Category: Baseball

While it's still unclear when Yankees top prospect George Lombard Jr. will make his anticipated debut in pinstripes, league scouts and analysts are still holding high hopes for him.

MLB Pipeline released its first Top 100 prospects list for 2026 on Friday, and the 20-year-old infielder ranked No. 32 overall, a seven-spot drop from his final placing (No. 25) last season.

Lombard is joined by three other Yankees farmhands -- right-handers Carlos Lagrange (No. 79) and Elmer Rodríguez-Cruz (No. 82), and infielder Dax Kilby (No. 94).

The four youngsters were also ranked on Baseball America's latest prospects list, and notably, outfielder Spencer Jones -- MiLB's home runs leader in 2025 -- was excluded by both outlets. 

Lombard, the Yankees' consensus top prospect, is projected to reach the majors in 2027 but still has plenty to prove as a reliable bat and defender. 

The former first-round pick reached Double-A Somerset last season, but hit a measly .215 with 124 strikeouts in 108 games. He did produce 36 extra-base hits for a .695 OPS, however, in 391 at-bats.

Rodríguez-Cruz, named the Yankees' Minor League Player of the Year in 2025 by Baseball America, registered a 2.58 ERA with 176 strikeouts across three levels, finishing the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Lagrange, standing 6-foot-7 with a fastball touching triple-digits, logged a 3.22 ERA with 104 punchouts over 78.1 innings in Double-A last season. MLB Pipeline estimates his big league debut sometime this season.

Dilby, the Yankees' first-round pick in the 2025 draft, has several boxes to check in his development. The lefty-hitting, righty-hitting teen saw some time with Single-A Tampa last season, hitting .353 with nine RBI in just 18 games (68 at-bats).

As players get ready to report to spring training camp, it's the perfect time for prospects from all MLB teams to show their respective organizations what they have, and the Mets have plenty this year.

MLB Pipeline updated its Top 100 prospects list for the preseason on Friday, and it includes four Mets. Here are the Mets prospects who made MLB Pipeline's Top 100:

• No. 6 - Nolan McLean
• No. 16 - Carson Benge
• No. 48 - Jonah Tong
• No. 98 - A.J. Ewing

The Mets are one of four teams to have two prospects in the Top 25 on MLB Pipeline's preseason list, with McLean being the only pitcher in the Top 10. The right-hander is also the highest Mets prospect on the MLB's rankings since Francisco Alvarez was ranked No. 3 back in the preseason 2023 list. 

McLean's place on the list is not surprising after bursting onto the scene and becoming one of the Mets' best pitchers. Across 48.0 innings over eight starts during his big league debut last season, McLean posted a 2.06 ERA and 1.04 WHIP while striking out 57 batters. 

Benge, who ended the 2025 season with Triple-A Syracuse, will compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster and, according to president of baseball operations David Stearns, the young outfielder has a legit chance to capture a place on the 2026 Mets. 

Tong was called up to the big leagues not long after McLean and showed moments with the club, striking out 22 batters across 18.2 innings (five starts). 

And then there's Ewing, who enjoyed a breakout 2025 season. He slashed .315/.401/.429 (.830 OPS) across three levels, ending with Double-A Binghamton. 

McLean and the others were also on Baseball America's updated list of prospects, along with Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams. However, Sproat and Williams were recently traded to the Brewers for Freddy Peralta; otherwise, the Mets would have six prospects on MLB Pipeline's Top 100. 

Williams (No. 51) and Sproat (No. 100) now give Milwaukee four prospects this preseason. 

Similar to the rest of the franchise, Carlos Mendoza has had himself a rollercoaster of an offseason thus far.

During an appearance on the “Foul Territory” podcast on Friday, Mendoza opened up on his eventful past few months, which started with the skipper firing a large chunk of his coaching staff following the Mets’ disappointing 2025 season.

Under Mendoza, the organization let go of pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, hitting coaches Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes, bench coach John Gibbons and third base coach Mike Sarbaugh, moves that the manager said were the “toughest days” of his career.

“I’m not going to lie they were probably some of the toughest days of my professional career,” Mendoza said.

In the weeks following the mass firing, the Mets hired Tony Snitker as its hitting coach and Justin Willard as pitching coach, along with promoting director of hitting Jeff Albert to oversee the hitting program in Queens.

“You develop these relationships with these coaches — we worked together for a couple of years — and then you know you are going to have to make some tough decisions,” he added. “You spend more time with them than you do your own family that they become your family, and when you’re making those phone calls, it just breaks your heart.”

Despite the rough start to the offseason, Mendoza has seen an upturn with the Mets going on a massive free agency spree in January, signing Bo Bichette and trading for Luis Robert and Freddy Peralta all within days of each other.

Mendoza insisted that Bichette’s signing was not a “panic pivot” because the Mets failed to land Kyle Tucker, saying that the organization was “prepared” to give the two-time All-Star a deal.

“I don’t see it as a panic because we laid down that foundation,” Mendoza said of Bichette’s signing. “We were prepared, we had two calls with him. …This wasn’t like ‘oh, Tucker went somewhere else and the very next day here we are signing Bo.’ We had meetings with him.”

Just days after Bichette signed a three-year, $126 million deal with the Mets, David Stearns made a trade with the White Sox for Robert, giving up Luisangel Acuna and minor league arm Truman Pauley in return.

Mendoza liked the deal, but acknowledged that Robert — who has missed 114 games over the past two seasons — needs to stay on the field, and that the Mets’ medical staff has already been in contact with the outfielder.

“When he’s healthy, he’s one of the best,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza also said that immediately after the Mets traded for Peralta — and reliever Tobias Myers — on Wednesday, he got on the phone and had a “very good conversation” with the 29-year-old righty.

Despite the huge splash the Mets have made over the past week, Mendoza claimed that they are not done building the 2026 roster.

“As a manager you appreciate having an owner like Steve and Alex [Cohen] who are willing to put in all the resources — that’s a really good feeling,” Mendoza said.

“We feel really good where we’re headed as an organization,” he added.

The Mets are not done making moves just yet.

Although a smaller deal compared to the Mets’ flurry of acquisitions over the past week, the Mets sent pitcher Cooper Criswell to the Mariners in exchange for cash considerations, Seattle announced Friday.

Criswell had been designated for assignment on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old righty, who was used as a swingman by the Red Sox last season, was first selected off waivers by the Mets from Boston in December in a move that was initially seen as a way to bolster the team’s pitching depth.

To make room on their roster, Seattle designated left-handed pitcher Jhonathan Diaz for assignment, who made just one appearance for the Mariners this past season.

Criswell spent his 2025 season both in Boston and as a member of Triple-A Worcester, where he pitched to a 3.70 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 65⅔ innings.

He also saw success during his brief stint in the big leagues last year, holding a 3.57 ERA through seven appearances with the Red Sox.

After being selected in the 13th round of the 2018 MLB Draft, Criswell has spent five seasons in the majors, posting a career 4.48 ERA in 154⅔ innings.

Along with spending the 2024 and ’25 seasons in Boston, Criswell has also pitched for the Rays and Angels during his career.

Criswell was then DFA’d by the Mets to clear up a spot on the team’s 40-man roster following the trade for Freddy Peralta from the Brewers.

Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns — who previously served as general manager of the Brewers — said that he trusts Peralta to be a consistent starter next season.

“Freddy has clearly established himself as one of the top starters in baseball, one of the most consistent starters in baseball, over the past few years,” Stearns said on a video call Thursday from Citi Field. “He’s a player I know well.

“A player I trust. A player I think will mesh very well with the organization and the team and our city.”

Trade talks centered around CJ Abrams between the Giants and Nationals recently stalled out. 

The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reported Friday that San Francisco made an aggressive push for the All-Star shortstop before negotiations fizzled out. 

The Giants had reportedly “signaled their openness to include” top prospect Josuar Gonzalez. 

Fellow Giants prospects, including left-handers Carson Whisenhunt and Jacob Bresnahan, outfielder Bo Davidson and shortstop Jhonny Level were also discussed as part of talks, per Baggarly. 

Abrams, 25, hit 19 home runs with 31 stolen bases last season for Washington. 

With Willy Adames holding down shortstop in San Francisco, Abrams would have shifted over to second base if a deal with the Giants had gone through. 

Earlier this month, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that the Giants were “aggressively pursuing” a second baseman, with the Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan and Cubs’ Nico Hoerner as possible fits.  

Baggarly added that the franchise might shift their focus to the open market, citing free agents like outfielder Harrison Bader and infielder Luis Arraez as potential targets.

News of the failed trade talks comes one day after the Nationals dealt ace MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers in exchange for five prospects. 

Washington is apparently undergoing another fire sale despite finishing with a losing record in each of the past six seasons. 

The Giants, on the other hand, are looking to get over the hump, having finished at or just below .500 in each of the past four seasons. 

San Francisco’s offseason has been relatively quiet after finishing 80-82 last season, with the signings of Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle to add to the back of their rotation as their biggest moves thus far. 

After firing Bob Melvin, the franchise brought in former Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello to be their next manager.

As spring training draws ever nearer, the Mariners have again fortified the group of arms they’ll bring to camp (known around here as The Pitching Pile), acquiring RHP Cooper Criswell from the Mets for cash. Long-tenured sixth (or seventh or eighth) starter Jhonthan Díaz was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Criswell, 29, was originally drafted in the 13th round by the Angels in 2018 (obligatory Mariners tie-in: the Angels’ last pick of that draft was Isaiah Campbell from Arkansas, who would return to school and be drafted by the Mariners in the second round the following year). He then spent two years with the Rays and two years with the Red Sox. The Angels brought Criswell up as a starter, but he spent most of his first year with the Rays relieving. The Red Sox moved Criswell back into a starter role, slotting him into the fifth starter role.

Criswell is in an unusual situation: he’s out of options but pre-arbitration, meaning he makes the league minimum. Boston, facing a roster crunch this off-season but not wanting to lose the versatile Criswell, hatched a plan to try to sneak him through waivers: they signed him to a 2026 deal for slightly above league minimum, at $800K, meaning any team that tried to pick him up off waivers would have to pay above the minimum. That plan was foiled, however, first by the Mets, and then by the Mariners, who picked up Criswell when the Mets DFA’d him to make room for Freddy Peralta and Tobias Meyers.

It’s unclear how the Mariners plan to use Criswell, who isn’t exactly the minor-league castoff who usually shows up on the pitching pile. As a starter, Criswell fits the mold of a typical back-end starter. He has four solid pitches: a changeup, cutter, sinker, and a sweeper. He throws the first three pitches about equally, around 30% of the time each. Criswell has an extremely low arm slot, and his changeup has plus drop, as does the sinker; the two, along with the cutter, combine for a wealth of ground-ball outs rather than strikeouts. It’s a familiar profile: the groundball-getting contact manager back-end starter.

The real interest with Criswell is his sweeper, which he doesn’t throw often: only about 10% of the time. That’s curious, because on paper it looks like it should be his best pitch, with a hellacious 20” of glove-side break. FanGraphs’s Stuff+ model has the pitch well into “elite” territory. However, the few times he threw it last season, batters didn’t miss it. In a small sample size, hitters slugged a gaudy .875 on the pitch.

But why not knockout pitch if knockout pitch-shaped?

Criswell offers a host of possible avenues, but “wipeout sweeper reliever” sounds a bit more interesting than “depth starter contact manager.” We will see how the Mariners choose to deploy him this spring.

In a corresponding move, lefty Jhonathan Díaz, spot starter/stalwart of Tacoma’s rotation and winner of the Casey Lawrence Memorial Bacon-Saver Award, was designated for assignment. It’s not a glamorous role, but Díaz filled it capably for the Mariners for several years. We wish him well.

The Mets have traded right-hander Cooper Criswell to the Mariners for cash considerations, Seattle announced Friday.

Criswell, who was designated for assignment by the Mets earlier this week, was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox in December.

He joined the Red Sox in 2024, logging a 4.08 ERA with 73 strikeouts across 26 appearances (99.1 innings) as both a rotation and long-relief option. 

Last season was far less kind to Criswell, however. The 29-year-old spent ample time in Triple-A Worcester, appearing in just seven MLB games before suffering a season-ending elbow injury in August.

Since making his big league debut in 2021, Criswell owns a 4.48 ERA and 1.44 WHIP with 113 punchouts over 45 appearances (145.1 innings). He didn't have any minor league options remaining.

Max Scherzer is ready to wait. 

The future Hall of Famer told The Athletic Thursday that he’s “healthy and ready to sign at any moment if certain teams call.”

That last part is key. 

Scherzer, the outlet reported, is willing to let Opening Day pass for a starting spot to open up on one of those unnamed preferred teams. 

Scherzer, who turns 42 in July, spent last season with the American League champion Blue Jays, posting a 5.19 ERA over 17 starts. 

In the postseason, Scherzer was much better, registering a 3.77 ERA in three outings.

Scherzer got the ball for Game 7 of the World Series against the Dodgers and looked about as good as he had all season, tossing 4 ⅓ innings while allowing just one run. 

In Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, Scherzer got the win after going 5 ⅔ innings, holding the Mariners to two runs in an 8-2 Blue Jays victory. 

After the World Series, Scherzer made it clear that 2025 wasn’t it for him. 

“The only thing I can say is,” Scherzer told reporters after the Blue Jays’ Game 7 loss. “It’s going to take some time to give a full answer to that, but there is no way that was my last pitch.”

After various injuries hampered his 2024 season, Scherzer signed a one-year, $15.5 million deal to come to Toronto in February last year.

Scherzer is one of many big-name free agent starting pitchers, including Framber Valdez, Zac Gallen and Justin Verlander, left on the market with spring training fast approaching.

After Clayton Kershaw’s retirement, Scherzer, the three-time Cy Young winner, now ranks No. 2 among active pitchers with 221 career wins, behind only Verlander’s 266 wins.

For the first time since 2022, the White Sox have an official closer. Chicago agreed to a two-year, $20 million deal with reliever Seranthony Domínguez two days after trading Luis Robert Jr. to the Mets for a pair of prospects.

No one expected Jerry Reinsdorf to actually use the extra change on a solid free agent, but this pleasant surprise is more than welcome.

Domínguez is coming off a strong 2025 season, split between the Orioles and Blue Jays: As a setup man, he accumulated a 3.16 ERA and an 11.9 K/9 rate in 67 games. Domínguez has also proven to be durable, pitching at least 50 innings in four consecutive seasons. His ability to stay healthy since missing 2020 and 2021 to Tommy John surgery will help take the load off of a bullpen that was often expected to carry games after the fifth inning. 

Beyond stat lines, Domínguez fits in perfectly with a club that has an affinity for hard-throwing relievers with swagger. Domínguez’s fastball, which he used 43% of the time in 2025 and up to 60% in the beginning of his career, averaged 97.7 mph, ranking in the 94th percentile among MLB pitchers. To offset his four-seamer’s velocity, he swapped his slider and changeup for a splitter and sweeper this year. Although these pitches alone induced nearly a 50% whiff rate and helping Domínguez’s tally a 33.3 whiff percentage and 30.3 strikeout percentage overall, his new pitch arsenal also led to a 5.6% walk rate increase. Like many high velocity hurlers, Domínguez misses bats, but gets rocked when hitters make contact.

Domínguez is a low-risk, high-reward acquisition that elevates the Sox’s bullpen. The veteran reliever brings tenured success with playoff teams and a history of dominating in high-leverage situations. With very little to lose and a lot to gain, Chicago’s pitching staff looks more ready to hold its own against decent teams this season. 

Some are concerned about how new Mets infielder Bo Bichette will handle the transition to the third base this season.

David Wright, though, is not one of them.

Wright certainly knows a thing or two about getting it done at the hot corner. 

“If I could do it, anybody could do it; it shouldn’t be that hard,” the former Mets captain joked. “But he can pick it and is such a great athlete -- I see it being a seamless transition.”

Bichette hasn’t played the position since travel ball as a teenager. 

He spent some time at second during the World Series last year with the Blue Jays, but had only appeared as a shortstop or DH prior to that at the big league level. 

Still, Wright doesn’t think it’ll present an issue for the Mets. 

In fact, after watching Bichette in those playoffs, Wright feels he's going to be a huge piece for this club with the abilities he brings on the other side of the ball. 

“The energy, the electricity, that confident swagger that he brings to a team,” Wright said. “And on top of that, he’s a heckuva player -- so I think it’s a welcome addition.”

Bichette rebounded nicely after a bit of a down 2024 campaign, finishing 16th in AL MVP voting after hitting .311 with 94 RBI and a .840 OPS over 139 games with the Jays. 

He’ll look to carryover that production hitting behind Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto. 

Just like that, the tune has changed around the Mets’ offseason. 

That sour taste from losing four fan favorites from their core has quickly washed away after an action-filled week that saw them make some big-name additions to help both their offense and pitching. 

New York responded after losing out on star outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Dodgers, bringing in one of the top bats left on the market in two-time All-Star Bo Bichette to man the hot corner. 

They then filled the massive need alongside Juan Soto in their outfield, finally reaching an agreement on a deal with the Chicago White Sox to bring high-upside two-way centerfielder Luis Robert Jr. to Queens. 

Hours after Bichette was introduced at Citi Field, David Stearns was able to secure the ace he’s been searching for, completing a trade with his former club in Milwaukee for right-handers Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers. 

The Mets also picked up veteran reliever Luis Garcia on a one-year deal earlier in the day. 

On paper, this team is looking much more like a contender in the National League. 

Manager Carlos Mendoza certainly is happy with what he sees. 

“It’s exciting,” the skipper said Friday afternoon on Foul Territory. “Everything happened so fast, it was one move after another. I kept getting texts from front office members about the moves -- because of the way the offseason started, we got to this point, it’s definitely exciting.”

While the roster is now just about set, Steve Cohen's deep pockets have fans wondering if more excitement is on the way. 

As we've seen over the past few months, you can never truly rule anything out with this front office, but Mendoza did emphasize that they feel good about the club as currently constructed. 

“I know David [Stearns] is going to continue to stay active with Steve [Cohen],” he said. “As the manager, you appreciate having an owner in Steve and Alex [Cohen] who are willing to put in all of their resources; that’s a good feeling.

“David will continue to look for ways to continue to improve our roster, but we do feel really good with where we’re at from the pitching side, the position player side, the depth, the minor leagues -- we feel really good with where we’re headed as an organization.”

Yesterday, MacKenzie Gore became the first piece of the Juan Soto deal to be traded away from the Nats. However, there is a decent chance he will not be the last. As the Gore trade was finalized, rumblings about the Nats dealing CJ Abrams emerged.

The Washington Post reported that the Nats have been shopping Abrams, as well as defensive ace Jacob Young this offseason. This lines up with reporting earlier this offseason that there was interest in Abrams around the league. In December, Ken Rosenthal reported that Abrams was drawing heavy interest.

However, Paul Toboni’s tone has always been a bit different with Abrams than it was with Gore. Throughout the offseason, Toboni acknowledged that the team was actively listening with Gore. When discussing Abrams, he said the team was picking up the phone, but there has been a subtext that they would really need to be blown away to move him.

That stance was on display today when Toboni talked to Grant and Danny on 106.7. He said that he would pick up the phone, but that he sees Abrams as his shortstop. Toboni was never that committal towards Gore, which tells me something.

This is not to say he won’t be traded. There is a chance that we wake up in a couple days and Abrams is on a different team. After all, my feel for these things is not great. Yesterday, I wrote about how a Gore trade felt less likely than ever, and hours later he was dealt. You just never know with these things, but throughout the offseason, I thought a Gore trade was more likely than an Abrams move.

If Abrams gets moved, I feel like the deadline might be a better time. With three years of team control remaining, the Nats should be in absolutely no hurry to move Abrams. They should only move him if they feel like they are getting surplus value in the trade.

The deadline honestly feels like a better time to get that surplus value. There are teams that feel confident in their infield situation right now that could not feel so confident as things play out in the season. The Red Sox, Yankees and Royals are three teams that this could apply to. If Anthony Volpe continues to struggle in the Bronx, the Yankees would have a pretty glaring hole at shortstop that Abrams could address.

You can never count anything out with Toboni though. If you asked me to name five teams that Gore could be traded to, I am not sure the Rangers would be on the list and if it was, they would have been 4th or 5th on the list. Teams like the Yankees, Orioles, Cubs and even the A’s were speculated about more.

When you think about it though, the Rangers needed a younger number 3 starter behind Degrom and Eovaldi, so the fit made sense. Could there be a team like that for Abrams? The Mariners have been an AL West team that has been oddly quiet lately. Could they be a player for Abrams if they cannot land Brandon Donovan from the Cardinals? I think it is possible.

At the end of the day, if a deal happens, I think it is more likely to take place at the deadline or next offseason. Unlike Gore, the service time clock is not really ticking for Abrams yet. They could hold on to Abrams and still get the same type of package in a few months. The new player development is also probably eager to get their hands on a talent like him.

The Scott Boras factor that existed with Gore is also not there with Abrams. If they really pushed, they could get Abrams extended. It is unclear if they want to do that, but it is a possibility. I hope they at least give it a shot because Abrams is a very exciting message and it would be a good message to send to the fans. Given recent history, Nats fans probably shouldn’t get too attached to Abrams though.

Carlos Mendoza broke down the Mets’ busy week during an appearance on ‘Foul Territory’ on Friday afternoon.

Here are his thoughts:

On where Bo Bichette fits into Mets' lineup…

“This is a guy who is so versatile," he said. "He could hit leadoff, second, third, fourth -- we're still so far from Opening Day, but if you're asking me right now, I could see a combination of [Francisco] Lindor, [Juan] Soto, and Bichette right away.

“I have to have these conversations with the players, but the fact that Bo is such a good hitter, you could put him in front of Soto, you could put him behind him, you could take Lindor out of the leadoff spot and put him third -- there’s so many different ways I could go here.”  

On acquiring Luis Robert Jr. from White Sox…

“We’re looking at a very toolsy player,” Mendoza said. “When he’s healthy, he’s one of the best. We know the defense, we know the power, we know he can steal bases -- it’s our job to keep him on the field now.

“I know the trainers are already with their hands on him. We have to get to know the player, his routines and the way he prepares, then we have to make some adjustments in communication with him because that’s going to be the goal -- we need this guy on the field.”

On adding Freddy Peralta in trade with Brewers…

“I spoke with him as soon as the transaction went down,” Mendoza said. “I got on the phone with him and had a very good conversation, he was super excited -- everything I’m hearing, we all know the quality of the pitcher, but everyone keeps telling me about the quality of the person. 

“You could feel it from my first conversation how excited he was. He’s willing to report to Port St. Lucie early so he can start meeting people, and that, to me, goes a long way -- at the end of the day, he just has to be Freddy Peralta, go out there compete and give us a chance to win every time you take the baseball.”

Mendoza was also asked about a potential extension with Peralta, but like Stearns on Thursday, he said the organization is just focused on letting him get his feet wet and the rest will take care of itself. 

On Nolan McLean pitching for Team USA in the WBC...

"The fact that he's going to be able to experience that, playing with and against some of the best players in the world in that type of environment and in those settings, it's just going to continue to help his development. So I'm excited about it and I know he's super excited -- I'm looking forward to watching him pitch."

While Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones remain unclear in their roles for the Yankees after the return of Cody Bellinger in left field, the Yankees added some outfield depth Friday by claiming Michael Siani off waivers from the Dodgers.

The 26-year-old Siani spent most of last year with the Cardinals’ Triple-A Memphis affiliate and appeared in just 19 games with St. Louis.

But he played 124 games for the Cardinals in 2024, although he had just a .570 OPS.

A solid defender in center field, Siani was selected off waivers by Atlanta from St. Louis in November and then claimed by the Dodgers last month.

He was designated for assignment by Los Angeles after they signed Kyle Tucker.

Siani joins a group of recently signed depth pieces by the Yankees, joining Seth Brown and Marco Luciano.

To open a spot on the 40-man roster for Siani, the Yankees designated recently signed right-handed reliever Kaleb Ort for assignment.

A player who fits the exact criteria the New York Rangers are looking for has found himself in the thick of trade discussions. 

In the letter issued last week by Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury emphasizing the team’s intentions to retool the roster, Drury said that the team will focus on obtaining young players. 

According to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, the Seattle Kraken could be willing to trade Shane Wright if the appropriate offer presented itself. 

“Teams say that Jason Botterill, the GM of the Seattle Kraken, is listening on Shane Wright,” Dreger said. “But he is in no rush and understandably, the expected return for Shane Wright is incredibly high.”

Wright was selected by the Kraken with the fourth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, and despite recording a career high of 44 points during the 2024-25 campaign, he hasn’t quite lived up to expectations in Seattle.

If the Rangers are indeed looking to get younger and begin the process of retooling the roster, acquiring the 22-year-old forward is a good place to start.

The Kraken are reportedly looking for a top-six winger, and it’s public knowledge now that the Rangers won’t re-sign Artemi Panarin and will look to deal him ahead of the trade deadline on March 6.

There have also been discussions around the Rangers potentially shopping Alexis Lafrenière, who Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman directly links to the Kraken in a hypothetical trade involving Wright.

Mike Sullivan Sheds Light On Matt Rempe's Extended Absence From LineupMatt Rempe remains out of the lineup for the New York <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a>, but he still hasn’t been listed on any injury report.&nbsp;

“The Kraken have never had that dynamic young scorer,” Friedman said. “And I think they're hoping that Wright can get them that (in a trade). (I was asked) 'Could you see them doing Wright for Lafreniere?' I don't know how both teams feel... But when I thought about that, that's not the worst idea I've ever heard... Both players could use a change of scenery... I think there's logic behind it.”

In 49 games this season, Wright has tallied seven goals, 10 assists, and 17 points while averaging 13:44 minutes.