Morning Briefing: Roki Sasaki Meets with More Teams, Excludes Phillies
Good morning, Mets fans!
More details have come out about free agent Roki Sasaki‘s free agency, including the fact that he met with both the Mets and Yankees on Thursday, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Both meetings took place in Los Angeles. Bruce Levine of the Marquee Sports Network reported that Sasaki then met with the Cubs in Los Angeles on Friday.
While Sasaki and his agency have said that they would keep an open mind during the pitcher’s free agency, it appears they are not considering the Phillies, as the team’s general manager Dave Dombrowski told reporters that they have not yet been asked to prepare a presentation for Sasaki. According to Dombrowski, he does not anticipate the team being involved in his sweepstakes at all.
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On Friday, Francisco Lindor spoke to reporters while at an event at Montverde Academy, the school Lindor played at before his professional career. Lindor was about the Mets signing Juan Soto, saying, “I was so excited when I heard about it and I’m really excited about what the future is going to bring… I can’t wait to play with him.”
Lindor was also asked about Pete Alonso‘s free agency situation: “Pete should maximize this moment because he’s worked so hard. He’s going to have to make this decision himself as to where he wants to go. At the end of the day, he should do what’s best for him and his family – whether that’s with the Mets or somebody else. He’s a fantastic player and person and if we have him back on our team, it would be amazing. If not, he’ll still go and do great things.”
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Mets have talked to free agent first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. While he’s not the hitter he once was, with a .716 OPS in 2024, he was the NL MVP as recently as 2022.
According to Grandes en los Deportes, Juan Soto told Steve Cohen that he wants to play some winter ball in the future, an idea Cohen reportedly agreed to.
According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, new Mets pitcher Griffin Canning has a chance to make an additional $1 million with the Mets. He’ll get $250,000 for each of these milestones if he reaches them: 22 games started, 25 games started, 28 games started, 31 games started.
Ronny Mauricio posted a video on Instagram of himself taking swings in the batting cage. David Stearns recently said that Mauricio had begun baseball activities.
The Mets announced that they signed pitchers Anthony Gose and Oliver Ortega, and catcher Chris Williams to minor league contracts with invites to spring training. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com also reported that in addition to Gose, who signed Friday, the Mets also signed pitcher Luis Ortiz, who spent the past few years in the Phillies organization, to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.
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The Astros signed first baseman Christian Walker to a three-year, $60 million deal. Robert Murray of FanSided had the two sides in advanced discussions while Bob Nightengale of USA Today had the money. Walker has a career .793 OPS including an OPS above .800 each of the last three seasons. He has also earned a Gold Glove each of the past three seasons as well. His signing all but ensures that Alex Bregman‘s tenure in Houston has ended.
The Yankees and Reds completed a trade, according to Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Yankees sent catcher Jose Trevino to the Reds in exchange for reliever Fernando Cruz and catcher Alex Jackson. Trevino recorded a .642 OPS in last season while Cruz had a 4.86 ERA in 69 games with Cincinnati. Jackson spent 2024 with the Rays and had a .439 OPS in 139 at-bats.
The Red Sox signed pitcher Patrick Sandoval to a two-year, $18.25 million contract. Sandoval went 2-8 with a 5.08 ERA in 2024 but he’s shown flashes of greatness in the past and joins a better situation with the Red Sox. Sandoval, recovering from Tommy John surgery, is expected to return in the second half of the 2025 season.
The Reds signed pitcher Bryan Shaw to a minor league contract, reuniting him with manager Terry Francona. Shaw, who spent seven years in Cleveland across two stints, was with the White Sox the previous two seasons. In 2024, he pitched just four major league innings and spent most of the season in Triple-A.
The Orioles signed pitcher Matt Bowman to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. The deal is worth $1.1 million if he makes the major leagues with a chance to earn another $400,000 in incentives. Bowman spent the 2024 season with four organizations, including the Orioles, and pitched to a 4.40 ERA.
Major League Baseball has officially changed the MLB Draft into a two-day event rather than a three-day event. Rounds 1-3 will take place on the first day while Rounds 4-20 will all take place on the second day.
Per Jesse Rogers of ESPN, there were nine teams in 2024 that were over the Competitive Balance Tax, which is a record up to date.
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Dilip Sridhar profiles third baseman Nolan Arenado as a potential trade target for the Mets.
On This Date in Mets History
1998: The Mets agreed to a deal with pitcher Pat Mahomes. Mahomes went 8-0 with a 3.46 ERA in his first season as a Met but stumbled in 2000, his final year in New York, with a 5.46 ERA.
2022: The Mets agreed to a monster 12-year, $315 million contract with shortstop Carlos Correa in the late hours of the night two years ago. It was a huge deal for the Mets, coming off their first playoff appearance since 2016, but the deal ultimately fell through due to concerns about Correa’s ankle. The shortstop later signed a three-year, $105.3 million deal to return to the Twins.
Born On This Date: John Mayberry (1983), Taylor Teagarden (1983), Philip Humber (1982), Royce Ring (1980), Dicky Gonzalez (1978), Buddy Carlyle (1977), LaTroy Hawkins (1972), Roger McDowell (1960), Dave Kingman (1948), Elliott Maddox (1947).
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