The Mets may be spending big, but they remain committed to the idea of building for the long term. While Francisco Alvarez, and especially Brett Baty, don’t appear to have a very good chance of cracking the Mets’ loaded roster, the team is reluctant to trade them.
The Marlins tried a few times to acquire Baty, both before and after the Mets’ Carlos Correa deal fell through. The Marlins were ready to offer one of their young starters (Edward Cabrera or Jesus Luzardo).
Miami came very close to getting Brendan Rodgers from Colorado for Cabrera, but the Rockies ultimately decided against making that trade.
The Yankees talked to Miami about Jurickson Profar. But the Yankees are adamant (at least for now) on staying under the $293 million “Steve Cohen tax” threshold. It’s about $290 million. They also checked in on Josh Harrison.
The Mets have interviewed people for the position of team president. It’s considered a professional job, not another baseball job.
One idea: Angels president John Carpino. He has two years left on his deal, but with the Angels up for sale, he could be gone. He was part of the decision to hire Billy Eppler for the Angels after they hired Jerry DiPoto over him the first time around.
The sale of the Angels seems to be going well, unlike the sale of the Nationals. A big problem there is the mess of MASN. Washington needs cooperation from the Orioles, who have no incentive to help.
The Astros have interviewed multiple people for their open GM job, and owner Jim Crane hopes to have someone in place before spring training. Former Marlins GM Michael Hill and former Giants GM Bobby Evans are among the respondents. Astros legend Jeff Bagwell has had a prominent role in the search and will continue to have a large role in development after the hire.
Zack Greinke and the Royals are still in touch.
