New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns told the team’s beat reporters Tuesday that after the season opposing coaches and executives shared with him a common sentiment:
“Your defense wasn’t close to good enough.”
So how is it that the Mets are offering star free agent Kyle Tucker a three-year deal that is at least in the range of $40 to $47 million per season, per The Athletic’s Will Sammon, and as high as $50 million, per FanSided’s Robert Murray?
Tucker, who turns 29 on Saturday, surely would deepen the Mets’ lineup. He was a Gold Glove finalist in 2020 and ‘21 and a winner in ‘22. But he has since declined in right field, and according to Outs Above Average, was a worse defensive outfielder last season than Brandon Nimmo. By the same metric, the Mets’ current $51 million per year man, Juan Soto, was the worst defensive right fielder in the game.
If the Mets sign Tucker, either he or Soto will need to move from right to left field. Perhaps the Mets could get more defensively out of both, to the point where they are at least average. But Tucker would be a curious choice for a team supposedly hellbent on improving its defense. His low-key personality might not be an ideal fit for the New York market either.
To this point, the Mets’ only defensive upgrade was their trade of Nimmo for second baseman Marcus Semien, who won a Gold Glove last season but is 35 and in offensive decline. Rookie Carson Benge might take over center field. Jorge Polanco is an unknown at first base, the defensive position where he is most expected to play. Brett Baty could be solid at third over a full season, but still is not completely established.
Tucker is a dynamic offensive force. He, Polanco and any other additions might give the Mets a better offense than they had with Nimmo, first baseman Pete Alonso and infielder/outfielder Jeff McNeil. But he is not as strong a defender as Cody Bellinger, the other top outfielder still on the market.
The Mets’ preference for short-term deals probably is making them reluctant to go hard after Bellinger, who reportedly is seeking seven years. But if Tucker is their answer, Stearns would risk hearing the same criticism again: that his team’s defense isn’t good enough.
For Red Sox, what’s next?
When it comes to the Boston Red Sox’s chances of landing Bo Bichette, they are presumed guilty of failing to land major free agents until they prove otherwise. Which isn’t to say they are without other options.
Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner would be a near-ideal fit, just as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte would have been. The Cubs would need to be overwhelmed for Hoerner, but the Red Sox could tempt them with a package that includes a young pitcher such as Connelly Early or Payton Tolle. Of course, the Sox might consider that too high a price for one year of Hoerner. And then if Hoerner departed, it would be Alex Bregman all over again.
The St. Louis Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan figures to be less appealing to the Sox, who already feature a surplus of left-handed hitters. The team wants to create opportunity for one of those players, Marcelo Mayer, at second or third base. Mayer, 23, had only 136 plate appearances last season before undergoing season-ending right wrist surgery.
The Houston Astros are listening on right-handed hitting third baseman Isaac Paredes, but surely would prefer to trade Christian Walker, who plays a position, first base, where Boston is set. Free agent Eugenio Suárez also could be a right-handed hitting replacement for Bregman.
Another possibility for the Red Sox, according to people briefed on their thinking, is to continue loading up on pitching. The Sox have been one of the teams talking to the Milwaukee Brewers about right-hander Freddy Peralta, who is entering his walk year. Some in the organization also are high on free-agent left-hander Ranger Suárez, whose market remains unclear. The Sox also met in person with free-agent lefty Framber Valdez in November before trading for Sonny Gray.
Padres wanted Arenado at 1B
The San Diego Padres were the team besides the Arizona Diamondbacks that mounted the heaviest pursuit of Nolan Arenado, people briefed on the discussions said. With Manny Machado entrenched at third, the Padres intended Arenado to play first base.
The holdup, according to those briefed on the talks, was that the Padres were unwilling to take on as much of Arenado’s salary as the D-Backs. And it’s not as if the D-Backs took on a whole lot – the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to pay $31 million of Arenado’s remaining $42 million over the next two years while receiving minor-league right-hander Jack Martinez in return.
In the final two years of Arenado’s contract, the D-Backs owe him $1 million less than the Chicago White Sox gave free-agent right-hander Anthony Kay for the same term. Kay spent the past two seasons in Japan.
Martinez, 22, was the D-Backs’ eighth-round pick last year out of Arizona State. The Cardinals knew the talent they acquired for Arenado would be modest no matter which team they dealt with, given the money he is owed and the leverage he could wield with his no-trade clause. So, finances were the more meaningful lever.
The Padres’ payroll concerns are well-documented. Perhaps they only wanted Arenado if they could get him for something close to the minimum salary, enabling them to remain flexible for other pursuits. Arenado, after all, would have been changing positions. And numerous first basemen are still available in free agency.
How D-Backs shape up with Arenado
Arenado, 34, is in a three-year offensive decline, but his intense approach was one reason he appealed to the Diamondbacks, people familiar with the team’s thinking said.
The D-Backs’ best players – outfielder Corbin Carroll, shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, second baseman Ketel Marte – are among their hardest workers. Club officials try to surround them with veterans who carry a similar edge. Outfielder Tommy Pham, whom the team acquired for their World Series run in 2023, was another example.
The Diamondbacks intensified their talks with the Cardinals last Friday after pulling Marte from the trade market. Arenado should experience less of a burden hitting in the same lineup as Carroll, Perdomo and Marte. The D-Backs’ younger hitters figure to experience less of a burden as well.
Blaze Alexander, Jordan Lawlar and Tim Tawa will not be required to hold down regular jobs at the start of the season. But the team still expects to create plenty of at-bats for those three in both the infield and outfield.
Arenado and Marte will require days off, and the D-Backs will at least be in position to occasionally rest Perdomo, who appeared in 161 games last season. Left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., recovering from right knee surgery, is not expected back before June. And an open competition looms in center field.
The candidates include not only Alexander, Lawlar and Tawa but also Alek Thomas and Jorge Barrosa, who is out of options. Those players, with the exception of Thomas, also might figure into the equation in left until Gurriel returns.
Welcome back, Goldy?
The Diamondbacks, before acquiring Arenado, were in the market for a right-handed hitting first baseman/DH. Their preference now might be more left-handed, and they want to keep the DH spot open. But they still could use a platoon partner for Pavin Smith at first base.
Free agent Paul Goldschmidt, a member of the Diamondbacks from 2011 to ‘18 and teammate of Arenado’s with the Cardinals from 2021 to ‘24, continues to loom as a potential fit.
Goldschmidt, 38, had career-worst slugging percentages each of the past two seasons, but he is still a force against left-handed pitching. With the New York Yankees last season, he had a .619 OPS against righties, but a .981 against lefties.
Catcher Adrian Del Castillo, who, like Smith, bats left, also could figure into the D-Backs’ equation at first. The remaining free-agent first basemen include right-handed hitters Rhys Hoskins, Ty France and Justin Turner; left-handed hitters Nathaniel Lowe, Rowdy Tellez and LaMonte Wade Jr.; and switch-hitter Carlos Santana.
More on Arenado trade
• Before including $31 million in the Arenado trade, the Cardinals sent the Red Sox $20 million in the Sonny Gray deal and $8 million in the Willson Contreras exchange. That’s a combined $59 million going to players who no longer are with them.
• Martinez, the pitcher St. Louis acquired for Arenado, is hardly a top prospect, but the Cardinals had some familiarity with him. They liked him some as an amateur (though they passed on him for eight rounds). Their expanded pro scouting staff offered positive input. And though Martinez has yet to pitch in pro ball, the Cardinals’ new assistant pitching coach, Kyle Driscoll, was around Martinez some last summer when he was the Diamondbacks’ minor-league pitching coordinator, and found him intriguing.
• Assuming the Cardinals trade Donovan, Nolan Gorman, Thomas Saggese and top prospect JJ Wetherholt are the most likely beneficiaries of the Arenado trade. Wetherholt, the seventh overall pick in 2024 out of West Virginia, can play second or third. He isn’t going to displace shortstop Masyn Winn, who recently won his first Gold Glove.
• In a lesser move Tuesday, the Diamondbacks signed free-agent right-hander Jonathan Loaisaga to a minor-league contract. Shelby Miller agreed to such a deal last offseason and wound up the D-Backs’ closer. Free-agent relievers who live in Arizona and strike out on the open market often just accept non-roster invites from the D-Backs so they can be at home for spring training.
The Athletic’s Katie Woo contributed to this story.
