Category: Baseball

Good Morning Birdland,

The Orioles aren’t involved in any major rumors right now. Of course, that may change. The team doesn’t usually let much slip, so they could always make a splash out of absolutely nowhere. We shall see.

The big baseball news of the day surrounds the Hall of Fame, where another class of inductees has been announced. Did you know the announcement was coming? I certainly didn’t. As usual, MLB does next-to-nothing to reassert its place in the cultural consciousness. They announce season-end awards in a scattershot manner, long after any non-diehards care. Their draft is crammed in alongside the chaos of All-Star week. Free agency and offseason trades take four months to complete. And the Hall of Fame class gets announced on a seemingly random Tuesday in January, when most people aren’t really paying attention.

Maybe this is truly the best that MLB and baseball can do. As gets said regularly, baseball, more than other sports, is regional. Fans love their team, and probably know a lot about their division rivals, but anything outside of that is fuzzy. The piece meal approach to national broadcasts doesn’t help. In 2026, there will be exclusive games or events on each of FS1, TBS, ESPN, Apple TV, Peacock, and Netflix in addition to NBC and FOX. People just aren’t go to pay for all of those things. So it gets harder for any one player, outside of Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, to be recognizable to casual fans. That will eventually trickle down to Hall of Fame voting, where seemingly anonymous faces will be getting honored one day. But that is a deeper conversation for another day.

The 2026 class of the Baseball Hall of Fame will be Jeff Kent, Carlos Beltrán, and Andruw Jones. Kent was elected last month by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. Beltrán and Jones earned their way in the traditional way, garnering more than 75% of the vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

The players that finished behind Beltrán and Jones in the voting were Chase Utley (59.1%), Andy Pettitte (48.5%), Félix Hernández (46.1%), and Alex Rodriguez (40%). Two former Orioles earning votes were Francisco Rodríguez (50 votes, 11.8%) and Nick Markakis (1 vote, 0.2%). Because he did not reach the 5% threshold, Markakis will drop off of the ballot in 2027.

Voters have drawn a line of demarcation when it comes to cheating.

Steroids continue to be an issue for them. Pettitte and Rodriguez are yet to pass even 50% and seem unlikely to get anywhere close to 75%. Manny Ramírez got 38.8% of the vote in his 10th and final season of eligibility. And Ryan Braun, who had an incredible peak (MVP, five-time Silver Slugger, over 200 homers in six seasons), won’t even get a second season on the ballot.

But Beltrán, who is reported to have been a central figure of the Astros sign-stealing scandal in 2017, gets in after four years. You can argue that sign stealing has always been part of the game, the Astros were just putting a modern spin on it, but it was egregious enough that the entire sport was furious about it, for a little while anyway. The league fined the Astros, suspended coaches and managers for their role, and it cost Beltrán the Mets manager job at the time. Several years removed from it now, it feels like the sport has moved on entirely.

Links

Orioles Sign Hans Crouse To Minor League Deal | MLB Trade Rumors
Unless the Orioles make big league additions to their bullpen, it feels like some random we have never heard of could make the Opening Day roster. Crouse could be the guy. He has big league experience, and was once a top pitching prospect. Let’s see if the Orioles’ pitching lab can work some magic with him between now and Opening Day.

Crouse latest depth signing, some spring training names and storylines | Roch Kubatko
Roch touches on the state of the roster, which does not currently include a typical utility player. That may be intentional as the Orioles also still have Coby Mayo and Ryan Mountcastle. If they plan to carry both, they aren’t going to have room for a utility option.

Cardinals Showing Interest In Austin Hays | MLB Trade Rumors
That would be a neat landing spot for Hays. The Cardinals are resetting a bit, but it’s a good baseball town and an organization that usually knows what they are doing. Maybe he could rebuild his career a bit.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Keith Shepherd turns 58 today. He pitched in 13 games for the Orioles in 1996, his final season of MLB action.
• Bob Reynolds turns 79. The righty was a steady part of the O’s bullpen from 1972 through ‘75, posting a 2.43 ERA over 196 total innings.
• The late Johnny Oates (b. 1946, d. 2004) was born on this day. He appeared in two seasons with the Orioles (1970, ‘72) as a backup catcher, and then went on to bounce around the league for a decade. After his playing career ended, he went into coaching, which included a return to the Orioles organization. He rose from their Triple-A team in Rochester in 1988 to become the big league first base coach in 1989. After Frank Robinson was fired as Baltimore manager in 1991, Oates was promoted to the role, sticking around through the 1994 campaign. The team posthumously inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2010.

This day in O’s history

January 21 has been a slow day in Orioles history, according to Baseball Reference. Maybe that will change today! Until then, here are some happenings from beyond Birdland:

1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally takes place.

1954 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, dubbed USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut.

1976 – Commercial service of Concorde airliners begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes

1981 – Production of the DeLorean sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.

The trade deadline had passed last season and Luis Robert Jr. was making the Mets wish they’d finished off a deal they’d talked about for the Chicago White Sox center fielder, tearing it up at the plate for a month. But then he strained his left hamstring in late August, finishing him for the season.

Call it the Luis Robert conundrum. 

"He was really swinging the bat well again last July and August," one scout told me Tuesday night, after the Mets traded for Robert, "making you think, 'OK, he’s going to be that star center fielder we all thought he’d be.' And then, boom, he’s hurt again and you have no idea what to make of him long-term."

Yes, because of injuries and inconsistency at the plate, Robert had disappointing seasons in 2024 and 2025, leaving everyone in baseball wondering if he’ll ever reach the star-like potential he flashed at times during his six seasons in Chicago, hitting 38 home runs as recently as 2023. 

David Stearns clearly believes he will, perhaps in part because he’s still only 28, with age always seeming to be a major factor in every move he makes. 

In any case, the Mets’ president of baseball ops engaged the White Sox regarding Robert at the trade deadline last summer before deeming the asking price too high and instead dealing for Cedric Mullins, which turned out to be a mistake.

This time the asking price apparently was more reasonable, as Stearns gave up Luisangel Acuña, who was expendable due to the Mets’ glut of infielders, and low-minors pitcher Truman Pauley. 

The White Sox probably had little leverage because the Mets might be the only team in baseball willing to gamble $22 million on Robert —  $20 million in salary the Sox owed him next season and a $2 million buyout if they choose not to pick up another $20 million club option for 2027. 

That’s where Steve Cohen’s financial muscle pays off. He’s willing to bet the $22 million that Robert will rediscover the form that made him a rising star earlier in his career. 

At worst, Robert gives the Mets excellent defense in center field as well as important development time for Carson Benge at Triple-A before he possibly fulfills the Mets’ belief that he’s a star-in-the-making. 

At best, meanwhile, Robert rediscovers his offensive form and becomes a force in the lineup as well as a premium center fielder. 

In that sense it’s worth the gamble, especially because the Mets have the depth in prospect capital to make such a deal without really feeling any pain. Barring injuries, Acuña had little chance of playing in the big leagues in 2026, with Marcus Semien at second base, Bo Bichette at third, Brett Baty looming as the likely utility infielder, and top prospect Jett Williams on the doorstep as a middle infielder as well. 

In addition, the Mets still have the chips to trade for a quality starting pitcher, most likely the Milwaukee Brewers’ Freddy Peralta, if they go that route rather than signing Framber Valdez. 

So we’ll see. There is great intrigue regarding Robert, in part simply because of his tools, and in part because of a belief among many in baseball that he’ll benefit from moving out of a losing culture in Chicago to a high-energy environment with the types of star players the Mets have.

As for the tools, noted stats expert Sarah Langs tweeted that last season only three players ranked in the 90th percentile or better of MLB players in both sprint speed and bat speed: Robert, Oneil Cruz, and Julio Rodriguez. 

"Oh, he looks the part," was the way the scout put it. "He’ll have some days where he looks like one of the best players in baseball. But he’s got a lot of holes in his swing, and he chases too much, so there are days when he looks overmatched."

Indeed, the last two seasons Robert has ranked as a below-average major league hitter, with OPS+ numbers of 86 and 85, respectively. 

Yet he also had that season in 2023 where he had a whopping 75 extra-base hits and a .542 slugging percentage. 

Then there was that period last year in July and August over 31 games when Robert slashed .298/.352/.456 with five home runs, 18 RBI, 24 runs scored and 11 stolen bases. 

"It was as good as he had looked over any sustained period of time since ’23," the scout said. "He seemed to have a lot of confidence. And then he got hurt again. So who knows what you’ll get next season. But I like what the Mets are doing because it’s a relatively low-risk move. 

"If he doesn’t hit or he gets hurt again, they just decline the option for ’27 and move on."

With Robert in center, the Mets could still use a left fielder to replace Brandon Nimmo. If they sign Cody Bellinger their offseason suddenly turns into a home run, presuming they add at least one quality starter. That doesn’t seem likely now, after guaranteeing Bichette and Robert $64 million for next season, but maybe Cohen is in spend mode again. 

Most importantly, the Mets still need a front-of-the-rotation pitcher. But in the last few days they’ve made moves to dramatically change the feel of the offseason, making it clear that Stearns and Cohen will spend big to get impact players. 

Bichette was a slam dunk, at least in terms of who he is offensively. Robert is quite the opposite, but a chance they can afford to take. 

I hope you enjoyed some respite from Cody Bellinger Purgatory yesterday, with the Hall of Fame results released last night. Both Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones, a couple of former Yankees, made it in, and notably, Andy Pettitte made some gains as he nears the end of his tenure on the BBWAA ballot. Congrats to Carlos and Andruw!

On the site today, John writes up a great Yankees free-agent signing of this decade, that of Johnny Damon, and Kevin profiles pitcher Andy Hawkins. Also, Nolan analyzes the state of the shortstop position in the Yankee organization, and, we welcome back an old friend! Be sure to say hello to Andrés, who will be returning to PSA with a piece on Jasson Domínguez.

Questions/Prompts:

1. So, does the Mets’ acquisition of Luis Robert Jr. take them out of the Cody Bellinger sweepstakes?

2. Were you surprised to see both Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jons go into the Hall yesterday?

Carlos Beltrán’s involvement in the Astros sign-stealing scandal on their way to the 2017 World Series title tarnished his reputation and cost him the Mets managerial job — but it didn’t ultimately keep him out of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Beltrán was inducted in his fourth year on the ballot with 84.2 percent of the vote, and on a Zoom call Tuesday, the former Met and Yankee acknowledged his past transgressions made his road to Cooperstown more difficult.

“There’s no doubt the Astros situation has been a topic,” Beltrán said, adding that it wasn’t “positive” for him.

“At the end of the day, when I look at my career, when I look at the things in the game of baseball, there’s no doubt you’re gonna go through ups and downs,” Beltrán said. “You’re gonna make good decisions [and] you’re gonna make so-so decisions, right? And, also, you’re gonna make bad decisions.”

That includes his involvement in Houston’s plan to steal signs in 2017 — which included the banging of trash cans to alert hitters of pitches— including in the playoffs, when they beat the Yankees in the ALCS on their way to a championship in Beltrán’s final season of his playing career.

“When I retired from baseball, I thought everything I built… meaning like relationships and good people, I was able to relate myself with, I thought that was gonna be lost,’’ said Beltrán, who later worked for the Yankees and is currently a special advisor for the Mets. “Being back in the game, I still receive love from the people. I still receive love from the players. The teammates inside the clubhouse know the type of person that I am. At the same time, I understand that’s also a story I have to deal with.”

Now he can tell that story as a Hall of Famer, as Beltrán will be enshrined in July, alongside Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent, another former Met.

Beltrán’s rise up the ballot was steady in his four years, beginning at 46.5 percent in his first year of eligibility to 70.3 percent last year. 

He’s wrestled with his reputation for years, telling The Post in 2022 that he knew many fans would not be as forgiving as some of his ex-teammates and even opponents.

“That’s a battle I will not win,” Beltrán said then of his standing with many fans. “No matter how much I try to excuse what I did in the whole situation, I will not win. I know that when I’m around [the ballpark] and around the players, they acknowledge me and shake my hand. The perception I had from the fans, I lost some of that.”

He remains respected around the game and said Tuesday he hasn’t given up on his goal of possibly managing.

Beltrán said the fact he’s able to work with the Mets and owner Steve Cohen has allowed him to stay “relevant” in the game and perhaps boosts his chances of getting back in the dugout after his first attempt was derailed by the reports of the scandal in 2019.

“Managing is something I’d love to try at some point if God gave me the opportunity,’’ Beltrán said.

Phillies notes: J.T. returns, Bichette fallout, ‘run it back' debate originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Phillies made the J.T. Realmuto signing official Tuesday, and the press conference quickly shifted from the contract itself to the fallout from last week.

Last Friday, Philadelphia came up short on free-agent infielder Bo Bichette, who agreed to a three-year, $126 million deal with the Mets. The Phillies were clearly frustrated with how the process ended, with Dave Dombrowski acknowledging the emotional swing that comes with getting close on a deal of that scale.

“It’s a gut punch. I mean, you feel it,” Dombrowski said. “That day, you are very upset… but you have to pick yourself off and shake it off… you need to move forward.”

The Phillies did exactly that. Within the hour, Dombrowski re-engaged Realmuto’s camp and finalized a three-year, $45 million return for their catcher and clubhouse leader.

Realmuto was the priority, but the timing was telling

Dombrowski made it clear Tuesday that bringing Realmuto back remained a priority all offseason, even as the club explored other options when a deal didn’t come together right away.

“We always wanted to bring JT back. That was always a priority for us,” Dombrowski said. “It really became a situation… there was a disagreement as far as dollars were concerned… and we couldn’t bridge that gap to the very end.”

When the Bichette talks collapsed, the Phillies moved quickly.

“I called his agent right away at that point,” Dombrowski said. “I don’t know the number of minutes, but it was very fast.”

After the dust settled, Dombrowski expressed confidence in where the roster stands as they head down to Clearwater soon.

“I like our club,” he said. “When I look at where we are at this point, I feel great about our club going to spring training… I think we’re content where we are at this point.”

Opt-out leverage

As teams around the league have leaned more into short-term, high-AAV deals with opt-outs, the Phillies’ stance has remained consistent. Since Bryce Harper signed his 13-year, $330 million deal in 2019, the organization and Dombrowski has agreed to 10 contracts of three years or longer, with an average annual value hovering around $24.5 million.

The reported offer Philadelphia made to Bichette — seven years and $200 million (over $28.5 million a year) — would have marked the club’s fourth contract of seven years or more. Ultimately, the structure, not the dollars, proved decisive.

Bichette’s deal with New York included player options after each of the first two seasons.

Dombrowski reiterated Tuesday that opt-outs remain a sticking point in negotiations, especially for a club already operating above the luxury-tax threshold.

“I have never felt myself, and still don’t feel, that it’s a wise move to make,” Dombrowski said. “If the player has a bad year, they opt in. If they get hurt, they opt in… if they opt out, it’s generally because they’ve had a good year.”

He added that it’s a philosophy he’s held for a long time, not something specific to Philadelphia.

Thomson pushes back on “run it back”

Rob Thomson didn’t buy the idea that the Phillies are simply running it back, pointing to roster turnover and a youth push that will shape spring training and, potentially, the regular season.

“We’re going to have three new relievers. We’ve got a new right fielder,” Thomson said. “Crawford’s going to get every chance to play. We’ve probably got a rookie starting in Painter. We’ve got Otto Kemp. So we’re turning over 20 to 25 percent of our roster. If you think that’s turning it back — or running it back, whatever they’re saying is — yeah, I can’t help it.”

Thomson also emphasized the internal expectation level remains high entering camp.

“Very high,” he said. “We got a good ball club going in… we’re going to infuse some youth into this lineup… I feel really good about it.”

Update on Wheeler

One of the more relevant updates Tuesday involved Zack Wheeler, whose season ended early last year. The Phillies still didn’t offer a firm timeline, but Dombrowski shared where things stand in the throwing program.

“He’s throwing… up to 90 feet he has,” Dombrowski said. “He’s doing very well… I believe he’s going to come in again on Thursday and throw again, but yeah, no timetable, but so far the reports have been good.”

Thomson echoed that Wheeler is at 90 feet on flat ground and “looks good,” while stopping short of projecting when he’ll be on a mound.

Will Sánchez pitch in the WBC?

Cristopher Sánchez remains a key name to watch as World Baseball Classic decisions come into focus. Thomson acknowledged the balancing act, but also framed it as an honor for players who have earned the opportunity.

“I think it’s a great honor to pitch for your country,” Thomson said. “You’re holding your breath when the guys go, but at the end of it, if they come out of it clean, I think it’s really good.”

Sánchez is coming off his first 200-inning season and enters 2026 as one of the anchors of the staff, especially with Ranger Suárez now out of the picture.

With just a few weeks before pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training, the MLB stove has been heating up as teams work to fill their roster gaps and prepare for the 2026 season.

That includes Chicago White Sox GM Chris Getz, who traded center fielder Luis Robert Jr. to the New York Mets, leading to a Jeff Passan bomb hitting the timeline just before the clock struck midnight on the East coast.

In exchange for Robert, the Mets are sending right-handed pitching prospect Truman Pauley and infielder Luisangel Acuña (brother of Atlanta Braves All-Star and 2023 MVP Ronald Acuña Jr.). New York will also absorb the remainder of Robert’s contract ($20 million in both 2026 and 2027, with a $2 million buyout option).

Acuña is the headliner of this trade, and not only because of his family ties. The 23-year-old has shown to be explosive at the plate, is a skilled speedster, and can provide depth to pretty much any major league lineup with his versatility. Acuña has primarily played at second base, but has also been worked in the outfield a bit, which could be something that Chicago is eyeing for future roster building now that Robert is gone. Acuña has slashed .282/.351/.400 in his minor league career, and was selected as a Dominican Summer League All-Star in 2019 at just 17 years old.

He was called up to the Mets in 2024 for 14 games and made quite a splash in a short period of time: .308/.325/.641 in 39 at-bats to round out a strong .966 OPS. He wasn’t as successful in 95 games (175 at-bats) in 2025, significantly falling off and putting up a low .567 OPS — seeing the biggest drop off in slugging percentage, down to just .274 with zero home runs compared to three in 2024. Acuña is still a very young player, with time to refine his skills as he grows into a major league player. Plus, he has been dominating the Venezuelan Winter League this year:

Pauley is a 22-year-old who spent two years at Harvard University prior to being drafted by the Mets in the 12th round last summer, posting a 5.20 cumulative ERA across 114 1/3 collegiate innings. In his senior season, Pauley posted the second-lowest ERA on the Crimson (4.61), the lowest opponent BA (.171), and the most strikeouts (91, with the next highest a 62, and a 28.9% strikeout rate). One thing that Pauley must work on his is control: He tossed 18 wild pitches last season, hit 16 batters, and walked 48 at a 15.2% walk rate.

He tossed just 4 1/3 innings in three games with the St. Lucie Mets upon signing last August, reaching a 2.08 ERA in the small sample size, including three strikeouts and four walks. Pauley’s fastball averages around 93 mph and he has a slider that seems to have a lot of potential to miss plenty of bats.

Robert has spent six years with the South Siders, and is the last man standing from the failed core that previous GM Rick Hahn put together for a title run in the 2020s — but we never did get to see that parade, did we.

Luis has been one of the brighter spots of the team over the last several years with his raw power and athletic ability, but he has also struggled with several injuries throughout his time in Chicago. Getz and the Sox have been floating the idea of trading Robert for a couple years — surprisingly not dealing him at the trade deadline during his 2023 All-Star season where he accumulated 5.3 bWAR and .857 OPS while mashing 36 home runs and swiping 20 bases.

His trade value had gone down quite a bit over the last two seasons, hitting .224 with a .661 OPS, and just an 85 OPS+ in 2025. Despite the regression, he still mashed 14 home runs last year and stole 33 bases, while locking down center field with a .997 fielding percentage and just one error on the season.

The Mets are getting a talented player in Robert, who is most likely to thrive upon leaving Chicago because that’s just how it goes. Luis will be missed on the South Side, but it is officially the end of an era as the White Sox embark on a new journey with the young core they have pulled together.

Thank you for the memories, Luis.

• Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones were elected to Cooperstown.

• The White Sox finally traded Luis Robert. (What can I say? I’m not a fan.) The Mets surrendered Luisangel Acuna and Truman Pauley for him.

• The ATHLETICS, whose payroll is already higher than the Guardians’, thought they were acquiring Nolan Arenado. Sell the team, Paul.

• Pitchers are confusing pitch models.

The Mets, continuing their roster overhaul after their disastrous 2025, agreed to a trade with the White Sox for center fielder Luis Robert Jr on Tuesday night. The Mets are sending two young players to the South Side of Chicago in return, one we have seen a lot of in Luisangel Acuña, and one that is (was) new to the organization in RHP prospect Truman Pauley.

Robert Jr. has been the subject of a lot of trade discussions over the past few seasons, and has had a rather tumultuous career despite being only 28 years old. He signed a six year, $50m contract in January 2020, before he appeared in a Major League game. After an average debut during the COVID-shortened season, he burst onto the scene in 2021 with an incredible 68 game performance that saw him hit .338/.378/.567 (155 wRC+), accumulating 3.4 fWAR in those 68 games. He never reached those heights again, but a good 2022 (111 wRC+, 2.1 fWAR in 98 games), and a great 2023 (129 wRC+, 4.9 fWAR in 145 games), making his pre-debut contract look like a steal for the White Sox.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, injuries to his lower half put huge dampers on his 2024 and 2025 seasons, as he has hit a combined .223/.288/.372 (84 wRC+, 1.8 fWAR) in 210 games. Despite the drop in offensive performance, Robert has maintained his sprint speed (90th percentile last season), and his defensive acumen (7 OAA, 93rd percentile), giving the Mets a bonafide center fielder at the very least, if they cannot bring the bat back to life. It has been nothing short of the roller coaster for Robert and the White Sox, who have flirted with trading Robert dating back to last year’s trade deadline.

Luisangel Acuña, one of the two players going back to the White Sox, has had an up and down time in Queens in his own right. Acquired at the 2023 trade deadline from the Texas Rangers for Max Scherzer, Acuña never found his footing in the Mets organization. He got leapfrogged by other prospects, and when he finally got an extended run in the big leagues last season, struggled pretty mightily, hitting .234/.293/.274 (65 wRC+, 0,4 fWAR) in 95 games. Truman Pauley, the second piece going to Chicago, is quite an interesting prospect. Drafted in the 12th round out of Harvard in last year’s draft, is a right hander with very interesting pitch metrics, especially in regards to his fastball.

The Mets will be taking all of Robert’s $20m he is set to earn in 2026, and also will be on the hook for a $20m team option if they choose to exercise it for 2027. The option has a $2m buyout.

MLB.com | Mike Petriello: The elections of Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones to the National Baseball Hall of Fame has re-stoked recent discussions about the strength of this year’s class, with the perception among some being that this is a comparatively weak group of players to gain entry to Cooperstown. To vet this perception, Petriello ranked all 84 Hall of Fame classes by the cumulative WAR of all players elected, and it turns out that this year’s class is bang average. Between Beltrán, Jones, and Jeff Kent — elected via the Eras Committee — the trio accumulated 188 rWAR which would rank it 44th. If you exclude the stacked inaugural Hall of Fame class of 1936, the average WAR for a class of inductees is 196 rWAR.

CBS Sports | Matt Snyder: Now that the 2026 Hall of Fame class has been announced, it’s time for the way-too-early look ahead to the 2027 ballot. Chase Utley, Andy Pettitte, and Félix Hernández all experienced the biggest jumps in vote share and each stand decent shots at enshrinement in coming election cycles. Manny Ramirez falls off the ballot after failing to reach the 75-percent threshold needed for induction in ten tries, while Cole Hamels was the only first-year player to receive the necessary vote share (at least five percent) to remain on the ballot next year. Buster Posey headlines the list of first-year players in 2027 and has a good shot at first ballot enshrinement, while Brett Gardner is the most notable former Yankee projected to appear on the ballot as a first-year player.

NJ Advance Media | Randy Miller: Cody Bellinger is expected to sign with a team this week now that Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette have signed with the Dodgers and Mets, respectively. The Yankees remain at an impasse with their one time outfielder, which suggests that at least one other team has an offer on the table. The Mets are listed as the Yankees’ biggest competition for Bellinger’s signature after the Queens outfit traded away Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil and missed out on signing Tucker. Then again, they just traded for Luis Robert Jr., as of late last night, so perhaps they’re out on Bellinger.

The Athletic | Mitch Bannon ($): One team who is not expected to bid for Bellinger’s services are the Toronto Blue Jays. Despite losing Bichette to free agency and getting spurned by Tucker, and despite Scott Boras’ comments linking Bellinger to a move north of the border, Bannon relays that “the Jays haven’t appeared particularly interested in the 30-year-old free agent this winter.” Their focus remains on the trade market, where they have been recently linked to Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan and Cardinals utilityman Brendan Donovan.

The Athletic | Evan Drellich ($): With Kyle Tucker signing a four-year, $240 million contract with the Dodgers, it is now “a 100-percent certainty” that the owners will demand a salary cap during the labor negotiations that loom beyond the end of the upcoming season. Owners are said to be “raging” over the back-to-back World Series champions adding the best free agent on the market, making them once again the only team to carry a payroll in excess of $400 million in consecutive season. Granted, the owners were always going to push for a cap during labor talks, Tucker and the Dodgers just give them a convenient excuse to do so. The current CBA expires at the end of the 2026 season, and “players have historically been willing to miss many games to avoid a cap system.” Instituting a cap would instantly increase the valuation of all 30 franchise and would have to be accompanied by a salary floor, something several small market owners are expected to resist.

The New York Mets acquired center fielder Luis Robert Jr. in a trade with the Chicago White Sox, the White Sox announced on Tuesday, Jan. 20.

Robert, a 28-year-old from Cuba, was an All-Star in 2023 and that same season won a Silver Slugger Award. He won a Gold Glove Award in 2020.

During six major-league seasons, all with the White Sox, Robert has batted .259 with 102 home runs and 298 RBIs.

Robert's breakthrough season came in 2023, when he hit 38 home runs, and had 80 RBIs and 90 runs scored. But he has hit no more than 14 homers in any of his five other seasons. And in 2025, he batted .223 with 14 home runs.

In exchange for Robert, the White Sox acquired Luisangel Acuña, a 23-year-old infielder from Venezuela, and Truman Pauley, a right-handed pitcher who played for Harvard and was a 12^th-round pick of the Mets in the 2025 MLB Draft.

A gaping hole in the Mets outfield got filled Tuesday night.

Luis Robert Jr., a player the team tried to acquire at last year’s trade deadline, is headed to Queens, following a deal with the White Sox that cost the Mets infielder Luisangel Acuña and minor league pitcher Truman Pauley, the team announced.

Robert struggled offensively for a second straight season, producing a .223/.297/.364 slash line with 14 homers and 33 stolen bases last year, but remains an elite defender in center field, where he finished in MLB’s 93rd percentile with seven outs above average, according to Statcast.

The 28-year-old’s addition diminishes the possibility the Mets will look to sign Cody Bellinger, the top outfielder on the free agent market.

Bellinger this week hit a stalemate in negotiations with the Yankees and there previously was thought the Mets could seriously pursue him.

That possibility isn’t completely removed, but has become less likely given that Robert is under contract for $20 million this season.

His deal also includes a club option worth $20 million for 2027.

In need of outfield help last summer, the Mets pursued a deal for Robert, but one never materialized.

The White Sox sought Mark Vientos as part of the deal, and the Mets ultimately settled on a trade with the Orioles for Cedric Mullins, who underwhelmed during his two-month stint in Queens.

The Mets began last season with Jose Siri and Tyrone Taylor in center field, but Siri sustained a fractured tibia in April and missed most of the season.

He was ineffective upon his return and released. Taylor brings elite defense to the position, but has limited offensive upside.

As it stands, the Mets have outfield prospect Carson Benge set to compete for an outfield job in spring training, with Taylor also in the mix.

Juan Soto is the incumbent in right field as he enters the second season of his record $765 million contract.

Last week the Mets missed in their pursuit of the top free agent on the market, Kyle Tucker, who agreed to a four-year contract with the Dodgers worth $240 million.

The Mets had bid $220 million, according to a source, and believed they were in strong position to land the former Astros star. 

The Mets quickly pivoted and signed Bo Bichette to a three-year deal worth $126 million that contains two opt-outs.

Bichette, who played second base and shortstop for the Blue Jays last season, is set to play third for the first time in his career.

His signing became official Tuesday night and the team is scheduled to introduce him during a Wednesday afternoon news conference at Citi Field.

An outfield that includes Robert and potentially Benge, coupled with Marcus Semien at second base, speaks to president of baseball operations David Stearns’ emphasis on improving the club defensively.

The Mets acquired Semien, last year’s American League Gold Glove winner at second base, in a November trade with the Rangers for Brandon Nimmo.

Semien’s arrival allowed the Mets to trade Jeff McNeil, who was shipped to the Athletics for a minor league pitcher.

The Mets last month watched Pete Alonso depart on a five-year contract worth $155 million with the Orioles.

Jorge Polanco arrived days later on a two-year contract worth $40 million and is positioned to be the regular first baseman.

But Polanco has played only one major league game at the position.

Acuña, who shined as a late-inning defensive replacement/pinch runner, was expendable because the Mets had a glut of infielders following the additions of Semien and Bichette.

As it stands, Brett Baty is without a regular position and Ronny Mauricio remains as infield depth who could potentially begin the season at Triple-A Syracuse.

It’s a pretty exciting time for the San Francisco Giants and the Hall of Fame. Sure, Barry Bonds and Duane Kuiper have been passed over more times than I was anytime we picked teams for any sport at the playground. But in December, Jeff Kent was elected to the hall by the Contemporary Baseball Era committee. And next year, Buster Posey, Bruce Bochy, and Dusty Baker will all be on the ballot, and all three will be expected to make it at some point or other.

And on Tuesday, they added another name to the hall: Forever Giant Carlos Beltrán.

Beltrán was one of two players elected to the Hall of Fame this year, joining fellow outfielder Andruw Jones. And while most people remember the nine-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner, and one-time champion for his superstar tenure with the New York Mets, around here we associate him with the Giants.

The switch-hitter played just 44 games for the Giants in the 2011 season, but he was electric in them. As he approached free agency following a seven-season tenure with the Mets, New York — a team that won just 77 games that year – flipped him at the deadline to the Giants, who were hoping to recreate their World Series magic from the year prior … and, most importantly, replace Posey, who had suffered a brutal season-ending injury early in the year.

Beltrán was every bit as good as advertised, hitting .323/.369/.551 with seven home runs. Unfortunately the Giants, who were 60-44 at the time of the trade, went just 26-32 following the trade, and missed the playoffs.

Unfortunately, despite his individual success, the fan opinion of Beltrán has always been fairly cold, as many see the trade as a short-sighted move by Brian Sabean. The Giants traded pitcher Zack Wheeler — their 2009 first-round pick who was, at the time, in High-A — for Beltrán, and Wheeler has gone on to be one of the top pitchers of this generation, with three All-Star appearances, two Cy Young runner-ups, and a few hundred million in earnings. Beltrán, meanwhile, entered free agency and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. And many fans view the move as selling the future for a mild run at the present.

It’s an unfair way of viewing it, of course. The Giants were in position to make a run, and you can’t blame them for chasing one of the top hitters in baseball and giving themselves a chance. And while Wheeler has gone on to have a fabulous career, it didn’t fully materialize until after he, himself, had reached free agency and left the Mets; he made his first All-Star team and earned his first top-10 Cy Young finish a full 10 years after the trade.

Congratulations, Carlos. You played more games with the Mets and the Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers than you played with the Giants. But you still played for the Giants.

Now that we’re going closer to spring training, let’s get serious about projecting what the Colorado Rockies outfield will look like.

Since I first asked this question, the Rockies have reached arbitration agreements with their players (including three outfielders) and traded for Jake McCarthy. We also know that Willi Castro and Troy Johnston have outfield experience.

Their abundance of outfielders is well documented, but we’re also getting a better sense of Paul DePodesta’s plans.

So here’s tonight’s question: When the season starts, who will be playing outfield for the Rockies, and who do you see starting in ABQ or being moved?

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2025 stats: 8 G (7 GS), 29.2 IP, 6.37 ERA / 4.00 xERA, 11.8 K/9, 5.2 BB/9, 1.55 WHIP, +0.3 fWAR

It’s down to Kai-Wei Teng and Tristan Beck as the players left in the organization following the flurry of trades former President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi made at the 2019 trade deadline. Both were pitched as starters, but it turns out that both might wind up as relievers.

In Teng’s case, that is a very positive development, as despite his terrible performance as a starter, he showed aptitude in shorter bursts — or in the bulk innings role following an opener. But since the Giants are organizationally resistant to that strategy over the course of a season, let’s zero in on Teng’s likely role going forward.

The trendy-because-it’s-really-effective pitch these days is the sweeper. Kai-Wei Teng threw his 38.7% of the time duromg his MLB service in 2025. Batters hit .191 off of it with an expected slugging percentage of just .256. In a very limited sample size, it was about as effective as Shohei Ohtani’s sweeper, Chris Bassitt’s, Trevor Roger’s, Mitch Keller’s, and Dylan Cease’s. Remarkably, based on the quality of contact, it had the same expected batting average (.167) as Paul Skenes’s. But that’s hardly the point!

The point is that relief pitchers are usually 1 or 2 pitch pitchers. As a starter, his fastball velocity sat more in the 92-93 range, but as a reliever he’s more in the 94-95 range. That’s really effective paired with that sweeper. 21 of his strikeouts came off that best pitch while 10 more off that fastball, meaning 31 of his 39 strikeouts (79.5%) came on just those two pitches… which really does cement his best role being that of a relief pitcher.

It was an unusual route he took to getting to this position, though. For many, he was an afterthought, and the Buster Posey-led organization’s behavior only supported that. They designated him for assignment after the 2024 season, an action that was among the first taken by the Posey administration. Just 10 days later, they signed him to a minor league contract to bring him back into the organization.

Why make that move? They almost certainly had his stuff pegged and had the opportunity to bring him back into the organization presumably because they knew he’d clear waivers. Because they didn’t outright him, they still maintain that flexibility down the road if they need to shove him off the 40-man roster for whatever reason. But more immediately, he still has 2 major league options remaining; so, there’s plenty of time to sort out a proper role for him.

It’s worth noting that on the day of his callup (August 1st), Eno Sarris posted this analysis regarding Teng’s Triple-A measurements:

Giants SP Kai-Wei Teng has interesting arsenal. Wide, no standout pitch.

[Four seam] / 241 thrown / 90 AAA Stuff+
[Sinker] / 107 / 95 Stuff+
[Sweeper] / 324 / 106 Stuff+
[Cutter] / 107 / 102 Stuff+
[Changeup] / 49 / 102 Stuff+
[Slider] / 30 / 101 Stuff +

Only Sweeper has above-ave locations —> fits his command grades.

The Giants rolled the dice to clear a roster spot but knew they had something to work with if they could retain him. I’d hope that the number-based discussion to this point would prove sufficient evidence for those who are skeptical, but at the end of the day, the analytics, the results, and the Giants actions demonstrate that the organization is glad to have him on the 40-man roster heading into Spring Training.

Teng pitched his way into being the next in a line of perfectly serviceable back of the bullpen arms. Maybe close to already improving upon Spencer Bivens and Tristan Beck — just from a stuff standpoint — and, at worst, even with Carson Seymour in the upside reliever role — if they had to establish the depth chart today. His strikeout totals are impressive. In September, he K’d 27 in 16.1 IP and had this tidy little highlight against the Dodgers:

He struckout out Shohei Ohtani with his four-seamer in the 1st inning and then with the sweeper in the 3rd. He got Mookie Betts, Andy Pages, and Freddie Freeman with that sweeper, too. Michael Conforto struck out on Teng’s changeup.

Teng is a wild arm that’s still a work in progress. He’s still best known for getting shelled and putting too many runners on base. In that strikeout-laden September (28 K%), he still walked too many (12.2 BB%) and hit too many batters with stray pitches (4 — with 7 on the season). But, he allowed just 1 home run in the final month and just 2 across his innings.

His results are far from great but they were clearly good enough to thrust him into a meaningful conversation the organization has held all offseason. He’s definitely “pitching depth” that should be confidently mentioned in a conversation about that very subject — not quite on the level of the outlandish statement made by last season’s pitching coach, J.P. Martinez, but certainly as a factor in the team covering innings in 2026. While I don’t personally believe he pitched his way into a backup starting pitcher role, he’s certainly an option if they need to do some bullpen games or as an injury or blowout replacement to give the team multiple innings.

He’s a big guy (6’4”, 241 lbs), so, I like the durability potential here, and I suspect the Giants do, too. Most starters wind up sustaining their careers as relievers, and it looks like that’s the course Kai-Wei Teng managed to chart for himself in 2025.