It was reported about three weeks ago that the Mets had a sit-down meeting with Japanese right-hander Kodai Senga. Since then, the club has been very busy, giving $86.66MM to Justin Verlander, $162MM to Brandon Nimmo, $26MM to Jose Quintana and $10MM to David Robertson. Despite all of that, Andy Martino of SNY reports that Senga is still an option for the club.
From a baseball perspective, the club’s continued interest in Senga is quite logical. The Mets saw three pitchers depart their rotation at the end of the 2022 season, as Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker all reached free agency. deGrom and Walker have already found new homes with the Rangers and Phillies, respectively, but the Mets have replaced them with Verlander and Quintana. With those two slotted next to Max Scherzer and Carlos Carrasco, they have a solid front four, with options for the final slot like David Peterson or Tylor Megill.
However, the Mets seem to have no limits on either their desire to improve nor their ability to spend money to do so. Their 2023 payroll is already up to an incredible $322MM, per Roster Resource, with a competitive balance tax figure of $335MM. These are unprecedented levels and it doesn’t seem like we’ve reached their limit.
Senga was predicted by MLBTR to earn a contract of $75MM over five years, or $15MM per season. The market has proven to be incredibly strong compared to expectations this year, so it’s entirely possible he ends up eclipsing those numbers. Still, even if we stick to those projections for a second, the extra cost for the Mets will be significant. Since the Mets also paid the CBT in 2022, they will be second-time payors in 2023, which will come with added taxes. For any spending beyond the top CBT tier of $293MM, they will be paying a 90% tax. They are already well beyond that, so paying Senga even a $15MM salary will also lead to a $13.5MM tax, meaning they’d effectively be paying $28.5MM in order to obtain Senga’s services for this year.
That would certainly be quite a financial commitment to make, though it doesn’t seem the Mets are really bothered about pinching pennies at this point, simply going after whoever they want to go after. Targeting Senga makes sense as he’s perhaps the top free agent starting pitcher remaining outside of Carlos Rodón. Featuring a triple-digit heater and an excellent splitter, Senga posted a a 1.94 ERA, 27.5% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate through 144 innings in the NPB this year. It wasn’t just a one-year fluke either, as he had a 2.39 ERA over his past four seasons combined.
Though the Mets seem plenty willing to spend on their desired players, they will at least have some competition here. The Blue Jays, Red Sox, Padres, Giants, Yankees and Mariners are other teams that have been connected to his market, with plenty of others surely at the table as well. But despite being in uncharted financial waters, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to count out the Mets from another splash.
The Mets will be offering him $360M over 18 years.
Which he’ll accept after turning down the Padres 20 year $420M offer.
You mad? Cuz you’re having a convo with yourself
Pretty funny that the Padres fan is upset about this. I’m a Mets fan and both comments are hilarious. Don’t see why poking fun at obvious things isn’t funny, the Mets sure are spending a lot of money and the Padres sure did try to and get turned down twice. Lighten up a bit bud.
@jango where in the comment pad2019 mad? He said a statement, and didn’t use a angry or mad tone. He simply asked are you taking to yourself.
Definition of mad:
a
: completely unrestrained by reason and judgment : unable to think in a clear or sensible way
driven mad by the pain
mad with jealousy
b
: incapable of being explained or accounted for
a mad decision
3
informal : intensely angry or displeased
He’s none of those things.
Have a great day Jango unless you think my comment is mad towards you.
in fairness, check his other posts when challenged. He mad.
Calm down lol
He set up his own joke!!!
I’d say that starting a comment with “You mad?” is a pretty good indication that the person replying is themselves mad lmao. But thank you very much for supplying me the definition of mad, Webster. Incredibly helpful.
Lmao
Hahaha!
Well done.
Best comment today!
I wonder where the line will be drawn on contracts with added years solely to decrease the AAV to avoid or minimize exceeding the CBT threshold..
This stuff is all thought out in the cba. It won’t possibly change until the next one. Teams are just really smart now.
Where does the money from the CBT go? Who is the beneficiary of that? MLB?
I think small market clubs
Small markets and it’s a progressive assignment of the revenue based on different factors. A small portion goes to the players’ retirements too I believe. Here’s a full explanation….
nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-mlb-cbt-ex…
Thanks for the link. So is the expectation that the smaller market teams will then have extra money to spend more on player acquisition? It makes sense to expect that, but I doubt it actually works out that way. I’m guessing the owners of those teams will just pocket that money.
Yes, it’s suppose to be for competitive balance. Some teams spend it…. Brewers come to mind. Other teams don’t…Pirates come to mind.
Then they have the revenue shares for the tv deals, merchandise revenue, etc, etc, which are split evenly amongst all teams, between $100MM-$200MM. Also intended to be for balance of competition. None of this includes stadium profits or team specific stuff (playoff monies from gate receipts, etc.
Yawn. Come up with a new shtick to explain your excuse for your advantage over 20 odd small market clubs. This one is old and tired.
I hope that response is not to me because I simply answered a question with factual information. I rendered no opinion in the matter at all.
And it’s not a schtick simply because it is an opposing viewpoint to yours, which is rendered repeatedly on multiple forums as an excuse as to why your team won’t spend money, sir.
Not a reply to you, Yankee Clipper, but the one above you. I have noticed a lot of times it doesn’t slide these responses under the one you are responding to.
I’m sorry. My apologies, Reds. I should’ve simply asked and left it at that. Didn’t mean to be ornery.
Zoiks
Edit……zoinks…..Scooby Doo
Geez, as a Cubs fan I thought you guys typo’d an extra $100 million on the CBT numbers. It’s unbelievable how Jed’s been shopping for free agents at the Dollar Tree.
Because Heyward fuc*ed that up lol
Dollar and a quarter Tree.
Cubs have like $50-70 M to work with in spite of Heyward’s contract remnants. That’s a non issue.
That’s still cost-prohibitive of them having gotten Correa and a Verlander, or a Correa, Rodon, and Senga even. I mean hats off to Cohen for trying but geez $100M over the last tier?! Talk about stupid spending and they got swept by the Cubs in September!
Cohen and Preller have been spending like crazy. Im not a fan of either team, but I imagine that’s bittersweet. Some of those deals will hurt bad later on, but it’s nice to see your owner cares to win no matter what. I heard the other day on a sports radio station the Padres are actually the 27th ranked market in MLB, right between the Royals and Padres. I thought that was very interesting perspective.
It seems the Cubs are making “solid offers”, but in this market that’s not enough. They need to go all in for Correa and Senga and probably add a couple other quality players (3B – Evan Longoria, SP – Nathan Eovaldi, type players) to have a chance at the division in 2023. Even if they get payroll to $200 M this season, they shed $50+ M. going into 2024 (Heyward, Hendricks, Happ… probably Stroman).
@egrossen Didn’t realize the Pads were 27th. And they still just spent 11/$285 on a 5 win 30 yo SS headed for steep decline? Owning a baseball team must be far more lucrative than they’ve let on. No wonder they close their books.
As for the Mets, in 2025 they’ll have almost $100m committed to Lindor, Diaz, Nimmo, and Martie. That’s already uphill sledding, and they might add $35m for a 42 year old Verlander if he pitches 140 innings in 2024. $130m for those players isn’t promising, but it’s just play money for Cohen at this point,.
All they have to do is get past the Cardinals. Good luck with that.
Using poker terms, they are pot committed and have just four players with guaranteed salaries come 2024. Another starter is needed to really feel good about the team as a whole and Senga makes the most sense. Bassitt a fall back that is older, probably more expensive and tough on catchers with Evoldi or Stripling as tertiary targets. Already blown by the top tax, so make it count. The plan is to reset in 2025 so gotta go all in for this two year cost crunch. Senga, one more reliable BP arm and go to war
The only flaw in the plan is guys like McNeil and Alonso who are going to want extensions. I also think the tax is going to be revisted because it’s clearly not having the impact it was intended for, but I think if the Mets get Senga they have a killer rotation. No guarantee in a tough NLE, but there’s no reason why they shouldn’t compete for the division crown.
Quintana was the Cardinals best starter after they got him at the trade deadline in 2022 and he would be the Mets #5…….wouldn’t even sniff a playoff start if they get there
I’d love to see the Mets get up to 400 million and watch the Phils still take the division. Same on the west coast, the thirsty, desperate Pads keep spending and depleting their farm only to look up at the Dodgers. This is what’s so wrong and broken in MLB. The Pirates, Royals, A’s etc… going into a season where their fanbase already knows they have ZERO chance to compete.
you’d love to but won’t see it
sure, you can enjoy that if a Phillies fan, but let’s not forget the Mets were 14-5 against Philly including a no hitter and two ninth inning rallies. They finished 14 games ahead and are largely at least as good on paper as last year as constructed now. Did the Phillies magically add 14 wins I missed? Walker is maybe even with Gibson/Efflin. Turner is an upgrade over Segura/Didi but not 14 wins worth. Harper to miss more time this year than last to start the year. We will all celebrate if our team comes out on top but there is zero way you can objectively say any of the big three are clearly better than the other. And that’s before the spending ends
Yet the Rays still seem to do it… As a Mets’ fan, as long as Steve’s not spending my money, I hope he keeps doing it.
Walker is significantly better than Eflin and Gibson. Not even. Also the Phillies starting SS at the start of 2021 was Didi. Mets crushed the Phillies last year, but mostly early. They were a different team in the second half. Mets beat them a few times then aa well to be fair, but that 14-5 revord was mostly against a team that was mismanaged by Girardi and had Obdubel Herrera and Didi and the roster.
*not even close
As you know we definitely disagree on the talent level of Walker and my thoughts about his fly ball propensity in a hitter park.
Mets played 9 games against the Thompson Phillies and won 6. The Phillies are a streaky offense and smart pitching can get them.
No question Turner is a huge upgrade but I just don’t see 15 wins above last year huge there so far. Not done yet. They got real hot. Very curious to see year two of Thompson who was ready to retire before the promotion. Now that the new shine wore off a bit, will he find the same success? He very well May but it’s just as big a question mark as any other
The Phillies showed what can happen when a team gets hot at the right time. They also showed, through no fault of their own, what happens when you expand the POs for the sake of network and commercial money. No tm with less than 90 wins should be in the post season. Manfred says having 12out of 30 teams in the POs makes it more interesting for the fans. More like the commissioner’s and owner’s pockets. Real fans would want to see it the teams that deserve to be in the POs compete for the championship. That would be the six divisions would be enough for me. The only exception would be like this past season where the Mets finished with 100 wins and didn’t win their division. The current setup is ridiculous.
absolutely agree. just set up to have the best fighting chance. Phillies are good. Braves are good. Gonna be fun again this year. Cannot beat either lineup without stupid spending so get the best rotation possible and sure up that pen.
McNeil and Alonso will definitely be a factor. Smart to see one more year of McNeil but should have locked Pete up already.
Chris Bassitt is in Philadelphia, as can be seen on Instagram. I don’t think this means anything, but if he goes to Philly and Senga goes to NYM, that’s pretty much 3 elite rotations in the same division. Insane. I think the Phillies are essentially done though. This is just spicy gossip.
interesting. How fun would that be?
Turns out Bassitt is just there for a wedding, which makes sense. Phillies are don’t want to hit that Cohen tax at this juncture. Still think the Mets get Senga though.
“I also think the tax is going to be revisted because it’s clearly not having the impact it was intended for”
Same story in the NBA. 10 teams are paying a luxury tax penalty, from the Sixers at $1.7 million all the way up to the Warriors, who are paying a crazy $170 million in luxury tax penalties. Clippers pay $144 million, Nets have a luxury tax bill of $108 million. If the big teams want to pay that much, the small teams don’t care because they rake in the penalty money.
Yea. You’re 100% right, rct.
Actually, the reset may fall in line with when Alonso and McNeil become FAs. It’s going to be hard keeping them from testing FA, so Cohen will have to beat the market then. I don’t think they’ll sign extensions now.
agreed.
I believe Senga is going to be much, much, higher than most think. I going 6/150m as a baseline. Will almost 50m per year take the Mets out of the running? That’s a big number for no MLB XP.
It’s tough to venture a guess because the pitching market is nuts, and Senga is a huge gamble. He has good stuff, but walks a ton. I have no idea if he will even be decent in the US. He has a very high ceiling, but is not a proven commodity. No idea what his contract will look like. Could be a bargain. Could be a gigantic bust.
I can’t see that high, but tbh, I couldn’t see salaries going as high (or long, really) as they have. For Senga, I think the ceiling is 6-110, and I personally wouldn’t want them to go there. A lot of unknowns w/ him, even w/ the great stuff.
Reset? Like the owner will all the sudden learn to not overspend? Lol. Please.
Reset means back well under the tax. Why would he not spend whatever he is comfortable spending. It’s really his choice. I’m pretty sure he understands the payment structure and penalties. He isn’t worried about them because success is more important. I have zero clue what you are talking about winning a World Series – what team are you referring to? I made some comments about SD and Philly. Neither was won lately (2008 and absolutely never)
So they didn’t win a WS except when they did. Good point dude.
Senga, Ottavino, Chafin ……Cohen & Eppler are playing to catch them all…..
Mets and Padres DESPERATELY trying to take headlines from the Yanks and Dodgers, spending like drunk sailors and neither have won anything. I hope the A’s and the Pirates take advantage of that extra CBT money. Pads and Mets are acting like insecure red headed step children.
Or they’re acting like they care about winning instead of just making a profit.
I wish all teams were trying to win like the Mets and Padres. The A’s and Pirates are going to do what they always do with CBT money. Pocket the money and cry poverty.
Seriously. The Mets current 2023 tax bill is already higher than the entire 2022 payrolls for the A’s, Orioles, Pirates and Guardians. Those owners are getting all this revenue sharing money and just keeping it. MLB just sold tech IP from MLB.tv for $1 billion and every team got an EXTRA $55 mil or so just from that deal alone. That’s more than the A’s and Orioles entire payrolls and it went right into their owners pockets.
I hope your point is that the true problem with MLB is owners that refuse to spend and not owners putting their money where their mouth is trying to win…..
Don’t know if I would lump the Orioles in with the A’s. They’ve spent in the past (and got burned–see Chris Davis), but over the last 5+ years, they’re trying to build from the ground up. I would not be surprised to see them start spending big in the next few years in the same way the Braves have (locking up their core players through extensions). Orioles will spend when the time is right.
@bryan c Absolutely, there should be a salary floor.
@rct I agree, I don’t include the Orioles in the penny pinching group, I was just referencing last year’s payrolls. I think the O’s are in a fantastic position right now and they’re gonna start spending soon to catapult them to the next level.
@Chris G – gotcha. I think the O’s situation is one of the best in baseball.
yup
That’s the real problem… maybe instead of taxing those that are spending to make their teams winners… the tax should be on those tanking their team and pocketing the $$$
I’m assuming your comment about not winning anything was directed at the Yankees and Dodgers as well, just not the Pads and Mets. Cause between them, with all their spending, they have a total of one World Series win in the past 1o years. That’s not what we should be focused on.
Everyone gets hung up on winning the World Series as the end all and be all. As a Mets fan, I was disappointed in how the regular season ended and the early playoff exit. However, for the first time in six years, they played meaningful baseball in September. And that’s what I care about. Putting a good team on the field, and putting themselves in a position to consistently make a postseason run. Once you are there, anything can happen. Let’s be real, who thought that the NLCS would be the Phillies versus the Padres? Yet it was great to see and fun to watch.
Can the A’s and Pirates sign top tier FA even with CBT money? Probably not, but they also have no reason to have minuscule payrolls either when they are playing with house money.
@jwt421: Amen. Just getting to have a good team on the field and be able to care about baseball in September/October is fantastic. It’s not my money, and this year’s spending is clearly not going to stop Cohen from spending in the future, so who cares? As a fan, I just want to see them get into the playoffs and let the chips fall where they may.
short term commitments except Nimmo on the Mets side – spending a lot but not drunken sailor. I’v said my peace on the Padres decisions.
Both team have talented rosters and needed to make some moves to compete with Atl, Philly and LA. They took opposite paths and time will tell which, if either, works better.
Be perfectly honest Philly was an 87 win team that go hot at the right time, Yes they got better by bringing in Turner, but the were still 14 wins behind both the Braves and the Mets…
By the way the Mets & Braves tied with 101 wins each… the Braves won because of head to head…
? The Yankees and Dodgers haven’t won anything, either, in a decade, excluding the short non-season.
I’d like to see the Cards jump in this but it seems like he’s going to get paid a ton and we don’t know how he’ll do against MLB hitters. Seems like most high-profile pitchers coming over from Japan have had decent (or better) results though.
I’ve been wondering why the Cardinals haven’t been in on Bogaerts, who I thought was a great fit in that lineup, or Rodon, Swanson, etc. Bassitt another good fit. I’m not a Cards fan, but they all seem like great fits to me.
@Bryzzo2016
I’m sure that is the only reason any team in MLB other than the Yankees and Dodgers exists: to steal their headlines. No other team actually wants to win! It’s ALL ABOUT YOU. Feel better?
NYM really have no choice with spending short term if they wanted to seriously compete with far better historically run orgs like ATL. Upper levels of farm were decimated by old regime. It’s part of smack talk to dunk. But every bro with a snark hot take here about NYM spending would be doing a circle jerk if their team just signed some of these same players. PHI is a great team. ATL is a great team. SD, STL, LAD great teams. Gonna be a wild 2023
There are fans who genuinely get upset with these big contracts, even when it’s their own team. I’m not one of those fans, but I’m sure there’s at least 1 grumpy Mets fan out there complaining how these deals are going to backfire.
Nimmo, Judge and Turner deals absolutely could be an albatross in 5 years. Pandora ain’t going back in the box tho. Paying for the decline years to get the peak years seems here to stay. And unfortunately NYM fans can find pessimism in even the best circumstances. One of the weirdest sports fan base syndromes I’ve ever observed. Think it’s lead paint from the Long Island schools
@10centbeernight Those deals are as long as they are in order to defer salary while still being able to lower luxury tax penalties.
No one thinks Nimmo is going to be starting-caliber in the 6th, 7th, and 8th years of his 8/$162m deal, but for the Mets to go that long given inflation inside and outside baseball makes it puts that $162m in the neighborhood of $125m with the added benefit of a lower or deferred LT penalty.
And it’s substantially less than $125m if the inflation rate runs a lot higher than the 3%. I used.
Senga will be a Padre..
The Mets will have a competitive balance tax payroll of $350M if they sign Senga for $15M a year. And they still haven’t replaced the four bullpen arms that left this off-season (kept Diaz but lost four others). They signed Robertson for one of the slots so i bet the Mets sign two more bullpen arms as well. Assume those will be $5M per year, and the payroll is an astounding $360M. A $360M payroll, for a 2nd time CBT offender is a luxury tax of about $91M lol.
There are currently 9 teams with a payroll $91M or less. The Met’s luxury tax alone would be more than the entire payroll of about 1/3 of the teams in baseball lol, what a screwed up system. Talk about buying a championship. Next year, with that same $360M payroll, their luxury tax would be an astounding $116m as a 3rd time offender. That is absurd!
The funniest thing will be watching the Mets finish 3rd in their division despite that huge financial advantage (a payroll $80m higher than the next highest payroll). Despite all that spending, it’s pretty easy to argue that they haven’t improved on last year’s team at all, just gotten older with a few new old faces substituted in.
Diaz
Robertson
Drew Smith
Brooks Raley
Zach Greene
Tommy Hunter
Yacabonis
Eliser Hernandez
Megill & Peterson to pen if Senga/Bassitt/Stripling type signed
Stephen Ridings
Montes de Oca
Nogosek
Reid Foley
Not lights out but not awful. Plenty of ability to land Chafin, Ottovino type et al. BP was mediocre last year except Diaz so no real drop off. May was awful. Lugo was uncharacteristically bad at times. Givens was a train wreck. Only Ottovino was reliable outside Sugar
Its so stale with the “funny watching them finish third” diatribe. They won 101 games last year with half the year spent with Dom Smith and JD Davis at DH, now replaced with Vogelbach/Vientos/Baty/Escobar/Alvarex combo. They had 11 whopping starts from deGrom and replaced him with Verlander who was arguably the best pitcher on the planet last year despite some hiccups in the playoffs (he did win the pivotal game 5 start in the WS). Walker replaced with Quintana which is at worst a push. I mean, it’s really hard to see where the Mets are worse than last year in any area but go ahead and pencil them in for a 15 win decrease if you like. The Mets, Braves and Phillies are very close overall. Each with flaws that can be exposed at times. Time will tell the tale
Let’s say you are right and they finish 3rd. It’s entirely possible. The Phillies lineup is amazing and will score a ton of runs. The Braves will do what they do every year.
Even so, I’m betting the Mets still reach 90+ wins. With that, they are in the playoffs as a wild card. And then, anything goes.
Still hangs on whether they understand how badly they need another well above average starter for the postseason, and to minimize the number of starts given to Carrasco, Peterson, Megill, Lucchesi et al.
And we’ll also see what happens at the trade deadline. If the Mets show any willigness to part with a prospect or two, they can improve, as can the Braves or Phils of course. Assuming all teams stay healthy, I think the deadline moves could be very telling.
Same. The big issues, with Nimmo resigned, appear to be 1) the old rotation, 2) whether Baty, Vientos, and Vogelbach are hitting, 3) whether a thin bullpen is at least adequate for the postseason, and 4) whether Alvarez is up and hitting.
The first three can be addressed at the deadline, assuming they’re willing to pay. Hard to imagine they’d add a catcher even for just half a season unless Alvarez’s development is stalled for the year and one of Nido and McCann are out for a long stretch. Even then, a defense-first guy seems likeliest.
Agree on all fronts. I’m very high on Baty – I just think it’s a smooth swing w/ some length, but not a lot of holes. I like Vientos’ power and hope they let him take his lumps because he will hit HR, but hopefully more than just that. Alvarez scares me for some reason. Maybe it’s because he seems so confident it’s borderline cocky? And maybe that’s a good thing? He has a powerful compact swing, so you’d think that would translate to MLB success.
@Ma4170 Agree on Baty’s swing and am only concerned about his fielding. His 35 errors per season, pro rated from the minors, just won’t play in MLB unless he’s Mike Schmidt otherwise—still, the Mets, with their good bats, fringy defense group of Baty, Vientos, and Mauricio, are probably helped by the DH rule as much as any team in the NL. Wonder if they’re planning to use the first two as 5th OFers, exclusively in LF when they’re not DH’ing?
Agree on Vientos, though he might need another year of polish in AAA especially on some glove work. The .280/.358/.519 line in AAA looks ready. Good point on Alvarez. MLB will humble anyone., if they’re paying attention. I’d bet the bat is ready but the defense isn’t, quite. Wonder what JV and Max will have to say about a 21 year old catcher calling their games?
“The funniest thing will be watching the Mets finish 3rd in their division”
It might happen but the Mets were 14 games better than the Phillies in the regular season. Do you honestly think the Phillies have made up that much ground? I recognize that a lot of you are just bitter, Mets-hating trolls, but come on. It’ll be a tight division at the top, but any of those three teams can win the division. To pre-laugh about a team supposedly finishing 3rd is foolish.
If the Pirates, Rays, As, et al are getting a piece of the revenue sharing then maybe there should be a 100MM floor so they’ll spend some instead of owners pocketing. Wasnt that part kd the point? Competitive balance?
Amen! A floor would make baseball more balanced than a tax.
The owners offered a floor but it came with a really low cap
Steve Cohen was a Mets fan before he was a billionaire and wants to win at all costs. A hot team pays for itself in ticket and beer money. Mets are like Annie, years in the orphanage, now living with Daddy Warbucks. LFGM!!
Bassitt would be a better signing.
Bassitt will cost a lot more money, but who knows how much of a factor that is.
I don’t know, RCT. You could be right, but there is usually a posting fee, too – extra cost. One-to-one, I take Bassitt. Guy is a competitor.
30, no posting fee with Senga, he’s a free agent. Bassitt would cost picks as the Mets gave him a QO.
Ok, Ella – thanks.
And he would cost picks as well.
The uncertainty of Senga is all wrong for a team with no clear third starter in a 4-round postseason, particularly when preferring Rodon would only add 2% to payroll by comparison with Senga.
If you’ve gone this far, go all the way.
Even a miserable 3% return on Steve’s $17 billion fortune gives him half a billion a year without touching principal.
At this point, who’s going to care about a $377m payroll compared with $367m?
All these comments about a super high payroll, and still not winning it all, etc. We all know a high payroll is no guarantee to win, but it typically makes a team more competitive. Everyone loves the Rays, but they were bad from 2014-17, and haven’t won a WS – generally a first round and out team except for the unlikely 2020 run and of course the team in 2008 that was full of young talent. But any team that feels they’re win now and have the money are going to spend – mets, padres, yanks, phillies, dodgers, etc. It’s more upsetting to see teams that could be more competitive and could spend more, but don’t, and as a result, probably have no shot at winning the WS barring a miracle run like the Phils had (Guardians come to mind). I just don’t see getting upset at it unless you’re mad at the owners who could absolutely have a higher payroll, but choose not to.
Well said throughout.
Zaidi you still asleep? Wake up. Mets interested in Senga. Act now or you’ll miss out on another FA.
Marlins, Phillies and the Braves will have better rotations than the Mets
Another Mets hater
@bwmiller Not if they add Rodon—and why wouldn’t they? The only thing stopping Cohen is some internal mechanism of self-restraint, but why would he yield to that? He’s in his mid60s, it’s all play money to him given his fortune, and he’s already nearly all in.
A well-paced rotation, ideally a 6-man rotation of
Scherzer
Verlander
Rodon
Quntana
Carrasco
Peterso
… should win 100 games fairly easily with their above average offense, then it’s off to the races.
I think AJ is going to pull a rabbit out of his hat once again. It will be a Kodai moment indeed