Category: Baseball

Freddy Peralta will give the Mets an ace in the hole, but the other right-hander New York is acquiring from the Brewers could also be valuable.

As part of the trade that is sending outfield/infield prospect Jett Williams and pitcher Brandon Sproat to the Brewers, the Mets are also getting pitcher Tobias Myers on Wednesday night.

Myers, 27, made his big league debut in 2024 and has pitched as both a reliever and starter.

But his professional career has been a long and winding one, going back all the way to 2016 when he was drafted in the sixth round by the Orioles.

He was then traded three separate times — including in a late 2021 deal that sent Junior Caminero to the Rays — and spent time with Tampa Bay, the Guardians, Giants and White Sox.

Myers eventually landed in the Brewers organization in 2022 before getting his first taste of big league action two years later.

In 27 games (25 starts) in 2024, Myers thrived with a 3.00 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 138 innings.

He notably got the start in deciding Game 3 of the wild-card series against the Mets that season, tossing five scoreless innings with just two hits allowed. The Mets won the game in memorable fashion, though, on the back of Pete Alonso’s three-run homer in the ninth inning off Devin Williams, who, ironically enough, is going to be in the back end of the Amazin’s bullpen after he signed a three-year contract earlier this offseason.

Myers pitched 16 of his 22 games in 2025 in relief and carried a 3.55 ERA and 1.36 WHIP.

In 18 games as a reliever in his MLB career, Myers has been exceptional with a 1.62 ERA and 0.84 WHIP, fanning 27 hitters. He has kept his walk rate down out of the bullpen, too, issuing just three passes in 33 1/3 innings.

He has six pitches in his arsenal: fastball, splitter, cutter, slider, changeup and curveball.

Though Myers’ heater — which he deployed 45 percent of the time in 2025 — is 1.5 mph slower than the average big league fastball, it appears like a rising fastball to hitters, making it trickier to hit.

The splitter was a new pitch he added last season, and the opposition hit just .108 against it.

As far as his contract situation, Myers has team control through the 2028 season.

Brett Chancey – Independent Journalist | Co-Host Locked on Astros | Back to the Bullpen with Mike Stanton

The Astros embark on a season in a way they haven’t known since 2016. This is the first year they enter a season where they didn’t qualify for the previous Postseason. We all recall the first round, 2 game exit vs. the Detroit Tigers when they at least made it. Many say was the beginning of the end. I do think, however, despite missing the playoffs in 2025, the Astros stock going into 2026 has gone up.

What gives you the right?

Well, this team has a slew of very capable players on this roster and in this rotation to be highly competitive in the American League West, as well contend for the American League title. Realistically on paper, you would put the Blue Jays, as well others who qualified for the postseason above the Astros. That doesn’t mean I am ready to put them on the shelf, and no one is ignoring it will be a tough task.

I am a firm believer in the law of averages, especially when it comes to the 162-game season that is Major League Baseball. The Houston Astros set a record for injured players in a season and the year prior dealt with injuries so frequently it led to roster irregularities and a team that in the end was too banged up to truly compete in 2026. There is no need to recall all the injuries,

3 Things to focus on:

1. Win the innings war, with a six man rotation and pitching depth.
2. Scoring runs, as well keeping them off the board (offensive and defensive approach)
3. Stop living in the margins: Astros need more depth, fewer empty innings.

Win the Innings War, Pitching Built to Last.

The Astros fastest route back to pitching stability – not “rely on ONE ACE” (AKA HUNTER BROWN), but stack usable starts so the bullpen isn’t cooked by May. They have the starting depth to do that, even if they don’t add anyone at this point. When a team leans into a six man rotation early, which the Astros will by default due to schedule.

There is proof that at this point according to Joe Espada this is a clear and intentional direction for this pitching staff. This was detailed by Brian McTaggart in a tweet December 15, 2025 prior to signing Tatsuya Imai.

The Astros need six serious starters to get off to a hot start pitching wise and take pressure off the offense. My starting 6 would be:

1. Hunter Brown
2. Christian Javier
3. Tatsuya Imai
4. Mike Burrows
5. Spencer Arrighetti
6. Ryan Weiss/Jason Alexander

(Spring Training will also determine if Lance McCullers Jr. has a role in this rotation, which he could earn, Nate Pearson, AJ Blubagh, Colton Gordon, and J.P. France.)

While some may pencil in McCullers Jr. I am not there yet, as with Gordon because I think he profiles as a Long Reliever in the grand scheme of things. The others not mentioned Wesneski and Blanco won’t factor in until July or August realistically speaking.

If the Houston Astros six man rotation can create fewer bullpen “bridge games”, starts where they pitch into the 6th inning more than not, then you have a recipe for success. The one thing that begs the question, will the Astros be able to trust anyone beyond Hunter Brown a 3rd time through the order?

Scoring Runs: Bringing Runners Home.

The Astros don’t need to be the #1 offense in MLB to be a playoff team – but they do need to get back to controlling run environments with quality contact, patience at the plate, and increasing their RISP. With all the discussion of interest from other teams regarding a trade for Isaac Paredes this seems to be a counter intuitive goal, if you are going off past history.

The Astros getting more barrels and fewer easy outs isn’t a vibe, it’s a measurable and attainable goal.

This begins with a Healthy Yordan Alvarez. His Barrel % is 13.8% and huge driver of slugging and extra-base hits. His 52.9% Hard Hit percentage is among the best in MLB, we know his ability to hit all sides of the field as well. Jeremy Pena having another solid offensive year would be huge. While his chase rate is at a career 28.4% he hasn’t been below 35.9%, if the new hitting coaches can get him to reduce that, and get more lift on the ball his barrell % would go up and be a catalyst for this team.

A third player I will mention, (Isaac Paredes is a given if he remains on this roster Opening Day) is Carlos Correa. I believe that with him playing 3B you will see a Correa that stays on the field and can enjoy a chase rate in the 2021 range where he saw his lowest chase% at 24.1%. This would give higher probability to more barrels. In 2021 he had his 2nd highest barrel % at 11.4% only topped by 2019 12.9%. What does this all mean? I see this offense feeding off each other. Notice I didn’t mention Jose Altuve, Christian Walker, Yainer Diaz, Cam Smith, or any of the others. I didn’t for this simple fact, this offense goes as these 3 listed go. If you can get the others to follow you have a playoff offense.

Run Prevention 101 (Pitching and Catching)

This Astros team narrowly missed the playoffs almost solely off of it pitching alone. In the same conversation they were the same pitchers who at times couldn’t stop late inning comebacks. In 2025 the onus is on the offense primarily speaking, but the pitching wasn’t flawless. You need a couple things for this too happen: Prevent runs on the board, manage opponents contact.

The Houston Astros need to understand balls will get hit, so what is the Hard Hit % of batted balls agains their pitchers, as well advancing runners on base. The Houston Astros starting backstop was 1 Catchers CS Above Avg. in 2025, the backup everyone wanted was -4 Catchers CS Above Avg. Both bottom of the barrel. While Yainer Diaz arm strength is 3rd in the league and 4th in Exchange time, his Caught stealing % was only 18%. What does all this have to do with run prevention and the pitching? I will wrap up the discussion here.

Your pitchers have to make a concerted effort to get to the plate as fast as possible. Catchers have to be in an optimal position to throw out the runners. If you can eliminate the threat of running to 2B by throwing out runners, or simply holding them at bay. This team stands to give up fewer runs. Fewer runs less pressure on the offense, as well the pitchers.

All in all I expect the Astros to be contenders in 2026, of course that is why every team plays 162 games in the regular season. As my co-host on Back to the Bullpen Mike Stanton says, getting to the playoffs is the hard part, once you’re in, it’s anybody’s game.“…….or is it? Dodgers????

The trade we expected to happen this offseason has finally happened. Freddy Peralta has been traded to the Mets, per multiple reports. In return, the Brewers will get two of the Mets’ top prospects: Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat. The Brewers are also sending Tobias Myers to the Mets in the trade.

Rumors around the Brewers trading Freddy Peralta have been swirling all offseason. While the Brewers kept insisting that they would keep him for the final year of his contract, it followed the same pattern we’ve seen from previous players who were entering their final years, such as Corbin Burnes and Devin Williams. There was some hope that the Brewers would keep him — they kept Willy Adames for the final year of his contract. It was just a matter of whether the right deal came around for Peralta, and someone finally met the Brewers’ asking price.

The addition of Myers in the deal comes as a surprise. It’s been reported by Michael Marino that the Brewers initially offered a Williams/Sproat for Peralta trade, but the Mets countered to get Myers added to the deal.

Myers spent most of 2025 in Triple-A after a strong rookie season in 2024, but was on the rise as the season came to an end. In 10 2/3 innings in September, he posted a 2.53 ERA and 4.17 FIP out of the bullpen. He made the roster for the NLCS, but made just one appearance, where he allowed a run in 2/3 of an inning. His 2024 season was much better, as he was one of the leaders in the rotation, posting a 3.00 ERA and 3.91 FIP in 27 games (25 starts) over 138 innings. However, with the Brewers’ depth at starting pitcher, his chances of getting back into the rotation in Milwaukee were looking slim.

Jett Williams was rated as the No. 3 prospect in the Mets system and No. 30 overall on MLB Pipeline in their 2025 rankings. FanGraphs was a little cooler on him, ranking in at No. 6 for the Mets and No. 69 overall in their trade deadline update. He spent the majority of last season in Double-A, but earned a promotion to Triple-A later in the year. In 96 Double-A games, he batted .281/.390/.477 with a wRC+ of 156. That cooled down to .209/.285/.433 with an 81 wRC+ in Triple-A, but only in 34 games. Williams has been shifting between second base and shortstop in the minors, but he was also behind Francisco Lindor on the depth chart. Moving to Milwaukee, he has a better opportunity to stick at shortstop with the Brewers looking for an upgrade on offense over Joey Ortiz. However, Williams will likely need some more time at Triple-A, but should still make an impact on the 2026 team.

Brandon Sproat was rated as the No. 5 prospect on MLB Pipeline for the Mets, but did not slot into the top 100. However, FanGraphs was more positive on him, ranking him No. 3 for the Mets and No. 51 overall. Sproat made his MLB debut in 2025, making four starts in September for the Mets. He allowed 11 runs in 20 2/3 innings, struck out 17, and walked seven. Sproat has a fastball that can reach triple digits and regularly sat in the 95-98 mph range in Triple-A, but also was hit at a rate of .380 with it. He also regularly mixes in a slider, curveball, and changeup as well. Sproat should be in competition for a starting spot in Spring Training, though he could also start the year in Triple-A to develop a little more.

Meanwhile, Peralta will head to the Mets and strengthen their rotation. The Mets were around the middle of the pack with their rotation in 2025, posting a 4.13 ERA (18th in MLB) and 3.95 FIP (9th) as a team. Peralta will fill one of their biggest offseason needs and should be one of their top starters entering 2026.

This ends Peralta’s time as a Brewer. He will finish his time with the third-highest career strikeout total and the 10th most starts by a Brewers pitcher. He’s been a strong part of the franchise for years, but with free agency approaching, his time was likely approaching its end either way.

MLB Trade Rumors: The New York Mets are acquiring pitchers Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for pitcher Brandon Sproat and shortstop Jett Williams, per multiple reports.

Peralta, a 29 year old righthander who had his $8 million club option for 2026 picked up, and will be a free agent after the 2026 season, had been rumored throughout the offseason to be a hot commodity, with the Brewers listening on him but not chomping at the bit to deal him. Peralta put up a 2.81 ERA in his first full season as a major league starter in 2021, having split time between the rotation and pen in the three seasons prior to that. He followed that up with a 3.73 ERA and 3.83 FIP in 417 innings from 2022-24, missing a chunk of the 2022 season but making 30 and 32 starts the next two years.

In 2025, Peralta put up a 2.70 ERA and led the majors in wins, with 17, earning him a fifth place finish in the Cy Young balloting. Oddly, though, his peripherals weren’t that much different from his previous three seasons…after averaging 10.7 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, and 1.3 HR/9 from 2022-24, he registered 10.4 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and 1.1 HR/9 rates in 2025.

Myers is a 27 year old righthander who pitched primarily out of the bullpen in 2025, after making 25 starts and two relief appearances in 2024, his first season in the majors. He started the 2025 season on the injured list, and once healthy split the season between AAA, where he was a starter, and the majors.

Both Sproat and Williams are included on the BA top 100 list that came out earlier today. Williams, ranked #71, was a 2022 first rounder out of Heath, Texas. He missed most of 2024, but rebounded with a solid season in 2025, slashing .261/.363/.465 while splitting time between AA and AAA, and stealing 34 bases. He draws walks, strikes out a fair amount, and has a surprising amount of power for a guy that BA lists at 5’6”.

BA had Sproat at #81 on their list. Originally drafted in the seventh round by the Rangers in 2019, he ended up not signing, opting to attend the University of Florida instead. The Mets drafted him in the third round in 2022, but he didn’t sign, returning for his senior season at Florida. New York drafted him again in 2023, this time in the second round, and were able to sign him this time around.

Sproat made four major league starts in September, 2025, most notably throwing six shutout innings against the Rangers on September 13. At AAA, he put up a 4.24 ERA in 121 innings over 26 appearances, striking out 113 and walking 53.

Cedric Mullins’ brief stint in Queens did not produce the results the Mets hoped for.

The Mets acquired Mullins from the Orioles moments before the trade deadline last July, shipping three prospects to Baltimore in exchange for the veteran outfielder.

The 31-year-old admitted that leaving the Orioles, after a decade in the organization, made for a difficult adjustment.

“It hit pretty hard, having to uplift your entire life,” Mullins said during an appearance on “Foul Territory” Wednesday.

“Especially out in New York, where things can get hectic on a day-to-day basis. It was definitely a lot of changes and adjustments that had to be made, along with trying to perform at your best.”

Acquired to shore up center field after Jose Siri’s knee injury — and underperformance from Tyrone Taylor — the Mets hoped Mullins could recapture some of his All-Star form from 2021, when he hit 30 home runs and stole 30 bases.

Even his first-half output with Baltimore — a .229/.305/.433 slash line with 15 homers and 49 RBIs —would have represented a stark upgrade for New York.

Instead, Mullins’ performance mirrored the team’s late-season collapse; he made some costly mistakes on defense while hitting just .182 with two homers and 10 RBIs, spending most of September on the bench.

Cedric Mullins says getting traded by the Orioles hit him hard. pic.twitter.com/gXGIr8KkeL

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 21, 2026

“Foul Territory” co-host and ex-MLB catcher Erik Kratz asked Mullins if he felt pressure to play differently upon joining the Mets.

“In some instances, yeah,” Mullins said. “There were a bunch of talented guys where I didn’t feel like I had to come in and be something I completely wasn’t.

“I was just trying to complement what the team already had and that might have put some pressure on me to do a little too much for what was already a good team that fell off at the end.”

Despite standout individual seasons from Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and the since-departed Pete Alonso, a rash of injuries to the pitching led to a crushing end to the year, as the Mets missed the playoffs after losing on the last day of the season.

The pitching woes, in particular, impacted the Mets down the stretch, according to Mullins.

“After a week, two weeks, it feels pretty evident the pitching was struggling,” Mulins added. “We had to try to come back late in a lot of the games. When it comes in waves like that, it’s tough to battle back. Every once in a while, we’d have a moment where our arms would be dominating and the offense is struggling to get it going.

“When you have that roller coaster going back and forth, it’s tough to get momentum going for us, especially in a playoff run.”

In a transformative offseason for the Mets, a Mullins reunion was not in the cards, as he returned to the familiar AL East, signing a one-year, $8 million deal with the Rays.

Mullins said the Rays’ return to Tropicana Field in 2026 — after the team was displaced last season following Hurricane Milton — factored into his decision.

“I saw what that schedule looked like for them last year,” Mullins said, referencing the team’s stretch at George M. Steinbrenner Field, which does not have a roof. “They went through it for sure.”

As for the Mets, the club addressed its center field void by acquiring former All-Star Luis Robert Jr. from the White Sox this week.

The Mets have acquired right-handed pitchers Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers from the Brewers in exchange for prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat, per Jeff Passan and Jon Heyman.

The 29-year-0ld Peralta has a career 3.59 ERA in the 931.0 innings he’s thrown in the big leagues, all of which have been with the Brewers. He’s been particularly durable over the past three seasons, as he’s thrown 165.2, 173.2, and 176.2 innings in those years, respectively. And thanks to his excellent 2.70 ERA in 2025, he had a cumulative 3.40 ERA over those past three seasons. He’s signed through the end of the 2026 season, after which he’s set to be a free agent—barring any potential extension with the Mets.

Myers is a 27-year-old who started Game 3 against the the Mets in the Wild Card round of the 2024 playoffs. After pitching almost exclusively as a starter in his rookie season with the Brewers in 2024, he made the vast majority of his appearances last year out of the bullpen. In total, he has a 3.15 ERA in 188.2 innings in the big leagues.

Williams was a consensus top-100 prospect in baseball in each of the past three seasons, and he’s coming off a 2025 season that saw him hit .261/.363/.465 with 17 home runs and 34 stolen bases in 43 attempts in his time with Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse.

And Sproat was a consensus top-100 prospect ahead of the 2025 season, too, as he was coming off an excellent 2024 season. After struggling in the first half in Syracuse last year, he turned things around and finished his minor league season with a 4.24 ERA. And he made four starts for the Mets as they searched for answers in their rotation late in the season, putting up a 4.79 ERA in 20.2 innings with the team.

The New York Mets, just hours after introducing Bo Bichette in a press conference Wednesday afternoon in New York, pounced again and traded for Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta.

The Brewers, who let teams know all winter that Peralta was available, but only at a steep price, finally got a team to meet their demand when the Mets sent prized pitching prospect Brandon Sproat and infield prospect Jett Williams to Milwaukee. The Mets also receive pitcher Tobias Myers.

Peralta, who’s eligible for free agency after the 2026 season, is coming off a career year in which he went an NL-leading 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA, helping lead the Brewers to an MLB-best 97 victories. Peralta, who finished fifth in the Cy Young balloting, also is one of the best bargains in baseball, earning just $8 million.

Just like that, in a winter in which they were chastised and ridiculed by their fan base for letting favorites Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz leave in free agency, while trading away outfielder Brandon Nimmo, the Mets have rebounded with a flourish.

The Mets, who were left at the alter five days ago when outfielder Kyle Tucker rejected their four-year, $120 million offer and joined the Los Angeles Dodgers, have since signed Bichette to a three-year, $126 million contract, traded for Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert, and now landed Peralta and Myers.

And just like that, the Chicago Cubs’ winter got a whole lot better, too, knowing that the Brewers’ ace is out of the NL Central.

The Mets have landed a long-coveted ace. 

Only hours after president of baseball operations David Stearns reaffirmed to reporters his desire to address the team’s starting rotation, the Mets acquired All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta on Wednesday from the Brewers for prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat, the club announced.

As part of the deal the Mets also received right-hander Tobias Myers. 

Peralta, who is entering his walk year, pitched to a 2.70 ERA in 33 starts for the Brewers last season, when he finished fifth in the National League Cy Young Award voting after his second career All-Star appearance. 

The 29-year-old Peralta, who arrived to the Brewers in a trade with the Mariners during Stearns’ tenure heading the Brewers front office, gives the Mets the true ace they have lacked since trading Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer during the 2023 season. 

Over the past two seasons, the Mets had hoped Kodai Senga would develop into an ace, but the right-hander was sidetracked by injuries (and ineffectiveness last year that led to him finishing the season at Triple-A Syracuse) leading Stearns to say earlier in the offseason that Senga couldn’t be counted on as a top-of-the-rotation force. 

Myers, a swingman, appeared in 22 games last season (six as a starter) and pitched to a 3.55 ERA. 

Peralta’s key metrics include a hard-hit ball rate of only 34.5 percent, which ranked in MLB’s 90th percentile. Peralta’s strikeout rate of 28.2 percent (despite a fastball that rates only slightly above average) ranked in MLB’s 84th percentile. 

Williams was the Mets’ No. 3 prospect and a possibility for the major league roster at some point this season. Drafted as an infielder, he had shifted into a hybrid role, playing center field in the minors. 

Sproat began last season as the organization’s top pitching prospect, but was supplanted by Nolan McLean as the year progressed. Even so, Sproat debuted for the Mets last September and pitched to a 4.79 ERA in four starts. 

It leaves the Mets with rotation pieces heading to spring training that will include Peralta, McLean, Senga, Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes and David Peterson.

Others in the mix include Christian Scott and Jonah Tong. Scott missed last season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and the rookie Tong debuted for the club last September. 

The Peralta splash occurred only hours after the Mets introduced Bo Bichette at Citi Field. The Mets signed Bichette last week to a three-year contract worth $126 million (that includes two opt-outs) after missing on Kyle Tucker, the top free agent on the market.

Tucker received a four-year deal worth $240 million from the Dodgers, prompting the Mets to pivot to Bichette, who will shift from shortstop to third base. 

Tuesday night the Mets addressed center field by acquiring Luis Robert Jr. from the White Sox for Luisangel Acuña and minor league pitcher Truman Pauley.

Robert is deemed a Gold Glove potential center fielder with a high ceiling offensively who has underwhelmed the past two seasons in large part because of injuries. 

Stearns’ overhaul of the roster began in November, when he traded Brandon Nimmo to Texas for Marcus Semien. At the Winter Meetings, the team lost stars Edwin Díaz and Pete Alonso to free agency (to the Dodgers and Orioles) and shortly afterward traded Jeff McNeil to the Athletics for a minor league pitcher. 

In between, the team signed Devin Williams (who will assume the closer’s role) and Luke Weaver for the bullpen. The Mets also signed Jorge Polanco to play first base — a position at which he’s appeared only once in the major leagues — with the idea his powerful switch-hitting bat will help compensate for Alonso’s loss.

The Mets have found their ace, and their president of baseball operations found one in his old stomping grounds.

New York has acquired All-Star pitcher Freddy Peralta from the Brewers in exchange for a prospect package that will include Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat.

The Mets have also received RHP Tobias Myers in the deal. 

Peralta, who turns 30 next summer, is coming off the best season of his career. The veteran right-hander was stellar for the Brewers, posting a personal-best 2.70 ERA with 204 strikeouts across 176.2 innings (33 starts). He also allowed just 124 hits, holding opponents to a .193 average.

The growth potential for Peralta is, without question, enormous. His advanced metrics were elite in 2025, as he ranked well above average in strikeout percentage, whiff percentage, hard-hit percentage, and extension. The results earned him a top-five finish in NL Cy Young voting.

As if his makeup wasn't enough of a selling point, Peralta's services in 2026 won't even break the bank. He's actually one of the best bargains in baseball, slated to earn only $8 million on a club option before reaching free agency next offseason.

The Mets didn't pursue Peralta on a whim. They knew exactly who they were getting -- after all, David Stearns was in the Brewers' front office when they gave the two-time All-Star a five-year contract extension back in 2020.

With a terrific fastball-changeup-curveball mix that induces plenty of whiffs, Peralta has the arsenal to remain one of the league's most reliable pitchers for quite some time. Over the last five seasons (139 starts), he owns a 3.30 ERA with 895 strikeouts -- a laudable rate of 10.9 per nine.

Myers, who will turn 28 in August, has some major league experience as a starter and reliever. In 2024, he posted a 3.00 ERA and a 1.174 WHIP in 27 games (25 starts). 

This past season, Myers made 22 appearances (six starts) and posted a 3.55 ERA while striking out 38 batters across 50.2 innings.

To make room on the 40 Man Roster, RHP Cooper Criswell has been designated for assignment. 

According to both Jon Heyman and Pat Ragazzo, the Mets are in talks to acquire 29-year-old right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta from the Brewers. Ragazzo specifies that Mets prospect Jett Williams would be part of the return going to Milwaukee in a potential deal.

Peralta has spent the entirety of his major league career in Milwaukee, and he’s entering the final season of a seven-year $30 million contract that he signed with Milwaukee ahead of the 2020 season. He’s thrown 165 innings or more in each of the past three seasons, and he was particularly great in 2025. He finished that season with a 2.70 ERA and a 3.64 FIP in 176.2 innings over the course of 33 starts.

Williams has been a consensus top-100 prospect ahead of each of the last three seasons, and the 22-year-old has played shortstop, second base, and center field thus far in his minor league career. He split his 2025 season between Double-A Binghamton, where he spent the majority of the year, and Triple-A Syracuse, and he hit .261/.363/.465 with 17 home runs and 34 stolen bases in 43 attempts.

Joel Sherman adds that the Brewers have asked about Mets pitching prospect Brandon Sproat and that 27-year-old right-handed pitcher Tobias Myers would be coming to the Mets in the potential trade.

San Francisco Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee was detained at the Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday night due to a paperwork issue, agent Scott Boras told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Boras told the paper Lee's detainment was "not anything political or anything like that" and Lee was released later Wednesday evening, USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale reported.

“We are working politically and with immigration and the Giants to get verifications,” Boras had told the Chronicle. “I’m not sure what was lacking but it was something with the proper paperwork. I think he just forgot one of the documents.”

The Giants told the Chronicle they were working to resolve the issue, as was California Rep. Nancy Pelosi's office.

Lee was arriving back in California from South Korea ahead of a Giants fan event set to be held on Saturday.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Giants' Jung Hoo Lee detained at LAX: What we know

The Dodgers finalized their deal with Kyle Tucker on Wednesday, signing the outfielder to a four-year contract worth $240 million.

Tucker gets a $64 million signing bonus as part of the contract, $54 million of which will be paid this February 15 and the other $10 million on February 1, 2027, per Beth Harris and Ronald Blum of Associated Press, with the following annual salaries.

2026: $1 million
2027: $55 million
2028: $60 million player option
2029: $60 million player option

A total of $30 million of the salaries are deferred — $10 million each year from 2027-29 — which is not uncommon among Dodgers contracts of late. Each year’s $10 million deferred salary will be paid out at $1 million per year every December 1 from 2036-45, again per AP.

Tucker is one of 10 Dodgers with deferred money in their contract, with a total of $1.0945 billion scheduled to be paid out between 2028-47. Shohei Ohtani’s $680 million deferred — 97 percent of his 10-year contract — is the outlier, with deferred money in the other nine contracts ranging between 12.5 percent (Tucker) and 36.3 percent (Blake Snell) of the total contract guarantee.

The deferrals in Tucker’s contract reduce the average annual value from $60 million to $57,195,945 per year.

Tucker has two opportunities to opt out of the contract — after either the 2027 or 2028 seasons. The Dodgers typically don’t include opt-outs, but given that Tucker was also being heavily pursued by the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets, including the ability for Tucker to leave potentially after two seasons was a way for the Dodgers to sweeten the deal.

“In two years, we’ll know a lot more about a lot of things than we do know, and just because he opts out doesn’t mean that we won’t be there to try to sign up,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “In any deal you’d prefer to to have an opt-out. Generally speaking, I think they’re very poorly priced in the market, which is why we have avoided them by and large. In this case, it just made sense for a confluence of reasons.”

Because Tucker declined a qualifying offer from the Chicago Cubs in November, the Dodgers will forfeit a pair of picks in the 2026 MLB Draft. Having already ceded their second and fifth-round selections for signing fellow qualifying-offer free agent Edwin Díaz in December, the Dodgers for signing Tucker will forfeit their third and sixth-round picks this July. That will likely leave the Dodgers with a draft pool of something like $4 million or just under, which would be their lowest in the 15 years of the draft slotting system.

“The depth of our system put us in a position where, while the cost is still meaningful, it wasn’t as significant. We have a very strong system up top,” Friedman said. “But even more than that, I think the depth of our system allows us this one year to have our food budget for the draft meetings exceed our signing bonuses. It’s not great by any means, but just trying to balance that with doing everything we could to put ourselves in the best position to win a championship in 2026.”

San Francisco Giants star Jung Hoo Lee was detained by US Customs and Border Protection at LAX on Wednesday over a “paperwork issue,” his team confirmed Wednesday night.

“Earlier today,” the Giants said in a statement to the Associated Press, “Jung Hoo Lee experienced a brief travel issue at LAX due to a paperwork issue.

“The matter was quickly clarified with the appropriate authorities, and he has since been cleared to continue his travel. We appreciate the professionalism of all parties involved.”

Lee was stopped by the feds after flying into the Los Angeles airport from South Korea, the San Francisco Standard reported.

The 27-year-old outfielder was traveling ahead of a scheduled appearance at a Giants FanFest event on Saturday, according to the report.

Lee’s agent, Scott Boras, told The Post on Wednesday night everything “is now resolved” and the baseball player continued on to Arizona following the delay.

San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s office had reportedly been working with federal officials to secure his release prior to the matter getting sorted out.

Spring Training for the Giants begins in Scottsdale in three weeks.

Lee signed a six-year deal with the Giants in December 2023 worth $113 million.

In his first season in San Francisco, Lee — who previously starred in the KBO before joining the MLB — was limited to just 37 games due to injury.

This past season, he was able to play in 150, and he recorded a .266 batting average with eight home runs, 55 RBI and 10 stolen bases.

Bo Bichette reached the 11th inning of Game 7 of the World Series last season with the Blue Jays, but fell short of a championship ring.

The sting is still real.

“This is probably helping,” Bichette said Wednesday at Citi Field, where he was introduced as the new Mets third baseman. “To be that close, you never know when you’re going to get that opportunity. But I think this team has an opportunity to let me get there.”

Bichette, 27, arrived on a three-year deal worth $126 million that includes opt-outs after the first two seasons.

He brings an authoritative right-handed bat to a lineup that subtracted Pete Alonso, who accepted a $155 million offer over five years from the Orioles.

Last year, Bichette posted a .311/.357/.483 slash line with 18 homers and 94 RBIs in 139 games before missing the final three weeks of the regular season (he returned for the World Series) with a left knee sprain.

The question isn’t so much what Bichette will bring offensively — he’s posted an OPS of at least .800 in six of his seven major league seasons — but whether he can adapt to his new position, third base.

Accompanied by his family, which included his father Dante — a former outfielder with the Brewers, Angels and Rockies, Reds and Red Sox — Bichette said he expects to succeed in the transition from shortstop (he also played second base in the World Series).

“It’s going to take work to be good at something and I’m willing to put in that work and we’ll get after it,” Bichette said. “I’m already getting after it. But we’ll get after it more when I get down to Port St. Lucie.”

The revamped Mets infield also includes Marcus Semien at second base with Jorge Polanco at first base. Both are also former shortstops.

“I think there’s probably going to be a lot of days this season where we are playing four shortstops on the infield, and that’s a pretty distinct advantage,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “I definitely think there’s going to be a learning curve. I’m not trying to dismiss that at all.

“We’re probably going to make a mistake or two, but we’re also going to have an elite range around the infield and that’s pretty exciting.”

Bichette was close to accepting an offer from the Phillies — the team’s president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski called it a “gut punch” to lose him. But Stearns downplayed the angle of the Mets stealing a player from a top division rival.

“I understand that fans find that satisfying,” Stearns said. “I think we need to make sure we are acquiring players, and especially at acquisitions of this magnitude, that we are acquiring players that fit what we want to do, not remove them from another team.”

The Mets filled another hole this week by acquiring center fielder Luis Robert Jr. in a trade with the White Sox for Luisangel Acuña and minor league pitcher Truman Pauley. Stearns struck again Wednesday night, landing ace Freddy Peralta in a trade with the Brewers.

Stearns was asked if he could envision adding another piece to the lineup.

“I would say I feel good about where our position grouping is,” Stearns said. “But at this point in the offseason you can never predict what is going to happen. Different things emerge. We’re not going to close the door on anything.”

Bichette indicated he’s communicated multiple times in recent days with Semien, his former teammate with the Blue Jays. The 35-year-old Semien arrived in a November trade with Texas for Brandon Nimmo.

“[Semien] is a good one, he showed me the ropes, he’s a hard worker, he’s all business,” Bichette said. “He’s a competitor. He was a great mentor for me and I’m sure that in some ways I will still look up to him.”

Semien hasn’t visited Citi Field since his trade to the Mets and had a question for Bichette.

“He asked me what the clubhouse looks like and I had good reviews,” Bichette said.