The New York Mets are officially out on re-signing Yoenis Cespedes, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported.
Any hope that the Mets would be able to retain Cespedes at the start of the offseason was slim, but this report completely closes the door on any possibility he returns. Talks between the Mets and the star outfielder appear to not have gone far, with Heyman reporting that New York floated the idea of a "two to three" year deal without even naming a price. Cespedes figures to get much more in free agency, with a five to six year contract likely being his ultimate destiny. Cespedes has been connected to teams like the Giants, Angels, Tigers, and White Sox, but his market has remained relatively quiet as of late. The market for free agent outfielders not named Jason Heyward has not intensified. The 30-year-old Cespedes hit .291/.328/.542 with 35 home runs and 105 RBIs in 676 plate appearances last season, playing with both the Tigers and Mets. According to FanGraphs, he was worth a total of 6.7 Wins Above Replacement, which is considered All-Star level production. As for the Mets, they are still looking for a right-handed outfielder, according to Heyman. Free agent Steve Pearce was mentioned in his article, but it is unknown whether New York has been in contact with his representatives. --Devan Fink
0 Comments
Free agent infielder and outfielder Ben Zobrist is expected to agree to a deal within 48 hours, according to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports.
Zobrist has received interest from plenty of teams around the league due to his versatility, but the Giants, Nationals, Dodgers, and Mets appear to be the final four teams left in play. Zobrist is likely holding up the decisions of many free agent infielders. Other players are probably waiting for him to make a decision before they commit to a team, seeing how he sets the tone for the market. While he is aging, Zobrist should be able to command a high annual average value in his next contract, due to his bat and good defense at many different positions. MLBTradeRumors.com predicted Zobrist would sign a three-year, $51 million deal. All four teams could use Zobrist in many different ways, but it appears that he wants to be utilized most at second base, according to Morosi, which could really put the Mets and Nationals at the top of his list. For what it is worth, the Nationals GM Mike Rizzo noted in his meeting session today at the Winter Meetings in Nashville that he viewed Zobrist as a second baseman. Zobrist would like to make a decision before the Winter Meetings conclude on Thursday, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted. Last season, the 34-year-old Zobrist hit .276/.359/.450 with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs in 535 plate appearances with the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics. Follow @DevanFink on Twitter for more up-to-the-minute updates as the Winter Meetings unfold. --Devan Fink Major League Baseball organizations had until today at 5 PM eastern to offer their impending free agents qualifying offers.
A qualifying offer is a one-year, $15.8 million deal, which is the average of the top 125 one-year salaries in the game. Any impending free agent can be offered a qualifying offer, however, that player must have spent the entire season with the organization that is offering them the deal (i.e. traded players like Johnny Cueto cannot be offered a qualifying offer). If the player accepts the qualifying offer, they are basically re-signing with their former club to a one-year, $15.8 million deal. If the player rejects the qualifying offer, they become a free agent as scheduled. However, if they sign with a different team, then their original team (the team they are coming from) will receive an extra first round draft pick at the end of the first round. The team that signs the player loses their first round pick, as long as they are not within the top 10 in the draft order (which in that case, they would lose their second round pick). In the three-year history of the qualifying offer, no player has accepted the deal. An MLB-record 20 players were offered a qualifying offer today. They have one week to make a decision whether they want to accept or decline the deal:
--Devan Fink
The comeback kids did it again.
In what was their eighth comeback win of the postseason (easily a record), the American League-champion Kansas City Royals defeated the National League-champion New York Mets in Game 5 of the World Series, 7-2. Matt Harvey stifled the Royals for eight innings, giving up no runs and working with a 2-0 lead. After appealing to manager Terry Collins to keep him in the game to finish out the ninth, the Royals used their final three outs to the absolute best of their ability. Lorenzo Cain led off the inning with a walk. Then, Eric Hosmer doubled him home, prompting Collins to pull Harvey after a great performance, where he went eight innings, allowing five hits, and striking out nine while walking just two. Collins brought in closer Jeurys Familia to get the final three outs. Following a Mike Moustakas ground out, Salvador Perez drove home the game-tying run on a ground ball to third base, where Hosmer scored on a throw from first baseman Lucas Duda that was wide of the catcher. Three extra innings later, the Royals called upon Christian Colon, who did not have a single at bat this entire postseason, to pinch hit with Jarrod Dyson at third base and just one out. Colon delivered. He singled into left field, scoring Dyson, and giving Kansas City their first lead of the game and the lead that would give them the World Series championship. Four runs later and it was time for the Royals to close it out. As Wade Davis fell to his knees in the bottom of the 12th inning at Citi Field in Flushing, the Royals brought home their first World Series championship since defeating the Cardinals in the 1985 World Series. Catcher Salvador Perez was named the World Series MVP after recording a hit in every single game. Overall, he went 8-for-22 (.364) with a double and one RBI. He also managed the Royals' pitching staff well and caught some great games defensively. The Royals' starting pitcher tonight was Edinson Volquez, making his first appearance since his father's death before Game 1. He was not the sharpest, going six innings of two run (one earned) ball, striking out five and walking five, but he delivered the type of performance the Royals needed to bring home the championship. For the Mets, it was a somber end of an extremely successful season. After not even being expected to make the postseason, the team won 90 games and took the National League East divison crown from the heavily-favored Nationals, behind a deadly rotation of Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, Bartolo Colon, and Jon Niese. They played fantastic this season and should be a contender for years to come. But tonight, it's all Royals, as the team who was 90-feet away from a World Series win last year takes the crown tonight. --Devan Fink
New York Mets' postseason hero Daniel Murphy is going to have an interesting free agent market this offseason.
In a recent column, I pegged Murphy to receive a four-year, $60 million contract this offseason. However, in Nick Cafardo's Sunday baseball column, it appears as if he could get more, even though Murphy will reportedly be receiving a $15.8 million qualifying offer from the Mets. "Obviously, he’s not going to be as hot as he’s been in the postseason, but he plays positions where his power plays well,” an American League GM told Cafardo. “There are teams like the Dodgers and Yankees who need a second baseman. Others, like the Angels, need a third baseman, where he also plays. He’s going to be sought-after and get a five-year deal at around $75MM. Maybe more.” Just a few weeks ago, Murphy may have not even received $50 million in free agency. He's a good, contact-hitting, versatile infielder that could be worth 2.5 fWAR per season over the life of his next deal. This season, Murphy hit .281/.322/.449 with a 110 wRC+ and 14 home runs and 56 runs batted in over 538 plate appearances. He was worth 2.5 fWAR, as a combination of his solid offense and above-average defense. Cafardo lists the Orioles, Astros, Padres, and Tigers as other possible fits for Murphy. --Devan Fink |
Categories
All
Archives
February 2017
|