. 19.2
Pitching WAR 14.6
Total. 33.8
Wins. 89
Errors. 97
2024 Mets
Hitting WAR. 24.4
Pitching WAR. 11.2
Total. 35.6
Wins. 89
Errors. 94
2025 Mets
Hitting WAR. 29.8
Pitching WAR. 10.6
Total. 40.4
Wins. 83
Errors. 79
I am sure that a large part of the 2025 production was in the first half of the season. A low number of errors. Other metrics probably tell a better story. Stearns run prevention probably means better pitching. Alonso, Nimmo and McNeil were probably showing decline in range. Add in age and money owed (Nimmo and McNeil) and cost avoidance (Alonso $ 155 million for five years) look like smart moves.
Now, on to the replacements. Lets see what Stearns can pull off for left field, center field, an ace and some bench players and what to do with a DH and innings at first base.
Well, I see the price for Cabrera was high. The Cubs traded their top prospect Owen Caissie and two other players for Cabrera. That changes the picture. Other teams are also holding out for top prospects for their pitchers. It's like, who is going to blink first.
I would like to see the Mets acquire Steven Kwan from Cleveland to play left field. I remember back in early 84 when I kept saying, the Mets need Gary Carter.
I dont think Cleveland would trade a 4 time gold glove solid left fielder for Sproat. I think the price would be higher. It also depends on what Cleveland feels its chances are in 2026. If they were offered Williams and Sproat they might bite. This all depends on what moves they make and when.
We have no clue on what Stearns strategy and game plan is. Rumors dont matter because nobody knows. The facts that we have is we need a left fielder, a center fielder, a high upside or Ace pitcher and someone who can also play first base besides Polanco. Its also a fact that players report to spring training in five weeks. Every day that goes by without starting to make moves will make it more difficult for them to adequately fill all of these roles. It is a lot to fill.
Garbage? Vientos is a young very controlled hitter that has had one good year, one bad start to a mediocre year, Mauricio has more tools than most prospects, and Acuna is a wild card, all for a glove first, low power, high OBP left fielder. We aren’t trading for Ronald Acuna here.
Clevelands starting rotation is Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Slade Cecconi, Logan Allen and Joey Cantillo.
So based on that, Cleveland could use another young pitcher. My guess is that they would ask for Tong and a lesser prospect or Jett Williams and a lesser prospect.
If we would do this deal, we would then need to sign onevof the free agent pitchers. Its a catch 22. If we trade for a good starter, we will need to sign a free agent outfielder. I feel that Bellinger and Tucker are holding out for a longer deal. They both know that the Mets are holding out and will offer a shorter contract with a higher annual salary, much like Bregman did last season.
But I do hate these opt outs. We need players for more than a year.
The Skubal rumors in arbitrarion is that he asked for $ 32 million and the Tigers offered $ 19 million. I would love to have Skubal, but not for a year and not for the price that Detroit will want. He will most likely want to hit free agency regardless of what the Mets would offer unless it was insanely high. But, he would be our ace and an anchor for several years.
Age 32-36, plus an injury risk. Tucker would be 29-34. I think Tucker is more reliable than Bellinger. Bellinger had a good year but not too far from horrendous play.
Value Signings - I think we should look at some value signings to fill in the roster. First, how about Rhys Hoskins. If he bounces back, he could be a decent backup right handed bat at first base and DH against lefties.
Michael Kopech could be another bounce back players. If he bounces back and can still throw his heat, he could be a real surprise.
They both are still free agents and would most likely can be had for not a lot of money on onevyear deals.
What do you think?
We are on the cusp of mid January and still have big gaps to fill. With Bregman off the market, maybe some other dominoes will fall this week.
No way Bellinger is getting seven years. No way Tucker is going to get 10 years and $ 300 milion, same with Bichette.
Once one or two of these guys sign, there will probably be two fewer teams for the third. That could backfire too.
I wonder how high the Mets will go per year with the three year deal? I just hope it doesnt have those stuid opt outs after each year. It would stink if we sugned one and at the end of next season they would opt out if they had a decent year. That would leavevus in the same vulnetable position we are now.
Well, he can sign Bassitt…. As for a trade, the Torrens move was absolutely golden. Time to trade him at his peak as many teams would be able to use him.
Bassitt will be in his age-37 season next year, so he likely won't command a deal over three years...
Three??? I was thinking two.
Gus, Torrens at his peak but he is worth more to the Mets as a backup catcher than any trade would yield this off season. Romo and Senger are terrible offense catchers, much worse than even Torrens. Alvarez keeps getting injured every year. Prospect , Chis Suero, stalled when he was promoted to Binghamton. Torrens is a solid backup catcher.
He seems like the best backup catcher in my memory. At least maybe since that one good year Vance Wilson had.
Looks like Edward Cabrera is coming off the board as the Cubs are working on a trade for him with Miami. Seems like he would have been a good addition in Queens, but Stearns is so damn slow at doing anything. I'd welcome Bassett back - he seems to still have it.
Trade Benge for him? Ewing? Or were you thinking Vientos and Acuna?
Teams arent dumb. They know Acuna is worthless and Vientos is a wild card. And no way Benge goes for Cabrera. So that leaves us where we are now.
Marlins sold high on him. His control is spotty and he hasn’t done well in MLB until this year. Good promise and team control, but Sproat can be better than him by July.
So don’t trade
Sproat for him?
Read what Andy McCollough wrote in The Athletic and make up your own mind:
“Cabrera profiles as closer to a No. 4 starter than a No. 2 starter, and he has dealt with injuries to his shoulder and his elbow in recent years. But in a market where two years of Adrian Houser costs $22 million and one year of Dustin May costs $12.5 million, the Cubs are betting that Cabrera can post every fifth or sixth day and maintain the command improvements he made in 2025. We’ll see how it goes.
Miami may view last season as the high watermark for Cabrera, who had posted a 4.59 ERA and 4.55 FIP across 2023 and 2024. It is possible they are wrong about his trajectory. Still, things often go sideways for pitchers, as the club has experienced while monitoring the market for Sandy Alcantara the past 12 months. So, to get Caissie, a fringe top-100 prospect heading into 2025 who has clubbed Triple-A pitching the past two seasons, feels like a solid return. Caissie is the obvious headliner: Hernandez, a 22-year-old infielder, did not hit much the past two seasons at High-A South Bend, and De Leon, an 18-year-old outfielder, has yet to make his debut stateside.”
From Sam Blum in the same article:
“Cabrera has some red flags in his underlying metrics, particularly his penchant for allowing hard contact. Despite improvements, he’s still below league average with his walk rate, and throws a poor sinker that generates whiffs on just 9.6 percent of swings. It was lit up to the tune of a .373 opponent batting average last year.
Still, he is coming off a career season, where he was worth 2.8 bWAR, threw a career-high in innings, and posted a career-best 3.13 K/BB ratio. His changeup and curveball are two of the more valuable pitches in the game.”
————————-
Also important to note that Cassie has had major strikeout issues in the minors. Almost the same exact writeup and ranking as Ryan Clifford.
Tick Tock Tick Tock. I just read that the Cubs are closing a deal for Edward Cabrera. Cubs see a need and they go out and fill it. Let's see what they are paying for this. Cabrera is 28 years old with three more years under contract. That feels like it meets Stearns' requirements. It also probably closes the window on Alcantara. One more good pitcher off the market while Stearns sits on the sidelines pondering his moves. I like teams who are decisive and go after who they want. Torrens was an excellent pickup. Look at his overall hitting last year. Not much different than Alvarez. Torrens defense is big step above. Wonder if it makes sense to have Alvarez as a DH and have the defensuve stamdout behind the plate.
I’m not losing sleep over Cabrera going to the Cubs. He’s comparable to the guys we have, and not a top of the rotation guy, so I wouldn’t classify this as Stearns moving slow or being indecisive. There always seem to be complaints at any move that other teams make but are we really broken up that we didn’t trade for Cabrera? I’m not.
Bob, I agree. Additionally, Bassitt doesn’t excite me…not that I want the farm to be emptied for Skubal…but they need to upgrade, not just add.
I am just a naturally impatient person. Cabrera hadca 2.8 WAR last year. Only Mets pitcher with a higher WAR was Diaz with a 3.1 WAR. With his age and stuff, he could break outbin 2026. His BAbip was .293, the highest of his career. His walk percentage dropped from 12 percent in 2024 to 8.3 percent in 2025. So, his control improved by alot. He has three years of control left. His salary for 2026 is 3.75 million followed by two years of arbitration. If the Cubs did not pay a high price for him, then you ask, what would you do? As a number three starter behind Ace A and McLean, he would be a very good number three starter. Would I make the trade uf the price was reasonable? Yes.
Some Fun Data
Here are some numbers for Stearns. Baseball Reference Team Hitting WAR, Pitching WAR, Wins and Errors.
2016 Brewers
Hitting WAR. 14.7
Pitching WAR 13
Total. 27.7
Wins. 73
Errors. 136
2017 Brewers
Hitting WAR. 17.3
Pitching WAR 18.3
Total. 35.6
Wins. 86
Errors. 115
2018 Brewers
Hitting WAR. 29.8
Pitching WAR 7.9
Total. 37.7
Wins. 96
Errors. 108
2019 Brewers
Hitting WAR. 19.2
Pitching WAR 14.6
Total. 33.8
Wins. 89
Errors. 97
2024 Mets
Hitting WAR. 24.4
Pitching WAR. 11.2
Total. 35.6
Wins. 89
Errors. 94
2025 Mets
Hitting WAR. 29.8
Pitching WAR. 10.6
Total. 40.4
Wins. 83
Errors. 79
I am sure that a large part of the 2025 production was in the first half of the season. A low number of errors. Other metrics probably tell a better story. Stearns run prevention probably means better pitching. Alonso, Nimmo and McNeil were probably showing decline in range. Add in age and money owed (Nimmo and McNeil) and cost avoidance (Alonso $ 155 million for five years) look like smart moves.
Now, on to the replacements. Lets see what Stearns can pull off for left field, center field, an ace and some bench players and what to do with a DH and innings at first base.
I remain impatient, but very hopeful.
Well, I see the price for Cabrera was high. The Cubs traded their top prospect Owen Caissie and two other players for Cabrera. That changes the picture. Other teams are also holding out for top prospects for their pitchers. It's like, who is going to blink first.
Sprout and Ewing for Gore and then sign Bellinger?
I would like to see the Mets acquire Steven Kwan from Cleveland to play left field. I remember back in early 84 when I kept saying, the Mets need Gary Carter.
Sproat for Kwan?
I dont think Cleveland would trade a 4 time gold glove solid left fielder for Sproat. I think the price would be higher. It also depends on what Cleveland feels its chances are in 2026. If they were offered Williams and Sproat they might bite. This all depends on what moves they make and when.
We have no clue on what Stearns strategy and game plan is. Rumors dont matter because nobody knows. The facts that we have is we need a left fielder, a center fielder, a high upside or Ace pitcher and someone who can also play first base besides Polanco. Its also a fact that players report to spring training in five weeks. Every day that goes by without starting to make moves will make it more difficult for them to adequately fill all of these roles. It is a lot to fill.
Cleveland can use some offense and don’t really need pitching. Vientos, Mauricio and Clifford for Kwan. This may be too much from a Mets standpoint.
My garbage for your ML starter…. Good trade
Garbage? Vientos is a young very controlled hitter that has had one good year, one bad start to a mediocre year, Mauricio has more tools than most prospects, and Acuna is a wild card, all for a glove first, low power, high OBP left fielder. We aren’t trading for Ronald Acuna here.
Clevelands starting rotation is Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Slade Cecconi, Logan Allen and Joey Cantillo.
So based on that, Cleveland could use another young pitcher. My guess is that they would ask for Tong and a lesser prospect or Jett Williams and a lesser prospect.
If we would do this deal, we would then need to sign onevof the free agent pitchers. Its a catch 22. If we trade for a good starter, we will need to sign a free agent outfielder. I feel that Bellinger and Tucker are holding out for a longer deal. They both know that the Mets are holding out and will offer a shorter contract with a higher annual salary, much like Bregman did last season.
But I do hate these opt outs. We need players for more than a year.
The Skubal rumors in arbitrarion is that he asked for $ 32 million and the Tigers offered $ 19 million. I would love to have Skubal, but not for a year and not for the price that Detroit will want. He will most likely want to hit free agency regardless of what the Mets would offer unless it was insanely high. But, he would be our ace and an anchor for several years.
Another one off the market. Bregman to the Cubs for five years $ 175 million.
Yeah, this one's not going to age well
Age 32-36, plus an injury risk. Tucker would be 29-34. I think Tucker is more reliable than Bellinger. Bellinger had a good year but not too far from horrendous play.
Value Signings - I think we should look at some value signings to fill in the roster. First, how about Rhys Hoskins. If he bounces back, he could be a decent backup right handed bat at first base and DH against lefties.
Michael Kopech could be another bounce back players. If he bounces back and can still throw his heat, he could be a real surprise.
They both are still free agents and would most likely can be had for not a lot of money on onevyear deals.
What do you think?
We are on the cusp of mid January and still have big gaps to fill. With Bregman off the market, maybe some other dominoes will fall this week.
No way Bellinger is getting seven years. No way Tucker is going to get 10 years and $ 300 milion, same with Bichette.
Once one or two of these guys sign, there will probably be two fewer teams for the third. That could backfire too.
I wonder how high the Mets will go per year with the three year deal? I just hope it doesnt have those stuid opt outs after each year. It would stink if we sugned one and at the end of next season they would opt out if they had a decent year. That would leavevus in the same vulnetable position we are now.
Looking forward to some action.
From MLBTR
1:35pm: The Mets have made Tucker an offer with a $50MM AAV, per reports from John Mincone as well as Robert Murray of FanSided.