Morning Briefing: Stearns Praises New Additions, Still Wants More
Good morning, Mets fans!
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns introduced the Mets two biggest offseason signings to the club via Zoom on Wednesday afternoon. Among some of the better quotes in the press conference were in regards to Harrison Bader, as Stearns noted that he expects him to play a majority of the games at center field which would kick Brandon Nimmo to left field for the most part. Along with that, Bader expressed how playing in New York has always been a dream and that he imagined himself as a Met even during his time with the Yankees; he has family who are Mets fans.
In terms of Severino, Stearns said that when talking with the former Yankee, his determination to get his body in a good space along with late-season improvements gave him confidence to sign the veteran pitcher. When asked about adding more starting pitching alongside him, Stearns responded, “I don’t think you’re ever finished.”
However, Stearns’ main focus was on improving the Mets’ bullpen. To get a breakdown of Stearns’ thoughts on the bullpen, click here!
Luis Severino. Photo credits USA Today
Latest Mets News
The Mets announced that they have signed relief pitcher Yacksel Ríos to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. To learn more about Ríos click here!
MLB announced the game times for the 2024 season and the Mets will be playing six games on Fox/FS1 including one of the London Series games against the Phillies on June 8th at 1 o’clock.
In an interview with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman of the New York Post, David Stearns answered, “The future for 2024 is he is our everyday first baseman.” in response to questions about Pete Alonso’s future.
Latest MLB News
The Chicago Cubs came to an agreement on a four-year, $53 million deal with lefty Japanese pitcher Shōta Imanaga, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN. The details of the deal came out and after the first two years, the team has an option to extend the deal to $80 million over five years. If they were to decline that option, Imanaga has the option to become a free agent and this would repeat for after the third year.
The Yankees have emerged as the top candidate to sign Marcus Stroman, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network. He also noted that the sides have had productive discussions in recent days; this would definitely be a strange arrangement after Stroman’s well-noted distaste for the Yankees organization. For more information on the report, click here!
Major League Baseball announced the entire spring training and regular season game time schedule for the 2024 season. The season will open with the Dodgers and Padres, who will be playing the first ever MLB game in South Korea as part of the Seoul Series starting on Wednesday, March 30.
An MLB.com article by Jonathan Mayo had MLB executives vote for the best farm systems of 2024. While there were many categories, the Orioles got 79% of the vote when it came to who had the best overall farm system.
MLB Network released their top 10 catchers as of right now, and Adley Rutschman topped the list after his first two seasons.
The Seattle Mariners are hiring former pitcher Danny Farquhar as a pitching strategist and assistant pitching coach on their major league club.
Travis Sawchik of The Score did an article on the change in structure among the modern ballparks, and whether or not MLB can bring back the connection the fans at the field used to have to the game. It is a great read if you have the time!
The Texas Rangers are signing right-handed pitcher Austin Pruitt, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Pruitt had a 2.98 ERA in Oakland last year and will be in the Rangers big league camp.
The New York Yankees officially announced their 2024 coaching staff, among the names joining Aaron Boone are Brad Ausmus, Matt Blake, and Luis Rojas.
The Dodgers are signing right-handed pitcher Elieser Hernández to a minor league deal that includes an invite to spring training, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
Latest on MMO
Read up on David Stearns focus on the Mets bullpen.
Look into the Mets top 75 prospects going into 2024!
Check out the report linking Marcus Stroman to the Yankees.
On This Date in Mets History
2022: The Mets announce that they will be retiring Keith Hernandez’s number 17. Keith won six Gold Gloves and a World Series while with the club.
1988: The New York Mets announced that they are retiring Tom Seaver’s number 41. Seaver won three Cy Young Awards and a World Series championship throughout his career.
Birthdays: Stephen Nogosek (29), Jermaine Allensworth (52), Rey Ordóñez (53), Dan Norman (69), Jim McAndrew (80)
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